The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-03-07

He looked more like soldier or an
explorer than a commercial traveller
as he sat in the smoking compartment
of the sleeper running between New
York and Buffalo. Therefore, when
one of the simon pure drummers asked
him what his business was, and he re-
piled that he was a drummer like the
rest, it was natural that some one
should inquire with interest what line
of goods he carried.
He laughed and said: II don't
carry any goods, not even samples. 1
couldn't very well carry a satisfactory
sample of my line unless L were to
hire a freight car to accompany me
on my travels. The fact is that 1 am
drummer for a bridge building con-
germ"
YES" he continued in response to
another remark. its a mighty inter-
esting business. and it gives a man
lots of variety. There's too much of
it sometimes, for I've Just had the
experience of hurrying from the damp
heat of a tropical forest to the some
what bleak coasts of Newfoundland
where we got a big contract unex-
pectedly."
well, you're lucky in one way,
though" said one of his listeners.
"You haven't got the competition We
have Here are four of us in the
same car, all selling the same kind of
goods and all bound for the same town
and the same customers l take it
that bridge statesmen aren't as thick as
blackberries.
NO. they aren't as thick as that"
said the bridge salesman. But to
make up for it. the rivalry for a big
bridge contract is on as enormous
competing firms won't hesitate at any
risk to land the business. Conse-
quently they send out men who can
ride and shoot and command savages,
and they expect them to go at 1t ex-
actly as if they were leading an ex-
ploring expedition.
That's about what it amounts to-
in many cases. You see, the only way
for a concern to figure intelligently on
a bridge building job is to know just
exactly what it may have to do. 1t
never pays to take the word of some
body who has been in the place, be-
cause, no matter how good traveller
and how faithful an observer he may
be, unless he has taken notes with
especial reference to bridge building
his knowledge of the country isn't apt
TO be worth much for our purposes.
Therefore the minute the various
bridge companies of the world hear
of a good chance, each strives to get
its own trusted experts to the place
first, so that it shall have the best
chance to figure on the job.
AT the same moment determined
men may start from Berlin. ESSEN.
Liverpool Birmingham, Pittsburg,
New York and Philadelphia, all bound
for some tiny spot of land lying half
known and half guessed at in a will
derness that may only have been
opened to the white man for a few
months.
LAS our routes begin to converge,
we begin to get news of each other
generally just enough to keep each
one guessing. Then, if we all happen
to land in the same port, we have
noble scrap to get our guides and men
for the journey into the interior. The
natives generally are quick enough
to perceive that they are going 10
be in demand, for when half a dozen
white men suddenly drop into a lit
tie town on the fringe of civilization
somewhere, it doesn't take long for
anybody to discover that something Is
up.
well, after we get away the fight
has only begun. One man will go one
way; one another. Now, after you
strike out into the wilderness and find
yourself ploughing and wading and
climbing and struggling through I'M
known country, you are likely to put
in some tough days wondering if you
haven't picked out the worst road and
if the other fellow won't get in and
finish your work before you get
through toiling amid the jungle.
Then, of course, there is the con-
slant need for watchfulness, for the
new countries through which railroads
are to be run are not usually as or
Derby and peaceable as a town in New
Olo If l1,-;J
mers have had to fight our way liter
ally to the scene of our sales, using
repeating rifles instead of sample
cases.
The final sale, to be sure, is made
after we get through, and it is not con-
cluded in the heart of an African jun
gle, but in a nice, quiet, orderly office
III England or America or Germany.
But the real SALE the work that makes
OF breaks, is done by the investigator
who goes to the spot and makes up
his mind what difficulties there are in
the way.
"a trained man finds out about dam
ger from floods, the possibility of
carrying material to the site, the char
acter of the river bottoms, the lengths
CT approaches, and so on, and when
he gets back to civilization he is ready
TO furnish his company with full
history and maps of the field of opera
tons, surveys, distances. geological
formations, climate, amount of rain
fall, character of population, etc.
You see, in figuring on bridges in
new country, a company may win
the contract not only by knowing the
difficulties, but also by knowing of
some good way to avoid them. This
is where the bridge drummer proves
whether or not he knows his business.
And again, If he makes too favorable
report and leads his employers to
bid too low, he may break them; many
of these bridge jobs have been vast
enough to ruin the builders If things
went wrong.
"Of course in the subsequent nego-
tiations with the customers, the man
who has been on the ground and can
cover the whole field in his CONVERSE
ton and meet all possible questions,
has a great advantage and stands
good chance of winning. Generally
he is in position to open the eyes of
the projectors to a whole lot of things
that they did not foresee or calculate
on.
uT,,,a -oI5 1,r;5o,ao during the mast