SKETCHER.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1061, 30 June 1892, Page 9

SKETCHER.

j. STRAY STUDIES. BY TAARE WIRIHANA. No. 1. THE NEW ZEALAND ‘C.T.’ Tke commei-cial traveller is übiquitous. Like Pears’ Soap advertisements and the announcements of the many virtues of Mother Aubert’s remedies, he pervades the Colony from Dan to Beersheba —I beg pardon—from the Bluff to the Bay of fslands. But he has special haunts. You shall find him at the Rutland at Wanganui —a town nowadays a great centre for C.T.’s—at the Empire or Occidental in Wellington; at Cottier’s at New Plymouth ; at Hudson’s at Hawera ; at the Criterion at Napier, whose host, the genial Paddy Gorman, is specially a persona grata with C.T.’s ; or at ‘ Bill ’ Warner’s at Christchurch. Times have changed in New Zealand and with them the hotels, and not the least factor in the manifest improvement is the patronage of our friends, the peripatetic pioneers of commerce a euphemistic synonym invented by a Yankee for that common expression in the States—the drummer. ‘ Bagman,’ now used by certain silly people as a term of reproach, was not always such, for in olden days—the days’of coaching—the English predecessor of the modern C.T. was confined to certain bags or sacks wherein to convey his samples. Anthony Trollope, who was nothing if not snobbish, once drew a savagely vulgar picture of a ‘ bagman ’ —was it not in Ox-ley Farm 1 But from the somewhat over boisterously jovial j

‘ bagman ’ of 50 years ago there has been evolved in the modern C.T. a genial, shrewd, courteous, intelligent trader, who is generally and deservedly respected. Life ‘on the ro id,’ as the C.T. loves to call it, is less accompanied by discomfort in Hew Zealand than it used to be. It was weary work coaching ‘up the coast,’ with supplementary expresses carrying the heavy baggage, and energetically as may the C.T. of to-day anathematize the railway, with its heavy charges for the ‘ cases,’ he knows few of the annoyances with which the ‘ old hands ’ had to put up. Hor was it unalloyed bliss, some of the steamer travelling which had to be done, say, a dozen to fifteen years ago. Wanganui to Wellington in the fast and favourite Tui or the equally fast and favour!'e Huia, or a trip to the Grey in the Kennedy or Charles Edward were sometimes

mightily disagreeable expex-iences, the like of which need nob be met with in these days. But after all the * old hands : were a jolly lot, and they made light of their troubles. C.T.’s are seldom morose, disagreeable fellows. 11l nature and bad temper are bad ‘ lines ’ for them to hold, and in this connection it is pleasant to notice the geniality and courtesy of the C.T of to-dav. In one r'espect there is a great improvement to be noted. There are few heavy drinking men among the C.T.’s nowadays. In the good old days—or the bad old days, you can take your choice of the terms —a main part of the C.T’s busi ness was to ‘ shout.’ He lived in an atmosphere of ‘ nips ’ and ‘ nipping’ and * wet nights ’ with customers were too frequent for good health and a level head to be the result. Deeming killed a few people, and what a fuss we made about him, but the victims of James Hennessy, Esq., are many in Maoriland, and, alas ! among them lie not a few of the ‘ old hands.’ But autres temps autres moeurs, the constant : nip, nip, nip’ has well-nigh ceased,

and mirabile dictu, there are actually to be found nowadays teetotal C.T.’s. The apparition of such a person in the old days would have caused as great a sensation as would Miss Rose Dealing singing and dancing ‘ Ta-ra-ra-Boum-de-ay ’ at the next Anglican Synod, but I saw with my own eyes not long ago a C.T. deliberately order ginger ale at a Palmerston Hotel, and what is more, there was not a single drop of whisky in it ! How, what is the result of this greater sobriety ? Why, greater savings, happier, more comfortable homes to which to return when the ‘journey’ is done; and if, alas! the * last journey ’ is over, and the traveller quits the * road ’ of life, there is a bigger insurance for the wife and

kiddies. Knowing this, the C.T. of to day is doubly fortified against the charms of James Hennessey and his host of seductive allies, to whose beguilements so many a smart young fellow has owed his ruin. But a truce to this moralising—a little of it, I’m sure, you will all say, goes a long way. The C.T. is held in high esteem by the hotelkeepers, and for several very good reasons. He is a good customer, a regular customer, a cash customer. To use an expression much in use among hotelkeepers be * brings ’ business to the ‘ house.’ There is none of the old-time indiscriminate ‘ shouting,’ but still a C.T. has his friends, and a sherry and

biiters now and then and some hot toddy at night, together with a few games at billiards all mount up. Then, again, Mr Boniface makes a very pretty little thing out of liis sample rooms, which are attached to all good country hotels, and if Mr B. keeps a livery stable, why, then, buggy hire figures well in the bill, for the C.T. must visit the neighbouring townships, and, as a rule, the fraternity are not over fond of walking. With the servants the C.T is also popular, a fact not altogether unconnected with the largesse or backsheesh, he generally, and generously, as a rule, bestows upon such domestic minions as porters, waiters, and housemaids, an I consequently is generally put by these gentry in ‘ the most favoured nation ’ clause. For him, eggs are never ‘hoff,’ for him is ‘ fresh toast ’ galore; for him the juicy undercut ; for him special supplies of dessert from mysterious stores unapproachable by the ordinary travellers. Letters are posted, tele

