The Wichita daily eagle., 1893-07-06
DIDN'T FOOL THE FARMER.
A Brewer Whose Efforts at Cheapening &
Only Raised the Price.

Only Raised the Price.
''It once cost me just one thousand
dollars, besides the price of three bot
ties of champagne, to learn a Vermont
farmer was smarter than | was, said
the old fellow with a well-fed air as he
lighted fresh cigar.
The speaker had been brewer in his
earlier days, but he had retired after
he had put by comfortable sum, and
at the age of seventy-two he was still
enjoying life.
''One season." he continued, shops
were scarce and all the brewers We're
keeping h sharp lookout for any good
ones which were put on the market.
Our agents in Boston telegraphed to
me that a man down in Vermont had
one hundred bales Of just the kind that
| wanted, and started immediately to
buy them. Now. if | do say it myself,
do not take back seat from any one
when it comes to judging the gu Jity Of
hops. Well, | arrived at the place
where the owner of these hops lived,
They We're the best hops that | had
seen that season. The price which he
asked for them, sixty cents pound,
was reasonable for hops of that
quality; in fact it was little less than
the market price. Not to let the old
fellow see that | was too anxious to get
them, began to try and beat him down
little on the price The thought
struck me that perhaps ! might beat
him down more if / could induce him
to go to town and get him little mol
low over a bottle of champagne. The
town was not far away, and suggested
that he go back with me, as my time
was limited, and if we struck bargain
on the way | would pay him the cash
for the hops before leaving him.
''He consented and to town I'VE went
We stopped at the hotel. l ordered
bottle of champagne and some good
cigars. We drank the wine and smoked
the cigars. l kept his glass full and he
did not seem at all bashful bout taking
all that | gave TO him. He began to
warm up and thought l was going to
save the price of three or four cases of
wine at least. ! suggested that he
ought to let me have those hops for
about ffty-five cents a pound. | de-
clare he raised the price instead of low
ering it, and said lle thought they were
were worth siXty-one cents. ] laughed,
but it was no go and he insisted on
siXty-one cents as the price. ordered
another bottle of wine. Again he drank
all l gave to him, and / poured nearly
all of it in his glass. When this bottle
was finished the price of hops had gone
up to sixty-two cents pound. Things
were getting interesting. The wine
had flushed the face of the old fellow,
but he would not come down a quarter
of a cent. In desperation | tried an-
other bottle of wine and more cigars
The sparkling fluid went down his
throat like water down rat hole. lie
became more and more talSative, and !
gnined courage once more
well, said I. we'd better close the
bargain On your first offer of sixty
cents
Well, I think them hops are worth
'boutsixty-tiv cents. he replied.
Il argued and threatened not TO take
them at all. bat it was no use. He was
sharp enough to detect the fact that !
wanted those hops and wanted them
badly. He would not budEe bit, and
/ had % pay siXty-fivc cents for them
The additional i've cents a pound made
a difference of ten dollars on every bale
and one thousand dollars on the hun
dred bales, besides my wine and cigar
bin of nearly twenty dollars ~. Y.