Evening star., 1914-03-08

brass beds. The building was rented, machines in
stalled, and help employed. Everything was complete
except the selling end. All that needed
who could talk to go out the road and sell the
goods 1t was for this position that they selected me-
and the proposition that they dangled before my eyes
alluring that accepted at once.
The equipment with which l started consisted of an
album of photographs and price list. There was no
given territory to be covered; so made up my route
as went along. remember though it was yester-
day, the first buyer l encountered
1t in Reading Pennsylvania, the nearest city to
the town in which house located He
grouchy old man, and didn't want to look at my pic
lures; but when posed the book under his and it
fell open at the bed springs he had to in spite of him
self He turned the leaves looked at the line of
mattresses and brass beds while my heart beat fast with
anticipation, and by and by he back to the bed
springs again. If they any good, he wouldn't
mind ordering several dozen but he had to bind me
down to ironclad contract to price and quality,
since he had never seen before and not
quainted with goods
1 signed that contract. I would cheerfully have
signed anything just then. Also / signed many
like it in the weeks that followed 1t singular how
suspicious they of bed springs, in spite of the fact
that they did not for anything else in my line
But then 1 early made up my mind that that was the
way of the trade.
There were some other stores Reading that wanted
bed springs, and l let them have them gladly. must
have home orders for several hundred that night
before took the late train for Harrisburg, to be
UP and doing with the birds. There it the
thing There was evidently famine in bed springs.
They wanted nothing else. 1t seemed though every
body had beds and mattresses plenty but lacked the
springs. There must have been something contagious
in my enthusiasm, judging from the way those bed
springs Sold
l went to led happy after sending home another big
batch of orders all under roncad contract telling them
to hurry them up. had done good work that day, and
slept the sleep of the just. don't know what kind of
time my employers had when they got those orders the
next morning. but 1 guess. 1t seems that they
telegraphed to my customers and received only copies
Of the ronclad contract with that it all
right: they had seen my papers, They wired for me:
but no telegraph swift enough keep up with my
progress through that section of the country.
My blood once up, 1 swept along like storm wind,
scattering bed springs right and left, until finally sold
a wholesale dealer in Baltimore two carloads of bed
springs When that order came home they gave it up.
They didn't wire any more, because it Not
until brought up at Hagerstown my last cent gone,
and back for fresh supplies, they able to To-
cate Every morning my letters had mapped out my
trail them; but wlere might be by that time, out
the front, there was no telling
They sent me twenty-five dollars and wrote me just
to come back, and to sell more bed springs. But
was not be done of my that way. laid
route that the twenty-five dollars would cover,
and planted some bed springs in the towns Wis
tied Finally turned toward home feeling like
queror.
One of the firm met me at the depot. He wore
look of exhaustion. Before he had a chance to say
anything l upon him, and asked what he thought
of my He said it great. Together we
walked to the factory, and when got there he
showed lot of posters pasted on the wall. They
Sheriffs notices. and the plant to be sold
week later Too much bed spring business had wrecked