The Dalles daily chronicle. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1890-1948, 1892-11-04
The Dalles Merchants Organize,


Wednesday meeting OF our merchants
was held at the City council hall where
they perfected an organization to be
known as The Dalles Branch of the
Merchants Retail Commercial agency of
Chicago. The object of the organization
is to furnish information to each other
as to who is doing the "dead beat" busi-
ness throughout the country and to as
sist each other in the collection of bad
account.
Its object is not to iniure the credit of
any honest man but to give information
of those who promise to pay but don't
pay. The method adopted is this: The
merchant makes up list of the names
of persons whose accounts are past due,
no matter whether they are old, outlawed
from the time agreed upon for payment;
he sends this list of names to the San
Francisco office. The agents at that
place send four letters to each person
named; these letters are sent at inter-
walls of ten days apart, and fully explain
what will be done unless the debt is
paid or a settlement effected. They re-
peatedly tell the debtor that if the bill
is unjust or if he has any reason for not
paying the account, to write them and
the matter will be considered.
Debtors can settle their accounts by
cash or note or answer the letters and
show to the satisfaction of our mer-
chants why it was impossible to pay,
and their names will not appear on the
abstact. If the debtor does allow his
name to appear, it will stay there until
the debt is paid. If he moves to any
other part of the United States or Can
ada, his name will be in the abstract
furnished to the merchants with whom
he has to deal. No matter if a man is a
millionaire if he will not pay his indebt-
edness as agreed, his name will appear
by the side of the lowest "dead beat in
the land, and the one will not receive
any more credit or indulgence from our
business men than the other. The time
has gone by when wealthy man may put
off paying his just bills until it suits his
humor to pay and say to, the merchant
''sue me if you want it before l get
ready to pay-I have property He
we'll knows that the merchant cannot af-
ford the cost OF u law suit. The mer-
chant is compelled to pay cash for his
goods in thirty, sixty or ninety days,
and he often bases his calculations to
pay at such times on the honesty and
integrity of his customers; if these fail
him, his Investment is gone and he is
''driven to the wall, - SO that this organ
ization is necessary to his protection.
If any man is inclined to let his name
appear on our abstract because the ac-
count is unjust, let him remember that
he has the opportunity and is requested
to appear before our executive board and
give his reasons for not paying the ac-
count and, if the reason is a good one,
his name will not appear.
The officers of the associatiation are !:
President, G. c. Blakeley; Vice Presi-
dent, II. Chrisman; Secretary, o. D.
Doane; Treasurer, tE. c.. Phirman
Executive Board: o. Kinersly, E. G.,
Pease, j. NJ. Filloon, Ed Williams, R.
E. Williams.
Let no man whose name appears on
our Wasco county abstract of unsettled
accounts ask for credit from:
Mays & Grove, A NJ Williams,
Maier & Benton, Snipes & Kinersly,
J NJ Filloon & Co, The Dalles Mercan-
Campbell Bros, tile Co,
G w Phelps & Co, r E Saltmarshe &Co
Dalles Lumbr Co, Jos L Peters & Co,
Henry L Kuck, Chrisman & Corson,
Blakeley & Hough- Johnston Bros,
ton, Floyd & Shown,
Joles Bros, o d Doane,
Chrisman Bros, Durham & Robert
Hugh Logan, son,
w E Rinehart, Paul Kreft & Co,
Wood Bros, Columbia Pkg Co,
/ q Ralch w +, CarretsOn