People's Pilot, Volume 6, Number 39, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 March 1897 — The Archer Clearance House [ARTICLE]

The Archer Clearance House

Conversation Between an Archer Purchasing Agent and a Lumber Dealer Which has the Merit Not only of Being an Actual Occnrrence, But also Raises the Innumerable Queries Which Occur to Everyone When First Looking into the Subject and Supplies Answers.

The following conversation had between the business agent of the Indianapolis Temple of Archers and a lumber dealer in Johnson county, is given in full detail just as it passed between them. It is but illustrative of a thousand others of like import, raising the very questions which naturally come to the mind of every man doing business under, and who is wedded to the present system of exchange on a cash basis. It is lengthy and exhaustive, but not tiresome or exhausting on the reader. It is submitted to tell its own story, and criticisms should be withheld until the reader has taken in the entire scope of the subject iu hand.

D—Will the merchant take them for goods? A— Here is an agreement signed by the merchant stating that he will. D—What can he do with them?

A—Again, you are beginning to worry about some other man’s business. He says he will take them and that ought to be satisfactory to you. D—But I can’t take the whole bill out in dry goods. I need some groceries. A —The grocer has ontered into a written agreement to take them. -* D—But it will be too much trouble to go round and get the written consent of everybody to take these orders. A—But that work is already done and cannot be urged as an objection. D— But how will- this thing wind up?

Agent—l am required to negotiate for a car of lumber, and as the organization I represent has only skill and labor, and the products of labor, I wish to know if you cannot arrange to exchange lumber for things you need for domestic use. Dealer—My lumber costs me the cash, and hence I cannot exchange it for anything except gold or silver, or money based on them. A A—Are you obliged to sell all your lumber for money with which to pay for it? Is there no profit in your business? D—Of course the lumber does not cost me all I get for it. If so, I would be obliged to quit the business. You know I must live off of the profit I make. A—Of what does your living consist? D — I must purchase food, clothing, shelter and tools to work with. A—Then why not buy those things with lumber at once? D—Whom would I find that would take lumber for the things I need? The butcher could not take it for meat; the grocer could not take it for sugar and coffee; the dry goods merchant could not take it for cloth and calico. What could these men do with lumber? A—The organization has use for the lumber if you can find use for the things you speak of. We have all these things for sale, and will sell them to you for lumber. D —But what will the organization do with the lumber? A—Do you always ask that question of every man you sell a car of lumber to? D—No, of course not. All I want is my pay for it. A—Why then, ask me such a question? D—l beg your pardon, but what am I to do with all these groceries, clothing and things you propose to give me in exchange for this lumber? A—That question you must, answer for yourself. I presume you have use for them or you would not consent to buy them. D—But how are you to pay for them? These men cannot take lumber from you, any more than they can from me. A —ls they deliver the goods to you upon the society’s order, would it any material difference to' you how they got their pay for them ? D—This whole thing puzzles me and I can’t understand how you are going to manage it. A—ln other words you don’t understand my business. May I ask if you understand the shoemaker’s business, or the butcher business,’ or the tailor trade? This is my method. I give you these checks, which serve as orders on the business men of your town.

A—-Each transaction is complete in itself. If I take your lumber and you get the goods, that winds that business up, and if it is not satisfactory you need not try it again. D—But suppose I get two or three hundred dollars of this stuff and the thing bursts up? A—You would be very foolish to accumulate two or three hundred dollars of it, and would have to understand .it a great deal better than you do now before you would take the risk. D—But suppose I wanted to go to Europe. What would Ido with it? A—What would you do with your sugar and coffee, if you were going to Europe? D—l would not be likely to have enough sugar and coffee on hand to make any difference. I would look out for that. A—Just what you will have to do in this case. D—But who is going to insure me that after a large amount of this is got out the thiag will not burst up and leave somebody with the bag to hold. A—All you have to do is to be sure you are not one that is thus caught. D—What assurance can I have that I will not be left with them on my hands the first deal? A—The written contract of the men that they each will take them from you at their face for their goods. D—Suppose they charge me more for goods than when buying for cash? A—ls anyone attempts this you can go to some one else to buy. We are not limited to one store, as the working man who deals by the week on a pass book is, D—Can I use these orders to pay- my employes with? A —ls your employes give their consent you can< but I advise a better way. Suppose you make your pay day every two weeks, and use these checks to keep the time of your hands from one pay day to another. D—What advantage will that be to me?

