The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-12-03
WITH COMMERCIAL TRAVELLERS.


WITH COMMERCIAL TRAVELLERS.
II The political manager has not yet
fully realized the Importance of the
commercial traveller as a factor in
party contests. Those managers who
Eave found this out place more reli-
anee upon the information they get
from them Of the general drift of opin-
don during campaign than they do
either upon their local committeeman
or the candidates. These peripatetics
Rre sharp, clever intelligent men, No
chump keeps the road very long. Their
field covers all the vocations. They
meet men of business, men in the pro-
fessions, and men who till the soil.
They are alive to the public questions
of the day, and especially to those that
affect business. They talk trade first
and politics next; talk it in the shops
and stores and in the hotels between
trains. They do not all agree in party
relations, but when politics touches bus
fness they become pretty nearly solid
ified. They are shrewd observers, and
their summary of conditions, of the
trend of sentiment, is generally accu-
rate. When the same views are held
by the major part of them they be-
tome force that no prudent political
manager can afford to ignore. The
effect of repetition day after day OF
arguments and statements of fact
made by these men upon their custom
ers is worth a legion of spellbinders.
The other evening several of these
men of the road were gathered in the
smoking apartment of a parlor car.
They talked shop, discussed the status
Of trade, compared notes, while a news
paper man sat among them an inter-
ested listener. They all agreed that
trade was disappointing The squirt
Of activity that followed the enactment
OF the tariff and the adjournment of
congress. that bette noir of business.
had subsidized. They agreed that the
crops had disappointed the farmers,
and in turn the farmers had disap-
pointed the traders. Stocks were not
moving off the shelves with the an
ticipated rush, and collections were
Blow. Politics has become so closely
eelated to business under the prevalent
policies of parties that the one could
hardly be discussed without soon get
ting in touch with the other. There
rame to the listener a quickened inter-
est when one of the men said that
few evenings before he went up the
road, and there We're eleven travelling
men in the car. They fell into talk
over the political conditions. six of
us were Republicans, the others were
Democrats" he said, "and all of us
had voted for Mckinley last year on
the money issue
Every one of us but two declared
that were an election to take place
again with the same issues we would
vote right the other way" The list
eEer broke his silence to ask what rea-
sons these men sassigned for this
'there are several First is the steady
Increase in the formation Of trusts
Some that pretended to dissolve last
year only did as the Irishman on the
bridge did, let go to spit on their hands
SO as to get a better hold. New ones
have been formed and others are being
formed" But how does this affect
your class? "Why, if this thing keeps
on most of us fellows instead of being
out on the road for our present houses
will be walking the Rialto in New York
city waiting to meet our customers who
come in to meet the sales agent. and
the rest Of US will be looking for a lob.
Every consolidation of several houses
into trust means that lot Of us men
walk the plank. That is where the
shoe pinches us. And then the prom
Uses made last year haven't been kept.
We fellows all talked currency reform
wherever we went, and our customers
IRE asking us where it is stopping. We
were told and we told how prosperity
would come, and we are being asked
where that is staying. o, yes; you
newspaper fellows made a great blow
about it and said it was here in
chunks, but it isn't You worked up
little spell Of enthusiasm, but it died
cut ard left things worse than they