St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-01-28
THE DRUMM ERS' WATCHES.
They Cost $24, Keep Good Time,
and Nobody Wants to Steal

Il
A trio of overfed drummers lOunged
in their big plush-cushioned chairs
around one of the great frescoed pillars
in the Southern hotel lobby last night.
waiting for theater time to arrive, says
the st. Louis Globe-Democrat. About
live minutes before s one of them,
whose back was toward the Office
regulator, heaved himself forward in
his seat, diyed couple of fat
fingers into his right waistcoat
pocket, and pulled out nickel
cased Wach. For a couple of seconds
he gazed upon Its dial-long enough to
cause his companions to note his move
ment-and then, going back into his
right hip pocket, brought forth an
other nickel ticker, exactly like the
first i'll appearance. Next the first
ticker went into the hip pocket, and
the second into the right hand vest
pocket. while his companions looked
puzzled and waited for an explanation.
But the drummer did not volunteer one,
and in a minute one of the others
queried:
Come, Bob; we're too full of dinner
to go Spearing for gags now. What's
your little fake with these toys?N
Bob. ''Those two watches are part of
my standard time outfit. The one had
in my hip pocket was my central timer
took it out of my grip and put it there
when L left Buffalo Sunday night, be-
cause i was making st. Louis.
The watch | had in my vest pocket runs
on Buffalo time, and | won't have any
further use for it for six weeks. because
I'm working West in big jumps. Be-
sides those two''-and he took the ''St.
Louis" watch out and fondIed it with
thumb and fAger-''I've got naviga-
tors watch, an intercolonial, mount
ain and Pacific coast ticker, and the
whole outfit didn't cost me but S24, or
81 apiece. l lost JurgeDsen in Rocky
mountain hold-up, had Wal
than magnetized, dropped and smashed
first-class Elgin and let go of $50
Cleveland. That's experience enough
with fine watches to do me the rest of
my days. These watches" -handing
them out for inSpection-''ar an i'm
provement on a watch that has been
the innocent cause of millions of MIN
strel gags and billions of 'funny-paper'
squibs. The old watch had three wheels,
revolving works and main spring nine
feet long. The improvement has works
a good deal like any other American
watch, and its handspring, sixteen
inches long, is in barrel. the same as
the $50 tickers. 1t has porcelain dial
imported from Switzerland, very
heavily nickeled case, and is abso-
lutely non-magnetic. l left three
of my supers in my overcoat pocket on
the back of livery stable Office chair in
Chicago for twelve hours the other day,
and found 'em there when got back.
A couple of silk handkerchiefs and
pair of yellow kid gloves in the same
benny had gone glimmerIng meanwhile.
but the thief hadn't the nerve to steal
any story-paper premium watches.
don't have to wind this cheap
watch up any Oftener than
you do your chronometer, and
no thief would have the heart to sever
the tender attachment existing between
a whisky drummer and his 81 ticker.
Taking things all around, claim I've
got the edge on any man in my circum-
stances who has 300 or even. SIS in
vested in pocket timepiece."
And the drummer patted his vest
pocket tenderly, buttontd his capecoat,
and towed away his friends to occupy
his box at the theater.