The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1894-04-17
ABOUT BOOK AGENTS.
Wheeling is nu Excellent Field for
that Glass OF Mon.
THEY ARE MUCH misunderstood.
Says a Prominent Gao of tholr Mum.
ber--They do a Community Good,
and Mako Money for Themselves
aud their Employers-somo Inter.
esting Facts About Them,

a gentleman was introduced to an
lNTELLIGRNcER man yesterday, and ut
once volunteered tho information that
ho was a"book agent" In the CONVEX.
sation which was thus introduced, he
said:
Probably no class OF people have
been made the butt OF alleged humor-
lists and wits, more than the book agent.
10 tho masses, no class OF mon are less
known. Now, there arc book agents,
and--book agents.
THE most prevalent impression up.
pears to be, that tho book agent is n
cadavesous individual, soedy in appear.
ancc, with want staring out OF his
countenanco, n fellow with n book hid.
den underneath his coat, that ap-
proaches Il front door, and Is kicked
away, only to roappear Mt tho kitchen
with his hat oil, and Il please. Main,
Don't you want 10 buy q bookY Auo-
thor popular idca is that he must bs an
impudent, brassy chap, who knows
nothing except his razzlo-dazzlo song
and dance story, from whom you must
either buy to escape being bored to
death, or abruptly order out OF your
place OF business. There arc such
people trying to sell books, Just as there
arc disreputable representatives in any
other branch OF trade. How different
they are from the gsntlemanly man
who approaches you politely and oilers
his line with the same degree OF con-
hdence "a would any other traveller"
This gentleman made tho broad claim
that some great mon had been shook
agents" and named among these Napo-
leon, Grant and Garfield, and no claimed
that the ranks to-day arc filed with as
cultivated, refined and intelligent men
us are to be found on the road.
Indeed" said he, "they must be, to
succeed, and it ia the successful ones
who arc reierred to. 1t may not be
known. but it is & fact that the euaran-
teed salaries OF many run up into thous-
ando, and in some instances have
reached ten thousand dollars a wear.
There are any number OF them, whose
yearly earnings would make tho ordinary
commercial traveller, green with envy
What kind OF houses employ agents?
Why, every Observation-Disclosures in
the country does. There may DO excep-
tons, one or two. but ii go I do notknow
OF them. It is in this way that the pro-
fessional men, the lawyer, civil en-
gineer, the skilled mechanic, and cleo.
trician living outside OF large cities, is
enabled to keep abreast OF the times.
These men know that the mere maya
zines published in the interest of their
separate occupations. are not sufficient
to give them more than n mere outline
OF needed information. It is books they
want, and it is to the agent
they look to get them. Through him
they can examine before purchasing,
thus being able to e texactly what they
want. Then there is the army OF gem
eral book readers to which the book
agent has proven q veritable god send.
He brings to them the latest OF books,
sold only by subscription. He furnishes
many standard works. in sets or single
copies, that are not to be had Mt tho
nearest booksellers. He furnishes ref.
creme and many other works in large
editions. and in nine cases out OF ton,
he offers them to his customers on such
terms that they cheerfully buy; when
otherwise they would not feel able to
do SO. Even newspapers employ eau
yassers. 1t ia only the great metropolis
tan journals that do not"
THAT is not all of it," he went on,
contemplatively. did YOU ever know
a book agent who made money and
didn't spend it? Itis like any other
business, the good men in it make
friends by liberality. 1 venture to say
that tho book agents alone spend or
cause to be spent on their account over
twenty-five thousand dollars q year in
Wheeling. 1t is not IN uncommon
thing for a dozen travelling agents to be
here ut Il time, to say nothing Of
money made and spent by local agents.
AS an example, one OF your citizens is
paid a salary OF $1,000 a year 10 simply
deliver and collec. upon the books sold
by a single firm in the territory belong.
ing to Wheeling. This collector has a
tamily and the money stays right here
ut is an open secre. among book
SCENTS tina. within the last week a
prominent St. Louis publishing firm
has been negotiating with q Wheeling
party to open q branch here, and it is
almost an assured TACT that it will be
done. This city, and the territory
tributory to it, is, in printers p%arlance,
tat 10 an agent, and they Try i. accord
ingiy. Few agents ever keep q ronte;
they are ~oftenest birds OF passage.
When they like a town. its good name
goes abroad. And all OF them I have
met who are worth q continental rate
Wheeling A l."