Democratic Sentinel, Volume 12, Number 51, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 January 1889 — WHERE GOOD-HUMOR WON [ARTICLE]

WHERE GOOD-HUMOR WON

How a. Drummer Who Kept His Wits and Bin-Temper Made a Sa e. “It is great Han for me,” said et prominent New York business man the other day, “to recall my early experience on the road in the capacity of a commercial drummer. I remember striking a small village up the Hudson, shortly after starting out. During the evening at the hotel I got into conversation with two or three natives of the village who were standing around the office, and, as is quite customary with young and inexpeiienced drummers, I began to refer rather boastfully »o the; achievements I had made in the way of sales. The natives seemed to re-, ; ceive everything in good faith, and one of them proposed as a test of my abil-1 ity as a salesman that I should! go to a store in the village! and sell the propri tor thereof, who! loudly proclaimed his antipathy to alii drummers, a bill of goods. My pride was touched, and I readily agreed to ; do it, and agreed also to Avager $5 on the result. Five minutes afterward found me with my grip-sack in my hand on my way to the store that had been' referred to, and before I could plan any campaign I w T as inside the place. It was an ordinary village store, and, as the time I speak of was in the middle of the winter, there was a red-hot stove in the middle of the floor, and a dozen loungers were sitting in a circle about it. Knowing, as they did, the prejudices of the proprietor with reject to commercial men, my entrance was greeted Avith significant smiles and nudges and winks, and whispered comment passed around the circle. I didn’t mind this, hut went up at once to the man who stood behind the counter, avlio answered the description that had been given to me of the proprietor of the store, and handed him my card. “He took the card, and, without looking at it, slowly tore it into two or lliree dozen pieces and scattered it on the floor. The action was followed by a roar of laughter from the circle around tlie stove. But I was not to be beaten yet. “ ‘You shouldn’t do that,’ I said, very quietly; ‘don’t you know that those cards cost money ?’ “The proprietor glared at me for a moment, and then, turning to a young clerk, who stood behind the counter a few feet aAvay, he said: ‘Give this, young man 5 cents to pay for that card.’ “This grim sally brought another explosion of laughter from the circle around the stove, and a dozen pair of eyes looked over me curiously to see hoAv I would take the rebuff. I didn’t take it at all. I took up my card case a second time, and selecting another card, offered it to the proprietor. This made him mad, and he began to swear. “ ‘What do you mean, you impudent young dog, by handing me another card?’ And.lie brought his hand down with a good deal of force on the counter. “ ‘Oh,’ I replied, ‘I always give two cards for 5 cents. ’ “This rather turned the laugh on him, and after a moment he joined in the laughter, and, taking the card, read it. “ ‘l’ll talk with you a moment, ’ he said, ‘if you’ll come back in the store here.’ “You may be sure I went back. He told me that he had been buying teas and spices from one house for a long time, and that he was perfectly satisfied with the fashion in Avliich they served him. He believed that he got the loAvest prices, and he didn’t care to change. I asked him what prices he paid for various articles in my repertory, and told him, what I sincerely believed, that if he didn’t keep posted from contact with various representatives of the trade, it was quite improbable that he got the lowest figures. He told me what he Avas paying, and I showed him that I could sell the same goods at loAver prices, and finally came away with an order. I Avon the wager of $5 at the hotel, and the firm down in New York, whose representatives had called on this man in previous seasons Avithout success, sent me an encouraging letter. ”