The Leavenworth weekly times. [volume] (Leavenworth, Kan.) 1870-1880, 1873-11-27
NEEDED REFORM.


La,terly the methods and customs tor car
rying on the different branches Of business
have been 40 at variance with what il gener-
ally accepted "a mercantile usage and Law,
that il i. with some difficulty single exc-p-
tional house il found that has not permitted
itself TO indulge in some departure from
what is known as mercantile custom
An eastern exchange says these ''irregu-
larilies' operate ~ badly for the buyer a.
the seller They oren wide the ~sv to over
trading, which in the end has 10 he adopted
as a means Of extraction from disaster. The
severe criticism that many firms subjected
themselves to by the exposures consequent
upon the Chic igo fire and the burning of
Boston did not se-ve as corrective power
any longer than the smoke from the ruins
lasted. But "a reforms are the order Of the
day, and a. the present crisis has developed
the necessity of change ia doing business,
and moreover ~ all favor the adoption Of
the old fogy methods, We mast sssuredly
shall give all the power We possess To the ac
complement Of such an end, vel! as 90
show forth the shallowbess and faiiacies az
very many of the customs ihit are now, o:
have been, leading features with many inthe
acquiring of business and the disposition of
merchandise
In ;be first place. the :'da,ing Of bills
ahead il one of the worst evils. The tugcr
is supposed to be ''gil,-edge" and will take =
quantity sufficient for wants, bnt the agent.
DESTROYS Of Masking a large sale, offers pre-
MUM OF thirty, sixty, or ninety days time
by do,ing the hull ahead. The bnyer reck-
ons that IA Z, II, or . per cent. profit TO start
with, and makes the trade, calculating that
the collections from the sales thereof will
take care Of the purchase. THIS is repeated
until the buyer is overstocked beyond suppo-
sition, and To unload In time not only requires
q loss of the interest by the time gained
in the Gate of the bill, but the marke; hav-
ing settled, the real cost of goods is not at
tainable. At the end Of The season OF year,
wonder IL expressed that the business shows
agents TO TO sell domestic goods on thirty
days, less five per cent, but inbbers have es-
tsblished the principle of selling the same
goods at thirty or ten days, less two or one
per cent, and even going further by taking
a note for the purchase of such goods at
sixty or ninety days or four months, with
seven per cent interest added. Il there any
question where the profit is in doing bust
ness in this manner? With us the wonder
is that agents would supply buyers to do
business in this wise, a the largest loss Is
when the most goods ars sold.
1t is our desire 10 see trade fixed on the
most secure basis. Indulgence in the abuses
above cited have the tendency TO undermine
the structure rs il nov stands. Mems minds |
are ripe for any change that will promise se- |
curity and lessen the risk. Liquidation |
has been going on rapidly during the past
six weeks, and few liabilities have been Gre
ated. The present moment rs the most op-
perfume for the abolition of ali the evsfs We
name and many others tina, haze been intro
duced into the trade during the last decade,
both in the commission and jobbing depart
ment., while they have received much nour-
ishment from the speculative action in the
markets for other merchandise. Let all be
of one mind, and from this or some stated
date agree to never indulge in such inconsist-
encies. What is to be gained, is question
that il easily answered by asking: What
has been gained? There is much room for
and the sooner Il is adopted
the earlier will its influence he felt and seen
in every branch Of the uade throughout the