The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1911-03-03
0 long as mankind remains
as it is and the commercial
world revolves in it's pres
ent orbit, there is one
form of detective activity

>SSMZ4GI ent orbit, there is one
W form of detective activity
which is not likely to be
overdcne So long as buying and SELL
Ing are the principal occupations of
civilized man, there will be no lack
of opportunity for the credit man. 1t
Is career that should appeal strongly
to the bright American boy, and one
that offers him certain advantages
which are not to be found in many
Of the overworked callings of the
prescn: day.
Here is a lifework that, while of a
sort of detective nature, is sublimat
ed phase of prying into the affairs of
the othe. man, because it has to do,
not with finding out If the object of
the INJURY has actually done wrong
or comm tied a crime, so much as dis
covering if he might do so; in other
words, it he pays his bills. This is
the place that the credit man fills In
commercial life. He is the product of
the great advance in business that has
been mace in the last quarter Of
century, which makes it necessary for
merchant: and others to learn all they
can about prospective customers, so
as 70 be auce Of them.
II your boy Is keen youngster, he
could not get into line of work that
offers greater opportunities; for in
tegrity is the life of commerce, and
the only way to discover integrity is
to inquire. and the process of inquir-
Ing into things Of such delicate ma
ture requires the greatest tact which
means that there must be places for
the employment Of this tact when it
advances beyond the rudiments.
No special preliminaries, in the way
Of education or otherwise, are neces-
sary for your boy to make his start;
for, anyhow, he must begin at the bot
tom and prove himself at every stage
CT his progress. This means that, at
16 or SO, he applies to the head of the
credit dcpartmen of a large store or
other mercantile establishment for
Job. When accepted, he will be little
more than an office boy; for he knows
nothing, as vet, Of commercial life.
He will receive s. or Sc week, and
will 60 through the usual Office boy
stunt,;-taking in cards Of callers, run
ming all sorts Of errands for every
body In the office, sorting reference
cards, etc Then, when he has got
the run of things, he will be set to
putting away the cards and reports,
and then maybe he will be set at max
ing various entries on cards or in
books. All these entries have to do
with people: With their personal
habits, with their earnings; with their
church going: with their paying their
bills promptly: with their spending
more than they earn; with their habit
of running up bills, paying promptly in
the beginning then not SO promptly
ard finally not at all, with balance
still due: with their being eXtrava
CANT; with the character Of their as
so ,iates; with whether or not their
wives and families are extravaganza
in sh ort, with whether or not they are
sober, Intelligent citizens, thrifty, hon.
orable, trust worthy.
That is the credit mans business. to
find out all these things, and have It
in such form that it can be told to the
man at the head Of the department
selling a bill of goods, to a stranger
asking credit, and there he will know
whether to give the man the credit he
socks
Your boy naturally assimilates all
this in general way before he has
been filing these records very long,
and will begin to manifest interest in
how 1t is all done. If he is apt, he
will be called into the office Of the
manager couple of years after the
beginning. when he will be earning
$40 or $12 week, and told to go out
and discover so and so about new
customer. 1t will probably be only to
learn If the mans actual address cor
responds with the one he gave on his
application for credit, or to request
one of the references to fill out con
tidentlal'' blank telling what he knows
about the applicant; but this is get
ting into the credit business for the
first time In earnest.
Doing this sort of Investigating"
we'll, the aspiring credit detective will
be set to harder work, such as inter
viewing the persons referred to them
selves, and perhaps running down
clues as to the seeker after credit
that may give his proprietor more
accurate opinion Of the customers re-
liability. BY this time, after he has
been working for the firm three or
four years, say, he will be getting $40
a week, and will be in direct line of
promotion.
1t will not be long till he will be
regular investigator on the firms staff
at weekly salary of $25 to $40, and
will be becoming fair Judge of
human nature, and filed with informa-
ton about hundreds OF people. When
a newcomer applies for credit, wish
ing to purchase fair-sized bill of
furniture. or to open a regular account
to be paid monthly, or to get stock for
a little store he plans to start for
himself, your boy will be the one to
get all information about the appli.