Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW.
12
Credit Systems Analyzed.
THE VIEWS OF AN EXPERT ON AN IMPORTANT
QUESTION OF INTEREST TO MANU-
FACTURERS.
promptly the exact information needed by
the credit-man.
When a salesman is "on the road" his
morning mail should bring him an exact
statement of the condition of the account
of every customer or agent on whom he
will probably call on that day. This can
usually be done when the salesman is opera-
ting within five or six hundred miles of the
home office. One clerk in charge of this
matter can easily follow fifteen to twenty
salesmen, and furnish exact data up to the
close of business hours on the day previous
to that on which the salesmen will receive
them.
If it be the policy of the firm to accept
no orders from a dealer who has bills over-
due, the salesman must follow his orders to
the letter. If extensions are to be made or
security to be taken to insure settlement,
there is no way by which it can be done
better than by having it done "on the
ground" by the salesman.
Salesmen who work on commission may
not give satisfaction in the execution of this
scheme, but if he is to be allowed to sell to
anyone and everyone without reference to
the state of their account, if he is to take
sides with the customer in a "kick" against
the business methods of "the house," the
credit-man may as well give up any idea he
may have of preventing the development
of bad and uncollectable accounts and take
for his task the enforcement of collections
only. In other words, the salesman must
not be attorney for the defendant while in
the services of the plaintiff if the system is
to be a success.
No credit system can succeed unless the
salesmen are as a unit with the credit-man
in seeking to protect the interests of the
firm, and this unity of action will never be
unless basic principles of the system
adopted, whatever it may be, are thorough-
ly understood and rigidly adhered to.
The fourth system varies considerably
from those previously discussed, and must
be adapted to the line of goods handled,
the local financial conditions and the
general usages of the community surround-
ing the place in which the sales are made.
In this system a thorough personal knowl-
edge of the debtor and his financial status
are the chief requirements of the credit-
man.
Such credits must be carefully handled,
as small favors are large factors in building
up a local trade, but many small firm? are
unsuccessful as a result of granting favors
and assuming risks which they are not
financially able to carry.
And finally, in whichever of the above
systems any individual system may be
classed, the success will not be marked un-
less the scheme for procedure is thoroughly
developed, and strictly followed in reference
to limit of credit allowed and of time, ex-
tensions allowed, securities accepted and
method of enforcing collections.
ISCUSSIONS in reference to credit-
men and credit systems can be made
more understanding^ if the subject be
classified to some extent. While the sys-
tems are almost as numerous as the firms
employing them, there can be readily recog-
nized four general divisions, each of which
differs distinctly in scope and method from
the remaining three; and each therefore
worthy of special study and treatment.
I. Long-term credits, secured by "paper"
against the retail customer or final pur-
chaser.
II. Short-term credits, usually six
months or less, in which the agent makes
a periodical settlement with the wholesaler
for goods sold or on hand, the security
usually being a bond given by the retailer
or on other "paper"' security furnished by
him.
III. Short-term credits, wherein the sale
is made outright to the retailer on four-
months time or less.
IV. General credits given by retailers to
their customers.
Taken separately, the first mentioned,
which is in general usage throughout the
West, is the most disastrous to the develop-
ment of the true object of competition—
namely, the cheapening of the thing sold
to the final purchaser.
A worthy authority states that at every
convention of implement dealers and manu-
facturers he has attended for several years,
the prime subject of discussion is the
nature of the "paper" to be accepted, the
best method of enforcing collections and
the advisability of shortening credits.
This system encourages purchases by
parties who continually fail to meet their
obligations, demand extensions, and blame
the retailer if he cannot arrange for the ex-
tensions to suit their convenience. It is
the system by which the country collector
derives his meager income by persecuting
the debtor and deceiving the creditor. It
is the system which necessitates high prices
in order that the actual collections may
give sufficient profit to counterbalance the
losses incident to bad accounts.
Happily, progressive wholesalers are
working toward the second and third sys-
tems mentioned above, which with slight
variations offer the true field of labor for
the credit-man of sound judgment, good
business principles and exact methods, says
R. M. Dyer in the "Lawyer and Credit-
man." The credit-man and his firm must
come to a perfect understanding in refer-
ence to the policy to be pursued, and both
the sales and bookkeeping departments must
be thoroughly organized to carry out the
scheme to the letter.
No house can prosper wherein there is a
constant war between salesmen and the
THE Meloharp Co., 33 Union Square,
credit-man, nor can any system be carried this city, have been granted patents on the
out in which the accountants cannot give Meloharp for the Dominion of Canada.
D
R. S. Howard.
THE GENIAL TRAVELER HAS MORE TO SAY ON
BICYCLING AND A NOTED RHEUMATIC CURE
THAN ON MUSIC TRADE AFFAIRS.
ELL, Mr. Howard, what's the
news?" asked THE REVIEW repre-
sentative on Thursday last. The reply was
characteristic of the man: "Have none."
"Well," continued the interlocutor,
"you've been away on a two months' trip,
surely you have some trade news to impart
which will be of general interest?"
"No," said Mr. Howard, "there is always
a big demand for the Fischer pianos;
that's no news. Then our numerous agents
are well established, and 1 have no addi-
tions to report."
THE REVIEW man felt a little disap-
pointed, and decided to play his trump card.
"Doing any bicycling now, Mr. Howard?"
In a moment the noted traveler's eyes glis-
tened with enthusiasm, the pen dropped to
the desk, and words flowed freely.
"Rather," said Mr. Howard; "you should
see my machine, it's a 'bute,' aregular'out
and outer;' it was presented to me, you
know, at the Union League Club, Chicago,
by my friend R. L. Coleman, president of
the Western Wheel Works, Chicago; it is
called the'Crescent.' I've known Mr. Cole-
man—who by the way lives at the Marl-
borough Hotel, this city—for fifteen years.
He's a millionaire to-day and I'm still 'saw-
ing wood.' When in Chicago last, I
visited the 'Crescent' factory; they employ
1,750 hands. I carry my wheel with me
when I travel," continued Mr. Howard;
"have a special trunk for the purpose. It's
.a wonder to me that more piano agents
don't carry wheels as a side line," said Mr.
Howard. " I know one man in Maine who
cleared $5,000 last season by doing so; the
interests do not clash, to my way of think-
ing."
The conversation then drifted to catarrh,
rheumatism and grip, and the J. & C. Fis-
cher representative stated that he knew of
a certain cure for either complaint; a
prominent friend of his who had been a
martyr to the grip had paid the requisite
$25, after telling Mr. Howard he would
gladly pay $2,500 or" $25,000 to be cured,
and the result was perfect restoration.
In writing to thank Mr. Howard, and al-
luding to the specific, the friend stated:
"That cure is great; it knocked me high-
er than Beecher's Life of Christ."
THE REVIEW man thanked Mr. Howard
for his pertinent remarks on the "trade
outlook," and wandered out into the ambi-
ent air feeling mystified as to whether he
had been interviewing a music trade man,
a bicycle magnate or a quack doctor.
BUSINESS with the Behning Piano Co. has
shown a marked increase for this week.
On Monday and Tuesday they received
several good mail orders, which denotes a
general activity in the demand for the
Bebning piano in different sections of the
country.