grams carefully sent on for the C T., beds well aired ; hot water for him flows as unlimited as at Rotomahana, him the boots rarely forgets to call, him Mr Boniface dare not overcharge—such is the almighty power of backsheesh which, being translated meaneth ‘ A Tip.’ The C.T. s tips are heavier than ordinary tips, and the servants serve His Majesty the C.T. with awe and respect. Roughly speaking, the C.T’s may be divided into two great classes —‘sample carriers’ and ‘ list men.’ The sample carriers include the travellers in soft goods ; briefly, disrespectfully, and jocularly iermed ■ rags ’; or fancy goods, for

which ‘ dolls’ eyes ’ is a favourite slang term ; whereas hardware and grocery travellers sell as a rule only from price lists and do not ‘cart around a lot of samples.’ The way of the ‘sample men,’ especially those who deal in soft goods, seems to me at least to be not over strewn with roses. The quantity of unpacking and packing up they have to do is perfectly appalling to the average man, who, as a rule, packs his portmanteau, sits on it desperately for five minutes, locks it, straps it, and then finds he has left out some essential. How the dickens the soft goods man can ever remember the particular cases in which he has to put his mani-

fold wares is a dark and fearsome mystery to me, and should he ever use language unfitted for a Sunday School, the Recording Angel ought to be conveniently deaf. C.T.’s have regular rounds, of course, and the time it takes to do the round depends a good deal on the state of business, the standing of the House (capital H Mr Printer, please) and the industry or otherwise of the C.T. himself. The C.T. has to exercise great powers of patience and discrimination, if lie possesses them, and he generally does. Take Swamptown for instance. Jones, the leading storekeeper there, is a ‘good mark—all customers are labelled ‘good ’ or ‘ bad marks’ by the brethren of the road—and probably wants certain ‘lines.’ But Jones mustn’t be hurried. This afternoon he is sitting on the Swamptown Town Board; to-night be has to attend the Swamptown Lodge of the Royal Antediluvian Buffaloes, of which

he is a Past Graud or a Worthy Some-thing-or-otlier. To disturb him to day would not be politic, and your G.T. has to wait until the fish is ready for the tempting bait ol ‘ our special new lines,’ etc The morn comes and our C.T. is full of hope. He steps blithely along to Jones’ C.lebrated Emporium—all country stores are Emporiums, Establishments, Exchanges, or Marts—they are never simply ‘ stores ’ —and cheerfully anticipates a ‘good line’ from Jones. But Jones has gone out shooting, or Jones is ‘recovering’ from the midnight revels of the Lodge meeting ; or Jones lias gone to inspect the State School, for which he is a committeeman—bless you, there a>’

.scores of things that may prevent Jo;

from seeing a C.T. that day. Patience, however, generally wins the day, and sooner or later the ‘ line ’ is booked, and the C.T. once more packs up his samples and packs himself off to Mudville or Sandtown. But patience is decidedly one of the virtues which a C.T. ought to, and, in fact, must possess. Then again those * bad marks what a trouble they are. The precise

date on which the ‘ good mark sheds his mantle of goodness and drifts into the ranks of ‘ bad marks' is an essential point for your C.J. to ascertain, but the ‘ bad mark ’ is occasionally cute enough to disguise himself successfully in the seemingly solid garb of the * good mark.’ Whereupon, unless the C.T. is wary ‘ lines’ are booked, to the present joy of the C T., and later on_ the bills are not met, to the future wrath of the C.T., for the House liketh not ‘ bad marks ’ nor their bills, which, financially speaking, are but a mockery and a snare. But this occurs only occasionally, for your 0 T., if he be smart, and most of them are, combineth an ardent desire to ‘ do a line ’ with a shrewdn«3S of perception into, the financial position of the buyer which is sometimes perfectly astounding. To separate the goats from the sheep, the ‘ bad ma? - ks ’ from the ‘ good marks ’.is therefore one of the many difficulties with which a C.T. has to contend.. The C.T. is, as a rule, a gregarious animal. He lovetli society and conversation,

liketh to pick up the'latest quip, crank or quiddity, which is going the rounds, and is difficult to rival as a recounter of ‘ good stories.’ Frequently he sings a good song and thereby makes himself doubly popular. ‘Tip the coast’ you shall hear sung the praises of ‘Jack’ O n who, while dealing in remedies for the body, cheers and enlivens the mind with his fine tenor voice. Then again the Yorkshire stories of an eminent ‘ Knight of Leather,’ the ever smiling Tommy S n—these too are famous, and he who hath not heard a gentleman whose name-is generally abbreviated into * Griff ’ give ‘ The Billiard Marker’s Story,’ has a treat in store. All C.T.'s are great readers Hewspapers they literally devour, and they have a pretty taste in fiction—indeed some of the best informed men in current literature X have met have

beenCT.’s. Naturally enough, having occasionally spare time on their hands and being socially inclined they do not regard cards as ‘ the Devil’s play things, and while gambling is happily becoming a thing of the past, a round at the modest penny nap, a flutter at an inexpensive 100, or even a quiet game at euchre or crib are still much in favour with the fraternity. Tn politics the C. T., I regret to say, rather inclined to the Conservative side, but he is generally quick to see the evils of large holdings ; for the land grabber does not consume much, and it is population and general prosperity which mean big ‘lines.’ The C.T. is to have a vote at last—he should have had long ago—and when he gets that vote he may be relied upon to use it for the best interests of the country, for of colonists he is, I feel certain, one of the hardworking and intelligent. My paper is already too long, or I would have dwelt awhile on whence cometh the C.T , his pay, his prospects in the futui*e, but these and other things must be lelfc untouched, and I will bring this little ‘ Study ’ to a conclusion by wishing all success to the Commercial Travellers’ Association, an association formed to protect the interests and promote the general wellbeing of a large and worthy body of men.