Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1885-05-09
The Drummer.

A commercial Traveller who has
seen service, or who dcvoteS his
whole energy to the work, will say
that the life is Il hard one. The
young man to whom the excitement
is IL pleasant novelty, the travel
and attendant amusements, good
sports, laughs at the story at first;
hut not after IL couple of years.
The constant strain, irregular hours
and habits and frequent tempta
tions to imbibe, quickly combine
to tear down the strongest system.
The last item is a large one. "Un-
less a travelling man is very care
full says asveteran in his line, che
is apt to turn ont a drunkard be-
fore he knows it,"
For the travellers themselves.
they prefer chic to check, and
would be termed self-cOnident
rather than "gallS;n but whatever
it may be, mo drnmmerswith any
other manner could sell as much,
and the compound Of bonhommle,
shrewdnesS, knowledge of human
nature and acquaintance with the
world, his customers and particu
lar lines of goods WINS the day
Sam' of Posen has it all condensed
in a degree exaggerated to the
point of bnrlesque, and the begin
ner at the business Is apt to assume
the commercial manner to an eX-
IRENE to conceal his greenness. bnt
in the trained man it is pleasantly
mellowed and indispensable. Some
men never get this facnlty COM
pIetely, and perhaps in Il way "a
drummer Is born, not made. y
Meeting new customer, lie must
be able to get his size in IL fash
TO sell him goods il may be ncces-
sary to joke, wheedle or bully. A
good story may catch a man at
once, or strike him so unfavorlbly
that lie cannot be "worked" at all.
And only ny aid Of a keen eye and
mind will the tray eler meet success.
But once acquainted with a GUS
toner's ways and stock the drum
mer is always sure Of ground in
the future. He will be careful in
selling so as to sell again. He will
not be uirTardly i'm s'lOin@ the
right thing" or annoying. "a
good drummer" says a keen old
commercial man, sis Il partner in a
house III all bnt possession of an
interest" One leading shoe house
in this city, indeed, is said to en-
courage its travellers by giving
them small interests in the con-
Germ. The drummer's business is
to know all about the houses GUS
toners. The better he does this
the better able he is to sell his
goods, both profitably and safely.
If he knows Nv here his head is lev
cl," he stays with IL good house
when he gets with one. The man
who is continually lodging fran
one firm to another hardly ever
does well, either for himself or his
employers. He must be posted
thoroughly on the goods and prices
Of his competitors, for it Is COM
parison in a majority OF cases that
makes the sale.
The commercial traveller is a
good talker. To get into the graccs
of his customers he finds the news
Of the day help, and he devours
newspapers. In the last campaign
no one man was more prolific in
Speculations, bets, or so full of al
legged political news as the drum
mer. Tie train that he was on
never escaped the taking of Il
sStraw" vote. The commercial
traveller rarely accumulates money.
Tile evenings Of his inevitable no.
tel life offer nothing to occupy him.
His devotion to the rink is Il favor
tie theme Of newspaper Writings;
billiards, the theatre and kindred
kilI.timeS knock wide holes in his
otherwise large salary. 1t is con-
coded that with 81, 800 on the road
Il man saves 10 more at least, than
one with $1,000 staying at home,
the persons having the same tastes
Springfield Republican.