The morning times., 1895-07-07
housekeeping MAIDS Easy
BY lnSfallm0nt Houses
Convenience for Rich and Poor Alike-Purchasers
Can Make Their Own Terms-No Notes
Wanted and Dealings Liberal.

warning, suddenly dashed OFF down tpe
street and was soon lost to view. About an
| hour afterwards he was found sitting dis
! consolately on the side walk, for, while in
| conversation, he had permitted the grip
| man, for whom he had been waiting and
watching for several days, go by.
| A great many persons try to escape from
| paying by moving, without notifying the in
Stallment company OF their change OF resi-
dence. Here is where the collector mi st
do his best work The post-office authori-
| ties refuse TO help hi1s when the parties have
given notice that they do not want their new
| address disclosed. Then ingenuity must
be exercised in scraping up an acquaintance
| with letter-carrer and getting the informa-
| ton by fair or foul means from him, who
| generally knows the fugitive's new location
| Sometimes the whole neighbOrhOOd is
| canvaSSed from house to house without any
| clew being ObtaiECd until finally a little
child who has heard il from one Of the
| children OF the family that is being looked
| for VIII furnish the desired Information.
| In some cases employers will, when Toti-
| fled, compel their clerks to pay, while in
others the superiors themselves are tie
| debtors.
WASHINGTON A GOOD FIELD.
washington, because of the vast army OF
clerks in the government departments and
| bureaus, is admirably suited as a field
for the expansion OF tie credit system.
A Seventh street merchant-and he not
! a furniture dealer either-stated that so
far as his knowledge went there was not
an absolutely cash house in the city, all
of the firms. both great and small, by rea-
son of the peculiar conditions in which
| a large number of their customers are
placed, being compelled 20 allow time and
! to take small sums at time.
| "SuCe Secretary Carlisle has been in
| the Treasury Department neither the
| clerks nor the higher officials are COM
| PEELED 10 tie honest with tradesmen," said
| the proprietor OF one of the largest credit
| firms in the city. I'VE are not allowed to
set foot in the POst-offiCe Department If
| they Know the business of cur collectors,
| and but seldom can they obtain admission
to the Pension Office
There was a case recently in which a
| company lost over S1O0 because the man
] was not compelled by his sUpeTiors in the
/ Pension Office to pay his bill. He re-
| fused to make further payments in the
/ course OF a few months after be had
/ bought the bill, bat he finally consented TO
| pay So per month, at which rate it would
| have been over two years before the fun
| amount was paid, A month or two more
| passed. he discontinued paying, and
| short while ago departed this life.
INSTANCES OF HONESTY.
There are some persons more honest.
A newly married couple who had been
started out i'll housekeeping, finding that
they Were unable to keep up the payments,
took an amount of goods honestly equal
| to the sum paid in by them and de-
canlped in the night for parts unknown.
a veteran officer resident in one Of the
| Northern states, finding that he had not
sufficient money To keep his family in their
! accustomed style until his next quarters
! pension was due. conceived the idea OF
coming to Washington, renting q house
| for three months and furnishing it from
an inStallment house The payments for
the efIrSttwUmOnths We're promptly IyTeCeived,
but when the third was called for they
| found the house deserted, but tle key in
! the door, and not a piece OF TIM furniture
missing The old generals three months
| We're up, he had drawn his quarters pen
sion, and gone back to his home IN the
North
Instances in which the credit firms have
lost money through dishonest methods
could be multiplied indefinitely 1t
must not be supposed, however, that they
are easily inyeigled. Quite the contrary,
for experience has -sharpeued their wits
and it must be mighty cute trick by
which an iustallment house salesman or
collector can be deceived.
1t is commonly thought that these firms
have two prices, one Tor cash buyers
and the other for credit, the argument being
made that otherwise they could not compete
with cash houses The suppositton is
entirely erroneous. and the fact is that in
the long Tun the credit business is prac-
tiCally cash. Very few uf the accounts
will run for a year before maturing, and
at the end uf the first years business
the money coming IN each week amounts
To the same as if they had waited for six
or twelve mouths before receiving their
money.
The instalment plan is used more in
| Washington at the present time than il
has ever been. The poor aud humble
Use it because they could not furnish their
houses by any other means; the middle
classes make Use of it becd use it is 10
accordance with their method Of receiving
their salaries aud wages; the rich aud
wealthy resort to it because OF its COZ
yenieuCe, and all speak uf 1t in no other
| terms than those of praise.