The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1875-08-05
Financial SwindhIg

Sharply tnan justly VIC nsAS~'
go calIed) immoraliticsinnd rascslitles, OF the
day In the article which we copy 'pelo" '';
Certainly, for the sake of regu'af,l! anu
safety In business. it is time that lhe .o"'-
mercial public should have purged itself a.
much as possible Of those dlshones' pray
tices which have done so much 10 oe'
s.roy confidence in, commercial - in'e''
course. and SO much, too, 10 spread
d;s,rust over the land, and thus impair
ENTERPRISE and prosperity. Iii well that the
nrcss directs sharp fire at the abuses OF
which we speak. The country should op'
nose tacm with severity. 1t is time to put
check upon the rage for making money sud-
denly. The rapidly-made fortunes By the
discovery of gold, as well as the enhance.
ment of the value OF land 10 new country,
has done great deal to sap the morality oil
the nation. The war and its frauds have
done great deal more. .#.
The welfare of society demands reior M.
Men must begin to be satisfied with honest
pursuits, honestly followed, and must he
content VILE lalt = ~ 49,
Iessness of cxtravagant expectations and the
desperation Of disappointments have filled
| the country with sorrow and crime. Such
has been the injury to public character
that there is no civilized land in which
business probity is now so low as il is in
America. ..-.
The mad career of the time should have
nearly run its course; and now, with the help
of prudent regulations enforced by sound pub
lie opinion, we may hope for better state of
things.
The americans article is as follows.
BANKRUPTCY AND MORALITY.
There is something wrong in the public
morals as well as in the public finances. The
u0nch1loace with which man no" goes fiito
b,nkruptcy, or announces to the pubic mat
| he cannot pav his debts, is truly astounding,
and eu,sIiv a-toundiu" is the indulgence
! " III which sUr!. persons and such announce
! ncni, or, received by society. Deliberate
| c,iina in business, or the deliberate contract.
,ny Of debt, without making provision for
their payment. should always be regarded as
one of The greatest crimes that can be perpc'
iratcd. If 3 man were to steal from his cre'
ditors the amounts which he causes them TO
lose by his Insolvency he would be branded
AZ a thief and punished as criminal. ana
vet he gets their money all the same. and Keeps
il as securely aS il he had stolen 1t. Bank
r,Iptcv and every form of Insolvency Is llst Us
much loss to the creditor IS theft, and just Is
much an undue gain TO the olhcrpirty. Inc
thief gets your money without giving any
return for il. The bankrupt gets IL by
merely giving a promise Tor 1t. In neither
caSe do YOU get it tack; but in both cases
the delinquent keeps ii, or makes way WIN
il: The loss to the loser III botil cases Is
equally great. add the gain is equally tor tue
use of the Delinquent person. There Is
ro,aI distress occaSoncd in both eases, and
generally to the same class Of persons, un-
less it tie that the in>JIvent is more apt 10
tlke the money Of the poor, and in 50 far TO
make greater distress. In short, the insol-
vent aud the thief stand 10 about the same
relation to the property OF the people which
is lost. If there is any difference the in>ol-
vent is the worst aud more to be dreaded.
Ila causes YOU to lose more money, and
causes mole people TO lose money. The thief
generally steals small sums, and irom Jut Il
fex Lessons: whereas tie in>olvent deilaudS
by tue THOUSANDS, and delrauds almost the
wEu'a community. The famous six million
steal by Tweed is not "a great loss TO
lL,. public. or felt is severely as the nine.mll-
hon failure Of jay Cooke d Co., or The six
million failure Of Duncln, Sherman u Co.,
and yet Tweed is branded a il thief and ln-
cartcrated. while the princely bankrupts go
free, aud lose none Of their social or moral
prestige. TIE entire stca!lngs OF the Tam
marv ring amount to less than the deiin-
uuencics OF Wall street and all the ofhclal
SteaIings of Our congressman and politicians
throughout the entire country are hut 4 drop
in the bucket comfsred with the bankrupt
losses of the country in the same PERIOD.
Neith"- The lGtit-Mobiier corruption, nor
the Pacific Mail scandal, nor the custom-house
frauds Will at all compare in losses Tor IN cor
rlptiou. perhaps) with one years bankrupt
cics in New York and Chicago. Disguise tue
fact as We may, the greatest loss that honest
industry and economy now suStalns Is from
simple Insolvency insolvency of banks
and merchants who get the peoples money
and then shut down on paying 1t back
again.
The decided conviction of the American
people is that bankruptcies are largely &C.
| iorcd by fraud, and intended either to make
money tor the bankrupis or to keep from
paving it when payment is possible. Many
|
! fact, it has come to be an adage that none
| but fool will fail otherwise. They manage
10 get their property into the hands OF their
wives, or sons, or sOns-inlaw, or tru>ty
friends, where they will themselves subStan.
tally reap the benefit OF it, or where those
i'm whom they are most interested will be
provided for. Some deliberately 20 into
bankruptcy with 4 view to ret good start
in business " 1t is the only way to get along
these hard times" was II remark recently
made by Baltimore merchant. They feel
that if they could get rid Of their pre-.
sent debts they could succeed com.
fortably for the future. They accord.
: ingly call meeting OF their creditors, and
propose TO pay twenty or thirty cents on the
dollar for iull discharge from the rest or
else 60 into bankruptcy, after the common
fashion, and compel the creditors to take
fifty cents on the dollar, or else, if forced
into bankruptcy, to take what they can get.
Ia all cases they get of with paying small
proportion, and. while still owing hundreds
Of thousands of dollars, it may be, set up
again, ignoring all their creditors for the flu
ture. Aided by their bankruptcies, they often
rise from petty shops TO prominent central EN-.
poriums and palatial residences, while the peO.
pie whose money they got and did not return
| uuSl COutIhlte W sti usSie III po'eit1 1uo Wv
the drudgery of trade We know of one
man who used to liveon Federal Hill, when,
by sudden failure, he found he could
move to the West End. In few
years he went into bankruptcy q Sc.
cond time, and soon after moved to Eutaw
Place. Now, y is thought he conteG-
plates a third bankruptcy, with view to
living in Mount Vernon Place There are
many other cases where the :nsoveut,
| fhouuk he does not fail With a Deliberate