Judsonia weekly advance., 1915-02-24
MAKES MONEY BY
 COMMON SENSE
Martha GreenIaW Is Visiting Bookkeeper to Retail
 Merchants.
FOUND HER PLACE IN WORLD
Noting the HabituaI Lack of Method of Smaller Shopkeepers, She Has Been Earning Good Salary by
 Correcting Their Errors.
Bv RJcHARp spILLANE.

By RICHARD SPILLANE.
 (Copyright. Mcclure Newspaper Syndicate.)
 The boss, in announcing that there was to be a redistricting of the branch food products houses, was de- lighted. His branch was to be closed but he was to have charge of another in larger city and was to have an increase of salary. He wanted to take most of his subordinates with him. He told Martha Greenlaw, who had been his bookkeeper for seven years, that she was to be transferred with him.
 Miss Greenlaw went home with no sense of elation What was an ordi- nary happening to big business con- cern was a matter of supreme inn portance to her. If she moved it meant the breaking up of her home, the sale at sacrifice or the rental of the little house she had purchased out of her savings and to which she was greatly attached, separation from friends of lifetime and the opening of new existence under conditions
 
 might face the change alone but it would go hard with her mother. Her mother was old and none too strong. Martha was her sole support It is difficult for an old tree to take root in new soil
 Miss Greenlaw thought it all out for herself. She knew she was a good bookkeeper but she also knew 1t was no easy matter to get as good position as the one she held. The more consideration she gave to the matter the more convinced she was that she couldn't leave the home town. She told the boss He said he was sorry. Then he forgot Miss Greenlaw His mind was full of the details of moving and the big pros poets before him in his new field.
 Following the ordinary method Miss Greenlaw went among her busi- ness friends and acquaintances look ing for job as bookkeeper Most of them told her times were dull. None of them knew of vacancy just then but they assured her they would keep her in mind and when they heard of anything they'd let her know It usually is that way. Weeks passed and no work came to the woman. Then she concluded that if she was to get employment she would have to make a position for herself
 Lax Methods of Retailers.
 One of the many things she ob- served in the years she worked in the branch office of the food products company was that the average small retailer to which the company sold goods was lax in his business meth ods. Many of them were slow in pay ing their bills. Some of them got mixed in their accounts with the com pany and apparently didn't keep their records straight. She had heard the travelling men of the house tell re- markable stories of the slipshod ways and general carelessness of men whose trade amounted to many thou sands of dollars a year.
 Unable to sell her services to one large concern, she got to wondering if she could not sell them to num- Der of small ones, The more she con sidered the matter the more it ap- pealed to her. She went to the credit man of large jobbing house and told him what she had in mind. He was impressed favorably and gave her lot of names of possible custom CTS. She got lists from other men and started out These lists included millinery houses, jewelry stores. gro- cers, etc.
 The first place on her list vas g general store. One glance at the ex- terior convinced her that it would be useless for her to talk to the proprie- tor. Everything indicated slovenly habits on the part of the owner. It would be a hopeless job to straighten out such a man.
 The next was jewelry house. It was neat and inviting. The owner was not too busy to give five min utes of his time to her. She always talks well and she talked particularly we'll that day. She told 2 little about herself and about the general idea she had in mind.
 Jeweler Gave Her Trial,
 T am not business expert q busi- ness doctor or . business Quack, Z she said. simply am q good hookkeep CT. think the small business men need nothing so muck as good book keeping That has been my observar ton from my business career. You keep your own books you tell. mesI Possibly the time you give to your books could be used more adyanta-l eeously by you in looking after your customers. ' do not know. What Fl do know. however. fs that proper bookkeeping will perform the same luaetien for ye.s iinn iinn regard yc sourr whole business as your electric light meter does in regard to your electric ity or your gas meter does in respect to your gas. The meters keep books for you on your electricity and your gas. If your bills run high the meters tell you there is leak or waste saomewhere. They do not stop the elI4fE