Daily gazette and comet. (Baton Rouge, La.) 1856-186?, 1860-08-10

who have become solid men," of
influences and means - reveals the
significant fact that, In the large
majority of instances, they are self.
made. The life and story Of Frank
lin are re enacted thousand times.
Born 20 no proud patronies, their
earlier years were thickly strewn
with those difficulties, sipgle.hand.
cd struggles, temptations, and dis.
couragements, which but strengthen
and elevate the moral aud intellec.
tual character. The world affords
no nobler heroes than its eminent
seli.made men. Who. in The mem.
orable continental Congress-"
stood forth more prominently OF do.
family a. the foes Of tyranny and
the humpettongued champions Of
freedom land every American
Congress, since the days of those
venerated fathers, has counted,
among its ablest and best members
not n lew who were the architects
and builders Of their own fame and
fortune. But the self.made men
who toll In the counting.room, who
send forth our ships and steam en-
gines, and lay out our cities and
build them, and those before the
march of whose untir'ng energy
the dark forests flee away and give
place 90 broad acres of fruit and
golden grain--but especially the
merchant, who more than all the
rest, perhaps, contributes to the
speed Of civilization In the once un.
known quarters Of the globe--it ia
Of these we would now speak.
There IL 60 be seen, ut the mer-
chants exchange Reading Rooms,
an unique but very suggestive the.
moir OF the shipping merchants Of
baltimore who lived, and planned,
and nouriabed. and failed some
eighty years ago. A neat and nc.
curate miniature copy Of their pri-
vate signals accompanies this little
history but their colors, alas !
have some time since been struck
and their gallant barks have doubt.
less long ago been turned adriIt TO
the winds aud waves Of time aud
fortune, and have gone down with
their owners. From this record, II
appears that out of some forty
houses In existence In the year
1850. only three or four escaped the
fate which seems % DO 30 closely
linked 10 the ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The lesson taught In one we'll
worthy our serious attention. What.
then, must be tho peculiar dangers
which merchants encounter 7 First
the credit system appears 60 us
fraught with peculiar hazard, ca.
peoially Of late years, liable as II Is
to great abuse. Second. the habit
Of lending and indorsing. Third.
what IL doubtless the most danger.
Gus Of all, the constant aud multi.
form temptations presented to men
Of ambitious and sanguinc temper.
aments, az nearly all business men
are, 10 enter into (either outside
or "insidc') speculstiops. They
become wcaried with the slow and
sure system. Industry and econo-
my" they say. ARE excellent pre-.
cepts no far IA they 20, but the
tines In which we live especially
demand occasionally bold and dar-
ing ventures--tbo spirit Of enter.
prise and progrcss--tbe brilliant
display Of mercantile talent, by
which fortunes are often made in u
single day--point to the necessity
o. wide ranges Of calculation and
consequent risk" The laws of
trading require adventure, we nd
init, and in some departments much
more risk than in others, as com
mensurate with promised returns ;
but II Is easy TO see the point
where true enterprise ceases and
speculation begins. Let us con-
fine ourselves strickly within the
compass Of our specialize, DO that
Whatever branch OF the mercantile
profession il may. Thousands Of
merchants fail who need never to
have failed had they adheared to this
rule. They should have preferred,
to insure ultimate success, the gradu
al but unceasiug sccumulations which
attend life Of undertaking applica
ton and justncss-industry and econ.
omy-for-
"A penny saved is two-pcnco clear"