The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-10-18
AMERICAN AGENT
 TAXES TOURISTS PLACE IN PARIS
Familiar Figure in Capital Where War Time Yarns
 Are Prevalent.

capitals of Europe. He is taking the place of the American pleasure tour ist, who has almost disappeared from the scene, and the channel boats, the great hotels and the bou1evards now have a good1y quota of Americans telling their stories and relating their latest experiences in dealing with of ficials over war supplies. They are of the audacfous and adventurous type and prepared on short notice to talk in round mi11ionsson a contract for horses. guns, munitions, or supplies of any kind.
 Two Of the new type of war con tractors chanced to meet at the Grand hotel the other day, and after the ilsz ua1 greetings and inquiries about home, one of them asked the other:
 What is your line ?''
 Canned goods"
 Doing any business % ~
 "Fine; just, closed a big contract with the military people for. a war ration
 What kind of a war ration?''
 well we call it Irish stew in America, but over here, since the war began, I am calling it a war ra- ton, and it has: caught on fine. rye take 9. certain portion of meat-good first-claSs meat and no poor stuff and all a portion of rice, portion of onions, a portion of carrots, with seasoning, that you see makes a. fine Irish stew, but as say over heFe we 4 call it "a war; rsetio1a.''
 And what do you think ?'' he went on. ssWe put up that stew in one pound tin cans, and after they eat the Irish stew they re going to use the tin cans for hand grenadessM Now that'E a fact, and that's where our goods appealed to these military peo- pie the most-the double use they could get out of the-first as a war ration and=then as a hand grenade, and that's what closed the contract,
 This was told in all seriousness and was not. story of t'tTle road,'' so that Irish stew madesin America will soon be nourishing allied troops and afterward serving them as recepr tacIe for explosives to offset liquid fire, asphyxiating gas and other dead Iy contrivances.
 men had considerably enlarged While this talk was going on. and one of the newcomers remarked:
 I've got something that beats your Irish stew. but those fpeople at the London War office wouldn't adopt it." a
 He drew from his pocket a wad of pliable metal that gradually un- folded itself into the form adf a per- feet glove It was made sof minute links of steel. much as ladies' link purse is made, so that the linked steel glove fitted to the hand wand was Flexible to all it's movements
 Have you noticed" he explained that the wounded India troops in the streets of London invariably have their right hand in a sling. That is because the Indian fighter, when he rushes a German trench. grabs the German bayonets as they're thrust at him, and when the bayonets is jerlxed back it cuts an ugly double-edged wound in the Indians hand. That's why half the Indian troops are in hospitals with wounded hands.
 Now it was to meet just such a condition and keep the Indian on the firing line that we got up this steeIS] linked glove. With that an his hand an Indian can jump in trench and grab a bayonet with no danger of. a wounded hand. Buf somehow those War office people wouldn't seeA it they're standing in their own light, for every one of those gloves would have kept an Indian soldier at the front
 It appears to be the concensus of opinion among the comm erciaI men that it is very hard to- do business with the average European official | First the bureau systems make an endless amount of circumIocution and red tape, and it is difficult to find i out who is tho official who has the real decision And after that thel travellers say that hide-bound con servatism stands in the way of the adoption of anything outside of oId, l Well-understood models, many of l which are out of date. They tell many strange experiences in their eff 1 forts to reach the right people
 T was to1d,'' said one of the tray le1ers, sstnat an introduction from prominent people was necessary to get you any attention. One firm advertis- l ed in London that they could furnish Lfhe right kind of introductions Fl Booked them up and found they were 1 1nouse agents. Then heard that the Duke of ---- could give the sort 1 of letter required. So managed to l see h1nn, and told him that in Amer lea we were able to tell a customer when we saw one, and I was so anx- l 1ous to see what British customer | looked like that I would be willing | to spend a thousand collars to have one introduced to me. The Duke said he would be glad to introduce the very | man who had the final signing of con- tracts for my line of goods, and. he [ would bring him to me in two days | I waited anHously the second day, but | he did not come, and have been l waiting ever since. But the Duke i can do it if he wants to- there is no l doubt.''
 Another representativA of an &ex- tensive American industry related the following experience:
 An artillery harness for six horses | is being furnished to one of the beIIi- gerSnt governments for $356. The i contract was first let as a whole to an ! American agent at that net price. But as the agent was not in the har- ness b21sine ness-tf1is being only one of | many war contracts-he sub-let it to | another contractor who made a spe- | cialty in horses but not in harness, so that he in turn sub-Iet the contracts to Rs Now I was able to go to F these government people and say to them that I would furnish this six { horse artillery harness at $318 fn- stead of $356. and also would give ! them our first grade Of harness in-i stead Of ths third grade they are get ting. Why A was just like offering a man gold sovereigns. But do you know they would not listen to me. No,