Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1915-04-06
"SETTLE-UP WEEK"
PROVES SUCCESS
Iowa Town Merchants Keep
Money On Move Squar-
ing Accounts.

A Chicago special TO the New Yorl
World de, ibes the. workings o.
"settle.up week" in an Iowa town
where it proved a great success. TIT
special says:
1.-Two small cities Of the Middle
West have had 'settIe-up day. anc
merchants and customers say it'i
fine. The first 'settie-up day ives
held at Waukop. Ia. in December
The Waukon merchants organizs'
ton entered on the plan after two
weeks Of thorough advertising in the
newspapers and in bills distributed
from house to house and farm to
farm in the surrounding country.
They then mailed statements to ell
, their patrons, especially in arrears,
calling their attention to the ap.
proach of 'settle-up week and de-
failing the plans of the merchants
The merchants announced that
they had notified all wholesalers and
jobberJ with whom they traded of
their intention to use the money paid
In to them by their patrons to pay
bills against them in the hands of
the wholesalers. as we'll as other bills
outstanding in the Waukon commun-
ity; and, in fact, about half of the
money taken in by the merchants was
paid out t. factories and produce rs
in and about Waukon.
THE week did not open very pro-
pitiously for the plan. but when two
days had passed nearly 500 bills we're
CO united paid. It was estimated that
there were about $500 outstanding
bills. By Wednesday of that week
the paying up movement was under
full Roadway. and the campaign was
90 pushed that m rchants were en-
aSled to remind the backward debt
ors with minimum Of offerse.
"Have-you-paid-your-bill to-day?
signs were posted throughout the
city. and the CURRY was picked up |
and wide spread by the citizens and
applied with as much freedom as the
Have you.registered-to-day? query
Of pre-primary politics.
1.-The general run of the citizens
without difficulty to the
plan, but the slow-paying debtors
had to be Jared repeatedly. TIL.
merchants mailed out a bin every day
to each of their customers who ow-
ed accounts of longstanding. The
bills were mailed out on bill heads of
the merchants organization. A blu
reau was established where protest
ing citizens could thrash out their
differences with any merchant over
any bill the amount, terms or exist
ence of which they disputed. Few
took advantage of this bureau. but
such work as it did was effective.
"The report on the decisions of
this bureau shows that in almost all
the cases the books of the merchant
were right. unless he had been gross
ly careless in keeping his books,
which proved true in two or three
cases. Forgetfulness was the cause
Of 80 per cent of the old unpaid ac-
counts.
when the balance of the week
was cast up it was reported that
more than 1000 bills had been paid
up to date. and that bank deposits of
the mercha hts bad been $40, 900 high
er than ever before. The $4,000
Immediately was started on its way
to the various creditors of the merch-
ants, and it is estimated that $25. 900
Of this found its way almost at once
back into the hands of original pay
ers.
"The $50 merchants in Oak Park,
ILL.,. are now planning a 'settle.up.
week, to be held about the third
week in April. Three merchants of
Oak Park had 'settle-up.week' on
their own hook about a year ago,