A—They need goods from day to day, and as they are now obliged to go in debt on their own individual credit for their things, they are confined to one place to trade at. This subjects them to extortions from the merchant, besides the other inconveniences of limited credit. These orders are good in ten or a do2en places, and thus their field of selection is greatly enlarged and they are not confined to one place to trade, which is an advantage they will soon realize and profit by by spending them for what they want. When pay day comes around they will have but few time checks to be cashed, and thus they will assist in working out the problem without really knowing it.

D—What advantage will that be to me? A—lt will enable you to pay for labor in producing lumber, in trade. D— But lumber is as good as gold. Why not sell my lumber for money and pay myHiands the cash. I find no difficulty in selling all the lumber I can get for cash. A—ls you can sell for cash all the lumber you can get, and get for cash all the lumber you can sell, w'nab hinders you from doing all the business you desire? D—l lack the money to buy with. A—Why don’t you sell lumber and get more money? D—The lumber business is a little dull now. Money is scarce these hard times. A—What makes hard times? D—Over production. I have more lumber on hand now than I can find a market for. 'f’he same is true of other industries, hence men are not working as many hands as common. This leaves a great many men unemployed who are forced to economize, or go in debt. A—Let me fully understand you. You say first, “Lumber is as good as gold” and that you can sell all your lumber for cash. Second, you need more money to buy lumber with. Third, you have more lumber on hand than you can sell, these hard times. Suppose you sell me a car of lumber for domestic supplies. D —l must have money to pay my debts with. A—Why not use the money you have to spend for domestic supplies, for paying your debts, and buy your supplies with lumber. D— I don’t do business that way. I pay cash for my lumber and I sell for cash. That’s the business method. Besides, I have a partner who would not consent to that kind of a business. A—l did not know you had a partner. I never see him around the lumber yard. D—No, he leaves all the buying, inspecting, measuring and selling to me. I make out the bills and he pays them. He furnishes ail the money and gives me half we make. I look upon this as a remarkably good thing for me, for last year we cleared ten thousand dollars. A—You mean to say, you buy all the lumber .measure and stack it, inspect and sell it; do all the work, furnish all the skill, and give him half you make for the use of his money. Is not that the proper way to state it? D—Yes;"but you see I could do nothing without his money, and I had better give him half I make than do nothing. A—Would you be willing to give him half you make, and do all the work as you do now if you could carry on the business without his money? D—Of course not! that would be silly. A—But you say your partner would not consent,to your doing business on the plan proposed, why need you ask his consent? D—Because he has a half interest in tbfe business, and I am not free to act independently. A—Why do you infer that your partner would not consent, does he not need food, clpthing. sheller, and implements as well as you?

D—Of course! but I am sure he never would consent to that method of doing business for a single day. A—For one single day? Let me see, you say you cleared $5,000 for him last year? That is, your labor and skill earned for him each day lqst year sl6. A valuable servaht you have proven, indeed. Every day out of his service means $16.00 out of his pocket. The average slave in ante bellum times never earned his master more than $1 per day, and yet the slave would have been very foolish to ask the advice of his master as to what road he should take to get to Canada, where he would be free. Your services are 16 times as valuable as the servant of the southern planter was to him, hence your “partner” whom you are not free to act independent of, would lose as much by your freedom and independence of him. as the planter would lose if 16 of his best slaves would run off to Canada.