Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, IA [i.e. Ind.]) 1839-1854, 1848-04-26
..GCYVG TO TNEDOGS."
By T. 8. ARTHUR.

81 l. = AK I liz ~
Il received your bill today. Mr.. Leon
ard said customer. as he entered the
shop Of master mechanic.
1--WE are sending out all our accounts
az this season." returned the mechanic.
bowling.
IL want 10 paw vou'
Every well. Mr. Baker, we're Away
glad to get money
..But YOU must throw of som ching
Let me seo''-ant the customer drew out
bill-..twentv- dollars and forty
six cents Twentv five will do. There.
receip, the bill. and II pay vou.''
But Leonard shook his head.
81 can't deduct a cent from thar bill.
Mr. Baker. Every article is charged at
our regular price"
tv-five dollars. even money. Here il is
And Baker counted ont the cash.
.I'm sorry. Mr. Baker. but cannot az
ford To deduct ANYTHING. IF You'd only
owed me twenty five dollars. Your bill
would have been Just that amount.
would not have added cent beyond what
is due. nor can take anything less than
my DUE
"Then YOU won't deduct the odd mo-
nev7''
Il cannot. indeed
Every well.' The manner Of the GUS
toner changed. He was evidently often
ded 1.-The bill is too HIGH by lust the
sum asked to have stricken off. But.
no matter. I can pay it,
'.Then Won mean to insinuate.' said
the mechanic. who was an linden. ndent
7
out of two dollars and forty-six cents?''
81 didn't say 500
/ "But il is plain that YOU think so. or
YOU wouldn't have asked an abatement.
If YOU considered nv charges Just. YOU
would not dispute them
ooh, never mind. never mind. we1 not
waste words about it. Here's Your mo-
new" said Mr. Baker: and he added "a
mother five dollar bill to the sum he had
laid down The mechanic rccciptcd the
account and gave the change. both OF
which his customer thrust into his pocket
with petulant air. and then TUNED away
and left the ship without another word
ats the last bill he ever has against
me- muttered Baker to himself. as he
walked away. elf that's his manner of
treating customers. he'll soon 90 to the
dogs lie was downright insulting. and
no gentleman will stand that from another,
much less from vulgar mechanic
Mean to nsinuate''-TIumph Yes. I
did mean to insinuate!' And Mr. Baker
involuntarilv quickened his pace. "He'll
lose one good customer" he continued.
to himself give paid him a great deal
of money, but it is the last dollar of mine
he ever handles
Baker was as good as his word. lie
withdrew his custom from the offending
mechanic. and gave it to another.
give got one of your old customers.
Leonard" said friend in the same bus-
ness to the mechanic, some six or eight
months afterwards.
'Ah! who is it!'
Baker
Leonard shrugged his shoulders.
How came YOU to lose HING
'lll tell you how you can keep him.
We'll. how2'
IF your bill amounts to thirty dollars
; make it thirty-three and few odd cents
; by increasing some Of the items. He
; will want this surplus knocked off, which
) Won can afford to do: then he will pay j
and think you just the man for him.
you lost him. then. bee use YOU would'n
abate any thing from true bill!'
Il did,
, Thank you. But suppose my bill
) should be twenty-six. or seven. or eight
! what then! | could mt knock off the ode
dollars for the purpose of making an even
sum-
No In that case you must add or
until you get above thirty
and fall back to ,ha,l'
sNoS II X,,;u ho Gpo.l-;pC oT tho nj 4
dollars. which he will think clear gain
!; That would not be honest
Hardly. But YOU must do it or lose his
custom some day or other
4 shall have to accommodate him. ! sup
pose If he will be cheated, it can't be
helped
On the very first bill that Baker paid to
his new tradesnan he obtained an abate-
nent Of one dollar and ninety cents. odd
money. but actually paid three dollars
more than was Justly due. Still. he was
very we'll satisfied. imagining that he had
made saving OF one dollar and ninety
cents. The not over scrupulous trades
man laughed in his sleeve and kept his
customer.
Having Withdrawn his support from
Leonard, it was the candid opinion Of Mr.
BAKER tnat ne was gong 10 Inc uOSs. IL
he expressed it. about as fast as mar
could GO. He often passed the shop, bu
rarely saw customer.
No WONDER he would say to himself
A man like him can't expect and dom
deserve custom
! In the eyes of Baker. the very grass
seemed to grow upon the pavement before
: the door of the declining tradesman.-
Dust settled ,hickly in his window. ant
the old sign turned grayer and grayer il
: the bleaching air.
: Going TO the dogs. and no wonder Ba
ker would say to himself, as ne went by
He appeared to take strange interest il
watching the gradual decay of the me
chanic's fortunes. One day mercantile
. friend said 10 him
DO you know anything about this Leo