The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1912-03-14

Tor what they are worth. Speaking
broadly. believe tnk the nearer
the retail merchant approaches to .
cash basis in his dealings with The
jobber, the surer and more permanent
will be his success.
The present system works TO the
detriment Of both retailer and jobber.
1t lays upon the jobber q heavy re-
sponsfbility that is moral a. well as
financial. The jobber must stand the
brunt Of the stress and strain that
comes during periods Of financial
stringe1cy. He n ever compelled
to borrow in order 10 discount his
bills. II he did not discount his bills
he could not exist. And under the
present system, 40 money becomes
tighter the jobber goes into the mar
ket for it oftener. The harder 1t is
to get money, the more the tobber
must have, because in times of stress
the jobber's account receivable nee
essarily increases. To put 1t an
other way, when a jobber finds it
hardest to get money, and at the time
when he must pay the highest price
for it, his collections slow up. He
,carries double burden. His re-
sponsibilities increase in both direc-
tons. AS a debtor, he increases the
amount of his debts; and as a credit.
or, he increases the amount Of his
hazard. In such situation as this
the jobber becomes a tremendous fac
tor in the struggle of the country to
regain its normal condition. Few
save those who have been through
it realize the great need in such
trying times of all the faith and cour-
age and condolences that the jobber
can muster; then, if ever, the job
ber's indomitable optimism-his in
ate belief that everything will come
out all right-comes into play.
With the liberal credit system now
in vogue as between the jobber and
the retailer, there is the objection
able feature that the generosity Of
the jobber is very often reflected un-
consciously in the attitude of the re-
tail merchant toward his accounts :.
There Is not the same incentive to
the merchant to maintain the proper
vigilance over his ACCOUNTS receiv-
able that there is when the merchant
is striving to keep himself on the
cash discount basis.
The cash discount is a privilege
that is accorded to the jobber by the
manun acturer. The johber is per-
fectly willing to pass this profit on to
the retailer. because the jobber must
get the cash somewhere. and he would
prefer to see the advantage 60 to the
retailer. r,
If the jobber does not get the mon
ey from the merchants, he must get
it e]sewhere; and to do this, he must
pay for it. He must buy it as he
would buy any other commodity. The
jobber would rather buy money from
his customer than from anyone else:
When the retail merchant fails to
take advantage Of the cash discount,
he is losing a very attractive and .
very helpful profit.
have heard people say that a man
who pays cash is building up . repu-
tation for himself that will prevent
his getting credit should the time
ever come when he will really need
it. Such statement is absolutely
ridiculous, because Just the reverse
is true One Of the best assets . mer-
chant can have fs a record for dis
counting his bills. -. ..s
If jobber is alert In the matter Of
his collections from the retail mer-
chant, this fact, far from being dis
creditable to him IN the mind Of the