Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-11-17
-0oKER-0N IN IOWA

iiLIipCi VI NEW II etNS4iA> iiiS ~ sAsss ~.
in an appearance during the las;
two months. They are as easily
detected as the new bride ana
groom. Not by the new grip and sam
pie case. for there is an unwritten law
that all travelling men, young and old
fresh and jaded, shall carry an old grip
A new, fresh, shiny grip is dead give
away. And not all of the new knights
are known by their mentioning how
many dollars they won at poker last
night. Only a comparatively few re-
late for the benefi, OF all who Will
listen the conquest they made of three
table girls at the Astoria Waldorf. It's
only a small number that carry a bottle
of whisky in their new-old grips. But
the well-educated. refined, possible
college graduate. young man now out
on his first trip. the kind of man who
eats with fork. avoids splitting Eek
pectorating) on the dining room floor
and has not vet learned to take the
back seat in the bus and crowd him.
self ahead of all others at the hotel
register. whose education In taking up
two seats in the smoker while he leaves
his overcoat in another seat, is yet 10
be acquired.tbs young man, gentle
man born and bred. is at once known
as derfoot" by several things too
tedious to mention here. His lack of
travelling rams etiquette in asking,
What line are you in. What house
do you travel for?" places him among
the green 'uns" at once. On his first
trip he makes many impossible towns,
stops at unspeakable hoteds. and car
ries one g"ip with a strap over his
shoulder, with an umbrella and a
cane for side arms. He is 'finicky" at
the hotel table. and actually refuses to
call for hash wipe his face on the
common hotel towel and brush his
hair with the pre- Adamite brush. It's
on his first trip that he takes night
trains and works in his new overcoat
in his expense account. And 1t is sink
or swim. live or die, survive or perish
with him for the first sixty days. He
either retires to private life at the
end of that time. or Is classified in the
line, .'of the survival of the fittest,'
soon considers himself an old timer,
and in condition of mind to criticise
and pity the weaknesses of the new
man on the road.
Numerous burglaries, cases of safe
blowing. till tapping and hold-ups are
reported these days. And merchants
and other business men in our smaller
towns are quite generally adopting the
plan of hanging on safe doors the no.
tice. The safe is not locked" One
firm saved the wrecking of a $500 cash
register by adopting the plan of open
ing all of the drawers each night be-
fore locking UP the store, for one
morning they found attached to the
register well-written note from a
Disguised burglar thanking them for
their thoughtfuness. In Dolliver a
lumber firm had safe blown to
smithereens' one night by visiting or
local talent. When they put in the
new one this notice was pasted on the
door:
Turn the knob thirty-fiye times to
the left, then fifty-f1ve times to the
right, then eighteen times TO the left,
then forty -four times to the right, and
finally take hold of the T handle and
open the door,
The other day the writer met man
whom Roosevelt would delight to hon
or. He was the father by one wife of
ten children. the eldest II years of age
and the whole family was looking for
ward with great enjoyment to another
addition of the family circle. His
business. or rather occupation, will not
be mentioned here. for 1t might give
him unpleasant notoriety. but the fol-
lowing facts are interesting because
they came from the non believer In
race suicide:" First his income does
not exceed $500 a year, and many years
is much less. for 'he works for him.
self He has onlv lost one child dur
ing his married life. His doctors and
medicine bills are comparatively moth
Ing. for they are all healthy and we'll.
He mentions as pleasant fact that
one fire keeps them all warm. In 9TH
err words. his coal bill would be the
same for one child as for eleven. That
it is little more trouble to cook for a
dozen than one. His house rent Is the
same for the roof over the crowd as
for a childless couple. Another thing
is the continued use of the same school
books. BY careful usage the same book
answers for eight children. Neverthe-
less. this winter he would have to fig
ure II fine. Potatoes were high, and
cornmeal was in price all out of pro-
portion to the price of corn. And this
cheerful philosopher eeer,e6 to have no