The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1895-04-16

they might give you ten per cent. of
all you sell, twenty per cent, fifty
per cent. or n~inety-nine per cept,-
they cannot pay you enough to make
1t worth while to ruin your own soul.
And then your eyenings-your idle
nights-what of them Tell me where
q man passes his time after supper
and 1 viii tell you his worldly pros
poets and / will tell you where he
will spend his eternity. That room In
the hotel may be dreary and COM
fortress, L know, brother, but 1t may Dc
the best place for you. You a pass
there hours profitably in reading you
can write a letter To the dear ones at
home. If you must have society it is
better to go to the church than Il the
club; to the Y. M. q. A. than to the
theatre. There are other places to
which you might go. You are far
away from home /; mother, sister, wife,
sweetheart will not know of it. Com
mercial travellers have sometimes gone
into these evil places, but they have
neye" come out of them the same men.
The hot curse OF God has been on
them and conscience has dashed them
with the stings OF scorpions. How
often and o earnestly you need to
pray to Him who alone can preserve
you from these grave moral dangers
" Lead us not into temptation, but
deliver us from evil"
Commercial travelling, In my judg-
ment, has its bright side. 1t is a
school OF useful knowledge. Business
introduces Il drummer to the univer-
sity of America, wherein he may
acquire a wonderful mass of informa-
ton. Seven years are necessary to fit
u student for the ministry-four years
in college and three years in the
theological seminary. Seven years
are required to qualify u student to
practice medicine seven years + the
time demanded to prepare a young
man for tho law. NV, give any
bright young business man seven
years ION the road" and at the end
of that time you will be surprised at
the v%astness and variety OF his knowl-
ledge. He may not study many books
nor handle grammars and lexicons,
but he will come, through his occupa-
ton, to understand the great questions
OF finance and commerce., OF politics
ard g~eCrgraphy, Of law and morals.
He will understand human nature.
He will know more Of men-how to
meet them, how to influence them,
control them and organize them than
any seven-years' student of law,
medicine or divinity. Give the drum.
mer years on tho road and, in
many instances, he will retire as part
ner In some largo business house, and
his influence in the community as a
man Of broad Intelligence will be
powerful and persuasive.
Commercial travelling is a school of
character. Manhood Comes out ION
the road" 1t is u solool to cultivate
energy and industry. Ills IL school to
cultivate patience. Men who become
petulant and angry and choleric and
cross and sour and queer losoE their
customers. Disposition, a good dis,
position, is capital. You may squan-
der that capital by impatiencu, by
quick retorts and sarcastic lings, or
you may increase it by gentle behavior
towards unmannerly customers. ''The
road" is u school of integrity. No
man knows what he will do until he is
tempted. There are thousands of men
who have kept The integrity merely
because they have never been tested: If
imam is disposed to be dishonest Oppor-
tunities will occur for him t o indulge
his sin. LII a man can leave 1.-The
road" therefore, after long years of
travel and say, I'm all the sales / have
ever made1 have never misstated the
value of goods, in all the sales / have
ever q | nave never covered up
an imperfectiOn in the goods, of all
the thousands of dollars /. have ever
handled | have never taken one dis
honest cent" he has graduated in bust
made o fortune what If he has actually
failed in business? He has lived and
will die at last an honest man, which
is 1.-The noblest work of God"
Commercial travelling NAV be n
school of human brotherhood. Drum
mers have many opportunities of show
ing kindness to one another, and many
OF them seldom miss an opportunity.
Cooperation Is better than cOmpeti-
ton. Economic society is asking the
question, What must | do to be
saved?' The answer comes from the
Great Teacher, Love thy neighbor
as myself" The old political economy
was tho applied science OF selfishness /:
the new political economy is the
applied cience of love: The attrac-
ton OF matter to NATTER" another has
said, lis gravitation; the attraction
of soul to soul is love-" As gravity
binds all the heavenly bodies in fami-
lies, communities, States and nations,
c1rcl1ng around n common and
ultimate centre, SO love is the attract
ing and h~armOnizing principle OF the
ommercia universe. Composition is
war; cooperation is peace cumpeti-
tion corrupts cooperation ennObles
by bringing Il the better elements OF
human nature.
Commercial travelling is a school
OF patriotism. Drummers have won
derful chances for building up a CITY.
When some n asked what explained
the marvellous development OF the
city in a State to the south of us the
answer came. Three causes--the
newspapers, the railroads, the drum
mers. The reputation of your city.
when you travel, is in your hands.
You a enhance it or defame it; Won
a talk it up or talk it down; you
attract population to 1t or you keep
IT away. And so | counsel you to
4 the Lessons God teaches you in
your great business college, that Won
may be blest and q blessing to Others
Some OF the best men whom [ nave
ever known have been commercial
travellers. Their calling was u help
n not IL hindrance 10 the exercise OF
their religion. One drummer of this
number founded u church in q little
town in Florida. He was stopping
there one Sunday, and was surprised
and disappointed that there was no
church. He visited until he found and
got together enough people TO agree
to organize one, and then he appointed
himself q committee of one to raise
the money for u building. Wherever
he went he was picking up small
sums, till at last he secured enough to
erect q suitable house of Worship.
travelling on business enabled him to
be a collector for God as well. One OF
the 0 heartsome letters | ever re-