The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1906-12-08

|
my loyal old friend. I ordered my
trunks sent over to his store-this
always suited my customer-just as
soon as / got off the train When
went in I didn't say anything about
business right at the start, but talked
about one thing and another. I no
ticed that my old customer acted a
little peculiarly, and / couldn't under
stand it until the drayman dumped my
trunks off in @front of the store and
started to roll them In.
Hard FaIl-Down.
am awfully sorry to tell you,
said my old friend, but I wish you
| had saved the expense of having those
| trunks brought over. | have bought
my goods from the old house. cant
go back on them. True, you helped
j me to get credit when / needed it bad
more for giving the credit and stand
| ing back Of me in other ways than
owe you for suggesting such action.
\ I'm sorry have to choose between the
house and yourself, but I must
! don't believe / ever had quite such
/ setback in my life. I tried to say
that it was all right. | knew it would
| kind Of cholzed me and ] couldn't talk
plainly. There I had got credit for
| this man when he really needed it
very badly. ] had favored him in
many ways. / had even found a man
a job ia his store who picked out the
goods from the other felloW-my very
| strongest competitor. 7 wanted to
turn loose and give them both good
rub down, but I merely said: Well,
I'll have the stuff taken out Of your
way Yes, sir when man goes to
changing houses and thinks he can
carry ali of his trade with him, he is
mighty sure to have a good many hard
fall-doWns.'
YES" the hat man remarked.
there is always a clear and simple
reason for any failure on the road,
I recall that when / used to be stock
boy fellow came into the house who
at once let US all know that he had
taken a place in stock not to work
hard, but to get a little knowledge Of
the business before going out on the
road He had been a halter at the
bench, and after that he worked for
few years in a retail store. AS he
would sling himself down the aisle
smoking his cigar carefully SO that the
pretty ash tip would not drop off, you
could hear him saying to himself: 'Ah,
know all about this business. Watch
me when I get started on the road!
You won't see me selling any little
half dozen jays! I'm a case lot man.
zone day I saw an order blank that
he had been scribb1ing on. He couldn't
write anything less than three dozen
at a time. Well, out started Mr.. Pom
pous with two brand new trunks full
Of nicely packed samples. This part
Of it was all very well and good, know
ing how TO take care of the line, but
that week did not seem to carry him
through. He was a little too proud to
make a team trip and get his trunks
muddy, and he couldn't drive into line
the electric light town buyers. He
lasted just one year. The swelled
head and the I-know-it-all swing don't
make a hit for man when he goes
on the road"
Good Fellow" Nonsense.
mo, sir; and another thing man
must do, said Watkins. the dry
goods man, casting an eye at
the young packer, lis to take care
of himself Being a good fellow
il moderation is all right for a man,
but he can carry it too far. Take
Harry Howe, for example,
He used to be high roller all
right. [ remember seeing him one
night down in McCook, sitting around
the green cloth with a gay party and
plunging as much as fifty on hand.
I kind of had a hunch then that he
couldn't booze and play poker all
night, catch few cat maps on the
train, sell goods during the day and
hold up for ever,
although he stood it out pretty
long" continued Watkins, "old John
Barleycorn and the bob-tailed fushes
finally landed him. You know his
eyes were not very good anyway, and
one of his old friends was telling me
the other day that he had gone blind
and was living out here in little
town with his sister, who runs small
millinery store"
Poor old Harry exclaimed the
shoe man. He was a good boy. Isn't
that hard on him?'
Yes. it is hard" answered Wat.
kins, "but If a man on the road wres
ties night after night with high balls
and poker chips, he might just as well
count on getting a hard fall.
Copyright. 1906. by Joseph B. Bowles.3
Experts Made Ridiculous.