St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1899-03-25
FOR THE DRUMMERS.
D.. Talmage breaches to the Army
Of Commercial Travellers.

Cautions Then to stxrt Right On
Their Work
On the Sabbath-The Daty
Of Employers.
washington. Ccpyrig ut, 1sea)
In this discourse DR.. Talmage gives
words of good cheer to commercial
travellers and tells of their safeguards
and their opportunities: text, Nahum
pa, 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 lightnings."
1t 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.
I suppose that the past centuries have
forgotten more than the present CEN
tury knows. 1t 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 hear The rush of
the rail train, the clang of the wheels
and the jamming of the car couplings.
'"The chariots shall rage in the sheets;
they shall justle one against anotherin
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 speed? At first you heard
in the distance rumbling like the COM
ing Of a storm; then you saw the flash
Ct the headlight of the locomotive rs it
turned the curve; then YOU saw the
wilder glare of the fiery eye of the
train as it came plunging toward you;
then you heard the shrek of the whis-
tie that frenzied 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-
derbolt of the express train. Well, it
seems that we can hear the passing of
a midnight express train in my text,
'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
ninss."
/ halt the train long enought to get on
board. and go through the cars, and
find tl1ree-fourths of the passengers are
commercial travellers. They are a folk
peculiar to themselves. easily recog-
nized, at home 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 lunch
con at, can give you information on al
most any subject, are cosmopolitan. at
home everywhere from Halifax to San
Francisco. They are on the eight
o'clock morning train. on the noon
train. on the midnight train. You take
a berth in sleeping car. and either
above you or beneath you is one of these
gentlemen. There are 100000 professed
commercial travellers in the United
States, but SOC. 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 association. about 4.C00
names on the rolls, and have already
distributed more than 100000 among
the families of deceased members.
They are ubiquitous, unique and tre-
mendous for good or evil. All the ten
denotes of merchandise are toward
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, enterpris-
ing 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."
l think commercial travellers can
stand a 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. l never knew
a man yet who did notlike to be prayed
for. / never knew q man yet that did
not like 10 be helped. 1t seems 10 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 estab-
lishments are very busy months. In
few days our national perplexities will
be settled, and then look out for me
brightest ten years of national prosper
ity which this country has ever wit
messed. All our astute commercial men
feel that we are standing at the opening
gate of wonderful prosperity. Let the
manufacturers put the bands on
their wheels, and the merchants open a
new set of account books in place OF
those filed with long columns OF bad
debts. Let us start on a new CONNER
cial campaign. Let us drop the old tune
of Naomi" and take up Ariel" or AN
tioeh."
Now you. the commercial traveller.
have received orders from the head men
Of the firm that you are to start on n
long excursions. You have your pat
terms all assorted and prepared. iou
have them put up in bundles or cases
and marked. You have full instruc-
tions as to prices. You know on what
prices you may retreat somewhat. You
have your valise or trunk, or both.
packed II were . stranger. I would
have no right TO lock into that valise.
but as I am your brother, will take
the liberty. Hook into the valise. and |
you on all these CON-
Portable articles Of apparel. The sea-
sons are SO changeable you have not
taken single precaution too many.
Some night YOU will get out in the snow
bank and have 10, walk three or four
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