Evening star., 1924-06-29

SCI OuC ot Jdln. lou udV0 Doen
in one jam or another all your life
You were In q Jam when I married
you. and money was mignty tight,
and we had to begin with the house
only half furnished, and you've al
ways been In a jam. and we never got
ahead, and the speculative building
business is a curse. You always
talked of the time when you could be
building three houses. and then four,
and then eight. and then whole rows
of houses, and now that You have
tackled three at q time you'll prob
ably bust higher than q kite"
So she kissed him; being that kind
Of wife.
y
WHEN his next note came due Mr..
" Bipps sat at his desk a full half
hour with his weary head on his
hand, thinking. With money so
mighty tight and every one pressing
him for payments. If the bank called
his notes he was gone. And a bank
is a bank and has to protect it's de-
positors. 1t cannot wait and allow
its paper to so bad. So Mr.. Bipps
telephoned his wife.
Now, listen, Mary" he said. II
won't be out for dinner tonight, and
may be l won't be home until late.
If you're tired, don't wait up for me"
VERY we'll. But. remember, you
need your rest" said Mrs. Bipps.
Mr.. Bipps that night put his pride
in his pocket Che hadn't much of that
sort Of pride) and called on sixteen
- - hnn
Modern Homes.
OF the sixteen men ten were not
suffering from mighty tight money.
it appeared. and-with more or less
reluctance-paid something to Mr..
Bipps. In all he collected a little
over $1,000. The next morning, be-
tween jumps to his Barlninster street
house, hfs Clay street house and his
Gerry street house, Mr.. Bipps jumped
to the bank. The cashier received
him from the far side of a small maS
hogany desk.
well, Bipps?"
"Weil, I'll tell you, Mr.. Hammer
haugh." said Mr.. Bipps, trying to as
sumo the solid look that a debtor al
ways does assume when he seeks a
favor. i've got a note due here today
You know that. Well. how IL l pay
on it and renew it? How
il / pay, say, a thousand on it?"
'Joe, bring me Bipps' note that's
due today"
"Of course" said Mr.. Bipps, putting
the best face on the matter that he
could. 'I want to reduce it the next
time it comes due. You can make the
new one for a month il you want to.
Pay off thousand now and renew
the rest for a month, and then I'll re-
duce it again. I'll try to. Moneys
mighty tight just now"
The cashier looked at the note Joe
brought.
"AIi right. You pay thousand and
renew for thirty days and agree to
pay something when it comes due
again. Is that your idea?"
yes" said Mr.. Bipps with dry lips.
"AE right" said Mr.. Hammerbaugh.
We'll try it and see what happens.
Joev'
Mr. Bipps went back to his office,
and the man from the Glen Hutter
Company was there.
cant pay you a cent" Mr.. Bipps
declared. "Just had to meet a note
at the bank. Next week."
"Ali right. Next week then" said
the Glen Hutter Lumber Company's
man reluctantly. along about Mon
day?"
"wednesday - Wednesday after
noon," said Mr.. Bipps irrftably.
Great Scott, you don't give me a mo-
ment of peace. I wish to thunder l
had never tried to build three houses.
Back last year you fellows didn't
hound the life out of me. If I ever
get square-never again"
IT was an awful winter for Mr..
= Bipps. They all came down on
him-the collectors came in hordes.
They lay in wait in his office from
morning till night. In January Mr..
Bipps went to his safe deposit box
and got out the second mortgage on
the East Sunshine boulevard extern
sion house-the Queen Anne cottage
with the colonial porch-and. feeling
like a whipped dog, carried it to
Brown. Bittern & Caggerty. This
meant a sacrifice for safety. A spec
ulative builder does not sell his in
stallment second mortgages unless
he has to. They represent the profit
and part Of his investment in a house.
1t is by having them paid in full by
the buyer. In installments, that he
makes a pront On his building ae-
tivity.
The price he got was not bad. 1t
enabled him to pay q little on most
of his bills, pay something on his
next note at the bank, and pay $500
option price on that let on the other
side Of town whore, II he pulled
this mighty tight money sit
uatien, he might build another house
later on.
Another thing came from that sale
of . mortgage. MF. Bipps, sitting at
the far side Of the desk frem Gag
gerty, explained why he was obliged
to sell . builders second mortgage.
Bright, crisp, snappy Mr. caegerty
listened with interest The frm had
sold Mr. Bippe most OF the lots he
had bought, and 1t had seld and re-
sold quite few Of ME-. Bipps' houses
1t would have been q bad thing had
Mr. Bipps gone out Of the building
business. 30 Mr.. Caggerty listened.
"You look sick, Henry" he said.