The Portland daily press., 1872-07-31
TER ms $500 PER ANNUM IN ADVANCE.

!
working man, most attentive to his business;
Dut he seemed, with all his industry and skill
III MS trade, to be getting on only as he had
done years before; he seemed not to have
gained, as hard-working, skillful mechanic
| ought TO do. The little bill owed him was
less than dollar, and 1 went to his shop TO
pay it.
"Ah! said he, ''if all the people work for
would do that l should be well off nov.I
could have larger and better shop, with
some journeymen to help, and 1 could in
crease my business, so that should have a
competence in the evening of life, upon
which could rely when l am too old or too
infirm to work" ''Why, how is that; what
do you mean?' "You know that in nv
business 1 am constantly going to peoples
houses to do little jobs of work. They amount
to one, two or three dollars each, but very
often to less than dolar-lke this Job of
yours ito three-quarters, half and often
to quarter of a dollar. Generally,
l am not paid for the work at the time;
the man of the house is not at home, or
there is no change on hand-or more often
L
the amount. 1t is very small matter and
so the people never think of it again. have
to make out bills for these small amounts and
60 after the pay, spending my time in that
way, when 1 have pressing work on hand.
Very often the man of the house 10 not at home
when call often when find him there, he
has no change, he says, and ask, me to call
hat II e.
to getmy pay at last, have spent more time
in running after it-a good deal more than
was required to earn it. And all this lost
time is over and above the humiliation in
volved in duning man for a quarter, a half
/ or three quarters of dollar"
"But these men, probably, are at the least,
very uncertain pay, and when they send for
you, it would be better not to CO." ''No in
deed, many of them could draw their check
any day for thousand dollars; debt
against them for hundreds of dollars would
be perfectly good, but one of half dollar is
absolutely good for nothing. have now on
my books more than three thousand dollars
in small charges against men who are perfect
ly well able to pay, but consider them worth
less; Ihave already spent more time to no pur-
pose in running after the pay than the amount
is worth, and 1 give it up. If 1 only had it
now, l should be before the wind.''
''Do tell me what sort OF men these are? 1
do not wish to know phO they are, but only
their general character and standing" ''Why
bless you," said he, they are among our best
men. They do not mean to do anything
wrong, 1t never occurs to them that this is
wrong. They are never in want of dollar
and they never think that anybody else can
be. Their dealings are by thousands; they
put their debtors notes in the bank for col
lection and have no trouble, and they never
consider the trouble they put poor people to-
When L 90 to their houses to do little jobs,
charge fifty cents an hour. Tam occupied
half an hour, an hour or an hour and a half and
never get my pay, without spending much
time in running after it. 1t is great mort-
hcation to go to gentlemen's house for pay
ment of a little bill of half dollar, or dol
lar, or two or three, and to be turned off with
"call againp' besides the heartache of need.
ing the money very much, and knowing that
these people could easily pay at any time"
The talk with this most exemplary working
man suggested the idea of following up the
subject, and 1 went to the shop of another
mechanic in different line, but who was in
the way of having the same experiences.
Excuse me-" said l. ''for seeming to be pry-
ing into your affairs, but L do it for purpose;
| L want to know if you often have difficulty
in getting your pay for small jobs? ?' eyes,"
said he, that's the rule; to be paid at the
time, or to be paid promptly, is the exception.
| We working men, who earn our moIey so
hardly, would be comfortable and easy in our
circumstances, if only we could get our pay
promptly; but we are put to many shifts
| and annOyances for want of the money
that we have earned, besides the time
we waste in running after the pay" ''Now
want to know if these men of whom you
speak are really well able to pay you prompt
| ly?' Certainly, it is of that of which we
complain. They don't happen to have the
money in their pocket-and so they tell us to
call again, though no doubt they have it in
their desk. Now I'll give you case:-
| "There's Mr.. So-and-so." "No, no; don't
tell me names. I'd rather not know" "Yes,
| I'll tell you this name, for I'm vexed all
| through when 1 think OF it; and there are
hundreds more or less like him. He owed
me seven dollars for double window at his
| house; / had asked him for the pay many
| times, in vain. The bill had been standing
| long time and 1 thought no more about it,
but came upon it one day when getting to-
| gether some Others to go out on begging
| tramp, and so 1 made one more attempt. l
went to his house. Mr.. So-and-so, saidI want
! some money now very much, andtI wish you
would pay this little bill"' 'Well, really" said
he, it won't be convenient to-day, and you
| must call some other time" "Well, MIR. So
and so, said /, it won't be convenient for me
| to do so; Fve fairly earned this money, and
have already spent more time in trying to get
| the pay, than did in making your window,
and can't afford to lose any more; l shall
| not call again, here's the bill, take it and call
it squared He stammered with confusion,
took the bill-and took out his pocket-book
and paid me the amountp'
know Mr.. So and So very well he's no
longer living; but during his life, he was fore
most in all religious observances; he lived in
a large fine house and could pay bill of
hundreds of dollars any day. He,
like thousands of others had never
considered that to withhold payment from
man who has fairly earned it, the sum being
due, and the debtor able to pay, is a great
moral wrong, for which there is no excuse.
And it is a shocking violation also of the
plainest principle of social and domestic econ
Omy. A sum of money promptly paid, may
in . week discharge a dozen debts or more,
and the identical bank bills, may come back,
at the end of the week, to the man who paid
them ont, from some debtor, who has been
backward in paying, for want of the mon
ey from some debtor of his, who, in his turn,
had been waiting The moral torpor Of Mr..
So and So had no doubt, during all that time,
kept many people, besides his immediate
creditor, out of money hardly earned and
honestly due. n. ID.
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