The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-09-11
NEW CREDIT SYSTEM
STEPS TO PROTECT THEM
SELVES
SETTLEMENTS TO BE MONTHLY
Customer DefauItinG at One Store
Will Be Debarred From Open
ing an Account at
Another.

At meeting held last evening at All
Robert street, in the office of Fred
Mason, secretary of the Retail Grocers'
association, the dealers of the downtown
district, or Fourth ward, decided unan-
imously to adopt the new credit system
which has been for some time under
consideration by the members of the as
ISOLATION. committee of four members
was authorized and empowered to act
for the ward organization in conjunction
with similar committees from each OF
the other wards in perfecting the detail
of the new system which is to a certain
extent already in effect. All of the dis
trict organizations with the exception or
that of the Eleventh ward, have now
ratified and adopted the new plan OF
credits and a meeting of the dealers or
that district is to be held tonight.
The credit system which has been
adopted is one for the mutual protection
OF the association members and as all or
the retail grocers of the city except
three, whose stores are all located in lne
outlying districts are members of the
organization there is present every indi-
cation that it will prove effective The
fundamental principle of the agreement
between the members is that dating from
Sept. l, they shall not carry balances on
their books, or, in other words, shall re,
ouire each customer to pay up his ac>
count in full at least once each month.
Letters to that effect have been printed
and furnished to the members for circu.
lation among their customers. 1t mas
been agreed that the payment of old ball
anceS prior to Sept l. in installments
may be provided for. The protective
feature of the system is embodied in a
list of delinQuents which is to be kept
at the office of the secretary Thus any
member of the association may at any
time during business hours inform him
self at once as to the standing of a
prospective credit customer and each
member is pledged to do so before open
ing a new account. The members are
not required to report their customers
for the list of delinquents as long as
they are content to carry them on their
own books, but are pledged by the terms
OF the agreement to do SO as soon as they
refuse further credit.
The agreement provides for a tine-thA
amount of which has not yet been fixed
TO be imposed upon any member who
shall extend credit to any person whose
name is on the list of delinQuents. A
member may also be fined for failing to
have removed from the list of delinquents
any customer whom he has reported and
who has afterward settled his account
For failure to report a customer to whom
credit has been refused a fine may be
imposed.
The Fourth ward dealers at the meeting
OF last evening expressed themselves in
favor of making the fines heavy to the
end that there should not be violations
of the terms of the agreement.
CREDIT SYSTEM IS NECESSARY.
Speaking of the necessity for credit
system of this kind, a member of the
association said last evening to the
G o e: I'VE simply had to come to it
We have to pay cash for nearly every
thing We buy, and we really cannot af-
ford to do a credit business. At the
market there is no such thing as credit
and We have to pay for everything we get
there at the time we get it. The com
mission merchants make us pay on We'd
nesday of each week for the goods we
have had during the previous week. and
unless we do pay We are blacklisted
and refused credit all along the row. We
must pay our wholesale grocery bills
within week, or we get no discount
and for our oil, bread and milk we have
to pay cash"