The Forrest City times., 1891-03-27
THE DIAMOND DRUMMER.
HE MUST BE 4 VERY ExCEP.
 TiONAL SALESMAN.
He Often Carries a Stock Worth e25, ,OO0- He Must Not be a Gambler ora Drinking Man--He Somc-
 times Has a Guard.

"A thoroughly competent and thor oughly equipped diamond salesman, says leading importer of the valuable stones to the Jewellers Weekly. "is almost as rare and valuable as the diamond itself. l will say freely to you now that if I could find salesman who filled all the requirements of the position l would gladly pay him 8 salary of $10, 900 or $15, 900 per year. But 1t is difficult to find 0 well-equipped salesman who has not some drawback or fault. There is n 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 q diamond salesman at once. You see we are forced by the nature of our business to give such a salesman when he goes out valuable lot of goods to sell We can't sell goods like other people.
 'It is impossible to sell diamonds by sample. Diamonds are not manu- factured; they are found, and when a man gets hold of a stone of value 1t Is impossible for him to say to a customer, we have stock of stones of which this is ff.ir 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 an2 valuable stock of goods when he goes out to visit our customers. Now. anyone would naturally hesitate before he gives man who is addicted to drinh stock of goods worth from $2o, 0oO to $50, The firm who employs the salesman to whom I refer thoroughly realizes the danger and so does ,ce salesman himself. He knows his oSa value and he also knows his own i-abits.
 'h order to protect him when he goes out with stock of goods a man is sent to accompany him. This man, who lY4s nothing e.se in the world to do, always watches the salesman and takes care of the stock when he gets drunk He receives salary of $1, POO a year and has all of his expenses paid Of course this man Is really no value and yea can at once see the estimate placed by the firm on the salesman's s value.
 "Onc of the greatest dangers to a | diamond importing house is that a trusted salesman will fall in with an unscru pulous woman, or will become | addicted to the habit of gambling Suppose man becomes gambler and suffen losses heavier than he can ! afford. He gets in tight place. Like every gambler, he feels sure his luck will son turn. He knows he has $20,- 900 OF $25, 900 worth of goods with him. su which he can at once realize ready money at a pawn shop.
 He never doubts the turn of the cards his way. He sells or pledges his gnods. Any of his regular custom CTS will buy from him and will never suspect anything if he offers a bargain, He bus done that often before for the sake sf trade. He loses the money and his delinquency is soon revealed. Then coma arrest, prosecution and convic- tion. As 1 said when l began, good diamond salesmen 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 ths risks. As a result you will find that as soun us possible most importers of diamonds give salesman as soon ns they possibly can an interest n the business besides his salary, so as to offer An additional inducenent to him |