Eaton weekly Democrat. [volume] (Eaton, Ohio) 1866-1875, 1871-07-13
ss ss a.'. .s s a 5 EATON o. THURSDAY juicy 49, 1871
ComnaerctaI DrumIne,.s. n :.
ATLANTA, GEoReIA, June 20, 1s7

Commercial Drummers. =
x 80 ATLANTA, GEORGIA, June 20, 1s7I.
lFrom Merchants & Manufacturers Bulletin Gin,
Mr.. EDITOR: I noticed an az
ticle recently in your Journal, on tn
subject of Travelling Agents. I thinl
ft was pointed and we'll written, an,
wish It could reach the sarictum Of ever,
merchant and manufacturer, North ane
II South. Your arguments against tn,
system of employing these runners, ar
unanswerab1e. The writer of this, wa
at one time, an advocate of the system
but as it has been his lot to travel grea
deal in the Southern States, where he ha.
an Opportunity to observe its workings
he Is now convinced that so far from be-
ing a benefit to the merchant, it is {
tdetriment. The South is completely
overrun with them, and l have seen az
many as two, and sometimes three, in I
house at once, soliciting patronage. II
is carried to such an extent, that South
4 ern merchants have almost become dis
gusted with the system. ] have heard
many OF them say, that they wished i
was broken up; that the people of the
South were 'boredto death by drummers
/ They find 1T always best to stop at the
large hotels, as they are apt to see more
merchants and form their acquaintance.
and take an evening ride,a social glass
laasmoke, ana have good time generally.
This is all right and proper. 1t is beat
ing up trade for their Principals in New
YORK, Louisville or Cincinnati, with, a
veageance.S There are exceptions, OF
course I have seen, IN some Instances.
men who were doing all they could do to
advance the interestsof their employers
but, as a general thing, they are mot
worth their expenses. -,,[--.s.ss s7Egi
Now, let US argue this matter a little
and seeif L can not convince any .calcu-
lating merchant that it is cheaper and
better to advertise his business in we'll
established newspapers, than to pay from
81, 500 to $4,000 per year for one of those
agents.. If you employ anIagent, you
Will have to pay his expenses while
travelling, which will be no trifiing sum.
Norman can travel over the Southern
States and make fhorough business
/ trip under $500 or $500, That amount,
with his salary, foots up, say $4,000 a
year. Now, Mr.. Merchantsyou take this
s., 900 and invest judiciously in adyertis-
ing, and you will bring your business
before not only every merchant, but be-
fore every planter in the South, who
vii order their goods as they want
them. Now let US look at the other side.
Here is Mr.. A.,sof Cincinnati, and Mr..
B., of Louisville, both engaged in the
same line of business. Each of them
employs an agent. These agents meet
in Charleston, If you please, or any other
place. They are both anxious to make
sales. The Cincinnati man says to. HIM
self 81 won't let that fellow from Louis
Vile get ahead of me.' So anxious, fire.
quentiy, are they to make trade, that
the responsibilities of purchasers isnot
looked into as it should bes;s the order is
taken, sent back to the house in Cincin-
att, and the goods are sent on in a. few,
days; Mr.. A. receives a notice that his
customer has made, an assignment, and
up goes several thousand dollars. How
often is this the easel Please tell me-
how many cases as this it win take to-
crowd the best firms into bankruptcy.
Another bad effect of the system, is. the
frequency with which these hangers-on
are so persistent, that orders are given in
order to get rid of them, when really. the
goods are not wanted.Ats other times
they insist so sestrongl y, that the merchant
is prevailed upon to order more than he
really wants. Cotton falls, goods are
left on their hands, and in nine cases out
of ten, the merchant is ruined, when
perhaps, if he had been permitted to
move on in his natural channel, he would
have ordered only what he wanted, and
still kept his business going. Some will
say, DWELL, that is the merchants fault"
Trues but all these fellows have their
tongues hung in the middle, both ends
loose, and they have a. great knack of
of seeing into man IS Business, and can
better tell what he wants than he can
himself; so that the merchant is over
persuaded to order. -. ..,,- ,s.,-,.
8 Advertise your business judioiously
and carefully; set forth your prices when
it is possible to do so; offer nothing for
sale thatsissnot good, or that youeean not
warrant. be moderate in your prices, and
you will soon gain the confidence of the
Southern people; and once gained you
have it-once lost, iI is gone for ever.
This is the conclusion of one who has
had the evils of the travelling agency
system brought under his personal OBJ
servation. S1fsanyl one doubts the cor
rectness of the statements here made, let
him take trip South next autumn and
see for himself. s@s1 GEORGIA..
On AND Orr THE SrAaE.-The opin-
ion that. many people conceive of PLAYERS
being in private life the. characters they
represent on the stage, is very, strong.
Garrick, some years after he came on the |
stage, received. a message by am elderly
looking gentlewoman, who told him |
there was a certain lady of rank and for
tune who had great partiality for him,
and wanted to know whether he was
or not. Garrick replied in the
she seemed much pleased, and
Il I.