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tenders, porters, cashier, etc., meals for help, free
lunch, gas, ice, laundry, breakage, taxes, coal, number
of drinks help are allowed to have, license, insurance,
water tax and all the extras, you will know all the
actual expenses without which no place can be run.
Of course, every man must know how much help
he requires, bartenders, porters, etc. (and if restauranr
is attached, waiters, cooks and stewards), and having
formulated a perfectly clear statement of your daily
expenses, then compare them with the statement of
the cash receipts, and you can the more readily know
whether the place is worth the money asked or
whether it is best to drop out of the proposed trans
action. Furthermore, it is advisable to find out
whether there are any judgments against the proprie
tor, or any possible legal proceedings against him^
whether or not the place has a bad name, if there is
anything detrimental in the neighborhood and. if,
after consideration of these different points, you have
resolved to purchase, it is then wise to ascertain the
quantity and quality of goods. If the proposed buyer
is not capable of judging correctly, he should take
counsel from some one experienced in the business
and who understands the measurement of liquors in
bulk. It is to be ascertained whethqr they have been
paid for, whether they are sold or consumed by cus
tomers on the premises, or whether, as has been the
case, a large per -cent, of them is sent to other parties
by whom they may be used; and the same with wines,
cigars, etc. Then a complete inventory should be
made of furniture, crockery, silverware, pictures,
curtains, etc. Furthermore, it is advisable that the
prospective buyer should inquire for all the bills of
all the goods sold on the place, for if the seller claims,
for instance, to do a business of $50,000 a year, he
must be able to produce about or near fifty per cent,
of that amount in bills, and by so doing you may be