Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1902-05-10
DAILY SHORT STORY
A Good Man Gone.
Copyright. 1902. by c. B. Lewis. ]

bury John Q. Slack when he died the
other day and to put up a suitable
stone at the head of his grave l should
have felt hurt If 1 had been left out OF
the affair. l had known and appreci-
ated him for score of years, and 1t
can be truthfully written in his case
that death loved shining mark.
John Q. Slack was a druggists sun
dries man. He started in with the
firm when it had nothing but epson
salts and toothbrushcs TO get orders
for and he was the only traveller, and
he died knowing that his house was
rated at half a million dollars and had
dozen men on the road with Il big
trunk apiece John went right to the
head of the profession the first day he
started out. and he never lost the po-
sition- He was the right man in the
right place.
At the first hotel he stopped ut he
found that half dozen old drummers
from New York. Boston and Philadel-
phia had pre-empted all the best rooms.
They were there for various houses
which could have bought and sold his
a hundred times over. Those drum
mers were used to the best in the land
and expected to see at least every sec
ond man take off his hat TO them.
They were running the dining room.
the Office, the billiard room-in fact, all
the hotel-when he arrived. He had
got Il pointer down the road, and he
arrived on an engine hired for the last
run of fifty miles. He had telegraphed
ahead for carriage, and he reached
the hotel with the horses on Il gallop.
AS he was told by the clerk that all the
best rooms were taken he offered TO
rent the hotel for i week, and. though
the arrangement was not closed. they
turned an old drummer out and gave
him the parlor. He rushed up stairs
and down. out around town and back,
and when he finally found time to
draw long breath he explained to the
wondering and bewildered people:
philadelphia was making a corner
On epson salts. and Boston was max
ing one on toothbrushes. and our house
was fighting both. Thank God. we
have busted 'em, and there will be no
rise in prices!'
From that day John Q.'s position was
established. as was that of his house.
For months and months his house was
unable to pay full salaries, and his
watch and pin and overcoat were al
ways in pawn. but no one ever knew it.
John Q. had the cheek of government
mule and the tongue of woman. He
would leave hotel bills behind him
where other men had been arrested; he
would take orders where other men
had failed in disgust. There might be
other drummers mt the hotel, but they
came in only after John. If one of
them bought whole seat in -parlor
car. he bought half of another car for
himself; if any one Dragged about Il
lower berth, he bought two or three
sections. He was always, at least in
Imagination. fighting the rings and
corners and trusts for the benefit of
the trade. and every druggist OH his
long route was so grateful to him that
not a shilling of his trade could be di-
verted. He was Il man who knew the
worth of gall in his profession. and he
had gall by the ton. 1t wasn't impu-
dence; it wasn't eXaGgeration. to be
something to catch the admiration as
hotel office and said:
ing. but I'm going up TO Chicago by
special train to bust up that ring on
quinine. They've put up Il million dol
lars to corner the market, but I'll
knock 'em cold within twenty-four
hours. I've instructions from our house
to bust it fit takes 100000 to do it.
If they make their corner, quinine is
to 20 up SO per cent"
John Q. was not liar. He simply
said things. If any other drummer
had said them. he would have been
hOOted down. but coming from his
mouth they were entitled to belief and
respect. In his quiet. calm way. but
way which always duly impressed all
listeners. he would lay down his bill
lard cue and say:
Gentlemen, please excuse me, but l
see n boy ut the door with a telegram.
OF course it's for me. It's about the
castor oil syndicate in Buffalo.
thought | had 'em downed. but if they
have wabbled up again I'll wipe 'em
off the face of the earthr'
The telegram was for him. and the
syndicate had "bobbed." and he would
rush to the telegraph office to send
twenty different dispatches. He used |
to receive so many kilograms that it
got to be believed he carried q boy
and thousands of blanks with him.
They came to him every half hour of |
the day and up to 10 o'clock at night. |
and as he opened them he always had |
to say about trusts. syndi- |
Gates. tons of quinine. carloads of fax |
seed and hundreds of barrels of alco- |
hol. Other drummers envied him. but |
he was above envy himself Many |
drummers hated him. but he was too |
busy to hate back. When he left the |
hotel in the morning TO call upon the
local druggists. he didn't 20 plodding |
along on foot Ike other drummers. and |
neither did he hurry himself. He |
mfpbf On tho rounds ar no ,,,irI,f dr;,.o