New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1895-07-31
WAYS OF BUSINESS.
THE MERCHANT WHO CORRECTS
ONLY ONE KIND OF MISTAKE.

A Severe Criticism of the Ways of Shop
keepers and Cashiers-The Steamboat
Clerk Who Said, eve Never Rectify Mis-
takes Here"
No one perceives the wisdom, and in
deed the necessity, of accurate book
keeping more fully than your humble
servant, who can't keep books to save
her life and who finds herself approach
ing dementia every time she endeavors
to balance cash account. But why in
all bookkeeping systems, from banks to
the smallest retail shop, is it invariably
the customer who gets cheated if any
body? Tell me, ye wiISed winds, which
DER my pathway roll8 It is useless to
contradict and say that it isn't. The
one exception in thousand years does
not count against the millions of oppos-
ing instances. I have lately read the
pathetic account by some recluse, who
never goes shopping, of the bloodthirsty
monsters who take more change than is
due them and stalk out, leaving no ad-
dress behind them, little rocking the
sutferings of the poorly paid employee
who has to make good the deficit out of
his Or her own pocket. Fudge! No such
mistakes occur, Or, if they do, they are
table. In all large establishments there
is hawk headed Horus at the "desk'
waiting to pOunce Oh mistake in the
customers favor Of l cent, and many's
the time every one of us can testify the
little slips have been returned to be cor
rected Of mistakes to our credit, while
we fumed.
Thank goodness, there are instances
in which the sharpshooters have wound
ed themselves Once was on 'sound'
boat going from New ork to Fall River
and the man at the desk gave me s.
bill too much in change when paying
after supper. There was something of a
crowd, but that mistake would have
made itself evident to me in mob. I
dashed back and said, you've made a
mistake in my CHANGE
"Can't help that,' said the lordly
clerk. "We never rectify mistakes here. !"
ooh, you don't?" retorted the head Of
the party. "Well, it will cost you some
thing this time, for you have given us
s. too much. But if you never rectify
mistakes you are the loser for once
1t is foolish to dwell on the sequel,
and have forgotten it. I only remem-
Der that the young man, pale and agi-
tated, danced in supplication around the
unmoved figure Of the stern admonisher
for some minutes. suppose he got his
money, and dare say there was no law
upholding one in keeping it, but hope,
at this distance Of time, be didn' One
day, not long ago, was at furnishing
shop in State street, Chicago, buying a
tie. The price was 81. so, and I present.
ed the man with a So bill. He swung
over the little birdcage on a telegraph
line and it came swiftly back with a so
cent piece. Seeing another tie for that
price, [ handed back the change and
was about to leave, when q voice came
from the elevated desk at the other end ::
Hi! This half dollar is counterfeit %
Although it was public place and I
am retiring lady, burst wildly forth
into clarion shout Of joy. It is so sell
dom modest customer has the chance
Of beholding natural enemy caught
with his own quicklime. The mortifca-
ton of the salesman serving me was
something to see. It did me good for a
whole day. Sending counterfeit half
dollar cheerfully and with promptitude
in change and repudiating it on it's re-
turn the next minute! 1t was a sharp
game and little too sharp.
Everybody who shops much knows
that it is next to impossible to get a
''returned' article credited, or, indeed,
called for. If you take two rugs on ap-
prevail mention rugs because you
can't very we'll return them by hand
and state clearly and plainly and over
and over the price Of the one you have
kept and the one you wish returned,
you are more likely than not to find
both on your bill the next month, and
you are likely to find the rug day after
day littering your hall unless you tele-
phone twice a day and end by louncing
down yourself in rage and demanding
it's instant removal. Of course if it is
kept long you are charged with it, any
way. The other night, when it was very
hot, some friends Of lady in moderate
circumstances dining with her suggest
ed drive in the park. One of the men
telephoned for landau, and at the end
of the drive paid for it.. The next week
the bill came into the lady. Now Of
course this was all accident. But why
doesn't the other accident ever happen?
Why should thousands Of bills come in
to be paid twice, while by no light
or bad management does bill ever get
forgotten or overlooked? Money getting,
grasping, greedy generation of shop
keepers! Business is business, if you
like, but business need not be a cut
throat, bloodthirsty system Of demand
ing what is not due, need it? Must it be
in this way that men grow rich?
It is because only one kind Of mis-
takes occur that one is justified in think
ing that only one kind is guarded
against. The customer has to look out
for himself and the shopkeeper too. The
shopkeeper only looks out for himself.
AS for the breaking of promises, the
calm delays and the superb independ-
ence of ''purveyors, words fail me
when I attempt to depict their aggrava-