Connecticut western news., 1899-02-23
THE TRAVELLING MAN.
REV OR. TALmACE ADDRESSES THE
 COMMERCIAL DRuMMERS.

Words ot Warmest Sympathy-The
 Safeguards and dOpportunities-Time
 Passed on Railroad Trains.
 [copyright 1899. by American Press Asso-
 ciation.l
 WASHINGTON, Feb. 19.-In this dis course Dr. Talmage gives words of good cheer to commercial travellers and tells of their safeguards and then opportuni ties; text, Nahum ii. 4, 1.-The chariots shall rage in the streets; they shall jus tle one against another in the broad ways; they shall seem like torches; they shall run like the lightnings.
 It has been found out that many of the arts and discoveries which we sup posed were peculiar to our own age are merely the restoration of the arts and discoveries of thousands of years ago. suppose that the past centuries have forgotten more than the present century knows. It seems to me that they must have known thousands of years ago in the days of Nineveh of the uses of steam and its application to swift travel In my text I hear the rush of the rail III, jamming of the car couplings. "The chariots shall rage in the streets; they shall justle one against another in the broad ways; they shall seem like torches; they shall run like the light nings"
 Have you ever taken your position in the night far away from depot along the track waiting to see the rail train come at full speech At first you heard in the distance a rumbling, like the coming of storm, then you saw the flash of the headlight of the locomotive as it turned the curve; then you saw the wilder glare of the fiery eye of the train as 1t came plunging toward you; then you heard the shriek of the whistle that frenxied all the echoes; then you saw the hurricane dash of cinders; then you felt the jar of the passing earthquake and you saw the shot thun- derh0lt of the express train. We'll, it seems that we can hear the passing of midnight express train in my text, .'The chariots shall rage in the streets; they justle one against another in the broad ways; they shall seem like torches; they shall run like the ightnings.
 I halt the train long enough to get on board. and go through the cars, and find three-fourths of the passengers are commercial travellers. They are folk peculiar to themselves, easily recogniz- ed, at homo on all the trains, not startled by the sudden dropping of the brakes, familiar with all the railroad signals. can tell you what is the next station, how long the train will stop. what place the passengers take luncheon at, can give you information on almost any subject, are cosmopolitan, at home ev- erywhere from Halifax to San Francis co. They are on the o'clock morning train, on the noon train, on the mid night train. You take berth in a sleeping car, and either above you or beneath you Is one of these gentlemen. There are 100, 900 professed commercial .travelers in the United States, but 500,- 900 would not include all those who are sometimes engaged in this service. They spend millions of dollars every day in the hotels and in the rail trains They have their official newspaper organ. They have their mutual benefit associa- tion, about 4,000 names on the rolls, and have already distributed more than $200, 900 among families of deceased members. They are ubiquitous, unique, and tremendous for good or evil. All the tendencies of merchandise are to- ward their multiplication. The house that stands back on its dignity and waits for customers to come, instead of going to seek bargain makers, will have more and more unstable goods on the shelf and will gradually lose its control of the markets. While the great, enter prieing and successful houses will have their agents on all the trains, and "their chariots will rage in the streets, they shall justle one against another in the broad ways They shall seem like torches, they shall run like the light nings."
 Entitled to Warm Sympathy.
 I think commercial travellers can stand sermon of warm hearted sym- pathy. If you have any words of good cheer for them, you had better utter them. If you have any good, honest prayers in their behalf, they will be greatly obliged to you. I never knew man yet who did not like to be prayed for never knew man yet that did not like to be helped It seems to me this sermon is timely. At this season of the year there are tens of thousands of men going out to gather the spring trade. The months of February and March in all our commercial establish ments are very busy months. In few days our national perplexities will all be settled, and then look out for the brightest ten years of national prosperi- ty which this country has ever witness cd. All our astute commercial men feel that we are standing at the opening gate of wonderful prosperity. Let the nanufacturers put the bands on their wheels and the merchants open a new set of account books in place of those filled with long columns of bad debts Let us start on a new commercial cam paign. Let us drop the old tune of ''Naomi" and take up Ariel Tor 'An- tioch.
 Now you. the commercial traveller, have received orders from the head men of the firm that you are tS start on long excursion. You have your patterns all assorted and prepared. You have them put up in bundles or cases and marked You have full instructions as to prices. n know on what prices you are to stand firm and from what prices you may retreat somewhat. You have your valise or trunk or both pack ed. If were a stranger, I would have no right to look into that valise, but as I am your brother will take the liber- ty. I look into the valise, and I con- grntulate you on all these comfortable articles of apparel The seasons are so changeable you have not taken single precaution too many Some night you will get out in the snow bank and have to walk three or four miles until you get to the railroad station, and you will want all these comforts and con- veniences. But will you excuse me if