Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1899-02-25
THE TRAVELLING MAN.
REV. DR.. TALMAeE ADDRESSES THE
COMMERCIAL DRUMMERS.


COMMERCIAL DRUMMERS.
lie Thinks They Arc Entitled to
words OF warment sympathy-The
Safeguards md Opportunities-Time
paraed ON Railroad Trains.
downright, 1899. by American Press Asso-
clation.l
WASHINGTON, Feb. 19.-1n 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, "The chariots
shall rage in the streets; they shall JUS
tie 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. l
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 III
the DAYS of Nineveh of the uses of steam
and its application to swift travel. In
nv text 1 hear the rush of the rail
train, the clang of the wheels and the
tanning of the car couplings. 1.-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 speed? At first you heard
in the distance a rumbling, like the
coming of a 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 it came plunging toward you;
then you henrd the shrek of the whistle
that frenzied all the echoes; then you
saw the hurricane dash of cinders
then you felt the jar of the passing
earthqual:" and you saw the shot thun-
derbolt Of i. express train. Well, 1t
seems that we can hear the passing OF
a midnight express train in my text
1.-THE chariots shall rage in the streets;
they iustle one against another III the
broad WAYS: they shall seem like torches
they shall run like the lightnings.
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 felix
peculiar to themselves, easily recognize
ed, 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 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 s o'clock morning
train, on the noon train, on the mid
night train. You take berth in a
sleeping car, and either above you OF
beneath you is one of these gentlemen.
There are 100, 900 protested commercial
travellers 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 assocla'
ton, about 1000 names on the rolls,
and have already distributed more thar
5000, 900 among families Of deceased
members. They are ubiquitous, unique,
and tremendous for good or evil. AL
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 contro
of the markets. While the great, enter
pricing and successful houses will have
their agents on all the trains, and "thell
chariots will rage in the streets, they
shall iustle one against another in the
broad ways. They shall seem like
torches, they shall run like the light
nings
Entitled to Warm sympathy.
think commercial travellers car
stand sermon of warm hearted sym
pathy. If you have my words of good
cheer for them, you nd better utter
them. If you have ny good, honest
prayers in their behalf, they will bt
greatly obliged to you. l never knew
man yet who did not like to be prayed
for; never knew d man yet that die
not like to be helped. 1t 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 ane
March in all our commercial establish
ments are very busy months. In few
days our national perplexities will al
be settled, and then look out for the
brightest ten years of national prosperl
ty which this country has ever witness
ed. All our astute commercial men fee
that we are standing at the opening
gate of wonderful prosperity. Let the
manufacturers put the bands on thell
wheels and the merchants open 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 o.
Naomi and take ND "ArieP' or "An