Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1910-10-25

during years vacation was spent in
an effort to clear our books of these
accounts. BY sending out numerous
statements, by suing some, threaten
ing to sue others. and coaxing still
others, we have collected $91.05 of this
"old hoss" in the last two years, leav-
ing balance of $S25.lO still outstand-
ing.
All these accounts have been stand
ing out the entire 27 months Polk
County has been dry, and all show
the same totals today as they showed
81 months ago, not one dollar having
been paid on any of them. It is rather
sorrowful showing, especially for the
abstainers on the list; but it is true. To
any person who doubts 1t, we repeat
our offer to dispose of lot of these
accounts at bargain-counter prices
although common honesty prompts us
to warn possible customers that they
are not bargains.
Let us pursue the subject farther. A
few days ago, a merchant of more or
less prominence in Dallas, showed us
his books to prove his assertion that
collections have been no better in Polk
County during 27 months of dry
rule than they were prior to that time.
Here" he said, "is book containing
accounts more than two years old. Let
us look at the first fifty accounts and
see how many persons have paid up
since the county went dry" Su,tiug
the action to the word, he turned
many paid accounts would you guess
he found? He found lust two Forty
eight accounts on which not ore dol
lar had been paid in 27 months! And
judging from its thickness, this ledger
must laAe contained not less than $50
ture the opinion that one would have
to argue with that merchant about a
day and a half to convince him that
dry rule makes men more prompt in
paying their debts.
Asking to classify these accounts as
knowledge of the habits of the men
contracting them, the merchant hand
ed us these totals: Due from abstain
ers from liquor, $219.15; from moder-
ate drinkers, $72.69; from men who
sometimes drink to excess, $20.5O.
1t must not be thought by any per-
son that the Observer is trying to
prove that abstainers from liquor are
less prompt in paying their debts than
others, for we do not believe that they
are. Neither will this paper admit for
an instant that men who drink in
than are the men who refrain from all
forms of alcoholic beverages. Let 1t be
understood that we refer here to
classes, not to individual cases-for we
must all sorrowfully admit that there
are horrible examples on both sides.
The writer has found, in a business
career covering period of more than
twenty years, that the man who is
honest and really wants to pay his
debts will find some way to pay them,
whether he is a drinking man or tee
totaler. He may not be able to pay the
WIlOlt diIlOuul at OAlt lllhtB DuN II bO
really desires to pay. he will not let
27 months go by without making some
effort to reduce the total amount of
his obligation. Where there is will,
there is a way
Most men who drink liquor, even in
moderation, would probably be better
off without it, We shall not argue for
an instant that they would not. What
we are trying to prove here is that
there is absolutely nothing in the ar
gument that men pay their bills better
In a dry county than they do in wet
county. We believe that If all of the
ledgers in the business houses of Dal-
las could be examined today, it would
be found that collections are no bet
ter and no worse than they were two
years ago, and we believe 1t would far
ther be found that, taken class for
class, the laborers who take their
drink pay their bills quite as promptly
as their brothers who abstain from the
use of liquor I'm any form. The Obser-
yer only regrets that 1t Is not able to
print more figures in support of this
opinion. 1t has told the truth con-
cerning the books In Its own office, and
here in Dallas tonight is a merchant,
well known to you as an honest and
worthy man, who knows that the fig
ures printed from his books are truth
fully and accurately set forth.