The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1909-04-08


fled and quit because, when they have
abused their credit t o the limit,
when they have eaten up what
profit you had, in the use of the
money they are keeping from You.
and you pressed them for settlement
of account, they then become indie-
nant that you should presume to ask
them for hat which was yours. and
either quietly and sneakingly, Went
over to play the same tactics with
and expressed to you their indigna-
ton.
Is it not true, that the average
customer, take for instance the
farmer, will through the season. pay
cash for his seed, pay cash or trade
eggs for his groceries and provis-
ions; buy his machinery and without
complaint. pay the cash or give a
note with good hankable security:
But when he m 10 YOU 10 buy
his lumber, he eNoec;s you to put
the account ON the books and carry
it Indefinitely, md if you suggest or
hint that you should have a banAable
note he expresses his indignation a.
once and gives you to understand
that he can get all the money he
wants, and # you don't want his &C
count he knows who does want it.
Why. | have known men whom We
have carried on II books for say
six months, n when we asked them
for money, to say that >ley had
plenty of it in the bank, but it was
drawing them AZ interest and they
didn't want to draw it out" At the
same ume we were paying SO or
1919 for money to use to enable us
to carry his account.
I believe that if we could agree,
and would come to a cash basis, sell
our goods only for cash OF for a
bankable, interest bearing note, that
our other troubles would in two or
three years time, vanish from our
sight. We would have more
friends, fewer enemies, and every
body would be better satisfied. But
the thing hal prevents that, is COM
petition, the intense competition and
desire among us all to sell whenever
we can.
They tell us there is no compete
tion in the lumber business; but if
there is anywhere, in any line of
business, more intense competition
than we find between different lum-
Der dealers, I don't know where it is.
And that is NJ thing that is mostly
to blame for the reckless, and ruin
Gus and almost unlimited credit sys-
TEN which we find among SO large
a proportion of u retailer dealers.
am persuaded to think that the
majority Of men figuring with cata-
In ono h0rcnC do ca NOT with tho in
tention of buying, out with the in
@tention of getting the best cash price
obtainable, and using it as a club
over our heads while he helps him
self to the pickings of our stock, and
then stands us off for our pay until
! the interest on the investment has
we had.
Now, 1 believe that this way of
managing our sales is all foolish
ness on our part. That we ourselves
are to blame.
If we would run our business with
one-half Of the capital we now in
vest, and have the other half earn
ing for us somewhere else if we would
save ourselves the yearly necessity
of charging certain old, old accounts
to the wrong -ide Ct the Loss 4
Gain" account, we could much more
easily meet outside competition, be-
sides saving ourselves half of our
hard work and worry, have our
business on a much more satisfac-
tory and safe basis, and have many
more friends among our customers.
Now, it is not possible for one or
two lumber dealers to inaugurate
this reform, which must mean much
to us all, but 1 do believe, that if
we would come to an agreement
among ourselves, to come to a cash
method, or at least a safe and sane
method of doing business, that it
would not only be better for us but
better for the community, and worse
for the outside competitor, and to
me it does not seem a hard thing
to do. If we insist on payment for
what we sell l believe the general
public would appreciate the fact that
Humber costs US money, and that
l - a