Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1915-12-03


as National Pay-Up Week, February
21-26 inclusive.
Lretit is one of the great as let's II
our present-day system of business,
but like many another good thing, it is
sometimes abused and overdon }, and
because so many people are careless
about paying their accounts, thafa are
millions upon millions of dolla jT
outstanding accounts in this country
to-day that could be paid witho-r n
ccn"eniencing the debtor, ami if all
these millions of dollars were put 1nto
circulation during one week, the.
wouli He the greatest week of pros.
pa,r, ever known in this country.
While credit in a great thing, it at
the same time becomes tax VII al
abl sed. The man who does not pay
his debts pays a penalty or tx every
time he buys a dollars worth OF lner-
chandise; but not only must he ray
this tax, but the man who pays his
Debts is compelled to bear his share
OF this unjust taxa tax collected n
iut reased price on the commodities of
life occasioned by the failure of the
debtor to pay his bills.
1t is often said that the customers
of the retail merchants who pay cash
pay more for their merchandise than
t,tv should, because they have to ply
for what deadbeat gets without pay =
ing, and there is much truth in the
statement too-the man who pays his
mills pays cash, does really pay more
for the commodities of life than he
should pay because so many do not
lay.
National Pay-Up Week had its be-
ginning in the little city of Wauko1,
iowa, county seat of but little over
1000 population at the end of little
railway in the northeastern part of the
state of Iowa Waukon is a beautiful
little city, and busy business center,
but the people of that community are
| lii'e the people in many another town
and community-thati is, some of therl
have, during the past years, bought
goods for which they never paid, until
the week of January 9-15, 1915, the
/ principal of the high school, who hap
pens to be secretary of the CONNER
| cial club, suggested that it would be
good thing for Waukon to have a
day of reckoning, or rather, a week of
reckoning The idea appealed to the
| business men of Waukon, more par
ticularly to the merchants who had
considerable money in outstanding ac-
counts So the week of January g.
Is was advertised as Pay-Up Week,
and during that time in this little
city, over $4,000 in old accounts was
wiped off the books of the local bus
| iuess houses.
Everybody seemed to join in the
spirit, and consequently all found it
easy to pay their debts. And it is
needless to say that prosperity
reigned in that town, for it means
something to town of 1000 popula-
| ton to lift a debt of $4,000 in one
| weeks time, and especially when part
| of the debt is so old that it has been
considered uncollectable.
The results of Pay-Up Week at
Waukon were so good that the Mer>
chants Trade Journal, national mag
azine read by retail merchants in every
town of any consequence in the en-
tire country, told its readers of the
success of the Waukon people in pay
mig their debts and urged business
men in other towns to give greater at
tention to their collections, and soon
other towns began trying the plan
all with splendid results. And now
the entire country seems ready for
this extraordinary event of National
Pay-Up Week.
Our credit is national in its scope.
Tie manufacturer extends credit to