Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1890-08-14
A DRUMMER's TRICK.
Using One Dollar Bills as Cigar Light
ers to Appear Liberal.


A drummer for a large wholesale
clothing house has trick which he says
saves him a great deal of money. He has
TO go around with retailers in small
country towns great deal. He finds
that an amount of display and extrava-
gance is necessary in order to convince
them of the standing and generous
dealing of his house. This used to cost
him good deal of money in travelling
expenses. He was expected to bear a
great part of the expense 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 a good deal himself He
noticed that it was not so much the
amount of money that he spent, but the
show he made with it 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
clothiers and their friends drinking. He
had several small bills in his pocket. He
had been drinking good deal himself,
and in reckless way pulled out bill
and lit a cigar with it. Without think
ing he put out the light and stuck the
burned remnant in his waistcoat pocket.
He noticed how it impressed the men
with whom he was. The bill did not
amount to any more than the price of
round of drinks or cigars, but it made the
eyes of his customers open to think that
a man should use money in such a reck-
less way. The next day when he sobered
up he found the burned bill in his pocket,
only one end of it had been burned. He
thought he had made a fool of himself
by throwing away good money. The idea
occurred to him, however, that possibly
he could take the bill around to the Sub
Treasury and get new bill for it. So the
next time he was in town he took the
burned bill to the Sub-Treasury, where
it was readily exchanged for new one.
The bill had not been destroyed; it was
plain what its denomination, number and
issue were, and he had no trouble in hay-
ing it replaced.
The idea became strong in his mind
that he might do the ostentatious and
reckless act without having TO pay for IT,
So the next time he was out with several
of his customers he bought few rounds
Of drinks, and then began in reckless
and careless way to burn up one and two
dollar 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 extravaganza stories about the
percentages his house was paying him,
and how cheap it was selling, and what
liberal concessions he was making to get
rid of the stock his house had on hand.
He found the trick worked excellently.
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 custom
ers at his rooms at the hotel and think
ing that possibly they might notice that
he Immediately put the bills out and put
them back in his pocket, he used dollar
bills for lighters during the whole even
ing and then threw them in a cuspidor
which he kept by his chair, first putting
them out before he threw them in, so
that they might not be burned up there.
After his customers had left he took the
lid off the cuspidor, 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 its costing him
as much for expenses with his custom
ers as it costs other statesmen who do not
burn up their money NewYork Sun.