Wilmington daily commercial., 1873-06-04
WILMINGTON, Dbl.
"Wednesday Afternoon, June q,
SELLING "0N TIME"-A RETURN TO LONG
CREDITS.

There is a manifest pressure in business cir
cles to extend the length of credits. During the
flush greenback times of the War. and in conse-
quence Of the generally disturbed condition o.
affairs, sales approached very nearly cash ba-
sis, aud thirty days" became the established
rule. At present, however, the tendency is to
longer credts-at least it is true that this ten
dency is promoted by two classes of business
men namely, sellers, possessing heaN capt
tai, and buyers who are chronicay 'slow pay
Large concerns, with plenty of capital, invite
pr-chases, by the bait Of long credit, for they
can afford to carry the debt or, if notes given
Il settlement, can readily have them discounted.
They are therefore willing to swell the volume
Of their business, even though their customers
do not pay promptly, and in this they press bard
iu competition tn smaller houses, whose capi-
tai is narrower, aud who must have prompt re-
turns in order to keep even.
1t must be said however, that sellers who
grant long credit, expect to charge for it. Theft
customers, untroubled by the proximity of near
settlement, are less careful to prices-indeed
they cannot insist on the very lowest quotation,
for az the seller is liberal to time, they must
not be mean about rates. 1t is like the house
quantity seems large, and the bottom far out Of
sight. Buyers on long credit take more goods,
and pay higher plices than those who pay cash
or make settlement very soon.
On the whole, this tendency to lengthen time
is to be regretted. The credit system is an in
sidious demoralizer. Itis like liquor or laziness'
He who puts of his debt from day to day. puts
it OF from year to year, aud finally finds him
self entangled in network that holds him fast.
in the agricultural districts of this State, espe-
cis' 'ly in Central and Lower Delaware, the sys-
tenn of long credits has eaten out the vitality Of
the people, and involved hundreds in inevitable
bankruptcy. rae banks are tied, hand and foot
with the people to whom their capital is loaned,
and no door of escape, except that which is open
ed by a general crash, seems 10 be DISCO, sra
BILE.
1t ls the wiser policy, we think, for business
men to fiIm'y resist a movement toward long
credits. Quick sales, small profits, snd prompt
settlements, are by far the safest, and they are
in all respects, the best. They bring the pro-
ducer aud consumer together, aud make a mar
rover margin Of expense aud waste on the lat
ter's consumption. Bread made from wheat
sold on long time, aud at correspondingly u-
creased risk, will surely be higher-priced loaf,
than that which comes quickly aud directly from
the tainer's granary to the consumers table
Let wholesale deslers content themselves
with smaller business rather than expand a
large one upon the irsecure foundation Of sales
on long time. They will be quite rich in the
end, and will run sms 'ler risk Of loss and disas-
ter. On the other hand what a precious and
glorious time that VIII be when debtors exert
themselves to the utmost to pay their accounts
especially those little debts which in the ag-
gregate are large and important to the CREDITOR
end whose collection vexes aud tires bis vels
u1ttI