Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1867-03-28
THE COMMISSION BUSINESS.
What sut Lovengood Says on the
Subject


The following instructive observations
Of Sut Lovengood were published in the
Crescent several months ago, but we re-
produce them in compliance with the re-
quest of several of our Carondolet street
friends, who are deeply impressed with
SUITS sagacity and the frank exposition
of his business affairs
KERNEL: | left Nashville to go keep
a country store at Eufawly, Alabama;
but got to Orleans, jined the masons,
walked Carondelet street for few days
in store clothes, and it made man of
me. / cut eye-teeth torrectly. Ny bosom
painted for something grander and bigger
than keepin' one horse grocery store.
| seed two or three fellers as sed they
he'd fooled away half life time doin'
that without maxim either money or
credit-had larnt better, and was then
tryin Orleans commission business.
They sed thar was two things as was a
paying business an easy One was rum
min newspaper, and tother was bein' a
commission merchant. Said the last
was most fashionable just then, and ad-
vised me, bein' friends of mime, to drop
anchor in Orleans an try my luck All
/ had to do was to put up my sign, buy
thousand seegyars, an walk up and
down Carondelet street with my thums
in my weskit, an ask fellers what's gold
and how much cotton's bin sold.
They said business would flow to
me-" Well, done it, and business did
flow. / hired book-keeper, an called
him "my young man" | opened
bank account an never didn't have
nothin lover" / bought me some cot
ton tables and some second hand samples
which | hit seventeen cents above the
market an talked about waitin for an
advance. writ to every man | ever
heard of on price current sheet, an
my young man got up circular for me.
Last, | got bale of cotton Some
drafted fool sent it down to sorter en-
courage me er to try my sense. |
had to 90 and look at the darned thing.
A Fas' man he'd got it an tux it to his
cotton press fore got to the levee, an
bein' clever feller, he'd it rolled out fer
my inspection.
Well, Kernel, hit war the biggest bale
O cotton in the press yard Looked like
the feller had foated it down the river to
dodge freight, charges an duty. Hit
weighed 767 pounds; fer / weighed it
then an thar to kalkilnte my commits
sions. Bein' sed, and evidently truly,
that hit must 60 to the pickery, thar it
~eat;g not. howsoever, before gathered
a armful out of the heart of it whar it
was dry. Then ] he'd cotton to sell
Thar want broker III Orleans that
didn't see that cotton. ] called it good
middlin'," but every, one of EN- called 1t
" dogtail to low ordinary" / did power
O. trAdn' over that sample Last
green spectacle feller, he bought it, and
tole my young man " to make the
county sale. He done it. The bale
weighed after pickn', slipplin', snatchin
err whatever you call it, 249 pounds, an
thar was piekers charges, baggin', rope,
patehin' drayage, an Lord knows what
more, mountin' to $99 IS. The county
sale brought the owner of the cotton in
debt, an as / don't know him from
Adams coon dog, I'm holdin' the bag
yit, vaitin' fer him to send more cotton,
er remit, as they call 1t.
A chap, an onery cuss, with white
choker, an lookin' like the head devil of
a temperance society, Yankee chaplain
and sutler-he came inter my office one
mornin' an sed how he wanted me to
take bis bizness. squared round to
see how clean a thing be was OAarin' me.
sed how be had left the pull,pit as on-
worthy his high order of talent, and he'd
bought stock of goods from Wallace. 4
Co, an they wouldn't ship em without
cash or aa' eKceptRnoe. He wanted 10
control cotton an other produce, an he'd
an unbounded influence in his section"
Sed whar he KEEP store thar was pine
trees tell you couldn't reposs, an the
gophers 6sd tarrapins was SO thick that
wagins goin' long tte sSsd killed mil
lions Of 'em.
The pina trees made tar, pitch and |
turken3ine, an the gophers and tarrapins
vas what they made tnrkle soup OF ~
the restaurants an fancy hotels in Or
leans Sed they weighed, whar be cum
from, 500 to 5000 pounds, and that ire
ouently the timber wheels was necessary
to move EN-.
Sed be he'd a government contract for
-carryin the mail and movin' the gophers
outen the country, and Orleans was ths
mgrket for the meat Of the gopher. Sed
he he'd an intrust in every plantation
whar be agreed 70 move EN-, and whar
he agreed to guarantee agin' the army
worm. boil worm, and heavy rains IN
nickin' seasen, an would control lf2s
bales cotton outen the comm crap, an
wanted expectances for SIX thousand
dollars Cheap enufl Wallaces folks
wouldn't take Il, but somebody else on
Canal street did, an got the feller bus
ineu. an think it's safe cnua / hnd