The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1886-08-12
nlanitoruoe pilot.
THURSDAY, AUGUST II, 1886.
THE GENTLE BOOK AGENT.
It's Courteous Manners in Either the Male
or Female Shape

or Female shape
The book agent is something that
will live in history forever, even If the
world should become so blessed as to
be rid of it in fact. 1t has sent more
people to an early grave, perhaps, than
liquor, and its field of operation is
broader. Liquor generally attacks only
the male part, but the book agent, like
that twin nuisance, the sewing-machine
agent, goes 10 the homes of men, and
here the wives become the victims of
his annoyances. OF late years this
scourge upon housewives has taken a
worse form-that of female book agents.
The lady of the house, so kind and SYM
pathetic toward one of her own sex who
is striving to get along in the wicked
world by selling books, is the special
prey of the female book agent A case
of the latter type which occurred down.
town the other day affords a nice ex-
ample of the general character of the
book agent
The first symptom of the case was the
lady book agent, with pleasant face
and manner that showed how awful
ly hard it was for such a lady to get
down to that business CAB" which on
ly book agents and their like know.
She had a new and wonderful work,
Our Living World" just the thing for
the lady's little boy. The lady didn't
want it, and neither did the little boy,
for it contained words and terms in
Latin and Greek for all the animated
down to animalcul9. But the gentle
h. OF, e+,,oh
to that housewife, who could not bear
tell her to leave, until she took some
parts of the work, and then at the earn
est request of the fair agent she allowed
the latter to just put her name down in
her little notebook. The angelic agent
then left and just knew that the book
would cause such delight in the family
that the lady would be glad to buy the
remaining parts.
Then came the second phase of the
plague The next day or two a ode
liverer" came. He had the other parts
of the book which 1.-The lady of the
house had ordered" The lady said
that she had not ordered them and did
not want them. He left only after max
ing boisterous threats of illegal trouble"
and then MOI until he saw some of the
male members of the household APP
preaching, and had time to say that
"she would hear from the firm about
her contracts"
In the next mail the lady was the
alarmed recipient of the following by
postal card:
1--WE received an order signed by
you for the work Our Living World
Won raoaiuad onI ia
ratifying your order thereby. We print
ed the books for you, paid commission
on your order; consequently cannot re-
lease you from your contract 1t is only
a trifie TO you every two weeks, and |
hope you will reconsider your decision
and take the next parts when the de-
liverer calls again in preference to put
ting yourself and me to legal trouble
and expense"
Most people would never pay any at
tention to the matter further, but the
husband of the lady wrote the follow
ing reply:
"When your deliverer calls again he
may expect to leave much sooner than
he did the last time. My wife paid for
what she received and told your agent
that she didn't want the remaining parts
of the work, and you and your agent
know this. only wish you and your
agent knew half as well what Internal
nuisances you are. The frauds by which
your agents get well-meaning persons to
sign their names in book, which they
do to get relief from their impudent inn
portunitieS, the cowardice which your
deliverers display in threatening timid
ladies with trouble if they do not COM
ply with some alleged contract and
your attempt to do the same by bluffing
and dunning on United States postal
cards are equally mean practices, which
no respectable man or woman in bust
ness or society can indulge in if they
have any reputation to lose.
In conclusion let me admonish you
about the use of the United States postal
card. You had better read up on the
statutes on the subject. will hand
your postal card over to the United
States Commissioners, and you may
have an opportunity to get additional
light on the subject from Judge Nc
Kennon or Judge Butler. In the mean
time, if your deliverer has any regard
for his physical well being let him stay
away from - street."
1t is hardly necessary to say that the
deliverer has not called since.-PhiLa-
delphia North american,