The Meeker herald., 1918-03-30
A Good-Hearted
Man
(copyrisht, 1871. western Newspaper Unte.-l
3, ALAN HrNsDAn

II
Copyright. 1917. Western Newspaper Uniea.I
Ny brother Jim and I inherited
enough money from father to go into
business and we set up hardware
store. Not having any custom to start
on went out beating mp trade. ieav-
Ing Jim In the store to do the inside
work. was a pretty good salesman.
II say It myself. but Jim made
mess Of his part Of the business. He
did not keep at the financial part of
It at all. He would trust any one, and
the consequence was that we were
soon loaded down with bad debts.
One evening after business hours
we figured up and found that we
couldn't 60 on. Jim had advanced
money to certain parties who had
played upon his feelings. He agreed
to 60 out of the concern, assuming
those debts and leave me to try to
wind up the concern. He took him
self of to ncighboring town and
went to work trying to get in the bad
debts he had made.
There were 10 many Of them. large
and small, that It would take me life
time to run them all down. So hired
collector. paid him hundred dol
lars month and at the end Of the
first month he turned In $75. This
was not paying, 80 I dismissed him
and hired another collector. He made
worse failure than the other man.
hired i've men In succession, then
switched of and a woman having ap.
piled for the position engaged her.
Since Miss Julia Sparks had a win
some way with her I believed she
would succeed where others had
failed. And she did. The FIRST month
she worked for me she got in $500, the
second month $1,000 and the third ST.
800. She continued her work till she
had got in every outstanding debt.
Jlm's assuming the loans he had
made didn't help me at all. He could
neither collect them nor pay them
himself. was sued as his partner on
one Of them aud the case went against
me. So was liable for them all.
II wonder" said Miss Sparks one
day, 'If I couldn't collect those debts
for your brother, 40 As to enable him
to pay them to you"
''If you can and WILL" replied. II
will grant you any favor You ask"
"Well, I'll try" she said. Can you
give me list Of themT'
I gave her the list and she started
out to see what she could do. She
found 1t very hard work. The debtors
were mostly 'dead-beats," who had
imposed ON inns good nature. and
some Of them had no money to pay
with. Those who had the money were
skinflints. who never paid until they
were compelled to at the end of law
suit.
Miss Sparks started out on her work.
The first day she succeeded in getting
young sport who got rid Of 1t the same
day at pool. think he must have
gone sweet on the collector, or he
never would have paid the loan in the
world. Miss Sparks averred that he
had won some money at poker the
night before and she caught him In
the nick Of time. Three days later she
got In two amounts totaling eight dol
lars. Tne amounts sne coiieeted were
sometimes paid to her. but these were
small ones. All the large ones were
paid to jim.
AT the END OF three months hard
work Miss Sparks told me that she
had got In % per cent OF the amount
20 per cent having been PAID directiy
to Jim. The remaining 70 per cent
was uncoliectaoie' either because the
1ebtors were without any means
whatever or could not be found. Inc
amount Miss Sparks had collected
sixteen hundred dollars-she turned
into me. She asked me. should Jim
turn In the amounts paid to him would
{, upon his promise to turn deaf enr