The Bismarck tribune., 1931-09-15
LOCAL MERCHANTS
HEAR THAT CREDIT
BUSINESS EXPANDS
Expert Asserts That Field For
Cash Enterprises Is A
Limited One
SEES COMMERCIAL REVIVAL
Says Textile and Rubber Indus
tries Arc Showing I'm
provement Now
SEES COMMERCIAL REVIVAL

provement Now
A warning that local merchants
must meet competition in the retail
credit business or suffer business loss
and possible extinction was issued
here Monday evening in an address
to members Of the Bismarck -Mandan
Credit Bureau by G. o. Stiles. field
secretary Of the National Retail Cred
it association.
Stiles pointed out that credit bust
ness in the United States last year
totaled 0.oo0, ,00o,0 900 and that 1t was
constantly on the increase He said
there is only q limited field In each
locality for q strictly cash business
and that there are but few successful
business ventures built on the cash
system.
Declaring that the textile and rub
ber businesses are beginning to show
recovery in the eastern stateG the
speaker said the end Of the depres-
sion period has begun.
He traced the history Of credit
through three definite stages. The
first was the era Of promiscuous cred
1t, which came to an abrupt end when
merchants found that 40 per cent Of
the population was moving to new To-
calities and that most Of the collec-
tions from this class were impossible.
Cash Field Limited
Then came the cash business per.
iod. which. he said. has but . limited
field today. He painted out that cash
busiuess has had = much larger pet-
|centage of failures than ehe cred1t
field and that since 1877 the increase
In cash business has been but two per
cent while the increase In cash stores
has been more than 100 per cent.
/ The third period Is that Of "lntelli-
gent credit control" which Is just
getting q good start now, he said.
He said the National Retail Credit
association for three years has Offer
ed credit control courses In cities
where wanted. These courses consist
Of one lesson . week for Is weeks. He
advised merchants to start one OF
these courses in Bismarck.
He also recommended his associa-
tion's advertising program TOR collec-
tions, In which all merchants join the
movement.
Saying his organisation Is recog-
nized in washington and federal gov
ernment circles Is one OF wide scope
and business power, he declared that
few important national business
meetings are held at which q repre-
sentative OF the national retail credit
body is not present.
Laws Growing Weaker
."Our collection ana bankruptcy
laws are growing weaker and weaker
in the face OF present business meth
DDS" he said, "and business men to-
day face the necessity OF having them
reorganized." The necessity Tor pre-
venting q man from going through
bankruptcy to cancel his personal as
well as his business debts Is growing
daily, he said.
stiles warned local merchants moi
to fall victims to direct inquiry" tne
system whereby one merchant vii
call another to get credit tnforma'
ton about . prospective customer. He
said the customer usually has one
merchant in town to whom he al
ways pays his bills, and consequently
| he gets q credit recommendation 1ron
this merchant, whereas the customer
probably has many unpaid bills scat
tered over the city. National business
examinations also are resorting to tnt
direct inquiry scheme, the secretary
said In asking merchants not TO co.
operate with them. He recommendee
4 that all queries regarding customer
| be made to the local credit bureau.
He expressed himself In favor o
local credit bureaus establishing col
4 lection agencies for their mercnant'
to protect them from dishonest ane
inefficient collection agencies.
i Urges Blank System
j The system by which merchants asl
prospective credit customers TO III
out I blank giving information abou
themselves also received Stiles rec
4 ommendation. He said merchant
jcould profit by adopting the SAM
system used in banks for persons oe
string loans.
He also recommended that mer
chants adopt the zone credit man
ager" system, where some employe o
1.-THE concern handles all the creol'
This system gives q merchant an op
portunity to refer all OF his persona
friends. the good as well as the bao
to some one else for credit peEHllS
sion in his establishment.
To carry out all Of these plans sue
cessfully. he said. all the merchant
must cooperate to make the loca
credit bureau q strong and well-in
formed institution. The time 10 ca
the bureau regarding . prospectiv
credit customer, he said, Is nefor
rather than after the account Is op
ened. !.
Keep the good credit customers, &c
rid Of the bad. and control your creo
. It business intelligently, he said.
YOUTH Is EXECUTED
. Boston, Sept l5-(PePaul V. HUI
. lev. 10. was electrocuted At IN