The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1910-07-01

Business and social honor
Personal department.
character OF associates.
Reputation
Ability is measured thus:
Age and health
Business experience.
Education.
Income by personal effort livery
important"
Tangible assets, or property. mean:
That which can be taken under an
execution.
And whether personally acquired
or inherited.
Qualified by income.
Net wealth (very important)."
In gathering its material for re-
ports il grades its credit requisites
like this:
Ability: relatively essential.
Integrity: absolutely essential.
Property: not necessarily essen
tial."
Analyze the headings as furnished
By this credit reporting company. you
will see that practically everything
pertaining to your personal and bust
ness life is reflected in the flies of the
bank.
These flies, unfortunately for the
careless borrower. are not always Sc
eret so far as the banking fraternity
is concerned. You may have no ink
ling of what the files contain, yet
every bank in your town may know.
There is sort of free-masonry among
modern banks, and they freely ex-
change credit information or even
volunteer it, So if you are turned
down by the Tenth National Bank be-
cause you are slow in paying for your
automobile or for frequenting the
ball park daily you may be tolerably
sure that the Eighth or Ninth Nation
al Bank will not be ignorant OF your
failings.
An Eastern wholesale merchant de-
veloped a liking for society, golf and
yachting. In the popular eye he was
rich. Even some of the banks were
free to accept his optimistic state
ments and his loans aggregated a
large sum. One day, under the infiu-
ence of a good dinner, he confded TO
a banker friend his conviction that
most business men work too hard.
There are two kinds OF organiza-
ton" he said. lone is organization
of work: the other for leisure. have
developed my business TO the point
where my Organization almost takes
care OF itself. That is why am able
to spend so much time in reereations.
a. have reduced the thing TO sys-
tenn. In two hours at my desk l can
handle all the important matters nee
essary for my individual attention.
rise at o'clock, breakfast at s.45
and go downtown in my auto so as
TO reach the office at IL. By o'clock
am through with my days work. I
seldom go back after luncheon. It's
all in the system"
The banker repeated this converse
ton next morning TO his associates al
the bank. They looked up the whole
saler's card records and found that he
was up to the limit. The maximum
loan" column showed big for many
months, while the average balance
column indicated anything but
strength
He's carried his organization for
leisure far enough" declared the
credit man. 81 think we'd better give
him an opportunity TO organize for
work"
So che wholesaler was politely re-
quested to call on the president, and
was told that his line of credit must
be heavily reduced at once. He was
angry, and declared that he could get
any accommodation he wanted any
where in town. He would take up
his notes Immediately, he said, and
also close out his account.
Within two hours the banks credit
nan received three inquiries over the
telephone from credit managers for
ether banks. All were told the truth.
straight and detailed.
From one standpoint the bank was
hurting its own cause by giving the
information to the inquiring banks,
for by Withholding the facts it would
have aided the wholesaler to borrow
money elsewhere and thus take up his
paper.
But the credit man looked at the
thine from broader viewpoint. Some
day he would want similar tip him.
self and he would depend on the
truthfulness of his fellow credit men,
even though they worked for banks
that competed with his own. 1t was
not to his interest to stick" any