The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1902-08-02

for 81, but after that the price would
| be strictly 81 a bottle Meanwhile, one
Oh US would have gone around to see
the leading druggist and been allowed
TO stamp his name on our labels. Then
we pointed out his name to the Gus
TONER and said: You know that he is
perfectly reliable in every way That
usually brought them. In one of every
flVe houses we sold the three bottles
for 81, and in three of the other four
we sold one bottle.
Where did we get the sarsaparil-
Ia? We mixed that up in room at
the hotel nights. The bottles, shoppers
and labels cost us 3 cents to the bottle
The ingredients of the medicine cost
US p cent per bottle. and of course
water was the principal ingredient. The
| sarsaparilla would never harm any one,
and, on the other hand, 1 never knew
OF Its helping anybody. We did a good
business in each of the twelve towns
but it was no use to try to work a town
larger than 1900 population.
Ever try Massachusetts" asked the
reporter.
Yes, l used to work the South Shore
towns six or eight years ago. an
swered the fakir; but since the people
day, us fellows have been practically
forced from the field
"Once l sold trick cards. After load
ing up early in the evening with
about forty or fifty packs that cost 4
cents pack by the 10O left my room
and wandered down the principal street
of the town where l happened to be.
Selecting convenient alley. I threw
down my cap and began pitching pen
MES into it until a crowd gathered OF
course, they would swarm down, like
bees on June morning, to see how
foolish l was acting.
Well, gentlemen I then told them,
L have given you a little amusement
by the accuracy Of my pitching the
pennies, and now 1 will endeavor to
give you little more entertainment
NOW, you see the cards producing a
pack and shutting them), and now you
don't Well. after giving EN- a dozen
or so of my best tricks, l told them
that any one could do the same tricks
just as well as I had done them by
simply following the rules, which were
given with each and every package.
Then 1 proceeded to sell out at 10 cents
each.
Yes, any one could do the tricks
just as we'll as 1 did them-but 1 think
it would take ten years practice first.
You see, l travelled with a sleight-of-
hand man with a show one year. and
as it came sort of natural to me, 1
picked up the business easily.
Perhaps the greatest graft is shaw
ing soap. If man won't buy knives,
cards or books, he will invariably pur-
chase shaving soap. Every blessed son
of Adam seems to have a weakness for
this one article. For several seasons /
CT n T1ln ~ tia in no
cities nights. 1 secured a lot of pam
phlets entitled Is Marriage d Fail
ure?' at 50 cents per 100. Then l set up
my stand on some convenient corner
and told EN- l was introducing a su-
perior shaving soap for advertising
purposes only'-you see that phrase is
our old standby. Going to give it away
absolutely free Of cost, is what 1 told
'em. Then l explained that, to stop
having to give the samples to every
boy and those who had no use for them,
I would offer the little books at the
ridiculous price of 10 cents, one dime.
per copy. With each and every copy of
the book went a full-size stick of the
soap. Then they sold like hot cakes.
The soap L cut up during the forenoon
in my room. 1t cost me about 5 cents
for a dozen sticks" / should judge.
Yes, there was money in the scheme,
and I worked nights only for three or
four hours. Did my work in the morn
ing and got things together for night.
Usually went around seeing the town
in the afternoon"
After that patent medicine trip
continued the fakir, II went through
Maine again with another fellow sell
ing crayon pictures of prominent resi-
dents of each town. We borrowed each
g al,
take a picture of us free of all charge,
upon the only condition that he would
hang it on the parlor wall after it was
finished. When the crayons were fin
ished we carried them around to the
prominent residents and sold 'em all
a frame, making enough on that to pay
all expenses and a fair profit also.
@ @ O.
Il got stranded in town with this
same Bill Freeman once. He hadn't
eaten for nearly thirty-six hours, and
was feeling pretty hungry. Bill was a
resourceful man. We passed a black
smith shop and he stole can of snow
flake axle grease that was setting out
side the door. Then he went to a drug
store half a mile away and begged
pillbox He sold the pillbox full of the
axle grease for corn salve, went back
and bought more boxes, and at night
we had $500 apiece"
Did YOU ever work at the agricul-
tural fairs?" asked the reporter.
only once, when l sold whips, four
for 81 at first and later seven for 81.
There was fair money in 1t, but it has
been overworked in this state"
4 find selling easily made things to
people l can get interested in. them not
half bad so far as making a living is
made. And there is no end of fun to it,
provided fellow looks at things right
ly. 1t is a game of wits against wits,
for some of the people from the rural
districts are not so slow as many i'm
agine. / am just looking around some
of my old ground now. In about two
weeks I start north again on a trip
for advertising purposes only" he
concluded.