San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1889-03-23
PITY THE POOR COLLECTOR!
a Merchant Tells Something of His
Experience With Local
Debtors.

|
"your article on the position aud trouble OF
reporters. don't know much of your profes
sion. but do know that the article was writ
| ten in a manly spirit, and have no doubt that
the position taken was in the main, correct.
want now TO talk TO you of another class OF
| men who are necessary, in business way,
and who are aerhaps as much abused as the
reporters. l mean the collectors. These men
see much of the mean side of humanity in the
discharge of their disagreeable duties. Now,
while there are many who pay their honest
bills promptly on the presentation of their ac-
counts, and many more who give little
trouble, in other words who, when bill is
presented, fix time for its payment and keep
their word there are vast number VINO give
so much trouble, that II the pm is
The collectors time lost is far more
valuable than the amount collected. There is
some excuse for this where man has not the
money, although in reason he should AVOID
contracting such debts, or at The least, not
give unnecessary trouble, but there are men
in the city who can afford to pay their bills on
presentation, and yet seem 10 deiignt Ia ca us
ing the collector to make several journeys TOR
paylnent. These only injure their credit.
There are two Germans, known to me. VINO
habitually do this. For that reason refused
to trade with one of them. and, as regards the
other, | was in a statiOner's store the other
day when heard the proprietor instruct his
clerks to sell no more goods to Mr.. ;: on cred
it, rs If was too much trouble to collect from
him Even when these men eventually do
pay, they are abusive and insulting. Ihere
are men here who viii run up bills and when
you venture to send in your account ana de-
mand money they all seem TO take II as an IN
suit. | have known collectors abused, struck,
and 10 have had pistols drawn upon them sim
oily because they have respectfully but hrmly
demanded some satisfaction as to the pay
ment of an account that is long
since overdue | have several men
upOn my books who are deemed to be good
citizens, and perhaps are, who cont. acJs
debts payable ut Il certain time. These men
have Offices in town but are rarely there,
there ore when the account is due the col
rector probably has TO lay round ana wait Tor
the debtor, which he has not time To do, or to
call many times before he can see him Then
perhaps when he does catch h III 1t IS 'Call
again so and So" when he does call at the
time appointed the debtor is missing and the
same course is followed until the weary
months have passed. These men are honest,
except that they are prcVaricat0rS Or n@Gil-
gent You get your money it Is true, but the
Lord alone knows when. The sane trouble is
experienced with debtors q this Kind at pri-
vtIe houses, and it is surprising how OTTER a
collector finds them out sometimes they
are out" when as a matter of trCt the sharp
collector sees them pCeping through the
blinds or hears their voices in the rear rms
class of debtors are troublesome and costly.
but there is another far worse class. Ihese
are often "prOmincnt' citizens, but practi-
cally dead beats" comprising mainly. those
men whn trade with you paying cash for
some time until they have gained your cOnn-
deuCr, and the run up Il Dll. rms Is alright
until YOU send in your account and want pa
meRt. Then they transfer their custom unto
a.Other merchant who is VIC imiZcd in like
manner and so the game cont !nUCs, I'D lnhnl-
tum These men live wei, dress well, seem
to nave money and can set EN- up tor the
boys literally, yet they are too Door to pay
their honest debt or even att, mpt to do 1t.
These are the kind Of men too wuO come IN
and borrow a few dollars from qualntducc"
and forget a. about it, a many cttsz'Es know
to trpir sorrow only the other We"l well
known citizen cam. and GOrr wed ten dollars
to be repaid in a day. presume that day
hasn't elapsed ct rs he has NOT Yet pad the
mon Y Merchants try to Cvadc this class but
they are VictmiZed and their collectors are
kept chasing them but all in vain, his time Is
wasted ms temper sOurcd, and the results nil
OF course some may say the remedy s in
our hands by retuS ng 10 give credit nut
this meas loss OF business AID friendship.
We Can also sac fOI our accounts
SAY they So we can but what's the good!
After speeding many more collars we get IL
Judgment and we find that we have simply
lost more money, I N Whel we come 10 get
execution We are met with the home stead and
exemption avs. New these laws are good III
tn,ir way but SuSCept bro abuse in furnish
inT the means for men to detraud their tel
low rtiz"nS. have KIN wn my debtors 10 ="
arc. nd dressed in the DCS OF style. wearing
diamonds ard jeWClrE, driving hTst-"la's
dOuU!. team, and living in almost a pularin
res denCC, yet whC0 ! SCughL to collect my
debt found the exemption law covered the
on. and homestead law the other One man
| owed many people, and he nragged of his
| sharpness, yet / confess that after he mad
! beat me regarded him Ms sWindIer. but
| it may be was prrjudiCCd. II seems to me
| that there is need of law in Texas, similar
| to what, if ! underSt nd rightly. exists in
| England. The credit + there files his claim in
| the county court, and both he and the debtor
| are summoned to appear before the Judge
! upon certain day. If then the claim
| NJ nd Incomes "a
| question of how and by what means the debt
| IS to be paid If the debtor has no property
| that can be attached or taken without cruelty
! to his family, the dete ddnt is then placed no
| on Oath and examined as tn MS salary or IN
| come his family aud VIII It he has neCess ari Y
| to do with his means. The truth is gener- lily
! told for perjury is n serious OfCnSe. and con.
| victOn means a long tern of imprisonment.
| The Judge havIDg heard the statement of the
| defendants means will order him to pay into
! offices of the court a reasonable sum such as
! he can well afford to pay, sometimes as low as
| p cents a We elk. and other time as high as
many dollars. acc riding to the means of the
debtor. So long as payment is made accord
ing TO the OTOer, all rs well nut II he fails &c
| pa, the weekly sum ordered he can be arrest
ed, and sent to prison for contempt of court
| Should hi failure arise from altered Crcum
| stan es. sickness, want of employment, anC
other reasonable contingency, the debt
| or has only to go before the judge
| prove either of these causes and the order
may be suspended, or reduced. the design
| of the law not being to Cypress men, hut sim
MY to make them pay as they Can afford to
The costs of the case go with he Judgment
even to attorneys fees, and interest is lnCOr
pOrated with the order Therefore the cred
tor, If his suit is just, loses nothing, and ht
can draw the amount paid H. to court by thu
d btOr when he likes This law has two gOOC
advantages: 1t furnishes the honest mer
chants W tn the means to recover his debts o.
loans. AID it makes the tshOnes ardim row
dent careful in co ITaCting debt that the,
| know the can be forced to pay But there
think have said gu t. enough now. and eX
pect that what | have SAID is no news to you
Yet it may perhaps have the effect of opening
| Z hn avn. Of na To a o.