Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1883-01-04
COMMERCIAL.


GAZETTE OFFIcE, January 3. lSS3.
There is abundant food for thought and
speculation i'll the announcement that comes
from The great commercial centers of the
country 10 the effect that, Notwithstanding
the hountiful harvest, the immense traffic
and the bounding prosperity that obtains
generally. there should have been more fail
ures in the commercial world during the
past year than during the period of its prede
cessor, and IL behooVcS those in the
arena OF commerce To determine
the factors IN the sum of these paradoxicai
conditions. They have been treated TO news
paper uisuulsttiOns on the subject until tue
repetition has become irlsomc and nonoto-
nous; but If such provisce does not reside
with the public journals. who Will hold the
mirror up to natures deiorlnitics? In times
OF unusual prosperity III business merchants
seem impelled with irresistible force To cN-
tremes III commercial enterprise, and their
enorts, frequently unsupported by suifi-
cheney of capital, temporary ortitful revul-
sion unsettles the foundation, and the super
structure, like the parabOlic house built upon
the sand, Is engulied in the disaster that
reason and sagacity might have averted.
If we are to credit the opinions OF the
hrewdest financiers of the country, and of
any age that history tells of, the monetary
crash of 1873 with all its attendant, though
not mimixed evils, was legitimate conse-
quence of the unphilosophic methods of bus
mess, wild speculation and the general reck-
iessness born of prosperity and the inten-
perate acauisitive propensities OF the Ameri-
already expressed in the adage sometimes
applied to individuals, "rhey can't stand
prosperity Under clrcu1nS tances described
above, the credit system is INDUCED TO haz-
ardous bounds. Oyer-production Is the first
result, and manufacturers and wholesalers
are apt to encourage jobbers, and these latter
in turn to urge retailers to oversiock them
selves by offering tempting inducements in
the matter. OF long time credits.
These are the propositions OF man
often made without considering the DISPOSE
tions of Providence. mild, open winter,
under circumstances OF close competition,
has upset the calculations OF many "A clothier
and wrecked his business prospects. Be
sides, in the fluctuations and use of capital,
stringency 1.-THE money market is an event
obscure 10 all save the perceptions, or IL
might be more proper To say the caprice Of q
few money masnates, who control the mar
ket Mt will. While on this subject the clip
ping subtoined, considering the recognized
authority Of its source. win be Interesting:
r. q. Dun & CO.'S Mercantile Agency, in
commenting on business, will publish the
following preface to their register for 1885:
Notwithstanding the fact that the country Is
In an exceedingly prosperous state, there arc
some conditions apparent which call for the
exercise of good deal of caution, especially
in the matter of granting credits. While
this has been year. OF vast production in
every department of activity, and the accu-
mutations of material wealth are great
beyond all previous parallel, even this con
ditinn il found to have its drawbacks as
there seems 10 he almost too much of every
thing to pernitthe realization of customary
profits. Therefore, in the midst Of
disappointment as to the condi-
ton OF business on the other hand, in con-
sequence of speculative movements and other
circumstances, prices for many staples are
not as low as the volume of production would
seem to call for. While this is the case re-
gardng numerous products, the prices of Sc
curiries have shown decline much greater
than circumstances seem 10 warrant, or their
money earning power would account for.
The consequence of this somewhat anoma-
lous condition OF things has been to deplete
the surplus OF great many speculative ira
ders in numerous sections OF the country,
creating q want OF confidence in the minds OF
some conservative parties and feeling of
uncertainty regarding the immediate future.