Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1904-04-14
The UDead Beat. -

in any community is the professional
"dead beat"
A 'dead beat" according to Webster
is worthless fellow, one who sponges
upon his friends, but in the business
world the term is applied to persons
who purchase goods on time or other
wise obtain credit without intending
to pay, or having obtained credit in
good faith, afterwards neglect or re-
fuse to make settlement of their just
debts, being able to do so, simply be-
cause payment possibly cannot be en-
forced. Practically every community
has its quota of the professional kind.
No experienced business man will ex-
tend them credit, but the inexper-
fenced, the new conner, usually gets
his lesson. AS soon as a new business
is established, the professional" is on
hand. He worms his way into the
good graces of the proprietor or man
ager in charge telling him perhaps
that his presence has been long
needed in town, that the "old fellows"
have long outlived their usefulness,
which may be true in fact so far as he
and his class are concerned, that the
buying public is welcoming them with
open arms and much more "stuf7' in a
similar vein, and all for effect. He
gets some credit, and pays up prompt
for awhile, then after a time small
balance is left unpaid, the next stated
pay day it probably becomes a little
larger and then still larger until the
merchant begins to grow suspicious.
He inquiries around among his fellow
merchants and business men and finds
that he has been duped. He then
grows insistent that this now possibly
large and long overdue balance must
be paid. This is where his faithful"
customer ''drops OUT there is moth
ing then too mean for him to say about
this man who has refused him more
credit. He waits then longingly for
the next new arrival, 'paying as he
goes" for he can't do otherwise.
How does this class affect the COM
munity at large. The merchant, the
business man, must be on guard.
Even though experienced he is taken
in sometimes. To make himself whole
he must put higher price on his goods
to cover loses of their ma ture. The
public or the prompt paying portion
must help pay the dead BEATS" bill.
There is still another phase of the
question. Many struggling business
man has 'gone to the wall" with suf-
ficient accounts on his books to have
more than squared him with the world.
These accounts in many cases were
small and could have been paid with
out difficulty, yet the debtor would
stand back and say. "It is too bad that
A could not make go of it," but never
''tumbled" that he and moro of his kind
were the cause.
How disgusting it is to see people
cutting around in swell clothes and at
tending swell functions when at the
same time they are owing every one
who will permit them to owe them,
owing most likely for the clothes they
are wearing The writer heard not
long ago of young man from neigh
boring town who attended a swell ball
in this place fitted out faultlessly in
evening dress, real "heart smasher,"
who was compelled to borrow two dol
lars from young business man of
town to see him through. Now there
was nothing wrong or unusual in his
having to call upon friend, that may
happen to anyone, but the wrong part
of it is that this occurred year or two
ago, and he has never thought it worth
while to pay back the two dollars.
''Poor but honest" is a recommenda
ton that is sometimes given and the
man who has won such is to be envied.
He is worth more to the community
many times over than those who carry
about upon their backs great loads of
millinery and other goods which are
not paid for and probably never will
be. He will be trusted; his store bills
are paid, his subscription to the local
paper never outlaws. The merchant is
not afraid to trust him, for if he has a
dollar it goes where it rightfully be-
longs. Such record to any man is of
great value to him in days Of advers-
ity. -Johnsonburg Breeze.
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