Up To Date Business | Page 3

RESOURCES of a country are mainly the mineral
commodities and agricultural produce that it yields. The lumber and
fish produced in a country are also among its natural resources. The
positions and industries of cities are usually fixed by natural conditions,
but the most powerful agent is the personal energy of enterprising and
persevering men, who, by superior education, or scientific knowledge,
or practical foresight, have often been able to found industrial centres
in situations which no geographical considerations would suggest or
explain.
COMMISSION MERCHANTS receive and sell goods belonging to
others for a compensation called a commission. A SELLING AGENT
is a person who represents a manufacturing establishment in its
dealings with the trade. The factory may be located in a small town,
while the selling agent has his office and samples in the heart of a great
city. As regards the quantity of goods bought or sold in a single
transaction, trade is divided into WHOLESALE and RETAIL. The
wholesale dealer sells to other dealers, while the retail dealer sells to
the consumer--that is, the person who consumes, or uses, the goods. A
JOBBER is one who buys from importers and manufacturers and sells
to retailers. He is constantly in the market for bargains. The names
JOBBER and WHOLESALER are often used in the same sense, but a
jobber sometimes sells to wholesalers. WHOLESALE has reference to
the quantity the dealer sells, and not to the source from which he buys,
or the person to whom he sells. The wholesaler, as a rule, deals in

STAPLES--that is, goods which are used season after season--though
of course there are wholesalers in practically all businesses.
Wholesale dealers send out TRAVELLERS or DRUMMERS, who
carry samples of the goods. Frequently the traveller starts out with his
samples from six months to a year in advance of the time of delivery. It
is quite a common thing for the retailer to order from samples
merchandise which at the time of placing the order may not even be
manufactured.
By the PRICE of a commodity is meant its value estimated in money,
or the amount of money for which it will exchange. The exchangeable
value of commodities depends at any given period partly upon the
expense of production and partly upon the relation of supply and
demand. Prices are affected by the creation of monopolies, by the
opening of new markets, by the obstructing of the ordinary channels of
commercial intercourse, and by the anticipation of these and other
causes. It is the business of the merchant to acquaint himself with every
circumstance affecting the prices of the goods in which he deals.
The entire world is the field of the modern merchant. He buys raw and
manufactured products wherever he can buy cheapest, and he ships to
whatever market pays him the highest price. Our corner grocer or
produce-dealer may furnish us with beef from Texas, potatoes from
Egypt, celery from Michigan, onions from Jamaica, coffee from Java,
oranges from Spain, and a hundred other things from as many different
points; and yet, so complete is the interlocking of the world's
commercial interests, and so great is the speed of transportation, that he
can supply us with these necessaries under existing conditions more
easily and readily than if they were all grown on an adjoining farm.
III. BANK CHEQUES
A CHEQUE is an order for money, drawn by one who has funds in the
bank. It is payable on demand. In reality, it is a sight draft on the bank.
Banks provide blank cheques for their customers, and it is a very
simple matter to fill them out properly. In writing in the amount begin
at the extreme left of the line.

The illustration given below shows a poorly written cheque and one
which could be very easily raised. A fraudulent receiver could, for
instance write, "ninety" before the "six" and "9" before the figure "6,"
and in this way raise the cheque from $6 to $96. If this were done and
the cheque cashed, the maker, and not the bank, would become
responsible for the loss. You cannot hold other people responsible for
your own carelessness. A cheque has been raised from $100 to $190 by
writing the words "and ninety" after the words "one hundred." One of
the ciphers in the figures was changed to a "9" by adding a tail to it. It
is wise to draw a running line, thus ~~~~~~, after the amount in words,
thus preventing any additional writing.
[Illustration: A poorly drawn cheque.]
The illustration on page 8 shows a cheque carefully and correctly
drawn. The signature should be in your usual style, familiar to the
paying teller. Sign your name the same way all the time. Have a
characteristic signature, as familiar to your friends as