The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1890-08-17
DEAR CIGAR LIGHTERS.
It's Great Trick for Drummers
Who Want to Appear Liberal.

A drummer for large wholesale cloth
ing-house has trick which he says saves
him great deal of money. He has to go
around with retailers in small country
towns a great deal. He finds that an
amount of display and extravaganza is
necessary in order to convince them of
the standing and generous dealing of
his house. This used to cost him
great deal of money in travelling ex-
penses, says the New York Sun. He
was expected to bear great part of the
expenses of entertaining the men to whom
he sold goods; he had to buy them drinks
and cigars and take them around In the
course of this he had to drink good deal
himself He noticed that it was not so much
the amount of money that he spent, but the
show that he made with il which impressed
them, and that it was more important to
seem careless and generous than really to
spend great deal Of money.
One night he was With some retail cloth
iers and their friends drinking. He had
several small bills in his pocket. He had
been drinking good deal himself, and in a
reckless way pulled out a bill and lit
cigar with ii. Without thinking he put out
the light and stuck the burned remnant in
his waistcoat pocket. He knew how it i'm
pressed the men with whom he was. The
bill did not amount to any more than the
the price OF round OF drinks or cigars,
but it made the eyes of his customers open
to think that man should use money in
such reckless way. The next day
when he sObered up he found the burned
bill in his pocket, only one end had
been burned He thought that he had
made a fool of himself by throwing away
good money. The idea occurred to him,
however. that possibly lie could take the bill
around to the Sub-Treasury and get new
bill for ii. So the next time he was in town
he took the burned bill TO the Sub-Treasury,
where Ii was readily exchanged for q new
one. The bill had not been destroyed; it
was plain what its denomination, number
and issue we're. aud he had no trouble in
having it replaced.
The idea became strong in his mind that
he mightdo the ostentatious and reckless
net without having TO pay for it, so the next
time he was out with several of his custom
ers he bought few rounds of drinks, and
then began in a reckless and careless way to
burn up 81 and 81 bills. He took pains to
put the bills back in his pocket and not to
burn up enough of any one bill to destroy
its redeemable qualities. He also told his
customers extravagant stories about the
percentages his house was paying him, how
cheap 1t was selling and what liberal con-
cessions he was making to get rid of the
stock which his house had on hand.
DE found the trick worked excel
.lently. He has been carrying it on
ever since to a greater or less extent
One night he held a card party of some
of his customers at his rooms at the hotel,
and thinking that possibly they might no.
tice that lie Immediately put the bills out
and put them back in his pocket, he used
dollar bills for lighters during the whole
evening. and then threw them in a euspi-
dor, which he kept by his chair. first put
ting them out before he threw them in, so
that they might not be burned up there.
After his customers had left he took the
cover off the euspidor, took the bills out
folded them all up, and redeemed them
when he next returned to New York. He
has gained the reputation of being one of
the most careless and extravagant men on
the road, without it costing him as much
for expenses with his customers as il
costs other statesmen who do not burn up
their money.