The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1856-10-30
THE PACIFIC
Commercial Advertiser.
THURSDAY. 80.

nu0GS ana redundant pOpuIatlOn tnaC exists IN IL, dnC
are supposed to be a non-producing element in tht
body polite. Whether this be true or not, the exis
tence of cities or large trading communities in every
nation is an absolute necessity, arising out of the
wants and dependence of man on man, which depen.
dence Increases as the numbers of a community in
crease, so that the very cause that c~onspires to create
cities impels towards their increase. In proportion
as a city increases, every profession, trade Or branch
OF business, becomes more exclusive, and those en-
gagged in them become more dependent On their fellow
men for the supply of their necessities, which sup
plies in towns and cities more than in the country,
are generally furnished on trust or credit. Farmers
are the most independent class of men on earth, for
they produce and can supply themselves with a
greater variety of the necessaries of life than any
other class Of men. In most cases, therefore, they
have it in their power to carry on a strictly cash bu-
siness in all their dealings with others. But as men
begin to congregatei in communities, a system of credit
and trusting is introduced, partly from necessity but
mainly from a mistaken idea of the true principles of
economy and success in life.
Giving or obtaining credit is not the proper way of
doing business yet nothing is more common in our
business community. And it is carried on to such an
extent as to be not only expensive and annoying to
the merchant and mechanic, but to endanger the
standing and credit of many. There are some pro-
LESSONS or business in which a credit system is a ne
cessity. But in them the line of profit is usually so
broad as to allow a margin for bad debts. In most
trades, and in all retailing of merchandise, credits
ought nerer to be resorted to. When the work is done.
or the article purchased, it should be paid for by the
customer. The no~n-payment of it forces the mer-
chant or tradesman to charge it on his day book. be
it a real, a dollar or a hundred dollars, and from
thence to his journal and ledger and for each item.
however SMALL, the same form must be repeated.
Then bills must be made out, and oftentimes pre-
scented repeatedly before paid. All this increases the
expenses of the mechanic or the merchant, robs him
of his time, which is money, and of course
his ability to carry on p~roftably his business,
to say nothing Of the losses he must incur from an
bad debt.
We know that we touch on a subject that interests
every body's purse and pocket, from the laborer or
who daily buys the necessaries of life TO the
with whom the purchase and sale of shipS
and cargoes OF merchandise is an every day occur
renee. But this subject is of equal interest to both.
each is dependent is some degree on the other.
The merchant who owns the ship and imports the
staples OF life, needs the money Of the laborer to paw
for his goods, while the laborer equally needs the
services and capital of the merchant to furnish him
at the lowest prices. All see and ac-
knowledge the evil Of the credit system where carried
to excess. We are sorry to notice that this system of
credit is becoming so general here in Hnpal.ls~ onl
must necessarily bring along with it those expensive.
annoying and disasterous results which always accom-
Dany it, though perhaps it is no worse here than in
most American and European cities. Every one, to
4 certain extent, has the remedy in his power. and
that is to buy and sell only for cash. Fully two
thirds of the smaller credit purchases made in Homo
MIN n @ uoJl n @ in ofbor fou-oz oo I
essary. In a large number of instances credits are
'esorted to by the purchaser from thoughtlessness or
an idea that the sellers is Indifferent as to whether
he article be paid for now or charged whereas at
I'll times and in every body's business the saying is
90 true, a nimble sixpence is better than a. slow
shilling"
If you purchase goods at a store or have a mechanic
10 a job for you, don't ask to have it charged, but
Jay the money down for it. 1t was the eccentric John
Randolph of Virginia, who suddenly rose from his
eat and declared in the u. S. House Of Representa-
ives, " MIR. Speaker, l have found the philosophers
tone. 1t is this PAY AS YOU co., This rule once
and carried out in individual cases soon has
is beneficial effect In any community. There is an
intimate connection between individuals in every
ommunlty-each is more or less dependent on
mother. No one class among US is Independent of the
ther, and as our city increases this mutual depen-
must also increase. 1t is important that each
hould seek the prosperity of the other, and in no I
Fay can this be done so easily as by the introduction |
1 a general cash system. The retailer is dependent i
N his customers, and by their prompt payments he G
5 enabled to watch the market and buy for cash at
ne lowest figure. The jobber and importer. who
upply the retailer are thus enabled to remit promptlv S
. the shipper or owner of the goods, and he is ena- 4
aeo IN turn to supply the market at the lowest cost c
rlces with such goods as it may demand. a
we md the following excellent remarks on credits
q the commercial and financial article of the N. Y S
Independent, of Aug. p, Ga most excellent and in L
CructiVe JournaD which will be found interesting to
hose engaged in business i.
y" An article well bought is half sold,'' has been :
'ono 10 be so much the result of all experience in =
latters OF trade, that the quotation has become a !
Ommon proverb. It is matter of experience that .
purchases which are made for cash, ALWAYS j..
I've the buyer a greater advantage in re-selling, than y
nose made On credit, short or long and it is for this 6
eason' that some can aIpays transact business where
thers cannot. 1t. is not merely the difference in
aterest between present payments, six, eight, ten or f
we've montha hence; but it is the absence of all risk: L
D that sellers can afford to make larger concessions t
4 price than what the mere difference in interest a
mounts to. The great number of failures which .
cc1r every year, forms q high per centage ON the