Saturday news. (Watertown, S.D.) 19??-19??, 1916-02-17
You And Your Credit


from Talks on Thrift sent out by
the American Bankers Association:
Every man should be jealous Of two
things: his good name and his credit.
Asgood name helps his credit and
good credit helps a good name. He
should value his reputation as his
choicest possession, and he should
guard his credit equally as well, if
not better than he guards his money.
He a protect his good name by
keeping good company, avoiding
questionable places and bad habits in
general. His name is what he makes
It. He can build up and protect his
credit by M course-borrowing and
paying as he agrees-buying on time
and paying on time.
The greatest force in the business
world is credit-the power to borrow;
to get trusted; to obtain the prop
erty Of another to use as our W on
la mere promise to pay. Credit"
says Webster, "has done more than
all the mines in the world Credit
spans rivers, opens mines, builds
railroads, moves commerce and al
war. Our whole business structure
rests upon it. For every extension
Iof credit there must be a debt and
there a be no credit where there is
no debt.
Debt is not dishonorable; the abuse
of credit is. The man who runs in
debt is not a business ~off-cast, but a
sensible man-providing he Uses his
credit Alright. There are some forms
of debt to be encouraged; there are
Others to be avoided. To buy a
house with a mortgage on it is com
mendable; but to buy an automobile
from the proceeds of a mortgage On
your house ought to be disgrace. To
run a grocery bill is no crime; to
fail to pay as you agree ought to be.
To furnish your house on the INSTALL
ment plan may be the best thing you
ever did-some people could not have
a home any other way; but to buy
clothes on a dollar a week install
ment plan is financial suicide.
Strange as it may seem, those who
have operated on the p~ay-as-you-go-
or-don't-go plan find it difficult when
they must ask for credit. The trou-
BILE is, they have done nothing to es-
tablish their credit. This is partic-
ularly true in large cities where ones
habits are not well known, but in
small places a reputation as a cash
customer soon gets to be common
property.
One of the best known public ac-
|countants in New York states that
early in life he saw the time coming
when he would need to borrow, and
concluded to establish credit before
hand. He knew that if he borrowed
and paid promptly, he would soon
have good credit, and six per cent
for credit is cheap. And so he opened
a bank account, got in favor with his
banker, borrowed but paid punctually
until he was well regarded as a credit
risk.
The time came when he needed
money to nance his undertakings,
and he found no trouble in getting
what he wanted, because he had es'
tablished himself al a safe borrower
Guard your credit as you guard
your health. 1t will always be a good
friend to you and never desert you
Borrow when you must, but pay as
you agree--there is no other way
Make your word as good as your
bond. Treat your debts as sacred
PUBLICATIONS. Don't "welch" on your
business transactions. Play the man
Don't let the lender do all the wor
rying over the debt, do some your
self. Don't let DIT go at that, but
worry to a certain result. Dom
think for a moment your creditor has
forgotten your debt, no matter how
old, we v forget such things.
When you must borrow, do not ge