Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1874-10-10

to a national characteristic, is scarce
Iy known mall this unimpulsive, cir
cumspect, impressive country. This
is strikingly exemplifed in mercan.
tile life. German merchants con-
duct their business with an economy
and caution which would surprise
our dealers. In the first place, they
make it a rule to purchase or keep
on hand comparatively small stocks
of goods. They buy largely for
cash, and ask or receive but little
credit. If capital is small, the stock
of goods bought is in proportion to
their means. They sell for cash.
There is very little 'trust" sought
by customers or given by tradesmen.
The people themselves, decline 60
ing into debt at the groceries, butch
er shops, bakeries, or stores. There
is nothing that German famiIydls-
likes more than to be IN debt, and
it is uneasy and unhappy until the
debt is liquidated. They all seek
to have a bag of silver, as an Irish
man would say, ''to the fore" or
what an Englishman calls "penny
laid up for rainy day"
IT'S A RARE EVENT
for a German merchant to fail or be
forced into bankruptcy-especially
retail dealers; and when it does oc-
casionally happen, it bears small
comparison in completeness and
magnitude with the failures of al
most daily occurrence, in our happy
and highly favored land. The rea-
sons are, as before stated, an. almost
total abstinence of the speculative,
reckless gambling spirit which actu-
ates American business men and is
shown in purchasing comparatively
little ON credit, selling goods for
cash. and hence avoidance Of bad
debts and many unnecessary losses;
and, lastly, close personal attention
to business, strictest economy in
expenses and style of family living
and expenditure in exact consonance
with their net profit and income
The German merchant borrows
much less than the American from
the banks, in proportion to the ex-
tent of the stock of goods he carries,
because he puts larger per cent.
of his own capital into the business.
and sells comparatively little on
credit; hence he has but little inter-
est to pay. His standing rule is,
either to have his goods on his
shelves, or in his pocket in the shape
of money. Fires are so rare in Ger
many, on account of the careful man.
ner in which houses are constructed
and fires are watched, that
INSURANCE Is MERELY NOMINAL
and merchant is rarely burnt out
or disturbed by fires. Insurance
companies in Germany make it rule
not to pay more than two thirds to
three-fourth of the value of the
the property consume,l--the OBJ
jectbeing to secure the utmost
care and vigilance on the part of
the insured, and to prevent and
repress all tendency to incendiafy
fires. The limited liability is stip-
ulation in the policies. 1t works
well.
From those two cause.-the rari-
ty of fires and the lightness cf in
surance-the German merchant avoids
the heavy expense and continual
danger to which the American trades
man is ever subjected. Insurance
is an enormous and ever-devouring
bill of expense to the business man
in the United States and contrib
utes as much towards eventual
bankruptcy, perhaps as any other
cause, unless it be the practice of
selling goods at retail on credit,
which have not been purchased for
cash at wholesale. Mercantile bu-
siness in Germany is conducted on
such principles that it is attended
with comparatively little
RISK OR CHANCE OF FAILURE;
and, when dealers do happen TO ego
under,'' tits in consequence of some
exceptional cause, or utter unftness
for his occupation.
What is here said, of the class of
middlemen applies equally to the
class of manufacturers, and to me-
chanics who have set up in business
on their own account. They never
involve themselves in debt by buy
ing large quantities of raw materi-
ais, and manufacturing them on spec
ulation, and selling them over the
country on credit, through drum
mers and commission agents, who
absorb the major part of the profits
on the sales. German manufacturers
would regard this as most danger
Gus and reckless mode of doing bu-
siness. The capital invested in man.
ufacturlng in this country is mainly
''paid up" Stock-watering is but
little INDUCED in or understood.
Borrowing from the banks is prac-
ticed sparingly and cautiously, in
order to escape the expense of inter-
est, but especially to avoid being in
debt, which is a Germans particu-
lar dread. The consequence is, that
manufacturing establishments
GROW LIKE FOREST OAKS,
slowly, but surely, and pass down
from father to sons for many gen
erations-such a thing as failure
being almost unknown. They do
not depend upon the subsidies of
protective tariff, and therefore they
stand on solid foundations. Not
being abnormally stimulated by pro-
tective bounties at the expense of
the community, their works are con-
Quoted prudently and economically,
and production is not oVerdone, or
wastefuEy and recklessly perform
ed.
The manufacturing development
of Germany has been of slow but
sure growth, extending through
centuries. The Germans we back
ward in introducing steam-power
and labor-saving machinery-de-
pending too much on hand skill,
cheap labor and plodding industry.
But the English, who adopted steam