River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1873-11-25
FRANK Ally ERsoN

EhANh NV EhSON.
A FRIEND Of ours recently handed us
a correspondence between a "Couutry
Merchant and City Merchant The
letters are too lengthy for our columns,
but We will clip a few paragraphs from
each Of them:
Now, farmers Of Wisconsin, Iowa
and Minnesota, what is your duty?
Are you SO privileged and favored a
class or community that all of the
world outside of yourselves are expect.
ed to be prompt in their dealings and
honorable in their engagements, while
you can Aout to the winds every senti-
ment of integrity and fair DEALING be-
cause, forsooth, the price Of wheat is
not satisfactory aud you are able to hold
your wheat, or can 20 to another store
10 buy your goods, because the mcr-
chant needs what you owe MIN.
Gentlemen, pay your debtsi Pay
your country merchant Give him the
meaus to keep his credit good Don't let
/ tim 70 10 bed night efter night To t0zs
on his pillow thinking where the money
is coming from the next few days to
keep him from being pressed to the
wall. Aye! with your bins full of cash
wheat, even at sacrifice, pay your
debts! Pay for what you have eaten
and are wearing out, that he owes for!
And then, gentlemen, you will have a
right (and not till them to stand up
IN your oranges and talk about eleUat.
ing the position, socially, of the agri-
cultural community Of our country.
Yours, COUNTRY MERCHANT
Here is a slice from practical city
merchant:
| tell you Mr.. Country Merchant, you
are just as much to blame for the bad
business habits OF the farmer as the
farmer himself The farmer never ex.
poets to pay his debts at definite time
because he has mover been obliged to.
Let the Country Merchant assert his
rights Let him fight for them Let
them determine not to go to the wall be
cause the farmer customer who is rich
err than he wont pay his just dues.
Let him not be ''afraid Of offending"
Let him inform Squire Corncrib that
he shall not get another yard OF goods
or gallon of kerosene on credit until
he squares his old account. Let him
tell squire Corncrib TO 60 to Jones, or
any other place TO do his trading until
Nc can walk up and pay his little bills
like respectable man. Let him place
his account, if need be, in the hands of
young Law Calf.
If Squire Corncrib is the man take
him to be, he will respect and honor
creditor who adopts manly course
like this The farmer is, after all, to
some extent rational being. He is
not much worse, If not much better,
than the rest of mankind. He will
bully and lespise his creditor if his
creditor will let him, and be will respect
him if he won't The farmer is slow
and irregular and unbusiness.like about
paying his debts, because he has never
been taught any better. IL is the bust.
ness of the country merchant to teach
him that a debt is debt, and that it
must be paid when payment was prom
ised, whether W heat is two dollars or
dollar five. The country merchant
is, in my opinion, the man who stands
most in need Of backbone"
yours Respectfully,
CITY MERCHANT.
The foregoing correspondence was
published in the Milwaukee journal Of
Commerce.
We know Of no good reason why
farmers should be exempt from the
rules 10 which business men and me.
chanics are amenablc. If business
man neglects his obligations for four
teen days after maturity he is liable ID
be thrown into bankruptcy. The sam'