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The City of DuBois
Chapter 5
Page 029
CITY OF DUBOIS Page 29
A merchant of the early period of merchandising in
Luthersburg, being asked what his profits were, replied, "We always
double it and then sometimes add a little."
The way of the proletariat of this early period was
surely hard and no wonder the "middleman" has been "cussed" from the
earliest period down to the present day.
However, terms of credit were long. The people were
honest and paid to the best of their ability. One merchant had
carried his debtor until he was in danger of losing his account by
the Statute of Limitations and he secured a note from his debtor for
the amount standing on his books. Fourteen years after the date of
the note he met the debtor and said to him, "Could you let me have
some money on that note?", the debtor turned around and said "I
think you are getting in one damn hell of a hurry for that note,"
and he turned and walked away.
Along in the Fifties itinerant merchants of Irish
extraction began to travel through the country, carrying large packs
of goods on their backs. This merchandise was generally finery which
the women desired and was not carried in the local stores. One of
the early Irish merchants was a man by the name of Buckley, who was
known to every family of any means in Brady Township. These Irish
peddlers were soon superseded by the Hebrew. These peddlers soon
acquired a horse and wagon and could accomodate their trade with a
larger variety of goods.
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