Arizona republican., 1910-06-08
THE MAN WHO LIVES ON CREDIT.

People who have habit of paying their bills and of keeping out of debt never cease to wonder how other peo- pie. without visible means of support manage to go along swimmingly through the world in the enjoyment of all its comforts and most of it's lux uries. Such persons are to be found in every community and the secret of their appearance of prosperity is never fully solved. Study their methods as much as one pleases. the mystery al ways remains more or less of a mys- tery. The truth is that it is probably matter of personality rather than of method, and that with the full formula of procedure given none but those pos sessing certain qualities could follow it.
 A case of this sort has been disclosed in New York through a petition in bankruptcy. which shows that the ap- plicant's debts are S24.000 and his as sets exactly $25,OO0. From his list of debts it appears that he had not only been getting his food and clothing on a credit basis. but that he had provided himself with an automobile. works of art. jewelry, flowers. golf clubs, sta tionery. etc. in the same manner and that dentists and physicians had served him without money. and even the tele- phone company had given him credit.
 How did he do it? How did he stand off his landlord? How did he prevail on tailors and shopkeepers of all sorts to supply his wants without a resOn- ab'v definite knowledge of where their pay was coming from? It is all in a matter of establishing credit, and the average man, whether he be superla lively honest or not. knows very well that he could not secure this credit. He would. in the very order to have certain goods sent to his home, betray consciousness of his empty pockets that would instantly arouse suspicion and cause a demand for cash payment. He knows that if he asked for credit, even with the honest purpose of even tuai payment. he would promptly be regarded with doubt and be required to give an account of his business and his standing: also that if the first monthly bills were not hOnOred the creditor would forthwith desire to know why.
 No. it is only the exceptional man who can succeed in living well on nOth ing year. He must have. first of all an engaging manner and agreeable so- Cal qualities. He must have that pc culiar gift of causing people to feel that in bringing his custom to them he is conferring a favor. He must have the inborn ability to establish confi dence in himself. to cause the persons he approac aches to feel that it woul be presumption to question his ability to meet financial obligations. In short. he must have colossal nerve and entire indifference to the moral side of his transactions.
 Nerve is essential to the perpetra ton of every sort of fraud, hut the man who lives on credit has it in double measure Honest folk without such engaging personality, who know that favOrs from landlords and trades men would be granted to them reluct- antly and with obvious doubt are nev- CT grieved when they learn that their fellow citizens have been taken in and done by those plausible rascals. They wonder how it was done, but are human enough to smile over the doing Indianapolis Star