Trifling With One's Business Reputation

A business man car. better affoid to lose nis money than his credit. Yet we íiud frequent instances where men seera to have little or no regard for their business reputation. We do not mean to say that they absolutely do not care about their credit, but, from a lack of business sagacity, from poor management, or from stress of circumstances. thev allow thpi-nsulvpa tn An the very thinga which tend to de3troy their good commercial standing. Whether they are aware of the consequence3 of their acts it is often hard to determine, but be that as it may. there is no question that many solvent traders have seriously impaired their credit by the means we have suggested, acd have done so when there was no occasion for so doing, and when a little discretion on their part would have enabled them to steer clear of these difficulties. It was but a few days since that a party of business men were discussing this matter of credits. One of them said : "There is A, a wealthy dealer, the head of a large wholesalo firrn, yet I would hesitate to trust him for even a smali sum. I would sooner trust him for a thousand dollars than for flve dollars, fur he pays his large debts and Iets his smaller ones go until his creditors are worn out." Farther on in the conversations the cause of A's delinquency leaked out. J t appeared that he wat doing a large business, but that it wa so expanded that he found great diííi culty in meeting with promptness al) of bis obligations. Rather than let his large bilis go unpaid he was in tht habit of standing-off his smaller ei editors until it was coavenient to pay them,whichoften happened to be a very long time. This system of management caused him to be looked upon as an unsafe peraon to trust, both by his small and large creditors. He might better have asked for an extensión o time on his large bilis than on his small ones, for it is considered lesa dis creditable lo ask forbearauce in large matters than in those of lesser import anee, it being the custom of trade to expect that dealers will be prepared to meet their small current obligations. It Í3 a sort of indication of povert1 to be unable to meet small bilis. It i an evidence to the world that the trader is hard up -a fact which it i better to reveal to one creditor, i necessary, than to the many. In no a few cases merchauts, through c;;re lessness, 01 even perversity, neglfct to pay their bilis even when perfectlj able to do so, havicgauiple fund on band for that purpose. These individ uals content thernselves, no doubt, with a knowledge of tbeir own ability to meet their bilis, forgetüng tbat their creditors may not be in posses son of the same Information, or havïng such informatioD, may not feel inclined to look with charity upon the delinquency. It is probable that if some dealers knew how their names were bandied about in the trade, how much comrnent the neglect of their business engagements occasioned, they would be induced to be more prompt. There is another feature of this credit business which is worthy of atteution, and that is, the practice which some have of classif ying their crediti rs. Some say : "This bill is due to a home o editor: I will let it go unpaid until I have paid ray foreign bilis." Otherssay: "This bill is due to a relative or personal frier.d and I will pay that in preference to my ordinary commtreial debts." Still another will say : "This bill is for advertising and needn't 'ue paid till I get ready." JMany seem to think that their engagements on subsciiption papers are mere corrjplimentary etigae:emen!s which they may pay at pleasure. A man should not make a contract of any kind that he does not intend to fulflll to the strict letter. He jhould respect not only his owii obligation but the rights of those to whom he is oblisated. A merchant cannot afford to trille wilh his reputation. Hemay be in dulged in his negligent methods, but he ís sure to pay. in one wav or anoth