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From The Men Who Are Making America (1918) by B.C. Forbes, the founder of Forbes magazine, who compiled profiles of leading American industrialists. Rockefeller's remark reflects his early experience as a bookkeeper and his consistent belief — expressed throughout his career — that financial credit and personal integrity were inseparable: a young man's ability to borrow capital ultimately rested on whether creditors trusted his word and character. He built Standard Oil in part on the ability to negotiate favorable credit terms at a time when most competitors could not.