Lakeland Evening Telegram Newspaper, September 24, 1914, Page 2

PAGE TWO 25e5e5a5e5e5eSRsa5esR5ase5e5eseses THE LITILE. WOOW By GEDRGE EDWARD STREETER. X XXX ] (Copyright.) It was 11:30, the time the Fenetys generally ate their midday meal. Oc- casionally it happened that Mr. Fenety was not able to go just at the moment his wife knocked on the floor of the room immediately over the shop. Sometimes, under such circumstances, she would step downstairs and find her husband engaged with some agent ordering goods (or trying hard not to), or perhaps busy waiting on custom- ers. Not infrequently, in this latter event, the grocer's wife had come to the res- cue and nerself attended to some of the wants of her husband’s patrons. On this particular occasion, how- ever, Mr. Fenety was not in the shop, and the eighteen-year-old assiatant, Ned Phipps, was the only person lnl sight. From him Mrs. Fenety learned | that her husband had gone out about nine o’clock, shortly after Ned had re- turned from his regular morning calls for orders. These latter he had been | filling, and they were now ready for delivery. “Well, you take them out at once, | Ned, and I'll look after things whlle| you're away,” said Mrs. Fenety. “And | 1 guess you'd better get your dinner before you return,” she added. “All right, ma’'am,” answered the youth. “I'll hustle back. Tell the boss when he comes that Mrs. Smith wants him to send in her bill; she asked for it this morning.’ Mrs. Penety went into her husband’'s emall office, which was always more or ' less untidy. All over the desk there | were catalogues, papers, etc., including | a number of invoices and letters, | some of which natural curlosity led her to read. It so happened that Thomas Fenety was one of those foolish men who' mever talk “business” to their wives, and his wife had been one of those “trusting” but silly women who permit their busbands to struggle along, with- out insisting on knowing things. Oh, how many instances might be oited where both husband and wife have suffered considerably because of this~mutual silence. Business acumen and shrewd dealing are not the sole property of the male sex, as is noted every day in the week. During these ninety minutes that Mrs. Fenety spent in her husband’s of- fice she learned much. There were many requests for payment of overdue accounts; two lawyers’ letters threat- ened suit; the bank book denoted that only the previous day her husband had 1 BTG 5o e @ 3% %9 SR a2 Lo R e S =] éw«bmm PP DB SOPIHPIIIPE PEIIE DB DPDITDEE & SHPPPPPRPPPEAPPPPPPPPPPOPPIPONPIPD DB OHIHD THE EVENING TELEGRAM withdrawn the small balance. It was .y, also clear that he had been endeavor- long. R S S S ing to collect some bills, a8 there Were ' yyat you first settls with those cledit a number already made out that bore evidence of much handling, and in the till she found only a little loose first. change. Up to the time Ned came back Mrs. Fenety was engaged in her investiga- tion, momentarily expecting the return of her husband. He never came. Days went by, and though diligent inquiry \ 1LAKEL, myself—viz.,, that it seems hardly right at we should be expected to wait so As feditors | to whom you owe $100 or less, or that you | discharge your obligations according to the distance, paying the farthest away Either of these suggestions seem to us more reasonable, and quite as new‘ as yours. ! Personally I do not feel like waiting so long for the payment of my bill. Let me hear from you. Yours truly, YILLIAM YOUNG. Upon receipt of this leter Mrs. Fen- was made, his whereabouts were not ! ety, put on her thinking cap again. Slm1 learned. Something had to be done about the business, creditors clamored for a set- tlement, though all sympathized with “the little widow,” for it was by this | in this way, she wrote the following time accepted as a fact that Thomas Fenety had disappeared for good. Mr, Willlam Young, New Haven, Comn. Dear Sir: My husband suddenly left me last Fri- day week, and I belleve he is dead. I have received your account for $84, and it's all right. If I had the money I would pay you right now, but as it is I hope you will wait. You must wait, so there. The total liabllities amount to $874.93, and the stock list shows goods on hand worth $1,164.50, and book-debts due of over | £300. A lawyer friend of mine has sug- gested that I compromise with you at one-quarter, or_what he calls “twenty- five per cent.” He says that is the proper thing to do, and everyone does it, but I won't. I want all my customers to pay me all they owe, and I shall try to settle with you the same way. I think the fairest way will be to pay up my bills in alpha- betical order. So next Monday I shall send $25 to Mr. Adams, of Hartford. 