The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1886-11-25
A BRIGHT NEWS AGENT.
How He Persuaded Secretary Evarts to
Buy Book.

ut takes an artist to sell books on
the railroad cars. You never see an
artist slam into car, bang the door,
and start right down the aisle, hit or
miss, throwing a Life of Jesse James
down BY minister, Gems from Moody's
Sermons by a Texas cowboy, Allan
Pinkerton's detective books by young
lady from Vassar, and Bouquets of
Verse by sheriff taking a prisoner to
Sing Sing. Your artist saunters noise
lessly into car without book, tells
the brakeman a funny story while he
sizes up the crowd, and moves leisurely
down the aisle. picking out suckers.
When he has studied the people long
enough he determines just how he will
strike each one, and gets his stock ready.
Then he sits down by the minister and
talks to him gravely and in a pleasant,
subdued tone about Moodv's great
work. He drinks some of the cowboys
whisky and tells him a story that keeps
him laughing all the way to Utica. He
discusses poetry with a young woman
from Vassar and converses in an en-
gaging manner with the slim young
salesman from the dry-goods store.
The result is that he catches every one
OF them. Those are the men who make
500 to S75 week and throw the peanut
and fruit stock out OF the window rather
than bother with it. Amt they artists?
The Hebrew clothing merchants down
in Baxter street think that it is a great
thing to sell man coat at all. That's
simply nothing TO sell a man book
that he doesn't want can't read, and
has been importuned a hundred times
in three days to buy. And that's what
booksellers who are artists do.
Now, there was .Homely Dave, red
headed, ugly as hedge fence, without
a single handsome feature-he could
talk any man that ever lived into buy
lng book. Did you ever hear about
senator Evarts' experience with Dave?
1t was when Mr.. Evarts was secretary
of state under Mr.. Hayes. He had been
out to California on kind of iaunt,
and was coming back with a number
of distinguished gentlemen-senators
congressman, and officials They struck
Dawes run at Council Bluffs. Before
they had gone ten miles Dave had look
ed the party over and determined to sell
them some books. He decided that he
would make his first assault upon Secre-
tary Evarts. Mr.. Evarts was not feel
ing very well that day, and when he
saw Dave coming he turned away i'm
patiently and motioned the porter to
put him out.
- Il have been bored to death by
news agents and book peddlers ever
since left San Francisco and | am
heartily sick of it.
" 'Homely Dave was not frightened
in the least He said, with a bland
smile:
" Excuse me, Mr.. Secretary, but l
don't want to sell you anything. l
just want to read you a page or two out
of book just issued. Have you seen it?'
MIR. Evarts glanced at the title-page
and said he hadn't.
:. Nov, just let me begaile the tedious
ness of the journey by reading the first
page TO YOU?
80 Dave, who had a remarkably
clear and sweet voice, read on, not only
the first, but the second and third pages,
with Mr.. Evarts a deeply interested
listener. When 'Homely Dave stopped
MIR. Evarts simply said: III take that
book. Name your price. Now, what
else have you got?'
That book was Edwin Arnolds
Light of Asia 1t had just come out
then. After Mr.. Evarts had picked out
lot of other books and Dave had read
to him from them, he called the sena-
tors and congressman. introduced Dave
to them, and made them sit down and
listen while Dave read a lot of things
He sold more than $500 worth of books
to these people before they got to Chi
cago. You bet he didn't touch the
peanut basket that trip.
THAT was red-headed 'Homely
Dave. There amt many news agents
IN the business nowadays that can equal
that performance. st Louis Repa6-
klcdn.