Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1891-04-03
THE DIAMOND DRUMMER.
HE MUST BE A VERY ExCEP-
TIONAL SALESMAN.
He Often Carries "A Stock Worth 5000
He Must Not DE u Gambler ora
Drinking Mantle some-
times Has 10 Guard.

"a thoroughly competent and thor
oughly equipped diamond salesman,
says a leading importer of the valuable
stones to the jewelers. Weekly, lis
almost as rare and valuable as the
diamond itself. l will say freely to
you now that il | could find salesman
who filled all the requirements OF the
position l would gladly pay him a
salary OF so, 600 or SO, 900 per year.
But it is difficult TO find a well-equipped
salesman who has not some drawback
or fault There is a man in my mind
now who is most valuable salesman,
is possessed of a thorough knowledge
of diamonds and his only fault is the
fact that he will get drunk. Now if
this man was strictly sober he could
add several thousand dollars yearly TO
his salary. AS it is he draws a large
salary and the house which employs
him would worry if they thought there
was any danger of losing him. You
can appreciate the danger of employ
ing a man who is addicted TO drink as
a diamond salesman at once. You see
we are forced by the nature of our
business to give such salesman when
he goes out valuable lot of goods to
sell. We can't sell goods like other
people.
1T is impossible to sell diamonds by
sample. Diamonds are not manu-
featured; they are found, and when a
man gets hold OF stone Of value it is
impossible for him to say to a customer
we have a stock of stones of which this
is fair sample. that we can supply TO
you. He must sell the stones separately.
The buyer must examine each one.
Hence we are forced to give the man a
large ana valuable stock of goods when
he goes out TO visit our customers. Now,
anyone would naturally hesitate before
he gives a man who is addicted to
drink stock of goods worth from
$40, 600 to $50, 600. The firm who
employs the salesman TO whom | refer
thoroughly realizes the danger and so
does toe salesman himself. He knows
his own value and he also knows his
own habits.
In order to protect him when he
goes out with stock of goQls man is
sent to accompany him. This man.
who has nothing else in the world TO
do, always watches the salesman and
takes care of the stock when he gets
drunk. He receives a salary of 81, 200
a year and has all of his expenses paid.
OF course this man is really no value
except as guard over the salesman,
and you can at once see the estimate
placed by the firm on the salesman's
value.
Zone OF the greatest dangers TO q
diamond importing house is that a
trusted salesman will fall in with an
INSCRIPTIONS woman, or will become
addicted to the habit of gambling.
Suppose a man becomes gambler and
suffers losses heavier than he can
afford. He gets in tight place. Like
every gambler, he feels sure his luck
will soon turn. He knows he has 500
600 or S25, 600 worth of goods with
him, on which he can at once realize
ready money at pawn shop.
He never doubts the turn OF the
cards his way. He sells or pledges
his goods. Any OF his regular custom
ers will buy from him and will never
suspect anything if he offers a bargain,
He has done that often before for the
sake of trade. tie loses the money and
his delinquency is soon revealed. Then
comes arrest, prosecution and convic-
ton. As | said when | began. good
diamond statesmen are rare, and | could
name now several men who have been
found short, but whom their employers
have forgiven and offered another
chance sooner than lose their services.
If we could sell goods by sample all
this would be changed, but we cannot
and hence we are forced to take the
risks. AS a result, you will find that
as soon as possible most importers of
diamonds give salesman as soon as
they possibly can an interest in the
business besides his salary, so as to
offer an additional inducement to him