, 1875-01-23
Recent Heavy Failures in tho
Smoky City.
Sliding on Oily Ways into tho Pit
Of Bankruptcy.
The Queer Revelations of Bank
Suspension.
y AInh Without q Character.

nitnde, of single Individuals, wo OF this city eau
do better. We do not go into the million sIngy,
but lot q few go in at timo, and divide them
between m odd corporation hero and there. an
individual, and fow firms, leaving tho balance
for tho banks. Ono big capitalist may 70 into
bankruptcy in Now York or Chicago, and
thus ask Tint his million Of debts
may be partially saved to his creditors through
tho medium OF the act Of Congress, Which pro-
poses to give all a fair cl1ance (and may to 1t
does); hut hero no beat thens. We send tt,om
alI henllong into bankruptcy, with llttlo or no
1sEo.B.
We have had a stsgnation IN our iron trade,
1nBting tor months pnet but, proporttonately,
1t has effected less than 1t might have aonc
This, however, Is not 30 much duo to tue caro-
fulncss OF tho operators as to tho continued
e.riko Of tho puddlers. But Of this do not wish
to speak.
o1E~rA1LTnEy.
9Aynrhl weeks ago, the street WAS startled by a
rntnor that the Citizens o.! llaiining Company
Lnd failod Ito embarrassment, however. it
WAS very cooliy stated. was only temporary. tOt
tue facts Of this md all the recent failures hero,
tho rcatlp1s OF InE TR1DuHr have been fully
informed bv tclcgraph.) What. fraud this
proved On its face Tho Citlzons' was an e1-
tenslve concern but, as it was in tho oil hnRi-
moss, 1t Was naturally very speculative. The oil
business for years past, has proved anything
but remuncrative. For nearly two years many
at the operators hnvo boon howliug for slut
down Ia tho oil regions. but this had no effect.
Tho production kept increasing, aul tho prico
per barrel decreasing, Till It came down to 35
conta. a fow Of tho tank-owucra in this
vicinity bought oil. or taukod it, on sares for
tho future. Tho CtizouR' OIL Refining Company
was OF that cass known AZ Individual liability
concerns, and consequently stood on q high
ground Of credit, aud conl1 "hy hig kite"
which It did, as its stockholders woro ''big"
men, and did not let business lag for tho want Of
being accommodated by freely indorsing paper,
and mixing 1t and shaking 1t up we'll with tho
PittaburE Il Baltimore Coal. Coko, l. Iron Com
pauy, until the two .wcre so closely welded to-
gether that they became not unlike tho Siamcsa
EsinH,-ona couldn't HnceZo unless tho other
couelaod.
AFTEHrLAps.
Tho "Citizcns'" suspended payment and ts
notes went to protest. Tho liabilities OF the
concern will foot up mot less than 975O,0oo when
fair abatement ia made assots, sl50.-
OG0 will very nearly cover them. This would all
bo we'll enough did tho failure stop here. Next
come tho Wasing Brothers. They are alao All
extensive iirm,-far greater than the Citizons'.
Thoir oil business extends over this continent
and Europe. Over year ago, ono OF tho lnem
bers Of the firm Withdrew, and, il u said. took
tho business. At that tin,o the other nine gen.
klemen composing tho rartnerBAiD wcro also al-
riscd to retire. and could have done SO. each
quarter of d million ahead. 1t In sad; but thoy
declined; a,sa nor they a1o nearly that much
Eorse OF than nothing.
BAD sHow1yoa.
After tho Warnings, caino Janes Down. Tic
wcut undoe WITH liab}tios OF 500, o0U more than
his aaKets. lIo wns iu tho cutlery bueiucBs with
hc Hnr bI1t f1I1 lntfHr pffnka tn That ArH
10 come out host.
After Down camo Jared ". Brl,sh. lie comes out
of tho oil busuesH s1i0,00o on the wrong side Of
the ledger. Next comes petition OF creditors
to have Tack Brothers. and Tack nrotllera l. Co..
two individual and distinct firms, forced into
bankruptcy. They are badly shaken. and their
pockets bavo reached below bottom not less than
$200,QD0 together.
Last In tl,is procession Of oily financial failures
comes 4. Lyon, Andy Lyon, az !lo IL famiIia1ly
known. IIo needn't care, honevor; Ills debts
Ato only 9250,0O0 or moro aboYo his asHets.
Such, III brief, Ia weeks history OF trading
In oil,-the fortunes Of a lifetime faded In ono
fell swoop Aud how was It dono? BY indors-
Ing for m tndivldual-llahllity stock concern.
Moral: Don't indorso. and don't inyeRt your
hard-earned caal In intlividuai-liAbitity con,-
paniss; aud keep out OF oil. especially when it
goes down-down--doWn.
ANOTHER FINANCIAL. aALtOP.
To think that tho oil-fninree would stop here
ts mistake. Moro aro reported. These i'll
clude tho ycHta Company, Cosmos, Holdship K
Co., and tho American iletning Company. 1t IL
not long % nEo that tn they wers considered sound
nat now they too have departed this financial
life. Their Eath will bo ssrewn with no
more Wtocis' Ihey <gg aggregate aRHets nearly
o. Weal @ on 70 sp1Mt a Eaeo o0 liabilities. from
Sl,ooo, ,6u0 to VI .2tU.ooo Ihas the 1lAt is conf
ploted, with b'g balance on M tho peculiarly worry
small end OF f, the norm: r. What chance to
Mofa!lze on Ioeh'se ono man told mo, on
Monuay last, tnat TINS "as az tho fault OF tho
rohnhylVahia Ma4ifoao uompany'whlcA di"crimt.
nated ngainss the lltsRburg oi'-trndo IN favor Of
ulevslana; Iho feet IL: thcro has been too
much " KITE -hyanR,' ana from that and TINT
any. nave me reeent 1aliuros orlR!hAteA. Which
Arew with 1t como lunocent Victims. Now, oil la
REalu gong hp,--alo"r DIE eure. ~ ~ ~ r1eS-
ent worth fl.!a at tho well, and
sl,So par barrel for prompt slaapmcnt.
aKilaE all things into cons!detat'on,
tho cleatng away OF tnnse wrecks Will leave tho
trade III better condition financially aud morally.
, onIntSaL BAN.lsa,
Nhllo talking OF fAilares iIl the oil business,
It might not he inappropriate to alludo to u
hpeclmeu Of original banking as carried OH in
si.!s city; aonr our readers have been spprised by