time employed by the firm he is then connected with, the length of time applicant has resided in the city, and if a newcomer where they came from. The name of a bank should be secured, and also provision made to ascertain if property is owned, where the business being transacted will permit. Where signed applications are required, it is desirable to include in the questions whether the applicant owns or rents his home, and also whether his life is insured. A married man with a family who has been thoughtful enough to provide life insurance is usually a more steady sort of an individual than one who is not so thoughtful. It is, of course, important to get the names of other local merchants with whom credit has been established, but local utilities should not be accepted as references, because almost every one pays these bills, knowing the supply of gas, water and electric light will be shut off if they do not.

It is well to distinguish between an established individual and one who is not so. By established is meant one who has followed certain lines of business and has shown progress, rather than one who has embarked in a new character of employment every little while, or who has changed his position frequently, even in the same line of business.

CHAPTER IV

SOURCES OF INFORMATION AND FORMS SUGGESTED, EXCLUSIVE OF THOSE FROM SALESMEN

A suitable form of property statement blank to be obtained from individuals direct is shown in this chapter. This blank may be left by the salesman with the customer to be mailed to the house, or it can be mailed to the customer from the credit department with a request that it be filled out and returned. The blank shown herein is designed to be folded up, with the right and left-hand flaps turned in, over which is folded the upper flap, which is covered with mucilage, and when so folded and sealed it has the appearance of a sealed envelope. The reverse side of the statement is also shown, on which should be printed the name and address of the seller.

This form of obtaining the information is far superior to sending out a blank to be returned in an envelope. In some states there are no satisfactory statutes or laws for the successful prosecution of fraudulent debtors, but by the use of this form of property statement a fraudulent debtor can be prosecuted anywhere in the United States, because you have the evidence that the statement was false and that the United States mails

were used for fraudulent purposes. You do not have to show that you preserved an envelope, because the stamp, the mark of the cancelling machine of the post office, the name and address of the seller and the original signature of the buyer are all contained on the one document.

Obtaining credit by fraudulent statements when this form is used is a federal offense, and even the smoothest schemers will usually find relatives or friends who will assist them in taking care of an obligation if they have actually practiced fraud and when they find out what the penalty is for making fraudulent representations on a blank such as the one shown here.

In seeking information from banks, a self-addressed stamped envelope should be enclosed for reply, for although banks are under some obligations to furnish information concerning the standing of their depositors, they are not always under obligation to give it to those to whom their depositors have not specifically referred. You will get better attention if you will send a selfaddressed stamped envelope, and it is but a proper courtesy to the bank to whom the inquiry is addressed.

The following form is suitable to send to banks: