Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1889-02-08
WHERE GooD.HUM0R WON
How Drummer Who Kept His wits ans
His Temper nInde'a Sa-o. -,


How DRUMMER Who Kept His wits and i.
His Temper nrhdea $50.
at is great fun for me-" said prom
day, ITO recall my 'ehrly experience on
the road in the capacity Of q CONNER
cial drummer. I remember striking ii.
small village up the Hudson, shortly
after starting out. During the evening
ut the hotel got into conversation,
with two or three natives of the village
who were standing around the Office,
and, as is quite customary with. young
and inexperienced drummers. began
to refer rather boastfully TO the
achievements 1 had made in the way
OF sales. The natives seemed to re-
ceive everything in good faith, and one
of them proposed US test of my abil-
ity as salesman that L should
go to n store in the village
and sell the propri ator thereof, WHO
loudly proclaimed his antipathy to all
drummers, n bill of goods. My pride
was touched, and really agreed to.
do it, and agreed also to wager So OH
the result. Five minutes afterward
found me with my grip-sack in my hand
on my way to the store that had been
deferred to. and before L could plan,
any campaign L was inside the place.
1t was an ordinary village store, and,
as the time | speak of was in the mid
die of the winter, there was u red-hot
stove i'll the middle of the floor. and n.
! dozen loungers were sitting in circle
about it. knowing, rs they did, the
preJudiccs of the proprietor with re-
spect to commercial men, my entrance
was greeted with significant smiles and
nudges and winks, and whispered COM
ment passed around the circle. 1 didn't
mind this, but went up Mt once to the
man who stood behind the counter.
who answered the description that had
been given to me of the proprietor of
the store, and handed him my card.
ale took the card, and, without
looking Mt it, slowly tore it into two or
three dozen pieces and scattered it on
the floor. The action was followed by
roar of laughter from the circle
around the stove. But was not to be
beaten yet
:. "'You shouldn't do that said, very
quietly; don't you know that those
cards cost money!
"The proprietor glared at me for n
moment. and then, turning to n young
clerk, who stood behind the counter a
few feet away, he said: Give this
young man cents to pay for that.
card
This grim sally brought another
explosion of laughter from the circle
around the stove, and dozen pair of
eyes looked over me curiously to SEQ
how I would take the rebuff. I didn't
take it at all took up my card case
Il second time, and selecting another
card, offered it to the proprietor Tnis
made him mad, and he began to swear.
What do you mean, you impUdent
young dog, by handing me another
card?' And he brought his hand down
with Il good deal of force on the
counter.
"'Oh,' I replied, Il always give two
cards for cents
"Tlis rather turned the laugh on
him, and after q moment he joined in.
the laughter, and, taking the card.
real it,
I'll talk with youa moment. he said,
If you'll come back i'll the store here Is
"YoU may be sure L went back. He
told me that he had been buying teas
and spices from one house for a long
time. and that he was perfectly salts
fed with the fashion in which they
served him. He believed that he got.
the lowest prices, and he didn't care to.
change. L asked him what prices ho
paid for various articles in my roper
tory. and told him, what sincerely
believed, that if he didn't keep posted
from contact with various representa-
tives of the trade, it was quite inprob-
able that he got the lowest figures.
He told me what he was paying, and
showed him that L could sell the same
goods at lower prices, and finally came
away with an order. won the wager
of 50 ut the hotel, and the firm down in
New York, whose representatives had.
called on this man i'll previous seasons
without success, sent me an encoarag.-
ing letter"