men drawing salaries as high as ten thousand dollars a year, and probably there are some whose annual incomes are not far from double this amount; but these men are great exceptions. Unless the traveling salesman sells upon commission, all of his necessary traveling expenses are paid by the firm for which he sells. The salesman on commission is really in business for himself, and his income almost always exceeds what he would receive on salary. Some salesmen have a dual arrangement with their employers, by which they sell upon both salary and commission; that is to say, they are guaranteed a certain amount every year, whether or not their commissions reach it. But it is obvious that no concern will continue to pay a stated sum if the amounts that it would pay in commissions long continued to be below such sum. The store salesman is confined to narrower limits, and unless he possesses aggressive or other exceptional ability, he stands little chance of rising above the position of head of his department. The traveling salesman has a much better opportunity for advancement. His work is more difficult, and requires closer attention and greater energy. If he makes a success of it, he is likely to be recognized and to be promoted. If he is particularly successful, and has built up a large clientele, it occasionally happens that he is given an opportunity to enter the firm, or he may form a business partnership with other salesmen of his capacity. As substantially all merchants and storekeepers were at one time salesmen, we must draw the conclusion that the selling department of business offers the greatest opportunities for advancement to the boy who wishes to enter a mercantile business life. mer. I have said that the inside salesman does not find so good an opportunity for advancement as does the drumWhile this is true, and while I would advise the boy to go "on the road" in preference to remaining inside, I do not wish to give the impression that there is no opportunity behind the counter. There are many men of strong selling ability who do not seem to possess the aggressiveness necessary for outside drumming. They are natural salesmen, know how to impress the buyer, and understand the goods, but, for some reason which they themselves can not explain, they lack the ability to get out into the open to fight trade face to face. These men are not adapted to outside selling. Their place is inside. Their ability is sure of recognition, although they may have to wait longer for it. Sooner or later, unless conditions are very much against them, they will be promoted to responsible positions, and occasionally they may combine with others in establishing a business of their own. The first-class inside salesman frequently becomes a buyer, and thus he may or may not remain a salesman. The traveling salesman is without a home; he lives on trains and in sleepers and at hotels. He is obliged to put up with every kind of accommodation, and is exposed to sickness and to accident. Every form of temptation is presented. But there is temptation everywhere, and the boy of well-formed character, who is conscientious and faithful, can safely take to the road. Traveling may facilitate the distribution of the bad, but the bad is sure to come out, whether one remains at home or travels. The boy of loose habits, who has little stability, who is easily influenced, and who can not be trusted, will immediately yield to temptation, and will sacrifice his morals and undermine his health. But if this boy is so weak in character that the road will ruin him, is it not logical to assume that he might just as well be ruined rapidly on the road as to stay at home and undergo a similar but slower process? While it is true that many salesmen do not rise above the lower grade of ordinary success, the same is also true of almost any other trade, business, or profession; for most of us are ordinary mortals, and few of us can hope to become extraordinary. Many a boy longs to become a salesman, in order that he may travel and see the world. He looks forward to the excitement and the novelty of continuous journeying All this wears off, and very quickly; and the necessity of continually visiting the same towns soon dispels the novelty, and the boy finds that the weariness of the road is far more disagreeable than the monotony of the home store. Selling on the road is hard work, traveling is tiresome, and a continuous hotel life is not conducive to pleasure. At the very start, the boy, in deciding to become a drummer, should not allow himself to be governed by the thought of the pleasures of travel, or by any thought save that he has his place to make in the world, and that this furnishes a means of making it. If he goes on the road, he should go simply because the road is his road to success. The road to him should be a means to an end, something disagreeable, something to be endured, but something which he must not allow to master him. The salesman should be impressed with this one great fact, - that the amount of remuneration he receives during the first few years, whether indoors or on the road, is of little consequence so long as it is sufficient for his actual needs. What the position will lead to is of more consequence. Small pay with good opportunity is far better for the boy than more pay with less opportunity. The boy dur ing the first years of his salesmanship is a student of business. No matter how hard his work is, and no matter how little he may be paid, he is receiving more than he gives. A word about the storekeeping salesman, and by storekeeping salesman I mean the salesman in the country store. While his salary is likely to be less than that of the city salesman, and while the top is not so high, yet I verily believe that the average boy stands a better opportunity for success in life in the country store than he does in the city store. Only our brightest boys will reach the tiptop, and under any circumstances there is only room for a certain number of boys at the top, and the great majority must be contented to remain in the lower positions. The country-store salesman, even though he may work every night, is near his home, enjoys a local atmosphere, has a chance to become known, and has the opportunity of amounting to something. Certainly, his worry and expenses are very much less. I am aware that the country store does not offer very great opportunities for monied success, neither does the city store. Competition is greater to-day than ever before, and greatly lessens the chance of advance of other than the most proficient. The probability is that the average salesman, whether in the country or in the city, will not rise very high in his calling, nor will the member of any other business or profession rise. There must always be more soldiers than officers. I am simply comparing the opportunities offered the country-store salesman with those enjoyed by the city-store salesman. I believe that if one is satisfied with an ordinary degree of financial success, and cares more about himself, his family, his neighbors, and his citizenship than he does about his |