Fergus County Democrat., 1915-10-21
WHEAT KING GETS
LESSON IN FINANCE
BY FORCEFUL OBJECT LESSON HE IS
TAUGHT TRUE VALUE OF CREDIT
A David Harum of Modern Business Puts
Over Some Good Ones.
Credit Is a comnnditu

Nine men out Of ten are amend
able to reason, and when you put the
matter up to such man in the right
1ght and show him, as you can that
credit is a commodity the same as
sugar or wheat. he is generally will
ing to pay for it.
This matter of buying things on
credit, in great many cases, is pure
" one of false pride. a man has
made good in one line of effort, and
being quite naturally secretly proud
Of it, he likes to proclaim it to the
world in every way possible without
actually Dragging about it. And the
way that speaks the loudest is to say
charge it, with a grand air that de-
fies any sonof-agun to question his
financial responsibility.
There was a man of that kind
came into my store one day and
bought a bill Of goods amounting to
about $500. lie didn't say anything
about settlement till he had loaded
the stuff on his wagon and then
casually remarked. you can book that
Peters, till after harvest I didn't
answer him right away. but while he
was getting his traps together my
brain was doing Marathon You see
the man was perfectly good for the
bill, one of the richest men in the
county, and | just naturally did hate
to call him. | did, though.
Ticklish Job
In order to make the point Of this
clear to yon will have to tell you
THAT | am worth upwards of hun.
~. .,,,I AN, ,,,I I
to either of the banks here and bor-
row $1,000 on my personal note at
any minute.
Il knew had a ticklisli job on my
hands and that it had to be handled
With the utmost diplomacy stepped
into my office and made out a note
for 500 payable to IIill-that was my
mans name due in three months
without interest and went back to
him and said: Mr. Hill, truly am
very sorry that | can't accommodate
you by carrying your account till
after harvest. know you are per-
fectly good for it. but il is one of my
established rules of business to sell
only for cash Or note. It's purely a
business principle and il you'll let
me- I'll demonstrate it to you AS
| expected, he went straight up; was
going to unload the stuff and never
tuy another cents worth from me,
etc, if his credit wasn't good. But
afte bit, | got him Gained down
enough to listen to my proposition. |
said Hill, you and | both are each
worth good many thousand dollars.
Now here is my note made out to
you for 500, due in three months
without interest. want you to take
it down to the bank aud try to sell
it at par If you can. keep it. and !
Will carry your account as lcng as
yoll want me to. If you can't. if YOU
find that you have to discount it. that
il is not really worth 800 today bring
II lack to me and give me your note
for these goods payable October 1st,
at per cent. Is it a bet %
Farmer Taught Financial Lesson.
THE novelty of the proposition.
aided and abetted by a judcious APP
p!ieation of bull finally got his goat
and he took me up. When he came
BIZ ck he had the note in his hand and
a sheep grin on his face, but he was
game. He said, Let's go get a drink.
Ycu win
My purpose, you see, was to get
him to learn for himself that credit
term has a dollars and cents value.
and he did. From that time until
his death a couple of years ago, he
rcver let an account run over thirty y
dav with any merchant in town. He
| settled by either note or cash"
Copyright 1915