The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1921-05-12
CREDIT CURTAILMENT


operation rather than antagonlsm.
There is no doubt as. to the advisable
ity or necessity of curtailment of cred
it on open accounts. -'
The announcements of the kenne-
wick Merchants association that on all
business transacted after April l cred
it would be limited absolutely to 30
days and that failure of a customer to
paw his current account with any mer-
chant would automatically shut off his
credit with all members of the asso-
citation, has brought forth lot of crit
icism and protest.
Undoubtedly there are two sides to
this question. This paper attempts
to see both. 1t may be that the plan
is not the best one that could have
been devised. 1t probably contains ser
ious defects that will have to be rem
edied before it can be put into success
full operation. In some cases the plan
if rigidly enforced will undoubtedly
work hardship on some good and re-
liable customers. 1t has been adopted
at time of year when little money is
coming into the community and when
the credit demand of the community
is entering it's highest stage. Enforce
ment of the plan means that some
good, reliable, trustworthy customers
are going to be temporarily inconven-
fenced. Yet the plan will CONTINUE to
be plan only so long as it is en-
forced without favor or discrimination.
It is not difficult to see the mcr-
chants side of the question. They
have reached that point where they
must either curtail credit or quit busi-
ness. The editor of this paper made
the rounds of the business houses yes
terday and is convinced that there is
not merchant in the town, who if
he had the capital, would not be will
ing to extend credit to the limit, and
in adopting the thirty-day plan they
are actuated solely by the motive to
put the business of this community
upon a safe and sound basis. They
admit that it would have been much
easier to have adopted the present
plan a year ago or to delay it until
fall. They didn't adopt it year ago.
They can't delay until fall. They can't
continue to pay cash for goods and
sell those goods on time. The whole
sale houses won't carry them, most OF
them have borrowed to the limit at the
banks, and they are unable to further
finance themselves or their ] custom
ers.
Believing that it would be of inter-
est to know just how big load the
Kennewick merchants are carrying the
writer interview % business firms and
received a statement of their out
standings. These % firms are carry
ing on their books $265 $50, nearly all
of which is more than 80 days old.
This total does not include car sales
of the garages, nor did the firms IN
terviewed include lawyers, doctors and
other professional men. The more
than a quarter million total is for
merchandise sold - merchandise Ioi
which the merchants have been held &c
strict account by the wholesalers.
This really tells the whole story
The credit. load is too big already
The merchants can't carry a bigger
one. They have accommodated then
customers to the limit and in theil
efforts to put their business upon 9
safe footing they should have the co
operation and not the hostility o.
those whom they have accommodated
There may be better plan in accom-
plishing the desired results. II SO tn
merchants should have the kindly ad
vice and cooperation of their custom
ers in adopting such plan.
The Kennewick merchants are no
alone in their present endeavor. Sim
liar measures have been, and are be
ing, adopted the country over and tn
question of curtailing credit is one o
the big problems which confronts tn
business world today. In this connec
ton we quote from an article by A
w. Atwood which appeared in recen
number of the Saturday Evening Post
"Another respect in which the mer
chant has been obstructive of progress
in the most reprehensible degree, es
pecially in the smaller towns, has bee
his slowness in cooperating with rival
to prevent abuses in extending credi
to customers.
"Nothing is more common than t
hear merchant in a small town sa
that he would make a big profit