Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1895-01-02


and Vermont, celebrated the fact b,
Weyman, General Agent Phoenix Re
lief Life Insurance Co.. wherein tn,
General" as betokening my recen
promotion, was made to stand out il
all the prominence of brilliant GOLD
letters on light-blue ground. But
decided that my extravaganza should
not be limited to new sign. would
also hire q secretary. Fifty letters 6
day necessitated considerable labor in
reading and answering, and of sud
den it seemed very ridiculous for me
general agent for the states of New
York and Vermont, to pin myself down
to the drudgery of attending to sc
large correspondence. The dignity
of my new office demanded a secre-
tary; and not only would he tighten
my labor considerably, but he would
always be very busy whenever any
prospective policy takers entered the
Office, and between US, if we remem-
bered to assume very hurried man
ner when step was heard upon the
threshold, we could doubtless make a
deep impression upon the chance
caller.
My secretary came highly recon-
mended, and 1 was charmed. He
seemed to possess natural aptitude
for the insurance business, and always
gave the closest attention whenever I
tried to explain the complicated ma
chinery of agents and sub-agents,
whereby any man with merely ghost
of an idea of insuring his life is in
stantly made the object of labor no
less persistent than that brought to
bear upon the one unconverted sinner
In a Methodist prayer meeting. But
notwithstanding his evident interest,
he never asked questions; in fact, tact
turnity was his most prominent char
acteristic. Monosyllables, and those
of the simplest sort, implying affirm a.
ton and negation, were apparently
the measure of his voca bulary. When
one of my friends suggested that he
be nicknamed ''Sphinxy," the appella-
ton seemed SO fttiug that it was i'm
mediately adopted by laughing vote,
although, to be sure, some one raised
objections based upon the sex of the
Egyptian prototype, which, however,
were quickly overruled. sphinxy
then he was by name, and Sphinxy
also by nature.
Six months had passed-nonths dur
ing which the bank teller showed each
day growing Difference to my weather
representations, while my satisfac-
ton in Stanley Weyman steadily in
creased-when one Saturday morning
saw Sphinxy and me completing our
monthly report which we had to for
ward that afternoon to the home
Office. We had received from all the
field men statements of what policies
they had secured and what premiums
they had collected during the month,
and we were now engaged in balanc-
ing up the books. My secretary was
seated on my left, between me and
the Office door, noting in the big
ledger with a red lead pencil the vari-
GUS premiums. the checks for payment
of which | held in my hand. l had just
read off the name and amount of the
last check-Ray M. Gordon, fifty dol
lars-and was preparing to place the
pile of half hundred checks in the
large envelope preparatory to sealing
and mailing it to the Hartford, when
there came the most piteous whining
from the direction of the door. 1t
sounded as though some dog were
scratching and whimpering for adj
mittance.
Now 1 am great lover of dogs; I
own several myself, and take pride in
the fact that no dogs in the city are
better fed and cared for than mine.
You nay call me sentimental, but re-
spect my dogs a great deal more than
do many meh. There is more hon
esty and integrity in a respectable dog
than in a large part of the plantigrade
3bipeds that occupy space on this globe.
Accordingly when the whining was
repeated, l dropped the pile of checks
and ran to the door. Upon opening it,
however, was disappointed. for no
broken-legged and bedraggled cur
pushed by my legs into the room, and
proceeded to lay his muddy and bloody
carcass upon my new Turkish rug. l
looked up and down the dark hall,
w hloClCu, anu CfCA lAdoO uoC VI CildO
Missing sound that inspires valor in the
canine breast, and terror in the feline
heart-but no dog. As / returned to
my desk, Sphinxy looked up inquiring-
ly, and 1 remarked that probably I
frightened the beast away, for it had
disappeared. Then having finished
my task of inclosing the checks in the
envelope, sealed the letter and slipped
1t into my pocket to mail on my way
home to lunch.
In the insurance business everything
goes as by clocl1work Any premiums
due on certain day? They must be
paid on that day. Agents and en-
ployes must perform their duties to
the letter; the report must appear
when expected, or heaven itself is
moved to know the reason. Accord
ingly when we mailed our monthly re-
port at Saturday noon, we knew that
the mail of Tuesday morning would
bring us an acknowledgment of the
same from the home Office. made
practice of reading these monthly let
ters from Hartford myself-not that
had forbidden Sphinxy to open them,