The Logan County banner. [volume] (Logan, W. Va.) 1889-1903, 1889-11-28
BUSINESS REvERsEs.


BUSINESS REvERSES.
A. old Boston Merchant Has sonzsthins
70 Say About Them.
For many years. said an old NOR
chant recently. business men appear
TO me to have less knowledge OF their
own affairs than they once had. Pos
sibly this Is true to q scertain extent.
for Inen with large responsible Iities On
thief hands can notgive that attention
to the minute 81 their transactions
that II is possible for man who ID
only doing q small business. But
there Is a germ OF truth IN theremark.
It is no uncommon thing to hear the
remark that such and such firm had
no idea OF failing week before the
unfortunate event. Most business mon
are hopeful They expect to tide over
a desperate pinch in one way or
another. But is this businessp The
careful navigator, when sailing in
smooth seas, is no less mindful OF
storms and hidden reefs. The happy
sgo-lucky man Of business is very apt
to find shoals in most unexpected
places. That causes over which the
merchant had no control may ship
wreck his fortunes is true. Financial
panics come at times and bring mis-
fortune to the most conservative, but
it is nevertheless true that the mer-
chant who has his sails well trimmed
often weathers an unexpected gale,
while the man who is spreading too
much canvas goes TO the bottom.
The methods in business life change
with each decade. Years ago a merchant
sold his goods on six months, and in q
large majority Of cases the notes were
renewed for six months longer, inter-
est being added The banks discount
ed these notes, for they we're based on
merchandise, and the superstition was
that the merchant would not sell his
wares to q person OF doubtful credit.
The banks held what was in reality
business paper. This method has to q
certain extent passed away and single
name paper is taken in place Of a sup
posed responsible buyer and equally
responsible SELLER The larger buyers
now sell their notes and buy their
merchandise for cash. A house in
good repute can put out in this way
any quantity Of paper. This method
has its advantages. but it also has its
temptations, and one of the most-dan-
gerous which arises from this system
is the fatal facility with which money
is thus obtained. "A bit of time paper
or a few months for any reasonable
sum brings the money through note
broker in a few hours. The money
thus obtained, which comes so easily
is apt to go quite as quickly into out
side speculations. A run OF luck may
thus be secured, but If the tide turns
and losses follow. the debt is there,
while the assets are minus.
1t is rarely that merchant or even
a speculator ever deliberately starts
out to defraud his creditors. He goes
on for months. under easy sail. in.
dulging in borrowing to meet deficien.
cies, without thought of being dis
honest When the strait occurs he
adopts some new device to raise
money. and, without suspicion that
he is doing dishonest act, resorts to
acts that are criminal. When he
awakes from his fancied dream OF Sc.
curity and sees where he has placed
himself he seeks safety in. fight Of
suicide Not one man in hundred
has the moral pluck to stand up and
accept the penalty. There is in The
State prison to-day man who had II
in his power to leave the country, but
he refused to do So He preferred te
meet the obloquy attached to his acts
rather than fee from Justice That
such man is morally bad is impossi
BILE, and, while we may deprecate hi.
methods. we can not but have n GER
tain amount of respect for him. Bust
ness men having large responsibilities
are too much inclined to ignore the
unpleasant episodes Of business life
They have so MANY cares that to delve
to the bottom Of every complication Ii
something they leave to others-ii
may be junior partner or a conf
Dental clerk. The facility for dis
missing a disagreeable matter is laudei
by the unthinking, but many OF thu
failures in commercial circles may BIZ
! justly attributed to this easy way Of
placing burdens upon the shoulders o
less competent men. instead of man
fully bearing them, by those who have
| the power to remedy the repetition o
wrong method. The burdens OF ,
large business offer this temptation
and the tendency to increase thu
amount of business that one firm Of
one corporation can cover is becoming
"a fruitful source of misapplied energy
and consequent failure. A merchan
overtaxed does not do himself justice
/ and for a business man to know BIZ
own limitation and keep within til,
circle where he is sure Of himself ant
his resources is gift which fortu
nately many possess--and which th'
younger class OF merchants shoul,
cultivate. Boston Journal.
Lucky He Saved the License.
The polite official related an instanc,
Of one man who presented license