Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-04-27
ANTHONY n. GEUTiNG
On 8afeouardina Retail Credits

IF THE plans formulated by the Retail
i Merchants Bureau Of the Chamber OF
Commerce are brought to the completion
which 1t is hoped to attain, 1t will be prac-
tically impossible for any irresponsible per-
son to obtain goods on credit from the retail
merchants of Philadelphia, according to An
thony H. Geuting. who has played an i'm
portant part in the organization and carry
ing on of this work.
philadelphia is: in a way; in IN a .,nn peculiar
1.-THE big towns of the West grew by design
and not by accident In that they brought
enterprises to their cities, got the right kind
of railroad and steamboat connections. ac-
cording as they were inland or on water,
and thus in a sense planned their own des-
tiny. But an old city like Philadelphia grew
from the force Of circumstances. The West.
ern cities grew through the residents coming
there as individuals; the Eastern cities ike
Philadelphia, especially, grew in groups.
Importance Of the Retailer
"This has necessarily led to partial lack
of cooperative enthusiasm, especially
among the retail dealers. The retailer is
the last link in the business chain. but he
is very important one. 1t Is the retail
stores by which city is Judged by strangers
rather than by its great industrial establish
ments. The latter people hear about, but
when they visit city they rarely see them
personally. 1t is the hotels, the theatres
and, above all. the stores which make city
These really constitute the face which the
city exhibits to the public.
'Orixinally the Retail Merchants Bureau
was established with the development of this
thought in mind. and 1t may be carried out
later, but out Of 1t has grown system for
the protection of the merchants in dealing
with customers who open credit accounts and
never intend to pay for the goods they get.
'"There are nearly 2,OOO,OO0 persons in
Philadelphia, of whom about 6OO,O 900 are
adults. 1t is our plan ultimately to register
every one of these GOO, 900 persons at a CEN
tral credit bureau on master card This
card will contain everything about the indi-
yidual which we can learn and everything
which happens to him or her. 1t will con.
tain, among other things, the record of that
when any merchant is in doubt as what to
do in request for credit. all he will have
to do is to telephone to that bureau and the
information will be at his disposal. 1t will
answer his question 900 times out Of a
Numerous Willy Tricks
''There is any number Of willy trick,
which are played by persons who seek credit
| and do not ntend to pay their bills. A
| favorite one is for this person to maintain
an account at two or three Of the larger
stores, which he Is careful to keep paid ur
to the minute. Then he, will apply for d
| charge account at number of other stores
| large and small, and give the larger ones as
| reference, or at least say that he has an
| account there.
"The merchant asked for credit cOmmuni
Gates with the other store, and the only
thing that they can say is that the account
| is always paid promptly. The new accounts
| are therefore opened, and after all the mer
| chandise possible has been secured the per
son vnnishes, leaving the bills unpaid. Sucf
! n central bureau as we will have Obviate'
this, because the state of the account at not
| only two or three stores but at all In thu
| city is shown, and II the bills are paid
promptly at some of the stores and not al
others. this also appears on the record.
Public Pays These Bills
"All money lost on such accounts Is in tho
end paid by that very much larger section OF
the public which pays its bills. The mer.
| chants cannot stand these heavy losses and
remain solvent and so, to cover them to some
extent at least, prices have to be raised
slightly. II there was NJ money lost OF,
| had accounts in the course of the year the
price of merchandise generally could nno
| would be reduced.
| 'But the merchants themselves are mt II
| n tremendous expense to maintain their i'm
diyidual credit bureaus, and this exDens,
would also be eliminated by the plans whiIn
! we have In mind. 1t would cost apnrOyl .
mately 500, coo year to maintain such .
| bureau, doing sll The work at adding names
| keeplng the master cards up to date 0nJ
! 1sinS' svssytlApg5 slss connected with ths