The western Democrat. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1852-1870, 1868-11-17
Gilt-Edaed Paper.

notes, aud business transactions:
One of the most peculiar phases of mercantile
life is the dealing in promissory notes, or, to use
the common term, business paper" The traf.
6c in this species of property s enormous and it
is estimated that half million Of dollars worth
of mercantile paper is bought and sold daily in
Wall street. There is class Of business men
who have predilection for shaving notes. They
are that class commonly known as ''monied men,"
VIII, &c names have magic. power with cashiers
of banks and who, in times of pressure, are the
kings OF the street. ,.s.
There are a dozen note buyers Who taken to-
gesher. have ,uiilipn or It their credit, most
ahy day, and these funds they will readily ex-
change for little slips ofpaper, signed by certain
parties, promising to pay, etc, etc Some OF
these men are exceedingly careful, and touch
none but the very best, or, as it is called, gilt
edged" which just now cannot be had for better
than eight per cent per annum. Others take
more risks and buy second-rate, which one can
get at from twelve to twenty -four per cent.
Commercial notes are divided into various classes
there is grocers paper, dry goods paper,
auctionecrs paper, &c., for each Of which some
one will have predictions. These notes are
sold by means of brokers. and this kind Of broker
age is immensely profitable and highly respecta-
bic Raf Wells, the eminent Sabbath School
worker is a note broker by trade At present
our banks will discount any good paper, but they
require two names, while, on the other hand,
many Of our heaviest business men, rule,
never endorse the paper Of parties wEo buy
goods Of them. They have notes drawn To the
orders Of the signcrs, and they can be handled
in an impcrsonal manner. A new standard Of
credit is therefore established. The question
now is not what man is worth, or how respon-
sble he is but will his note sell well in the
street. If the latter be the case he can buy
goods and get credit whether he deserves it or
not We have known the note of insolvent men
selling at fair rate when good men could not
| Get credit; and 4 once occurred like this:
A wished to buy large quantity of opium on
| six mouths but his paper was refused because it
would not sell. B, though not SO good a man,
makes note which will sell. A gets to buy
! the opium, which y takes, and "swap' OF notes
| concludes the transaction, after which Is fails.
| Under this artificial state Of things bad note
is given in place of good one, and loss falls on
some one Mercantile credit now rests on the
way Il mans note will sell, aud this will be in
fuenced by the amount in the market; and
hence it would not be difficult to injuro tho
credit Of any concern, should any competitor get
hold Of their paper and rush il Cd the street.
| For instance, \ wishes to buy an invoice Oh M
| digo, and has rival purchaser in b. A knows
| that his only way to get the article is to strike
at Bis credit He raises $4,000, goes into the
market, and III two hours has invested it in B's
| paper, which he then employs broker to hawk
about the street. The broker plays his part
well, the abundance Of BIS paper is freely can
vassed and fears are naturally suggested that
screw may be loose somewhere Before business
hours are over the work is done, and b may
never know the reason why he lost good bar
gam, aud when he pays the $50 600 referred to-,
| he little dreams that by this sharp practice his
throat was so nearly cut. Note brokers may be
seen in Wall street going to their offices with
their large portfolios under their arms, for they
| generally lock them in some bank over night,
and at these offices you can get any good note
| cashed on ten minutes notice. The broker
knows who will buy certain names, and hence he
loses no time in running about. On the other
hand. each notc buyer will probably to day have
$50 900 in bills receivable paid ID, which he 10
anxious to invest ediatey in bills receivable,
and he at once picks ont Of the broker portfolio
such papers AZ be likes best The secret reason
WHY men fail in New York will be found in the
way their paper is rated in Wall street. Any
concern which rules second best for few years
will 90 down, for the reason that this will pre-
vent them from buying goods in an advantageous
manner In this way the failure OF the large
house Of Bowen, McNamee 4 Go. war prophe-
sled years before it touh place, for while they
| did profitable tfa0c ana DuiIL I"o oeoiSs
in Broadway, yet their paper went in the streets
at two and oncb half per cent per mouth, and this
killed them on the long Dealing IN notes
is liable to one peculiar danger, and that is for
gerry. Generally speaking, buyers depend On
!, the reputation of the trokeT, who knows where
he gets his paper, and will not hazard business
worth $4,000 ycar TO get off bad note
Sometimes. however, Z forger is too apt even for
the broker az IS proven in the MARITIME case
which is now before the police. \ man buys Q
frst-cla note at seven per cent discount, and
the next day offers it Tor sale at twelve per cent
+ How can this be explained? Simply by the fact
; that he has executed several neat iorgcres, some
; Of which lie sells to urscrupulous parties. Thi.
+ was done in 4 very neat manner IL the forgery
i above referred to, bnt VIC think tho guilty par
c ties stand a good chance oG State prison, whici
e they richly deserve at any ratio.
e FIRE ARMs-It ia stated that uinety-fve on
It Of every hundred instances Of the bursting Of
n donhle barrellcd gun can be traced 10 defects il