New-York tribune., 1920-10-31
Business Drop
Heavy Blow to
Road Statesmen
Decrease in Income as Re-
suit of Trade Slump and
Increased Expenses Com
bine to Cause Trouble
Work on Old Percentage
Employers Seeking TO" Cut
Expenses Unable to Aid
by Raising Commissions


The slump In business and the fall
in prices have given the average travel
Ing salesman a blow from which he
will be some time in recovering The
romance of the road is not what 1t was
in pre-war days or even so short time
back as last year. During the war ano
on UP to last spring road salesmer
kicked about the high prices OF travel
ing, but received a balm in the way o.
commissions on large sales al high
prices. Now the large sales and high
prices have disappeared. Statesmen
working on commission basis, and the
majority Of them are, find their incomes
greatly shrunken, but their expenses
going on as usual.
Many Of the statesmen say they are
making their usual trips without at
tempting to curtail expenses, in the
hope that the business situation will
soon change. Others, however, are max
ing fewer trips, or shorter trips In
fact some statesmen who have gone out
in the past month or two, quickly re-
turned to headquarters when they
found their customers on the first
stages OF their trip not IN q receptive
mood for buying.
The two thorns in the side Of the
travelling statesmen at present are the
high cost of travelling and the income
tax. Through some technicality in the
income tax law, the travelling salesman
is permitted TO deduct only his rail
road fare as his business expense He
considers his hotel bills and his meals
as Legitimate selling expense. since in
most cases he maintains home where
living expenses go on usual. but is
not allowed to deduct them in making
out his nome tax report. The average
salesman, according to q number OF
them. spends at least $40 a day for
hotel rooms and meals.
Same Old Percentages
"The real rub in the salesman's
game" said we'll known member Of
the travelling fraternity the other day,
Ties in the fact that commissions
maintain the same old percentage that
they did before the war. And now with
business going bad our employers cane
see their way clear to granting Us
/ higher commissions and thus adding
to their selling expense It is true thar
our incomes increased when goods were
in brisk demand and high prices were
being paid for the things we sold. But
don't forget that while we made heavy
sales much Of the goods was not de-
liVered and large quantity was can
cellod or returned. All that came out
of our commissions. Even now we pet
charged up with returns OF meichan-
disc that we sold early this year and
IN some cases last year. Half the sales
men | know owe their firms money
right now. They have drawn ahead and
commissions have failed TO bring in as
much as their drawings"
Nearly every travelling salesman one
meets today has a. violent protest 70
register against some feature OF his
business. Many Of them assert that
they would like to get out OF the game.
but lack experience in any other line
of business
What Figures Reveal
The majority of salesmcn in the
main commercial lines, such as gar
ments and shoes, work on a commits
sion basis. which averages around
per cent of their total sales, and pay
their own expenses. In some cases the
commissions go as high as In per
cent, but these are exceptional. The
salesman makes practically ali of his
income while travelling, and the average
salesman doesn't travel more than ha!f
the time.
group Of expense accounts sub
mtted by statesmen shows that the av-
erage cost of travelling and selling
goods on the road ranges from SIPS to
$3.50 a week. The latter figure obtains
almost uniformly among shoes sales
men and outer clothing statesmen, who
carry large trunk. on which excess
baggage is charged, and who have 70
engage sample rooms in q hotel in
winch to display their wares
Paying his own expenses, the rrev-
eler who spends $3.50 q week has to
sell $4,000 worth of merchandise a
week, if he gets a per cent commits
sion, before he begins to make a cent
that he can call his own With prices
OF most commodities down about 80
per cent since the peak Of last spring,
the statesmen has to sell approximately
one-third more merchandise to bring
In bill of $4,000. But, and here's the
hard part of 1t, few retailers can be in
duced to place orders Of one-h half tho
volume that they did in normal years.
Increased Expenses Now
Statesmen, when asked about increased
travelling expenses, readily respond
with facts and figures which proys
their point. Figuring q weeks trim to
Pittsburgh a New York salesro- ha-
gan by estimating his train and Pull.
man rare at S4o for the round trip.
against $3.50 before the higher rates
went into effect. His hotel room, q
| large sample room, since he carries a
heavy line, is estimated at SO a dav
for at least four days. 1t costs sl.25
to have his trunk hauled from tho
firms headquarters in New York to the
train. His excess baggage figures at
another s2 or more. These are doubled
for the round trip. In Pittsburgh the
baggage hauling is not so steep as in
New York, in fact, in most towns &
trunk will be hauled from the station
to the hotel for IS cents, but it cost
only - cents in prc-war days.
Added to all his expens, are the
meals that the salesman must eat and
these scarcely can be figureG at less
than s4 day, and probably Will
amount to more if he invited buyer
70 take dinner or lunch with him.
Since the market has switched in favor
OF the buyer, the chances are that the
salesman is more inclined to buy the
tuyer's lunch than he was 4 wear
Ihe bare expenses of the trip 70
PITTSBURGH then, figured moderately.
amount to more than 800 for the
w""k. This doesn't allow for Incl
oentals and any man VINO has Travelled
Nh IS trnt tips, magazines, ncsfs on the
tram, tolls on kilograms ahead 20 re-
serve hotel rooms. whicn are nov the
exception rather than The rule. and srci.
incldentals, eat up vast amount o.