The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1883-03-09
Outside speculations.

VutSiOe SPeCulabiOuss
On Thursday last Mr.. Owen, . de-
iaulting teller in the Third National
Bank Of st. Louis, made statement in
court to the effect that his downfall was
and cotton. On Wednesday the junior
member of bankrupt music firm in
Chicago informed q reporter that his
house bad gone to the wall simply be-
cause the senior partner had been dab
bling in silver mines, glucose works,
electric lights, patent augers and feed
mills. 1t is only few days since the
lumber concern of Ferry & Brother. in
this State went by the board for the al
legged reason that its large investments
in silver mine in Utah had turned out
badly. There is in Rochester a bank
cashier awaiting trial for embezzlement-
All he did was to invest other peoples
money in oil. There are at the present
time dozen men, more or less, under
indictment in this country for the mis-
appropriation of funds for the sake OF
going into some operation outside OF
their Legitimate business, and commercial
establishments by the hundred, which
were sound so long as they stuck to their
own line of trade, have gone down In
the past twelve months in the unknown
whirlpool called ''outside speculation"
So far as the present inquiry goes, it
makes no difference whether ideals" in
grain, oil or other commodity, can be
Justified on grounds of commercial
morality or not; the point is that man
in a recognized or regular business OF
any kind has no right to divert his funds
therefrom for any outside investment
whatever. Of course there are mer-
chants who have means not used or in
tended to be used in carrying out their
mercantile affairs; but it is not of these
that we speak. Ninety-nine in hum
dred of those who are engaged in active
business profess to give to that business
all the financial strength they can COM
mand, and they cannot in justice to those
from whom they obtain credit withdraw
a single cent for any enterprise what
ever apart from that which they are car
rying on in sight of all men. merchant,
unless he is millionaire who needs
no accommodation, cannot buy goods
on credit if it is known that he is
purchasing shares in mining stock, in
vesting in patents, or specializing in
grain, cotton or oil. Every man of
business training knows the danger Of
such ventures, and a wholesale dealer
will no more sell goods on time to a re-
taller whom he knows to be an outside
operator than an insurance company
will take risk on powder mill; and,
as far as his creditors are conceFneds
the retailer has no more right to take
money out of his store for investment
elsewhere than he would have to
secretly fill his cellar with gasoline in
violation of the terms of his policy. The
customers of bank who loan money to
it in the shape of deposits; bankers who
loan money to merchants by discounting
their notes, and manufacturers and
wholesale dealers who sell goods to re-
tailers on time, all take a certain sort Of
risk which is perfectly understood. As
suming honesty on the part of those who
receive money or credit, there is the
possibility of extraordinary fuctuation in
trade which can no more be foreseen
than a tornado, and numerous minor
contingencies which 60 to make up the
stock of recognized uncertainty in all
such commercial transactions; but when
a bank officer goes into Wall Street, he
enters upon course that is morally sure
to bring him into a dangerous tempta-
ton to use other peoples money.
Shrewd men of the world understand
much better than the saints how great il
the force of the prayer that we be not led
into temptation, and coOl-headed bank
ers are the first to put in the black list
any member of their fraternity who is
known to be engaged in speculation.
In the way of application there are
two broad conclusions to be drawn from
the facts suggested above and established
by all experience. One of them is ex-
pressed by the ancient maxim that ''the
shoemaker should stick to his last" or,
as Tom Hood.put it, he should 'stick to
his wax" A man makes blunders
enough in the occupation he knows the
most about. He is almost absolutely
sure to make failure if he undertakes
any business with which he has not be-
come familiar by a long course of train
ing. Men who deal in pianos and parlor
organs had better let glucose and patent
augers alone, and those who have
been brought up to the business of hand
ling lumber will be pretty likely to make
more money at that occupation than by
operating silver mines which they know
nothing about.
The second lesson is that to secretly
divert money from ones ostensible bust
ness, to any scheme of money making
outside of that, is a proceeding fraudu-
lent as to creditors, inconsistent with
good business habits, always demoraliz-
ing in the end, and generally disastrous.
There are men who are spectators by
trade, and a sorry experience most OF
them have. There are others who, SC
long as they can borrow a dollar, will
invest it in lottery ticket, and sad
time they have, too. There are many
who can never see rat-hole without ach-
ing to pour water into it, or an opening
of any sort in which money can be made
to disappear without yearning to put
some in. Every city is full of financiers
who see opportunities to make big for
tunes every day if they only had little
ready money. They never have it. They
are the men who did not have the STAN
ina to keep at any Legitimate business
when there was a chance. They are the
wrecks of "outside speculation
Detroit Post and Tribune.