The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1921-04-07
FOUL TIPS
By the Observer.


overheard some merchants talk
ing recently. Said one: Don't it
get YOUR goat to credit a fellow all
along for groceries or clothes when
he is hard up, carry his account for
him until your creditors threaten to
sue YOU for their money, and then
| have YOUR customer get as mad as
setting hen because you want your
money? And, the thing would not
be so bad if they would get mad en-
ough to pay up, but frequently they
do not pay the account at, and quit
trading with YOU to boot" That is
fact merchants have to contend with,
and it has almost convinced me our
present system of living on credit is
all wrong. l would like to see the
world on a cash basis. Everybody
credits pretty much everybody else.
A large percentage of them don't pay
their accounts, and the good pay
guys have to pay for them. In other
words it costs you something to pay
your debts, because somehow the de-
fcit made by the ones who do not pay
must be made up, or the merchants
would go broke. I do not live up to
this doctrine, but, like the preacher
fellow once said, you should do as I
advise and not as I do.
That reminds me of fellow here
in Bamberg. l don't think he reads
The Herald. I wish he did. He
made some purchases here in town
and failed to pay for them, and then
when he needed to make some more
purchases he went to Orangeburg or
someplace else and got the goods and
paid cash. That's gratitude for you.
That merchant not only lost his &C
count, but lost the customers busi-
ness because he was kind enough to
give the party some credit when the
credit was really needed, too. Eel
low of fairly high standing in the
community. One can't get away with
that sort of thing, though. Some day
he will be sorry of it, if he's got any
conscience, and most folks have
some kind of conscience, badly warp
ed or shriveled perhaps, for lack of
good healthy exercise.
How did it strike you to read about
that old faker Debs being turned loose
on his "honor" to go to Washington
to plead his own case? That's what
I call putting premium on devil
ment. That fellow caused a lot of
trouble to America, and about the
only criticism I have to make about
his conviction was the leniency with
which he was treated. I just wonder
if you or I were in the federal pris-
on we would be allowed to come home
or go to Washington unattended by
dozen policemen. No, I will not
put it just that way. Would we be
allowed to stick our heads out of the
jail at all? Many times, no. But
Debs has big following, and there's
politics.
Speaking about politics, what folks
will do in the name and for the sake
of politics. And money, I ought to
add. About the same thing, anyway,
for politics without some sort Of mon
ey consideration is as rare as the
beautiful dowRy snow in the, month
of July. I have known of people to
put their mother in the insane asy-
lum because of money, and politics
will make folks do about as bad
sometimes. However, politics seem
to be one of those necessary evils we
have always heard about and never
seen, and some day maybe there will
be honest and clean politics. Like
wise the good person is looking for
the millennium.
It's an easy thing to praise peo-.
pie. Comes just as natural, and peo-
pie don't mind a bit if they exagger-
ate a little in telling folks Of their
good qualities. 1t is the hardest
sort of thing to tell the truth and
the whole truth. People need to
need the truth about themselves. We
would not be nearly so chesty about
the compliments we have others pay