The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-03-22
GREATER THAN A BOOK AGENT.
The Ways of the Bill Collector are
Unique and Interesting.
From the Boston Herald,

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From the Boston Herald,
"As for collecting" said the ran, as he
rapidly ran over a lot of bills and returned
all but one to his breast pocket, 81 suppose
I'm success. Leastwise, have followed
it for'twenty years, and that ought to mean
something"
care successful collectors as numerous as
successful book agentsP asked the New
! York Sun reporter.
mot anywheres near. Hundreds of peo-
pie subscribe for book to get rid Of the
agent. Nobody pays bill to get rid Of a
collector"
"What special abilities are required to
secure success in your line!n
"None, and yet all you can name. You
must, first of all, be able to read men.
Hardly any two men can be approached
tie same way. There are men, of course,
who are expecting me- and who promptly
write me a check for the amount. Any
one could collect from them. These are
the minority The trouble comes with the
majority. That includes tradesmen, law
yers, DOCTORS editors, professors. drummers,
policemen, dudes and everybody else. Each
must be approached differently"
illustrate, please"
"Well, take the case of the lawyer who
paid me $50 two hours ago. 1t was an old
debt, and he had stood the boys off dozen
times | was offered half the amount to
collect it. | located him in his office, went
straight to his door, and, on entering. asked
if he had been retained in the - case,
which is now making such a fuss. He
hadn't been, of course, but he was tickled
at the idea. Then told him that the folks
down at the store were talking about how
he was pushing to the front and it was be-
cause we knew he was doing so well that
we presented the bill. He counted me out
the money at once. Appealed TO his vanity,
you know
What are the usual excusesm
Anything and everything. Go to some
men with bill for hay, oats or coal, and
they want to see their wives about it.
Others are short, dispute the figures, will
pay tomorrow, or inquire if we are on the
verge of bankruptcy that we can't wait a
few days Here's bill paid this forenoon
which is three years old. It's tailor's bill,
you see, for $45. 1t was for a suit for a
drug clerk. He agreed to pay in two weeks.
| have called upon him at least 100 times.
For year he urged sickness, death, robbery
and other excuses. Six months ago he de-
clared the bill was swindle, and that he
had receipt for the amount"
"And how did you finally get it,"
Told him that drug firm out west had
written to our firm to quietly name a man
to fill fat position. 1t was an untruth,
but he had lied to me 500 times"
"Are women good payP
"a bout one out of twenty. Let me pre-
sent bill of IS to a woman who has $50 in
her purse and her first thought is to stave
off payment. One excuse brings another,
and when she finally makes up her mind to
pay she pays in installments. l got $25
last week on bill two years old, against
woman who has a bank account of
at least $4,000. She is widow
and 90 years old. She had disputed
the bill, forgotten it, looked for a receipt.
and all that, and l had been patient and let
her take her time. Two days ago when |
presented the bill again she began to pala-
yer, but | cut her short by saying:
Madame, we don't need the money, Of
course, but we supposed you would want to
clear up all such things before your mar
riage with the senator" She knew / had
heard something, and she was dying to
know what it was, but she dared not ask,
and the money was promptly handed over
I'll bet she has hunted up the issues of every
daily for month past to find what | based
my observation on"
Are you ever insulted and threatenedF'
mot very often, as l weigh $50 pounds
and baven'C the gentlest look in the world.
/ get it once in while though. 1 had a
rent bill against an insurance man. He
stood the boys off until they got dscour-
aged, and one day l tackled him. He
denounced me as a robber, and added that
ought to be kicked down stairs. | asked
him to try it, and ne sailed In. | had him
beautifully knocked out in three minutes,
and when he got up he wrote me a check
for the amount"
And where are you bound just noww
ITO present this bill of $22 to an office
clerk who has stood it off for fourteen
months, although he wanted credit for only
a week. It's for shoes for himself, wife
aud child. Got the very best, you see
Twelve-dollar shoes were none too rich for
his blood
Have you any hopesp
''Oh, yes; Pm not going to say a word
about the bill, but slip softly in and inquire
if he knows of an honest, reliable party
who'd be willing to take charge of an office
in Denver at salary of $1,000 per year.
Wait five minutes and I'll be outn
In exactly six minutes he reappeared with
two tens and two In his hand and proud
smile on his face.
HE said that was just the sit he was
looking for" explained the collector, land
he handed over the cash before L could get
the bill outn