1 expect to pay $2% every Monday on the old bills, and intend to pay cash for what 1 buy now. Next month I shall pay Brown & Fin- lay, (they live in New York), then comes Curry & Co., so you see I am bound in time to pay you. Your name unfortu- nately being YOUNG, it is readily seen that it will be some time before I reach your bill, but you must not mind that. Yours rel&ectlull;. ATE FENETY. P. 8.—8ince commencing this lettey, Mr. Adams’ Agent has calied, and he says it's the fairest suggestion he ever heard of. When Willlam Young received the above letter he was a bit perplexed. The old way of debtors obtaining an extension of twelve or fifteen months, sometimes with security, though more often without it, or of offering to com- promise at twenty-five or thirty cents on the dollar, payable in sixty days— sometimes longer—had been certainly annoying. He had discovered that by the time the attorneys or trustees received their fees very little had come into the hands of Mr. Young. He had noticed, too, that compromising with creditors had become a habit with some country dealers, and in certain localities it really seemed infectious. But the case of Mrs. Fenety was somewhat different; here, apparently, was & woman who evidently intended to do the right thing. This answer was sent: D%;{m‘ehldm'unuuund that Mr. Adams and especially his agent, would readily agree to your rather ingenious plan, aftes & talk with Webster & Willlama, of this oity, 1 find that irm hold the same views B k4 | are not the last, as I owe Alfred Zwick- i of those bills on which she could make consulted a few of her local friends, who commended the idea of alphabet- ical payments, it seeming to many the very acme of right dealing. Fortified letter to Mr. Young: Dear Bir: Brown & Finley, John Evans, and Gil- bert Brothers, among others, sent favor- able answers to my former letter, so I can see no other way than to follow my original suggestion. I may say that Drummond & Co., and ¥ Bryant, both of your city, and creditors of mine, have written me very nice replies. 1 am sorry you will be kept waiting so long. Of course, I cannot\be blamed for your name commencing with a letter so near the end of the alphabet, but there is | some satisfaction in knowing that you | er of Providence, over $40. Yours truly, KATE FENETY. The “Corner Grocery” became a very center of business activity during Mrs. Fenety’s ownership, forshe proved | herself to be a most excellent business woman, and in due time pald up every-| thing that her husband had owed, and in -addition kept her current accounts paid promptly, even to the discounting a percentage of profit by cash pay- ments. Thus she prospered, and the “Corner Grocery” acquired fame and prestige from that time forward. | To sum up: | A tip to the financially embarrassed —try alphabetical payments. Some jobbers will likely change their names. “Missing” men are a nuisance. A business man’s “silent” partnor‘ need not always be his wife. Women's ideas generally excite at-! tention. Oftentimes the wife is the better man. | LEARN HOW TO AVOID WASTE | Writer Urges That Women Be Trained ! in Efficient and Economical Houeekeeping. It what is wasted in the homes of the good people of the United States could be saved every day and turned into spot cash it would more than pay the ocost of carrying on the gov- ernment. The waste is proportionally as large in the homes of families of | moderate income as in the homes of the wealthy. Writing on this eubject LB SEHTPUPATRPUPOTRIPLUTRPUDAFD GUPH DO T @ | says: AND, FLA.,, SEPT. 24, 1914. 