The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1911-03-02

WE-SsN world rcvolves In Its pres.
NlN 1Aa ent orbit. there Is one
49, form OF detective activity
which is not likely to be
: oycrdone 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 n 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
present day.
Here is lifework that, while Of
sort Of detective nature. IS n sublimat-
ed phase of prying into the affairs OF
the other man, because II has to do,
not with finding out II tho object Of
the inquiry has actually done wrong
or committed n crime, 80 much as dis
covering II he might do so; in other
words. II he pays his bills This is
the place that the credit man fills in
commercial lIfo He is the product Of
the great advance in business that has
been made in the last quarter Of q
century, which makes 1t necessary for
merchants and others 10 learn all they
can about prospective customers, 80
as to be sure Of them.
II your boy ia keen youngster, he
could not get into a line OF work that
ofrsrs 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 n delicate m.
ture requires the greatest tact, which
means that there must be places for
the employment Of this tact when II
advances beyond the rudiments.
No special prellminaries, 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
of his progress. This means that, at
16 or so, he applies to the head of the
credit department OF large store or
other mercantile establishment for n
Job. When accepted, he will be little
more than an Office boy; for he knows
nothing, as yet, of commercial life.
He will receive IS or SO a week, and
will go through the usual office boy
stunts-taklng 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
tho 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 10 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
sof running up bills, paying promptly in
Nhe beginning. then not so promptly
and finally not at all, with balance
still due; with their being extrava-
giant; with the character of their as.
sociates; with whether or not their
wives and families are extravagant--
in short, with whether or not they are
sober, intelligent citizens, thrifty, hon.
orable, trustworthy.
That Is the credit mans business, 10
find out all these things, and have II
In such form that II can be told to the
man at the head OF the department
selling bill OF goods. TO stranger
asking credit, and there he wifi know
whether to give the man the credit he
seeks.
Your boy naturally assimilates all
this in a general way before he has
been filing these records very long,
and vii! begin to manifest interest In
how 1t ia all done. II he is apt, he
will be called into the Office Of the
manager q couple Of years after the
beginning, when he will be earning
$40 or s12 a week, and told TO go out
and discover 30 and so about a new
customer. It will probably be only to
learn II the mans actual address cor.
responds with the one he gave on his
application for credit, or to request
kohe OF the references TO I'LL out con
fdential" 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 viii
be set to harder work, such as inter
viewing the persons referred to them
selves, and perhaps running down
clues az to the seeker after credit
that may give his proprietor q more
accurate opinion Of the customers ~
liability. BY this time, after he has