"It looks beautiful on paper.
Thousands have figured themselves out rich in this way, but, alas! discovered themselves poor in the end.

If all would work just right--if the thousands of dollars of goods bought on credit would invariably sell at good profit and in time to meet the purchase notes, then your credit business would be first rate.

But, my little observation tells me that this isn't always the case--that your large credit men are forever on the street, money hunting, instead of in their stores looking after their business.

Instead of getting discounts that add to their profits, they are constantly suffering discounts of the other kind; and, too often, these, and the accumulating stock of unsaleable goods--the consequence of credit temptations in purchasing--reduce the fifteen per cent.

you speak of down to ten, and even five per cent.