Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1890-12-31
THE SAMPLE FIEND.

and others holwrite letters asking for
samples. Nothing isI too big or too
small for the fiends CHATS what the I
merchants call them) to ask for. Any
thing of value, from a jcwsharp to a
piano, q shred OF calico to roll OF cloth,
package of oatmeal, q bag of flour,
apaper-covereG half-dime novel, gilt
edged Bible bound in morocco, all have
icon and are asked for BY the sample
searchers. A Fourteenth street piano
ho;iSe less than week ago got letter
from dealer in a,Western city asking
him to ship sample piano. 81 would
Iiine fossil the piano you manufacturer
the dealer said, 'becauso l have been
told that 1t Is tho best. IF you will
ship mo one as a sample, of course
will pay the freight, and cartaso OK
tprnses in New York if there are any"
~ Broadway house. got this: 81 am
about to lay in q stock Of blankets, com
forters and rugs for the wintor. Il am
going to make a special department in
my store this winter for this kind Of
goods have not bought any of my
stock yet and II am very busy and can't
spare the time to come to Now York and
look at things myself. Won't you please
sond mo sample OF each Of tho goods
want to buy, and if like them may
give you an order for all my stock"
Another broadway houss got u letter
almost idon teal from another person in
another town. In both cases drummcrs
were sent instead Of the samples. -. Tho
tit8trequest was really from dealer in
dry goods in small way, and the drum.
lner got an order largo enough to pay
him for his trip. The other drummer
had different experience. When he
got to tho town he looked all arouIsd for
y store kept by tho wriecr OF the note.
ITo. didn't find any. IIo won't to the
pojt-oiiioe, and there learned that tho
man he was looking for was n. clerk in
grocery store. He was u young fellow
who had recently been n1trricd. lie
didn't have enough blankets, hes said,
and he didn't want to bny any. lie
thought that If tho firm he wrote to was
foolish enough to send him supply he
would 10 tho gamer. He didn't soc any
itling wrong iii asking for them. Tho
drunnlor threatened to have him ar
rested for attempting to obtain the
,aing5 under false pretensc, and tn en-
left him.
It's tho demands of the seekers after
small things that create tho most
tccublc. Almost all merchants arc
willing to sond samples Of their small
wares 10 any o:io' who has any ilaa OF
purchasing, but at is cstilna ted that ~
least onc-half of the requests for samples
come from persons who never buy, and
Who really have no use for and don't
want the sTmples that they ask for.
They 5aem to writo simply w.ta tho
IDEA OF getting something for nothing.
L Tho. sample habit Is not or recent orr.
gin. Thirty years ago, ut m AgnGric;tn
Institute fair, man who had a patent
flour .to9cll made griddlc cakes and nItlf-
Inns and gave them to visitors us sam
pies. That was th beginning OF the
thing. Some years later the prOprictor3
OF largo rcLail stores alvC;GiSod thG6
they would gladly sond samples Of their
wares TO persons who lived ou5 OF town
and who could not afford to cone to New
York. This enabled purchasers to sec
what they were buying before they sent
their money through the mails. Ii was
these advertisements that fully dcvcl-
epcd tho habit, and where it u5c1 to
take few dollars, or at most q fow hun
drcds> year TO supply tho demand for
rl!nrlGs, it now tallos thousands. Largo
houses havo special sample department. Is
: and employ o%tra clerks III then, koop.
4nS them busy at all seasons of the year.
Hundreds Of dollars arc spent for post
40 alone, and thousands more for tho
goods that are givon a"ay. There nre
FANNY houses in this city that receive
from 5000 to- 900 requests for SAM
pies year, and there arc several that
receive four and tivo times that number
Fully IS per cent. Of tho requests come
from women, and OF those 20 per cont
4r5 from married women.
The habit docs not scom to have taken
q very strong hold OH men, out largo
clothing houses and tailorssay that they
get u good many letters and spend n
good dcal Of money for samples. They
sssSC ~ roof deal by CUTTING IN tho odd