The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1889-12-19
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE.

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LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE: |
4 NEW DEPARTURE.
ED1roR ADvANcE:-A short time
ago Twas over to Rushmore, when
saw in s. b. Btdfordb store, among
other thugs, notice which read as
follows: ~
After Oct. l. 1850, we shall do bust
ness rs fOlloWs: "A discount Of five
per cent for cash. AL good not paid for
in sixty days to be settled by note
bearing ten per cent interest. Dis
count on even dollars.
=. Is. BEDFORD & Co."
This is the substance Of the notice ii
not the exact wording. It struck me
rs being \ move IN the right direction.
The bulk Of the business Of the country
seems to he done on credit, and, II I
am not greatly mistaken, it ID one Of
the greatest evils o.. the day. Not that
it is wrong or unwise to obtain credit
under any circumstances whatever,
for that seems, at present, about im.
possible. Besides, We have known
many man to make start for him
self III lite by going somewhat in debt
TO do it, who never would have made
such u start without going in debt.
Such men very often get along very
we'll and attain a comfortable compel
ence, who without such credit might
have remained day-laborers all their
days. A little credit judiciously used
is \ very good thing, kmt when used
unwisely it becomes II whitening curse.
Let us look, for few minutes ut
few of the evils Of the credit system as
they more particularly affect US far.
mers.
The credit system Is an evil because
it imposes u 1burdens0me tax. The
necessaries of life that we need for our
selves and families cost us q great deal
more than they would il all business
WAS dOre on the cash system. Almost
all farmers do a great part Of their
business ON credit, and presume this
is equally true of other classes in the
| community. 1t seems such q great
convenience to lie able to 40 to the
store and get just what we want and
have it ''charged." Well, we'll admit
that it is very ''handy," but, like all
other conveniences, it has to be paid
for. A merchant cannot sell us goods
in t.,is way and sell as low rs if he sold
altogether for cash: II we all paid cash
for what We get tho merchant would
have cash to pay for his goods. He
could then buy to better advantage, for
he could buy in any market. and could
get his goods much lower than If he
had to buy on time.
This is not to be- wondered at, for
credit implies risk, ard no one would
he willing to sell as low and take y risk
rs he would sell and take no such risk.
Thus we see that we pay for the risk
that the wholesale dealer takes in sell
ling goods to our merchants on time,
for il your merchants pay a high price
for their goods, they must sell them to
US 1T high price. Then. again, the
merchant takes risk in selling on time
to customers. This risk, we know, is
not very small. for where is the mer-
chant that does not have a good many
claims that he would he glad to sell
for twenty Eve cents on the dollar. Not
unfrequently we hear of some man
skipping" and leaving q store bill OF
i hundred or more dollars for some
body else pay. All these losses help
to raise the price of goods, tor the
merchant is obliged to fix higher per
cent Of profit on his goods, in order to
cover these losses. Tins the credit
system opens the way for the thrift
less aud dishonest to prey on the COM
munity, and imposes heavy tax on
the. frugal and Industrious.
But the high price paid for goods is
not the only evil IF the credit system.
1t tends to foster habits of extrava-
gance, and a looseness in the way Of
managing ones business that is ruin.
GUS. A farmer will often run a
bill' at the store from spring: till fall.
and possibly longer; he will get all
many that he doesn t need, just because
it is so easy to get them in that way;
then when fall comes he is greatly sur
Durlng the summer he will buy a good
along very we'll without, and many
things that lie would have got along
without If lie could not get them with
out the cash.
And what is the result? Why. as
soon rs he gets his grain threshsd his
creditors, on every side, are after him
for the money he is owing them, and
he is obliged to sell his grain, often at
n very low price, in order to ''square
ups" Or, if he cannot do that, to pay rs
far AS he is able and then start again
on the same old plan. have known
farmers to sell off so closely in the fall
that in the following spring they had
to buy grain both to seed their farms
and tn feel their teams. In this way
they were losing At both ends, selling
their grain when it was low. and buy.
ing it back when it WAS high. ~ H.
debtedness was'the cause Of all this;
they spent their crop before it was
raised, which is . bad plan. There are
very many who live in this wvy all
their lives, and that, too, without any
necessity for their doing 80. They
have l%come welded to the habit of
doing all their business on credit, and.
like dead weight. it keeps them down
AL tIl:ir days. l think we may safely
say that to no man is the credit sys-
TEN a greater cure, than tn the man
who is said to be accommodated, the
man who gets the credit.
The credit system is the plague of the
merchant. We are told that the per
cent # failures among merchants is
| very high, and there can be no doubt
that one great cause Of these failure g
is the losses sustained through bad
debts.
!! Again the credit system, "a business
| is usually conducted, is Al injustice to
the man that "lays As he goes.' If a
merchant can buy his goods cheaper
when lie has the money to pay for them
why: should not@tl,e retail purchaser
have the same advantages. If tits all
the same whether / pay the money
down when | oct goods nj the store. 0r