The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1889-08-03
TRAVELLING statesmen.
Their Annual Expenses Equal to the N
tonnI Debt.

| lRAVtLtNG SAlESMEN.
Their Annual Expenses Equal to the Ma
tionnl Debt.
| "The money used in single year 10
foot the salary and expense bills Of the
travelling statesmen of the United States
would pay off the entire National debt
and leave few dollars over"
This rather startling statement was
made by n junior member of one of the
large dry goods houses of this city.
who has force Of about fifty travellers
under his immediate charge. As proof
of his assertion he presented these par
ticulars: "There is hardly wholesale,
| iobbing or commission house in any
line of business in the United States
| that does not have at least single
travelling representative, and from one
lone man the travelling force ranges up
as high as 1875 or $50 men, and there
may be one or two houses with even
more. The average of the most relia-
BILE estimates places the total number
of commercial tourists in this country
at 100000; and, mind you, this does
not mean peddlers, but only those who
sell goods at wholesale.
The railroad fares, charges for
carrying sample baggage by freight or
express, hotel bills, and numerous in
cidental travelling expenses of these
men will range between 81 and $l2 per
day, but some men will spend $50 in
single day for these purposes without
rcsorting to any extravaganza. Take,
for instance, some of the carpet cloth
ing or fancy goods men who carry ten
to fifteen trunks full of samples, take n
packer with them. and hire a hotel
porter to display their goods whenever
they open their trunks. But the num-
Der of these men is comparatively
small, and Sc a day will fairly repre-
sent the average expenses of the 250,-
600 men. There you have $1,000, 900
per day for expenses, alone. Multiply
this by 365, and you have S547 800, 900
as the amount expended in one year.
The item of salaries is nearly as
large. Few men are paid less than
| $500 per year. The largest number re-
ceive between $1,000 and $4,000,
either in salaries or commissions. A
| lesser number are paid from So, 900 to
| $5,000-those receiving the latter
amount being comparatively few. But
there are travelling statesmen who are
always in demand at $4,000 to Sl5. 900
a year, but they are few and far be-
tween. The lower salaried men pre-
dominate, as might be supposed, and
an average of S1,S00 per year is not
far out of the way. Figuring 100000
men at an average salary of $1,000 per
year gives total of $3.50, 600, 900 ac-
cording to my arithmetic. To this add
| S547, 800, 600 for expenses and you have
1907. 800, 900 for these two items.
But there are other items to be
charged against the salcsmen's account.
1t is impossible to give any accurate es-
mate of the cost of trunks, samples, and
other requisites of the travelling men,
but the items as we figure them in our
store will give something to judge from.
Our fifty men require $50 trunks, cost
ing IS each, or 81, POO. These men re-
quire two sets of samples yearly-one
in the spring and one in the fall. The
cost of these two sets of samples is
about 81, 600 per man. OF this $50, 900
worth of goods which are required for
samples every year considerable por-
tion is lost. while most Oft is so soiled
and damaged by constant handling that
it has to be sold ut heavy reduction
from the actual cost or else given away.
To cover this depreciation we make an
allowance of 333 per cent. upon the cost
of samples, or about $4,000 per year.
Trunks do not need renewing every
year, but repairs and replacing lost
ones form quite an item of expense.
From these figures it is evident that the
similar expenses Of greater or lesser
amount borne by every wholesale house
will swell the salary and travelling eX-
pense item of 1897, 5000 far beyond
81. 900, 600, 600 peryear. ."-Philadelphi
Record.