2= | FARM WAGONS Phone No. 340 SR GE OO POIASOIGTOIIOD e ————————————————————— i QO (@ We can save you money on Wagons. and 2-horse Wagons is comple for hauling fruit this fall, see us. “COLUMBUS” make and the name is'a guarantee of quality, MODEL HARDWARE Co C. E. We Want YOUR Business DTQOTRECELEO SOPSHPEPSOBOPLBUBNFVINT0 0 | te, and if you need a Wagon Our stock of 1 {d We sell the TODD, Mgr. B R B BAH BB S B S B BB BB BT AT AT BT A BA B BT B BTN BTG 150 5018 G 50 5 S and the means of prevention the ed- itor of the Christian Science Monitor Waste 18 even worse than extrava- gance. There 18 some return for over- expenditure; there is no return for waste. Extravagance is more easily checked and stopped than waste, be- cause it manifests itself more con- | spicuously; waste is in the nature of a drain, silent and secret, that ex- hausts the family income, generally leaving no other trace. It can only be checked and stopped as a rule, by the housewife, and by her only when she is skilled in her vo- cation. It cannot be either checked or stopped until it {8 detected, and it can be detected only by housewives who are proficient. It goes on duty day in and day out, year in and year out, under the eyes of housekeepers who have not naturally a talent for, or who have not been trained in house- hold management. “I insist,” says a writer who has been at the pains to give the matter careful thought, “that to live well, easily and happily, the housewife herself must be trained. Even though she does spend much time in the kitchen, she must know how to direct its management, must know the theory as well as the prac- tice of housekeeping.” . The plea of this writer and of many SR ) L SoGCHSHEHErg Accuracy Taste, Style others in our time, is for the training of young women in housewifery. Effl- ! cient and economical housekeeping means so much for the husband and the family as to represent the differ- | ence between constant living fromhand to mouth and possible independence. It is important that there shall be schools in which boys are taught trades, that they may later be able to | earn wages for their support of fam- ilies. It is of equal importance that girls shall be taught how to use the allowances that may come to them as wives o that their husbands may -pe helped rather than handicapped. Confused Her. Unless a cyclist is a “scorcher” there {s no need, generally speaking, to make any effort to avoid him. He will look out for the collisions. A lady was crossing the street when she saw & bicycle rider coming to- wards her. She stopped, then dodged backwards, and as he had swerved in order to pass behind her there was & collision, and both took a fall but neither was hurt. “1t you hadn’t wobbled, sir,” she sald, angrily, as he assisted her to rise, «this wouldn’t have happened!” “Neither would it have happened, madam,” he replied, “it you hadm't wobbled, or if vou had wobbled in a HAT’S what you want in your Printing, no matter whether % it be on your visiting card, your little advertisicg dodger, or $sssesseed your big, expensive booklet. mix the above ingredients in just the right proportion. when we do it, looks just right. out errors in it, that will make you ashamed of it. For every kind of printing we Your printing, People won’t criticise it, and point The paper will be neatly and squarely cut—and not look like it was hacked out with a The type used will be the latest and most stylish faces; the presswork will be sucb that every letter will show up just right. Your printing won'’t look pale and sickly, nor be daubed with too much ink. Workmen who know how, with thousands of dollars worth of the most modern machinery, enable us to “do it better.” handsaw. We invite your next order A a e PO Lakeland Evening Teiegram R contrary directfon from my woppy It was our ‘concurrent and synchrop. | ous wobbling, so to speak, that cayse it.” Then the cyclist, & college professor, i doffed his cap, mounted his whecl, ang rode on. i The Barefoot Hour. Have you a barefoot hour in your ! day? | This is one of the essentials of a beautiful foot, and should not be neg. lected. i In the morning, while dressing, d {not put on your shoes and stockings i until the very last thing, and at night !make them the first articles to come . off, Disdain bedroom slippers, hose or any other covering, and let your feet remain unclothed for as long a period 'as possible. Do not sit or lie st ! however, for any but a small fractio of time. What your feet need is a¢ tivity while unrestricted by shoe or i hose. Exercise of the toes will strengtha the arch and give you that high instep which makes almost any shoe fit &, perbly. And what is more, no bare foot enthusiast will ever be affictel with aching muscle-worn feet. L The Lakeland News Telegram Building ¥ First House on Main Street @ At the Head of Things