Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1868-04-16

he has any symptoms OF true unconstitutional gov
ernment still remaining in him) let him take two
teaspoons full of decoction oleagues, sweet
ened with hypocritical prayer; and he will be as
confirmed Radical as ever polluted the South
with his presence"
BROKEN DOWN MEN IN NEW YORK.
The New York correspondent Of the Troy Times
writes as follows of the broken down men Of that
city:
The broken down men, to whom we have referred,
form the best possible help in the great mercantile
concerns of this city. A. T. Stewart, the merchant
prince, has been for years in the habit of picking
out among this class such assistants as he might
need; and we presume that there may be found
under his roof to-day the wrecks Of twenty differ
ent dry goods houses that were started with good
prospects of success. Forinstance, that grave and
dignifed gentleman Of ffty-fve years, who occu-
pies the position of general manager and overlook
er of the wholesale warehouse, is Mr.. Brown, for
merly dry goods jobber of the house of Brown &
Co., Courtlandt- He is frst-rate business
man, and Stewart knows it; and perhaps it is but
an incident in life that Brown is not Stewart, and
that Stewart is not Brown. As it is, Mr.. Brown
is to certain degree Stewart's lieutenant, and as
the latter is much engrossed by the leading facts in
his mammoth business, no one is allowed to ad-
dress him personally until hiserrand has been COM
municated to the lieutenant aforesaid So, also,
this TALL fine looking gentleman, who has the man.
agement of the credits, Mr.. Libby, who looks af.
ter all references, and without whose approval, no
man can get bill of goods on time, is broken
down merchant. Twenty years ago, the firm Of
Hastings, Libby & Forby struggled for wealth, but
in vain. They sank in the general vortex Of CON-
mercial ruin and Mr. Stewart, who discerned MIR.
Libby's talents has made good use of him. Mr..
Libby is highly gifted business man, and has
made himself so necessary in Stewards concern
that, if report be true, he has now partnership
in it. We might go on and call over Stewards
check-rol, and find many other similar cases; and
80, also, we might find just such class Of men
selling goods for Clafin and other large houses.
When man has once failed in any kind of bust
ness it is very seldom that he attempts to recupe
rate in the same trade. He is generally sick ofthe
effort. He will work for others in that line but
has fear of attempting it personally again
Hence men who fail in New York seldom get on
their feet. Their customers are drummed away
by other houses, and the current Of their business
is so broken that it seems impossible to be resus-
citated.
The custom-house is great gathering Of broken
down men, and besides this, one finds them in ev-
cry petty birth which they can get into. Most Of
the insurance Offices are manned by this class, and
in many instances insurance companies have been
formed for the express purpose Of afording snug
harbor for some such characters. Most Of the
merchandise brokers are of this class If whole
sale druggist fails, isapt to turn broker in drugs
if wholesale grocer fails, he will naturally turn
to his own staples We have said that men who
fail in New York seldom get on their feet again.
To illustrate this statement, we may call over few
names Where was there more famous house
than that of Bowen, McNamee & Co.? And yet
the colossal business which required twenty-five
years to build it up, went in one fell swoop when
that firm failed. If you were to look for the head
of that great concern you would not find him in
the world of silks and satins. On the other hand,
Mr. Bowen is now the publisher of the hdepen-
dent. Among other great firms that have gone
out of existence, we may mention, in dry goods,
the Moores, who were in trade thirty years, who,
from small beginnings, at last occupied Broad
way store, at q rent of $1,000 per annum. In the
grocery business we might mention the name Of j..
X. Place & Co., which failed last fall. This house
was estimated as being worth million of dollars.
Their credit stood so high that they could purchase
bill of coffee and give note foritt the amount
of one hundred thousand dollars, and yet now
that they have failed it is not probable that they
will pay their creditors much, if indeed, anything.
Probably in short time we shall see these very
Places, who once were merchant princes running
round the streets with boxes of samples, and ta-
king the chances among the legion of merchandise
brokers. To go back to the house of Denison &
Belden, from which the Places sprung. This con-
Germ failed few years ago, and although it pos
sessed an immense trade, yet it was never resus-
citated. So, also, when Simeon Draper failed, al
though he announced in his card that he would
pay in full, yet the Herald contradcted this assu-
rance, and stated that be would never pay dollar,
and he never did. So, also, the great banking
house of Prime, Ward & Co.. ; they paid nothing
Stepping into large concern, some timeago, we
entered into conversation with the beok-keeper, a
man apparently of sixty, and found, to our sur
prise, that he once was partner in heavy clo-
thing importing house, whose sign had been IA
miliar to US for years. A consciousness of the
difficulty of retrieving ones fortune was uttered
in the language of William Berger, who, few
years ago, was one of the heaviest wholesale deal
ers in drugs in the city. After his failure which
wound up his business experience of thirty years,
friend asked him how old he was. The reply
was "too old to fail in business and so it proved.
We have seen the broken merchants of this city
reduced to keeping boarding houses. We knew of
one who made his bread out of model artist exhi-
bitions, and another, who was once among the