The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-10-20
KNIGHTS OF TIE GRIP.
The most innocent man on the road

nc ulD-l llutCcuL TIC IOd4-
THE DRUMMER.
Ever siace the inimitable Curtis appeared
before American audiences with his Sam
Of POsen.T the above sentence has been q
familiar one in all sectiens Of this country
It seems, moreover, to lose none OF its pop
ularity and appropriateness With age
The drummer is great institution; he il
necessity under the present conditions Of
commerce and business. The number Of
drummers on the road regularly in ths
United States is put down az 10000. TheiI
salaries and travelling exr enses annually
amount to $1,000. 900. This vast body
CT commercial travellers support and keep
w two-thirds Of the hotels and livery sta
bles in this country. Fully one-third Of the
passenger receipts Of the railroads comes
from the drummers.
The knight Of the grip generally feels his
importan oe; be is thorough man of the
world, and appears to be lat home" where
ever he is thrown. He recognizes the fact
that he is no theory-in business-but a
condition, and very necessary one at that.
He is omnipresent on railway lines, on the
steamers and around the hotels. Heis well
posted on all subjects, and afrst-class talk
| er. Your true drummer knows everything
or pretends to know il.
During the great Nav week in Savannah
last year the Hon. P. W. Meldrim made q
brilliant speech of welcome to the visiting
| drummers who had gathered there from all
quarters. Two of the hits he got off are
worth reproducing.
Speaking of some of the characteristics OF
the drummer" he said: "His self-cOntrol
is wonderful. He takes drink whenever
he feels like it-and generally feels like it
His powers OF endurance are proverbial lie
can go without food or drink, can travel
days and nights without rest or sleep, can
endure exposure to all sorts OF weather. Ia
short, gentlemen, the drummer can stand
everything, except his own expenses"
A few evenings since a party Of CONNER
cial men were sitting on the piazza of the
Gulf house, in Thomasville, enjoying the
cool breezes which are nightly waited over
the City among the Piuesn from the ds-
tant gulf. As usual with a crowd Of
knights of the grip stories were being told.
and jokes freely exchanged. An Atlanta
drummer led off:
mot long ago." said he my house de-
cided to employ a stenographer and type
writer. as business in the office was getting
TOO heavy to be handled by the old methods.
awhile as'ry'h anS the worked sd,, t Ss t9s
Of pride in debating letters and
signing them up when they had gone
through the typewriter. 1t happened,
however, that shortly after that l sold a
bill OF goods to a regular customer of
mine, an old fellow down in - county,
who is as good as gold financially,
but shockingiy illiterate. The old
chap can hardly write his name, and would
have hard work reading circus poster; but
he is very sensitive on that point and don't
want any man to allude to or notice his de-
f1ciencles. Now, when the house sent the
invoice Of his bill of goods, they wrote him
letter on that aforesaid type writer hop
ing the goods would reach him safely and
open up satisfactory, and hoping to have
his further valued orders. the usual chest
nut in such cases.
1.-THE old fellow received the letter in due
time, and he decided it was something
new-not having seen anything of the kind
before. He worried with it a while and
finally read its contents. Then it dawne1
upon his benighted mind that my house,
being aware of his education shortcom-
Jugs, had gone to work and had the lettei
printed, so he could read it better. Thai
made him hot, and the more he studied Over
it the more his Irish rose 7t'
$50 in less than week after the good
were shipped we received money package
containing the amount due for the bill, ant
letter from the old fellow, saying:
"Messrs --------- d Co.. Atlanta, Co.
''DEARE SURs--Yore goods is to hand, allst
yore lettur which is in print Twill hav you *
no kin rede ritin, and it amt nessasary fur 20,
TO hav yore letturs printed fur me to rede.
alwais pays my diets, ard | sen you in cloZ
what l ow you, as doant low no man to max
fun of me. Nothin moar at preZent.
"Yores respectfully, -"
The boss was paralyzed when he got that
and didn't know what to say to the ole
man. He wrote me to go down soon anC
see our old friend and try to straighten hin
out. | am on nv way now, but don't know
what luck will have"
During my last trip home" said wei
known Savannah drummer, zone of ou
good customers was in the city buying fal
goods, and | took him around to the thea
ter in order to show him some attention
He was from the wire-grass section o
Georgia and lived q good ways back from
the railroad. l am morally certain he haC
ne 'er been inside of theater before.
sit was the opening night OF the season
and the play was McCarthy's Mishaps. Ow
ing TO its being for the benefit of our Sa
vannah branch Of the S. T. A., the hous
was literally jammed. A larger GROVE
was never seen in the building, l don
think
1--WE had two good seats down in the or
chestra, and as we were early we sat Their
and watched the people pour into the thea
ter in a steady stream, while the ushers hat
their hands full of business assigning ticket
holders their seats. l enjoyed the rustl
and confusion. also enjoyed my countr,
friends amazement and semi-consternatiol
as he watched crowds fling down the aisles
aud occasionally glanced around or upward
as the stamping of MANY feet and tn
whistling Of the gallery gods betokened i'm
patience for the performance to begin.
FINALLY, the seats were all filled and tn
standing room only was beng rapidly
| utilized. when the orchestra came out Aux
| took their places, and the footlights wer
| turned up preparatory to the raising of tn,
| curtain. | turned around In my seat anC
| surveyed the vast crowd which filed tn
| theater from pit to dome, and 1 could'n
| help feeling good as | thought of the fac
| that a goodly share of the receipts woulC
| go into our branch treasury-tEanks Il
clever Jim Shaw. Leaning over to my
| yokel friend | said with considerable enthu
| siasm:
Magnificent house, isn't it,
He did not answer for a moment, bu
slowly turned himself about and CAREFUL,
surveyed the big structure from floor K
ceiling, and then, in an awe-struck ton
of voice, he replied: Finest building
| ever seen. l wonder what she COST"
The Columbus drummer was next Oh
deck. Said he: 81 was down in Apalachi
cola several years ago and attended muir