Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1891-12-12
A BOOK AGENTS STORY.
A Young Woman Relates Her Dis
agreeable Experiences.
The Door Often Shut In an Agents Face
Experience Meetings of the Women
A Premium on Impudence
and Smooth Tongue.

"Why don't take up book-canvass-
ing? ! tried that once, and let me tell
than book agent"
She was bright, capable girl, anx-
ious to get honest employment Some
one ventured the canvassing suggestion
and this was her reply.
Let me tell you something of my |
experiences" she continued, land per-
haps you will not wonder at my asser-
ton. Seriously, would go into a
kitchen before 1 would again under
take canvassing. | was book agent for
three months. At the end of that time
was, to be sure, richer in experience,
but in very little else. had covered
my expenses and had about fifty dol
lars besides. But the humiliation, the
fatigue had undergone, the rebutfs,
good-natured contempt and insults !
had received were something beyond
calculation :.
81 signed contract to canvass for
book which sold for two dollars and a
half and which absolutely was not
worth five cents. 1t was the history
of a mans life from the cradle to the
grave How he was chased by bull !
when boy; how he fought bled and
died in the re ebellion-unmitigated
rubbish that nobody wanted to buy,
and my business was to talk people
tired until they would buy to be rid
of me.
Il was only to visit offices, banks,
manufactures, etc. never private
houses-for there l would encounter
women, and you know that if there is
any creature on earth that a woman
has no mercy on it's woman book
agent. I'll tell you something about
that presently.
''It was the author of this great lite
rary effort who engaged me to canvass.
He and his wife were the shrewdest of
shrewd people. They had a system all
their own. They mapped out their ter
ritory and divided it up into sections
| and sent knot of agents here and
there, and then kept an espionage over
| them that was worse than the police
system.
"I was required to start out every
morning at eight o'clock, rain or shine,
wind or snow. was given five offices
and must spend those four hours in
five offices. No matter if was told
again and again that my book was not
wanted | must keep on talking, talking,
unless was shown the door, as hap
pened once or twice.
after dinner l started out again,
and if did not get ten orders day |
was met with considerable GOODNESS and
sarcasm when | reported once week
to my employer
ut was his custom to hold weekly
experience meetings, at which each
agent was required to rise and state
her experience, her ways and means OF
getting orders, her worst struggle for
name and other odds and ends of i'll
formation The girls who had received
the greatest number of orders got
prizes, gold watches, diamond earrings
and money. The others were reprovet
and exhorted into greater activity.
Each one had her own particular
story to tell. | was educating little
cousin whose parents had adopted mS
when | was an orphan. Now they hat
| lost their money and l was trying tC
, return their kindness. One of the girls
was supporting her aged grandparents
: another wished to finish her musica
/ education, and so on. 1t taxed our in
: genuity sometimes to get up enough
stories to go round. Nice business
r isn't it, that teaches young girls to ge
/. money under false pretenses?
II can't begin to tell you the expert
ence had. was persevering and
glib talker and generally brough
down my game. One man shut hi
!, door in my face and didn't blam
= MIN. In many places book agents ar
not allowed to enter. used to hid
my book under my wrap or mutf an
slip in. Once l found myself in lon
y row of offices separated by steel rail
'- ings and communicating by gates.
|, began to talk in office number ont
t when the man rose and without on
It word opened the gate. ! passed int
h the next, where the same performanc
II was gone through and so on until
reached the last gate. give you m
word that left that building shakin
4. with laughter at the swift and siler
y means of disposing of an annoyin
4. book agent
!. almost every man would say to m,
"a why in Heavens name don't you d
something besides this?' All had
contempt for the business. l went int
one office where there were eleve
=, young men, who at once began guyip
:. me numerically. turned ON thel
- - and gave them good-sized piece OF N
Z mind, and before ! left | got eigl
m orders.
=. - ~ had one very funny experien'
with an old man, the proprietor OF
large tin shop He tried to escape m
out l followed him upstairs and dow
le and finally cornered him. ! told hi
,ri II would only take two little doila
he and half; that it wasn't much to hiI
q. but meant SO much to me. ! got ,
u. order at last, an,l when delivered q