Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1884-06-28

There are difncuities surrounding
every line Of occupation. and those that /
beses commercial reporting are perhaps
no greater than those attendant upon 4
the prrsuis Of other vocsfsOns- Bot 1
they zrs different. and are comparative !
Nv unknown, OF At least nnreco1nIzed. 1
The first difficulty that sne reporter
meets with IN his roards amongst bosi- 4
ness men - TO End the riRhs man IN the
right place. IL - an astonishing thing. /
bat is seems almost literally tFue. that |
IA every business firm there u oaIy one
partner Who knows enoaQh .boos What |
y e,an9 on 20 be able TO talk - re-
porter: and this - NOS on account OF
nuwilIIngness. bat TO all Appearances -
d1s 20 sheer inability 20 know What 20
-ay. well. no, there's nothing he's,
avs an active, energetic, prominent
member Of the arm. perhaps tbs head
Of the house, there's nothing new,
should be glad TO give you any iufor-
r1ation in my power, bot she fact ~ !
haven't given NV attention 80 these
things: you had better see my partner
hes on. inst now-ne may be able 20
tell you something" And this - fair
sample reply OF what wo1id be rsceived
Ia a great majority Of leading wholesale
boases. This difficulty beiag overcome
through finding the right man. others
follow quickly
The merchant oftentimes seems 20 re-
gard the reporter 40 he would rIvsi Ia
business. and At once sets himself on
the defensive. "a II saying 30 himself.
4" This man has come To ind on. some
thing. bot he'll have 20 wake up pretty
early TO get ahead If me. lie. me see
won't tell him the first word about our
business, bot will tell him lot of stuff
that don't amoant to anything. and II
he can make anything out of 1t he's
welcome With little tact the report
er sometimes manages 70 get some reai
information oQs Of such customer, BAT
tie task 10 not An easy one. Then there
ia the merchant Who has an AZ TO grind
he regards the reporter simply as an
instrument that ne can use to further
his own interests. and 50, whatever may
. the actual state of the market, he re-
~ rts il, honestly enough no doubt, IN se-
cuiuancs with vhat his books and his
opinions declare il ought 10 be. OIt of
such party, il the reporter know bow
to weigh and sift news, he can often
CLEAN much excellent material for q true
report.
Bot. unfertunatelv, there is the msr-
chant, who has little or no regard for
the truth. he viii report dealings in
volume and at prices that Others In his
line know nothing about, and that many
will not hesitate To say IL 10 impossible
should have taken place without their
knovledge. This makes real STUN
bling block for the reporter. be knows
not whether to accept or reject the
statement made, and the correctness of
fis report necessarily hinges apon his
decision. To leave out important mat
ter must greatly impair. If not wholly
destroy, the value of all the rsss OF his
work, bat to make q misstatemens of
facts, and SO give the market false
eol0ring Ia far worse. OF course. IL 10
open to him to give the statement and
throw az much doubt upon it a. the &C.
e.sion seems to warrant, and this Is
perhaps usually done, bat the difficulty
10 To know to what extent it may be
doubted. and as the reporter himself
has been driven into confusion as TO
the actual stase Of the market, his re-
port can hardly be a clear and satisfac-
tory one.
OF all the difficulties that reset the
commercial reporter Misrepresentation
Is undoubtedly the worst. Then thers
Is spirit OF playfulness or lsst often
found amongst the merchants. who SO
far forget the difference between busi-
ness and pleasure as to seek TO make
the reporter the victim of joke by
giving him, with all apparent serious
ness, a greatly exaggerated or pueely
imaginative account of what has been
going on. This class is not 80 difiouls
to deal with; the reporter SOON learns
TO know their ways, and is then pre-
pared to make them valuable auxiiiarIes
IN throwing lights and shades upon the
markets. Finally. there il the compe-
tent. common sense, outspoken man OF
business. who recognizes the i'm portance
Of a faithful report of the market, and
gives freely all the information he
deeus fit- Fortunately there Ia usually
more than one such man IN every line
of industry, and 50 il is that Rotwith-
standing many an obstacle and many
a disappointment, It Is generally posi-
BILE to give not only a faithful, cut q
reasonably full and intelligiols report
of the markets. But the task, as We
have endeavored to point out. is not
always an easy one.-Hontreal Paper.