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By Root 1851 0

or her to remain out of work. A new person must be temporarily employed. The new person does not know the work, and must be broken in. There is resultant inefficiency. Inefficiency means demoralization and there is a contagious spread of inefficiency. The employer himself is not immune to disease, and probably, in some instances, uses the same backward drinking glass or cup that his employees use. He can become infected with a contagious disease, and can carry it home to his wife and children. They can become sick, even die. You see the point? In selling you stress it, only make it more concrete than I have done. Pick out someone working in an office, the secretary, concrete, you know, and speak of some specific disease like consumption.” Studs nodded courteously, thinking that this guy was a new one to him. And he could see himself stringing out a line like this guy’s. “Now as to our cups, we have an unusual offer of five hundred paper cups for a dollar, and with any order of twenty-five hundred or more cups, we will give as a premium an attractive glass container that is not only useful but also decorative in an office, store or factory. Now, isn’t it worth a dollar to insure efficiency in your office and home? That’s our argument to the buyer. Here is our proposition to the salesman. You buy the cups for fifty cents, and a cardboard carrier box goes with it, free. You sell them for a dollar and make your own delivery. We assign you a territory which is large enough, and has sufficient potential sales in it, to insure you a good living income, fifty, sixty, even a hundred dollars a week.”

Studs tried to think of something to say that would permit him an easy exit.

“What do you think? How does it sound to you?”

“All right,” Studs said to prevent the fellow from unwinding into another long breath-taking spiel.

“Well, would you like to try it?”

“I might.”

“That’s no way to be a salesman,” Mr. Peters said, his expression pained as he emphatically shook his head from side to side. Rising half way from his chair, he surprised Studs by pounding his fist on the desk and gimleting Studs with a searching eye-to-eye gaze. “You got to be positive, direct, forthright. You’ll never be able to sell with that wishy-washy kind of an attitude and manner.”

“I think I might try it, but I can’t today because I haven’t any money with me to buy the cups,” Studs said apologetically, but determined not to be roped in.

“You know every day lost is so much money lost. So much time squandered. And time is the most valuable and precious possession of mankind.”

“I didn’t think to take money with me.”

“Usually an initial order of our new salesman is five packages of cups for two-fifty, but you might start with a lower order, one or two packages. One package is only fifty cents. You could sell in the territory I assign you here in the Loop and earn the price of your lunch and carfare. Then you could come down early tomorrow prepared to dig right in, or even, you could buy one package, sell it, and come back for two more with your dollar from the same.”

“I couldn’t even do that. I’ve only got my I. C. ticket and the price of my lunch.”

“That’s too bad, and it may be your tough luck. By tomorrow many good territories will have already been given out. First come, first served. That has to be our motto. Each day you lose means you are sacrificing the prospects of so much good money. After we get our product on the market, we will change our methods, and employ regular salesmen. Then the opportunities will be less than they are now. If a man starts in with our organization now at the beginning, he is in line for advancement. Inside of a year, we’ll need sales managers, and they will have positions that any man would envy. They’ll go into the real money, over a hundred dollars a week, and they will have the guarantee of a future of useful and profitable work. If a man goes in with us now, and he shows he has the genuine goods, his worries, for the future, are over, depression or no depression.”

“Well, I could come back tomorrow.”

“Think it over,