PART 111 INVENTORIES FROM 



THE CENSUS 



IF one thing more than another has been em- 

 phasized in the preceding chapters, it is the need 

 of taking an inventory, in ordinary business, at 

 least once a year. No firm or individual can 

 afford to go on blindly, whether the business 

 returns large or small profits. If the business 

 is a losing one the sooner that fact is discov- 

 ered, and the amount of the loss, the better it 

 will be for all concerned. In starting a new 

 business it frequently occurs that the first year's 

 operations show no profits. Slight losses may 

 be borne cheerfully if there is promise that the 

 business will increase and profit will accrue in 

 the future. But every careful business man 

 wants to know just what the losses are or have 

 been and, if possible, when, how or where they 

 occurred. Having secured the facts, the judg- 

 ment is enlightened and then it can be intelli- 

 gently determined whether to go on or to close 

 the business before losses have absorbed all the 

 capital stock. 



"Uncle Sam," though much of a gentleman 

 and the wealthiest personified individual on the 



(245) 



