Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1888-11-01
a LIBRARY OF SECRETS
Nine Thousand Volumes Which Con-
tain the Public and Private Rec
ords of Business Men.
How the Facts Regarding Mans
Standing in the Merchants
World Are Obtained.

think of pile OF 5000 books, each
filled with secret information about mer
chants and business men from the great
lakes to tho Golden Gate, and from Man
itoba to the Rio Grande. But that Is
what We have here"
The speaker was gentleman connect
ed with the DnRn Commercial agency on
LaSalle street.
"That library" he said, sis the joint
work of thousands of agents scattered
all over the territory I have named. The
history of all the business men of conse-
quence are there, with much information
about each not found in the directory
which We issue 20 our subscribers.
"Half a century ago, when this institu-
ton was founded, this commercial agency
was 2 crude affair. II has now become
an immense and, at tho same time, very
perfect machine. If a man comes from
some remote point ia the southwest,
northwest, or anywhere, and applies to q
Chicago merchant for credit, We can in
form the merchant in very short time
who aBd what tho customer is, and to
what extent he Is to be trusted. II we
don't happen TO have the information in
our books we can get it IN few hours by
telegraph. If Chicago man goes to
Europe and wants to buy ,es5es for his
wife at Worth's, in Paris, Worth sends
to orr agency there, and soon has full in
formation as to the standing of his Gus
toner at home, and whether he caa safe
ly give him credit. It would be the same
way if he asked for credit In any other
city in Europe.
This information is collected by agents
both local and travelling, whose business
it is TO find out all they can about the
merchants and businessmen in their dis
tricts. The facts upon which merchants
are rated in our directory are generally
ATTAINED from the merchants themselves.
The agents AJAX them what their stock is
worth, the amount of their assets and
liabilities and upon those facts the rat
ing is mads. Some merchants may put
the value of their stock, for instance, too
high, and in such cases the agent tones it
down according to his judgment. As a
rule, merchants do not hesitate to give
all the facts necessary, and give them
correctly. If mans business is in good
condition he is very willing to make the
fact known and be rated high. When a
man hesitstes to show mp his business or
beat about the bush we always know there
ia something wrong. The chances are
that he is going to fail before very
long.
A mans rating in the directory is a
public matter, mparitiyely speaking,
but the in formation in our little library
of 5000 volumes is not public, except
that il IS at the disposal OF our subscrl-
bsrs. For instance, If man comes from
some other state to boy goods in one of
the big Chicago houses, the credit man
would look in the directory and see how
ne was rated. He knows something about
the man then, at least enough to guide
him ia his treatment of the customer,
He turns him over TO salesman who
shows him through the stock and helps
him make his selections. While this If
being done message is sent the CONNER
cial agency, and in few minutes the
credit man of the house knows how
much to give the customer on credit, or
whsther he has got to let him down as
easy as possible by Offering him 8 per
cent off for cash and informing him
gently that the house can't sell him on
any other terms. This system saves the
buyer and seller a great deal OF trouble.
1t used 10 be that a Chicago merchant
who vent to New York to buy, unless he
was we'll known there, was met with the
question; "Who are your Who are your
friendsf How much are you WORTH
and whole list of questions wherever he
went to buy. Now that is all unnecessary
The New York merchant has no trouble
in finding ont all he wants to know about
his customers.
"Tbe private Information which We
furnish covers not only the buyers eotual
business or financial condition but his
moral standing. If he CANDLES, sPecu-
lates, plays billiards when he ought TO be
attending 10 business, or ia careful
shrewd business man, attending closely
TO business, and likely, tn elore, to be
successful, we know 10. IL he is not a
good manager who can gather things to-
geths7 around him and keep them there
but is loose and w8steful, the fact Is noted
1t is not difficult for our agents TO ind
out all these things. a mans reputation
among his immediate business associates
vii, generally tell all that