The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1896-06-20
KENHuM, IDAHO, SATURDAY. JUNE 20, 1896.
HONOR IN BUSINESS.

HONOR IN BUSINESS.
Remarkable Examples OF On
looked-For Honesty.
Some Notable Instances Whsrsaa Baak-
rupts Have Slads Fula Rsssi.
tuition without Legal
Compulaion
Some people pay their debts; some dc
not; some go In for liquidation, while
others again are content to go through
the process of being ''wllitewashed'
and after paying certain sum, more
or less generally less), never allow
such trivial matter as an unpaid bal
ance to again trouble them, says an ex'
change.
There have been, however, several
exceptional and striking examples o1
commercial honesty and integrity, in
stances where men have, owing to ad'
verse circumstances. "come q cropper,
but have afterward (many years after
ward, some of thcm) paid their debts in
full, says London journal.
A notable case was recorded recent
ly, none the less striking because the
man owed but small sum. Some si1
years ago young man had tobacco
nist's business in a town in the west.
Things went wrong with him and
eventually he left the town suddenly.
His debts, including two quarters rent.
amounted altogether to five hundred
dollars. Recently he has returned and
not only paid all the money he owed,
with interest up to date, but he also in
sisted on giving q supper to his credit
ors.
Such on instance as this deserves to
rank as honorably as that of Sir Moses
Montefore, who, it will be remembered,
made up for having failed by eventual
ly paying all his creditors with seven
per cent. interest.
An equally noble example is afforded
in the history of the firm Of Messrs.
Ickringill. Failing in 1879 for largo
sum, the partners were released from
all their obligations on payment OF
fifty cents on the dollar. Since then
they have had to overcome many un-
loolsed-for difficulties, but, that not
withstanding, they have called their
old creditors together, and at an out
lay of over fifty thousand dollars have
paid the fifty cents owing on every dol
lar they were indebted.
4 later instance of honorable gener-
os:ty is related of certain well-known
gentleman. A small company in which
he was interested went to the bad, and,
not satisfied with simply bearing his
own loss, he has felt it his duty to pay
in full the balance to make up the
amount invested by the shareholders.
A pleasant story is on record in con-
nection with west of England build
ing society, which q few years ago
came to grief. The cause of this was
the defalcations of an official who had
won the unlimited confidence Of the
whole board Of directors. The culprit
was taxed with the robbery, and, prob
ably because there was no other way
out of the difficulty, admitted his guilt
and offered to make restitution, so far
as lay in his power. The secretary and
the directors, however, were not satis-
fed with this, and to save the credit of
the society. as well as to make 1t inn
possible for the shareholders and de-
pos;tors to suffer, they subscribed be-
tween them every shilling OF which the
society had been robbed.
A-aAho~ official the
secretary, this time, acting on sub
den impulse" departed one night with
six hundred dollars of the society's
money. The society's headquarters are
in down on the south coast. Recent
ly the directors have been pleasantly
surprised by the receipt of two hum
drcd and fifty dollars, inclosed in .
letter. It was from the former secre-
tary, the money being IAN install.
meut' toward making good his defalca-
tions.
A delicate method Of making good .
failure in early life that was employed
by the late Mr.. Neville, the great
baker. Mr.. Neville's first venture in
business ended in bankruptcy. Failure
made him try harder to succeed and
eventually he became wealthy. Then
he invited each Of his former creditors
to dinner and under the cover set for
each was placed . check for the
balance owing, with compound inter
est up to date
In 1889 q large firm Of merchants
failed for considerable SUM. They
paid forty cents on the dollar. Recent
~ one of the partners (the one who
was, perhaps, least responsible for the
failure) returned from America, and,
after considerable difficulty, succeeded
in tracing every creditor, to whom he
has paid the balance due. This, in
spite of the fact that after so doing he
was left with less than two hundred
pounds with which to start the world
anew.
Trials OF Tourists.
There turned up at Hamilton, in the
Bermudas, the other day, a company of
several hundred British tourists, includ-
ing Sir Arthur Sullivan and many
musical and literary folks of some dis
tinction. They were sorry and be.
draggled crowd, and their appearance
was partly explained by the fact that
they had left six weeks washing