The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1890-11-06
A pRuMMER,s TRICK.
How He Manages to Appear Liberal With
out Going to Any Expense.


out Going to Any Expense.
A drummer for a large wholesale
clothing house has a trick which he says
saves him 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 eXtraya-
gance is necessary in order to convince
them of the standing and generous
dealing of his house. This used to cost
him a great deal of money in travelling
expenses. He was expected to bear
great part of the expense of entertain
ing 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 it which i'm
pressed them, and that it was more i'm
portant to seem careless and generous
than really to spend a 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 him
self, and in a reckless way pulled out
| bill and lit cigar with it. Without
thinking 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 a round of drinks or cigars, but
/ it made the eyes of his customers open
/ to think that a man should use money
in such reckless way. The next day,
4 when he sobered up, he found the
burned bill in his pocket only one end
of which had burned. He thought he
had made 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 having it replaced.
The idea became strong In his mind
that he might do this ostentatious and
reckless act without having to pay for
it. So the next time he was out with
several of his customers he bought a
few rounds of drinks, aand then began in
a 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 extrayagant
stories about the percentage his house
was paying him, how cheap it was sell
ing, and what liberal concessions he was
making to get rid of the stock which his
house hand on hand. He found the trick
worked excellently. He has been try
ing it on ever since to greater Or less
extent.
One night he held a card party Of some
Of his customers at his rooms at the ho'
tel, and thinking 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 evening and then
threw them in cuspidor which be kept
by his chair, first putting them out be-
fore he threw them in, so that they
might not be burned up there. After
his customers left he took the top of
the cupsidor, took the bills out, folded
them all up and redeemed them wher
he next returned to New York. He ha;
gained the reputation of being one Of
the most careless and extravagant meI
on the road, without it costing him as
much for expenses with his custom
ers as it costs other statesmen who dc
not burn up their money.-N. Y. Sun.