The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-01-28
HOLLY DRUMNERS LIVES.
TRYING AND OFT EN- D1SAP-
o POINTING AVOCATION.

POINTING INVOCATION.
,.o,,srtteless so Fascinating That
Many Spend Long Lives in Looking
Nv Trade-Cutting Down Expenses.
From the New York Graphic.
,bo,t this time of the year the CONNER
.iaI traveller brushes up his gripsack, packs
W. sample trunks and takes to the road for
1si1+v.days' tour IN search of orders. Some
f.bon, went week or so before, but as a
,o,.aI thing the ceremony of stock-taklng,
taok balancing and clearing up last years
t,,y;ness occupy not only the home concern,
~ obsorb the provincial merchants time,
- that he is not ready to stock up for the
ring trade before the last weeks of
Iopuarv. BY Monday next the hardest OF
them will beam upon the nearest OF his
customers. and the genial missionaries of
trade will be spinning their yarns and hunt
;1c for fresh adventures IN every town from
canada to the Rio Grande
rs the commercial travellers life that
delicious round of pleasure that it is some
yves pictured" was asked of the genial
bogman who has travelled in the hardware
line for the last twenty years.
III is big mistake to suppose that 1t IS a
life If well-paid idleness, he replied. "Of
r3nrse, it is peppered here and there with
novel experiences and sensations, but there
: the other side of care, anxiety, privation
Of home comforts and life and occasional
Jisarpointment that leaves a big balance
often on the wrong side The life of adrum-
mar is a mighty poor one for a happily
married man. The tour generally lasts two
months Ii he enjoys the comfort of his
own fireside or the companionship of his
own family during that period 1t has to be
done at the expense Of his time and salary,
for unless he be man OF exceptional gifts
and success as a salesman the expense &C
count is very closely scrutini2ed by the
home Office. The wise thing for him to do
is TO place his family at some central point
of his route, so that he can be travelling to-
ward them most of his journey, and few
Sundays can be spent with them without
rreiudice to his own or his employers ma
terial interests.
TR1>IS OF THE CALLING.
Every traveller uns what he calls his
trade but it very often happens that he
fails to land the order that he had fully
counted on obtaining He reaches the
town. engages his sample room at the best
hot and starts out for the store of the man
he wants to sell "a. He sold MIN good
order last fall, and counts on repeating the
transaction. The merchant is too busy for
inviting but a friendly handshake, and
loe5n think he can spare time to look at
he SAMPLES. In tacb, ne only yesterday
gave large order to the repr sentative of
The rival house. This is disappointing, but
10 good salesman would take mo- for an
answer at this stage. h chats as interest
jpglv as he knows how on general matters,
;,ets in a new joke or two, and gradually
snooths Mr.. Surlys fur in the right direc.
ton. He is persuaded to 90 to the hotel
and look over the samples, and it is a poor
hagman who would fail TO book an order
then.
There are traditions in the trade of lib
Pral expenses, not only for travelling, but
for influencing trade, but unfortunately for
rs they are traditions now. The champagne
Suppe!S, carriage rides and theatre tickets
thg; drummer buys now come out of his
,wn salary and commits 1iops, if they mate
1alize at all The expenses account of the
average salesman is limited to actual ex-
)enseS, such as railway and stage fare, hotel
bills and baggage charges, He must keep
n itemized account, which Is audited by
he home office as strictly as the ordnance
recount of a captain of infantry. Some
louses make an additional allowance of s.
}day for social expenses, drinks, cigars, etc,
nut they are very few, and chiefly III the
wholesale liquor and cigar concerns. They
must of necessity be liberal, and the men
life is altogether too convivial. In most of
the mercantile lines, competition has en-
forced so close a margin that travelling ex-
penses must be restricted to the bareSt
necessities
NO TINE TO LOAF.
THE routes are generally mapped out by
the home authorities, who know to a minute
the time needed to do it. This leaves no time
Tor loating. The business hours are spent in
visiting customers and showing samples,
and the evening i'll correspondence and in
forwarding the orders, that is, unless a
night train has to be taken to the next
town. Now and again there are leisure
half hours which may be devoted to seeing
the town or hunting for new experiences.
As class the bagmen are a Jolly lot, and
devote themselves to fun-getting as ener-
getcally as they hunt for business A fresh
loke is a precious possession, but it becomes
achestnut very soon. One of them goes
the round almost as fast as the joke of the
endman in a minstrel show Still, the life
Las sort OF a fascination about it, and
some men stick to it all their lives and
would not be OF much use in any Other
walk Of life. | know one man who has
been on the road forty years. We will hear
OF his death in some out-of- the-way town
one of these days.
The baggage charge expense is a very
considerable item in some mercantile lines.
Dry goods, clothing and notion drummers
ere most encumoered in this way. Some
y them carry as many as a dozen trunks
Hardware requires numerous sample pack
dges, but the highest of all ara the drum
lpers with diamonds and precious stones
= breast pocket wallet is big enough to
Transplant a hundred thousand dollars
Nor hsNfAl A. IL