Omaha daily bee., 1910-02-28
Some Things You Want to Know
The Commercial Traveller.

The prevailing statesmen Of the country
are deeply interested in the forthcoming
census. Ten years ago Uncle Sam counted
1900 OF them, but they declared that his
count was not in accordance with their sta
tistcs. They think that II all OF them had
been counted those who solicit sales for
the buyer as we'll as those who act for
the seller, the count would have shown
more than 10000 There are two orEaniBa-
tions OF drummers which are national in
their scope. One Is the Travellers Protec-
tive association, known as the T. p. A. 1t
has a membership OF about 5000. The
other is the order OF United Commercial
Travellers. It's .membersip list amounts to
4 about 5000. Each OF these organizations
have liberal BENEVOLENT features.
Modern methods OF business-getting are
planned as carefully as a military cam
paign. Not long ago a typewriter manu-
facturer received an inquiry from a pros
pective buyer 1000 miles away. Within
/ twenty-four hours, although there was not
a branch house within 100 miles, a repre-
sentative Of that manufacturer had called
on the prospective customer and sold him
machine. How all this could be done
with such dispatch becomes clear when one
! looks into that manufacturers system. For
each state he has large map mounted
so that he can stick thumb taoks into It.
These tacks represent all the colors Of the
rainbow, and they are connected with
| strings as vari-colored. One kind
Of tack represents his salesmen in
that territory. Another tack rep
resents the rival statesmen. Still another
tells what kind Of machines predominate
in a given town, and so on. The strings
also tell their story by their colors-hoW
the salesman is reached, how soon he can
get to a given point, and a dozen other
things On the whole, that map and its
equipment tell the home office everything
that is essential for 1t to know in direct
ing a selling campaign, and its represen-
tatives have decided advantage over their
competitors on account Of it.
All large houses now keep systematic
tab on their travelling men. They are al
ways in telegraphic communication, and
the fellow who goes off on a three days
spree may be sure his sins will find him
out The expenses Of a travelling man al
ways have been none too low, and yet it
is estimated that during the last ten years
they have increased at least 70 per cent
In fact, every kind Of selling expense from
| the manufacturer to the consumer has In
literature OF trade he cannot but be i'm
pressed with the additions Of cost between
the manufacturer and the consumer
Recently a man brought certain ma
chine for $50. Not long thereafter he saw
an account OF a suit brought against the
manufacturer Of the machine, and the
testimony showed that the actual manu-
facturer's cost was only SSS4s He was
surprised and shocked, thinking he had
paid just about twice as much as he ought
However, a commercial writer, who is an
authority on costs, says this represents
about the true copditlon Of everything ex-
cept certain staples. Tho price the con-
sumer pays for most things is made up Of
one-third for manufacturers cost one
third for profits and accounting and the
other third for selling expenses. In maxi
ing up the charge of selling expenses
against the drummers, not only must their
expenses while selling to good customers
be added to the price, but the cost Of calls
that we're failures also must be added
Germany In now leading the world in the
matter Of international drummers. It
edueates them as we educate lawyers and
doctors. II maintains schools which have
worked wonders in turning out statesmen
who have gone into every cline and taken
trade out of the very hands OF other
nations To its schools for international
salesmen, more than toany ether ore thing,
Germany owes the rapid rise It has had in
the commercial world. Trade that it's
merchants might never have dreamed
about a decade ago is now theirs, and
England is alarmed because II has to
stand back and see Germany effect sales
where Britannia was formerly supreme.
The United States has made great strides
in the export business but the things 1t
exports are not the ones which represent
the most clear profit America is tagging
today because 1t does not put az many in
ternational drummers on the road as Eng
land and Germany Furthermore, the