Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-11-04


spelled 1t at the rate of 300 letters every
one and one-half seconds, and in some kind
Of unknown French besides. 1 requested
her to spell it. please. again. and she re.
buked me thus, we'll! vell 1 cannot spell
it seek times; spell 1t Re Won time; Eat
ees enough and down went the window; I
left. am afraid the French lady's name
will not appear in the city directory.
Yet, all cases were not so disagreeable
in the majority of instances the canvasser
Is treated politely, and receives his infor-
nation quickly and accurately. Three out
Of four men who answer the canvassers
ring at a private residence invite him to
enter and be seated. Nine out of ten women
will stand at the door and give him the
! Names but not a few of them give them
unwillingly apparently. although, If the
canvasser attempts to leave without taking
the names al ALL she will call him back
and insist on giving them.
COiored People Usually willing.
The majority Of the colored people receive
the canvasser well, give the information
quickly. politely and without much talk, and
more work can be accurately performed
in colored district in one day than in a
white district equally populated in two or
three days. Among the colored people, of
course. many cannot spell their own names
and many others are afraid to give their
names at all. One of the old colored men
was stubborn some time with me and said:
NO, indeedy, boss, 1 amt gwine to give
my name to nobody. You pears to be honest
looking, but deed don't know muffin about
what you want and KANT give my name
to you nohow." But persuaded him final
ly and left him muttering about IBIS yere
Directly business he never did unerstan'
anyhow"
l saw some of the saddest Of poverty's
afhictions among the colored people; at one
place, where no one answered my knock.
l went around to the rear of the shanty
and knocked and a feeble voice replied that
she was unable to. rise. but would tell me
what wanted through the door. She was
the old grandmother, afflicted and had been
on her back for over three years. all alone
all day long, while her grandchildren were
out to get enough for few crusts
Odd People Among the Better Class.
Odd people are to be found among the bet
ter classes. / requested one lady, over
northwest. to give me her husbands name
and business and was refused. / explained
all the reasons and causes Of my desire but
she was obdurate, and said she had given
1t last year and it wasn't the way her hus-
band wanted it. 1 assured her he would get
1t this time just right and she said Young
man, If you had heard the domestic Jar
there was about me giving the name incor-
rectly before; II you could have heard the
unpleasant remarks made over it then. You
would not ask me to give 1t now; vowed
then never to give my husbands name
again II 1t did not get in at ALL" could
not but respect her feelings and withdrew
At another very beautiful residence / was
sary information the lady had told me all
about her travels, her knowledge, her sons
wonderful abilities, her own surprising good
Judgment and many other things l did not
really need, but she was polite and oblig-
ing. and that is a great deal more than are
many OF the ladies at the most imposing
residences. Many ladies upon hearing my
request evidently thought had just jump
ed car and came to their house particu-
larry to get their names and no others and
they patronizingly say: You may go right
down to my husbands office, number 5000
Blank street and he win tell you all about
IT." 1t is too bad to dispel this illusion. but
the canvasser has to enlighten these ladies'
minds that he had thought of going next
door In fact. of working in that vicinity
all day. and that he really couldn't stop
work and run down to her husbands office
just then.
Just a Plain Minister.
At one house a colored woman told me
that the gentleman Of the house was a
minister. and that he would be in in a
minute. So when the old colored man ar
rived got his name and said: Mr. Blank,
you are a clergyman" He looked at ME
fixedly. and said firmly: NO. sab: Use a
Christian minister Of de Gospel, and OATS
all A colored girl at one place wanted me
to apologize and would not answer my
questions because l inferred that she kept
q restaurant, and she contended il was an
ice cream parlor.
Many widow ladies object to giving their
husbands name and cannot understand
why they are wished. Many men who
part their names in the middle object to
giving their first name. When a man signs
his name in that way the directory prints IL
as he wishes it. but the canvasser must
find out what his first name is for the d.
rectory company's information, though it
does not appear in the book. For example,
in such case the canvasser makes a slip
similar to this
Jones, s. Frank, clerk, 81
122 5th ne.
1o-l4 tSamueD
Tha word Samuel in the corner indi-
Gates that the first name is not to be used,
but the name is to appear as written
Jones, s. Frank. &C"
Once in a while the canvasser calls upon
a man who will refuse fatty to give the in
| formation. / asked one gentleman for his
name business, &C, and he said he didn't
care to have his name in at all, as for
three years II had been in Incorrectly, and
he had had enough. I assured him 1 would
take down his name just exactly as he
wished IT. spell II as he desired and accom-
modate him as best / could. He coldly in
formed me that he had been nisrepre
| scented three times, and that he did not
have any time to waste In giving his name
again. OF course 1t is provoking for bus
mess man to have his name Incorrectly in
a city directory for three years: but If he
had given 1t as he wished 1t to appear 1t
might have been correct this time; whereas
the directory officers were Informed OF his
refusal to give the Information. and they
will do the best they can to get 1t in as
nearly correct as possible, which will not.
in all likelihood. be as accurate as 1t would
have been II he had pleasantly given his
name correctly to the canvasser.
Working n Market District.
One of the most difficult districts to work
Is one In which there is a market. l had
the pleasure of testing my patience in the
Center Market one Saturday morning. Sat
urday is market day and it is about the
only time when all the proprietors of the
stalls can be found and 1T is also the busy
day and the aisles are crowded. 1t requires
con siderable tact to stand In 1ostlinE
crowd and write information on little slips
and Furthermore obtain the information
from busy merchants. active I'm selling
their commodities and not over-anxious to
be interrupted by anyone not wishing to
spend money. Yet as a whole the stall
proprietors, with a very few exceptions.
were pleasant and polite, gave a few words
to me, then a few to a customer until by
piecemeal had what I wished.
Instances of different manners, Character
istics and ideas of people ] met would fill
books 1t is a field of widest scope for the
study Of human nature. for the study of
our fellow man.
The canvasser's ring at door bell is
sure to call forth the innate courtesy. re-
inement, selfshness, vulgarity, politeness
or rudeness whatever may be the chief and
main trait Of character) of the person an
swering it. This chief characteristic jumps
to the surface usually before the canvasser
has said a word. One woman opened the
door. looked at me just a second and said:
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