, 1861-03-21
-+i,h Dor aud the Shadow,

=. tt.. ae Dog anu tne oAaoo~
1: ~ the N. Y. Independent r. =
lfroh- -tchant Of this city rho has
PASSED through every t.. narked to Us The
business, reh-
''as5 aoid DE Esop's tablo~of the Dog q rar In ia
Shadow ought to be engraved, and L.. ;.
ererv counting.room in the city.
1T Ii too much to expect that advice 50 good +
viii be widely needed, but for the benefit Of
such as may hnye forgotten the fable, We copy
It afresh from the 7er1table old,tima edition Of
Croxall- l-mauger the ancient picturesque wood
cnt Of the dog :---.---
"FAB.y.
"A Dog, crossing little rivule: With piece Of !
The clear .s n mirror of the mpd stream and beiev~
ing It to be another dog who was carrying anotaer
piece Of ieah be could not forbear catching At It;
b. Eas 70 m q gSpE e
which Immediately sunk to tne ooi'on' ana WEE
i1reeoyerably lost. y ..
The moral Of which is-st Is easy to lose the
substance By grasping at the shadow.
last week the case Of q firm who, at the COM
1neneenent Of new year of business, had
capital Of $4,000, and who, having good
:cref1it and being sanguine that they Ind only
ia extend their business to reap speedy for
tune, made la1ger ventures. during the year,
and at it's close found tint they had aucceeded
in eeliine goods to the amount of $500 in
heaping np notes: to pay which they could not
meet, and, after beginning with comparatively
nothing. in ending the year with failure Tor
round quarter Of u million!
These men were not dishonest; nor were
thev more than ordinarily imprndent; but tsll
victims to the common, deplo1able and dis
which is always ilusory to the buyer, and
therefore always hazardous to the seller, De
cause deferred payment is temptation to over
buylug, bv which equal damage and common
ruin too often fill upon both parties TO the
bargain. DR.. Paley used to warn lug daughters t
against buying even handkerchief OF ealeo
gown when they had not money in their hanus
70 nav for -"pecause," said he, the money
vol see in your palm to-day LOOKS 1aTger than
The money you expect to see in it tomorrow !;
and when YOU bur, and pay on the spot, you
will speud less than by shopping with your
eredit-book instead of your purse
We would not underIate the advantages o1
credit in business. system ol eleuls ~ ~. a.
ways prevail, so lopgas men have mutual con
fldence in each other. Such mutual conn-
1ence speaks we'll for the Christian progress OF
the are. But the majority OF men VINO lNi IN IN
business fail not from lack OF honeRty, .nut
from lack Of sagaeity. Therefore the limit o.
credit should stop short OF tue good stsnt 9:, y
pay. and be Set down at o Teasonisolc Ahe1'
hood Of ability to pay. -.
One OF the be5t-knoWn metchants N I9ls
citv lately retired from business with 'lne
moderate fortune of $3.50 GOO. He had spent
thirty years in earning it.. During these thafly
| wears lis losses amounted to S8UO,oou On re-
Counting his experience to his successor, he
+ saiI. UIf it had not been for the disasters ut.
| tending long credits, would hare been worth
nearly million dollars"
! II Is well-known fact that for the last TWEEN
/ ty years the Southern trade Of New YORK CITY
/ "a trade involving longer credits tnan any
other-hes Welded q far greater aggregate o.
losses than Of profits: so that on the " whole II
Tie chief lesson Of 1857-the common re-
marx which merchants then repeated to one
nnother-waa. business must be done. on
! shorter credit" Yet the lesson ID being rap
! idIy forgotten. Competition Tor custom II
lenet ethening ont credits to longer terms thar
! ever. Business is becoming more ano more
| tame Of chance. Iu bour5e and bank, IN STOCK
F., board and exchange, i'll counting house ane
market place. the same law OF hazard RUE:
! bargain and sale. 1t was With no personal an
/ i1uadyersion, get in one sense Win uoques
toned truth, that Berryer. the first Lawyer q
Paris, said Of the Credit Mobilier, that It 8a*
eyerseen.' Yesterday foreign arrival brought
news that NJ. Mires, the French banker, hat
been thrown into tue prison Of Mazas or
| many suspiclons of fraud, Among othel
things. it is mentioned that he owed the Banl
Of Ffanec thirty million francs. Now how
came the Bank Of France to be thus the lose
| Of over five millions of doliarG2 Becanse
was tempted By . good percentage me glsinss go
to visionary Epeculator al the credit 'Whicf
he asked.
Business on l2rge scale or on a less seal
business by public boards and by prlyat'
firms-busintss OF Utmost every kind, Nort]
or Sonth, East or West. is rapidly tending
perilons uncertainty p sreS;}s tSa loss'
What is the history Of one mans busincs
for one season in New York? He buys mil
lion dollars worth Of goods on credit, Elvinl
notes in payment; he sells this million dol
lars worth Of goods on credit, receiving note
in payment; after which he finds hlmsel
standing the rest Of the year between tines
adverse pieces Of paper as between upper an
neither mill.stones, which nay at any nomen
threaten to grind him to powder!
Well, what is tue remedy? The remedy
III n bit Of advice which they who most nee
will least leed-shoft Credits ard Close &c1a
tim. Six months should bo esteemed Ion
credit and none longcr should be gwen. a
experienced merchant, now engaged III bus
ness in this city-whose name, ii it were mel
. toned, would giye wcig ght to his opinion
T ! commenda the general adoption Of tou
months as the limit. This would require, fc
practical operation, that the great body
consumers should pay cash.
:. Merchants arc beginning to feel that to carr
the load Of business at eight months distane
is like lifting heavy weights ut arms lengtl
!; If a man knows not. what a day maT bsin
! forth" how can he "know whatsetght mont
I may bring forth? 4 general conviction
: gaining ground among wise men that the1
, must be retrcnchment in credits, to rescr
; business from its lckleness. We never b
! lieyed thasc economists who say that a n
! / f;nnni drht Is !. national blessing" nor uphe
: Rabelais iu the opinion that u mans create
pleasure in life Is the pleasure Of having cred
!, tors.' Therefore, to all merchants who hoI
: for great gains by running great risks-wl
j throw away certainty for chance, aud acce]
i sazard for safety-who fancy that Il small cay
: tai is nasniucd into q great one By looking
il through the dattcriag lens Of a long cred
!. who aFe in danger Of having enough, des
!. ing more, graspii,s too. much, and losing al
J. 10 all si.ch comes back tie ancient wisdo
c Of wise Esop, in the fablo Of the Dog aud t
+ Shadow.