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Rh sufficient number of bills have been incurred, and a close tab on them and quick action is needed to collect the money.

Irresponsible and Unreliable.

Debtors who have no intention whatever of paying their bills comprise this class. If they have any resources they keep them hidden or transfer them to their wives’ name. They deliberately buy as much as they possibly can and when no more can be had, shift the scene of their activities to some other house. They always solemnly agree to any- thing proposed, are always tricky, can seldom be reached personally, are aware that having no means, at least ap- parent means, action is not apt to be taken, and if they ever do pay a bill it is simply to lead the credit man on to allow them to get away with a larger bill than they other- wise would. They deserve no consideration whatever, although it is a pity that their families frequently suffer because of them. Sooner or later these debtors become very well known locally and it is then impossible for them to get credit, but until that happens, they can cause an enormous amount of loss to the community in the aggregate.

When one is once “stuck” with such a debtor, hard and harsh tactics are necessary at the very outset. Never pay- ing their bills, they have all had much and varied expe- rience with the methods of collection men and can almost intuitively discern the creditor’s next step. Unless the account is large, it might as well be closed rather than