The Tracer

One of the most important men in the employ of a firm that makes a specialty of selling goods on the iustallment plan is the "traoer. " His duty, as his name signifies, is to fiml out the whereabouts of delinquent customers, who think to get out of the trouble of future paymentsby quietly moving away and neglectiug to leave their uew address. Nothing could be more foolish than such a course, for this is a feature of the business that the installment houses have reduced to a science. It iï obvious that in this city the great niajority of those who purchase goods on weekly payments live iu flats. This makes it a comparatively easy matter for the dealers to keep them under surveillance, for one of the first things the collector does is to see the janitor and inform him which families in the house have bought goods on the installment plan. It pays to fee the janitor for this service, for he is in a position to know when any moving is abüut to take place, and the information he gives the collector has been the rneans of nipping in the bud many a well laid scheme to get out of paying a furniture bil!. Sometimes, of conrse, it happens that a dishonest family will move away in such a hurry that the jauitor is unable to inforra the flrm in time. In such an event the "tracer" is put on the case. He sets abont his work with the method of the trained detective. He is familiar with the name and address of every furniture mover in the city, and his acquaintance among the helpers is so extensive that it is more than likely he has a personal friend among the men Vfho moved the family he is seeking. With such advantages his task is not nearly so hard as the uninitiated would imagine, and there would be fewer attempts made to "beat" the installment dealers if it were better known how little chance a person has to 6ucceed. -