Part 55 (1/2)

”Now our salesman for the Michigan car will also canva.s.s the car owners in the locality--representing Barlow's store, you understand,--and secure their business for accessories. We believe that he will sell enough cars and accessories to pay for himself and to make money for the store and us. In addition to this the salesman will take orders for general hardware whenever the opportunity occurs, and on such business the store gives us a commission. In other words, you see, our salesman is really a salesman for everything that Barlow will sell.

”The man we will have in charge of the garage is not only thoroughly trained in repair work of all kinds by the Michigan Car Company, but he has also been given a special schooling in simple bookkeeping, salesmans.h.i.+p, the need of cleanliness, courtesy, and the best way to keep his garage smart and attractive. He is not only able to repair cars, but he knows how to _charge_ for his repairs.”

”All the garage men I know don't need any training in _that_,” I said, with a grin.

He smiled and went on: ”Now, when we have this town working properly we want to make arrangements with a good hardware man in another town. Fred Barlow and I will get hold of a local man, train him in the selling of the Michigan car, and show him how to go about building up accessories and general hardware trade. We will also teach one of the hardware man's clerks how to sell accessories; and the Michigan Car Company will then send us another man with the same training as the first to look after the garage for us, which will in every case be located as near to the hardware store as possible. The Michigan Car Company is running a regular cla.s.s-room in its factory, so that we will have fifty men, properly trained, if we need them.

”Of course, we shall have signs up in the garage that automobile accessories and hardware can be bought from the hardware store, and in the hardware store there will be signs saying that gasoline and repairs of all kinds are to be had in our garage, at such an address.

”In each town we will operate our business in the name of the local store.”

”Won't you have a job in checking up your cash? Do you have your salesman look after that, and bond him?”

”No,” he replied. ”The local hardware man is responsible for all cash.

We get him to receive all the money collected, render us a weekly report, and send us a check for the full amount, with a list of any goods wanted for either the garage or the accessories department.”

”Can you get the hardware people to do that?” I asked skeptically.

”We think we can.”

”Do you think you can get them to go to all that bother and trouble?”

Charlie smiled and replied: ”If they are not willing to go to that bother and trouble we would not want to work with them, for it would show they were 'dead ones.' We believe that live hardware people will be glad to work with us on a proposition such as this, which will be a source of profit to them, as well as increased sales on their regular hardware lines.”

”What's the local garage man going to say about this?” I asked.

”It will be a survival of the fittest,” he said quietly. ”We have not entered into this to put the garage man out of business, but merely to get a garage business for ourselves. We shall not consider him in any way, or go out of our way to fight him. We shall merely mind our own business, and get as much of it to mind as we can.”

”When are you going to start here?”

”May 1st,” he replied.

”Say,” I exclaimed, sitting up straight, ”then all those goods Fred and you bought while with me in Boston are really for your store here?”

”Yes.”

”Well, why didn't you or Barlow say something about it?”

”Look here, Dawson, we can trust you to the last gun shot; but, if one wants to keep a thing quiet the best way is to tell n.o.body, for if he starts to tell one, before he knows it he is telling some one else, and his plans may be frustrated before he has a chance of putting them into operation.”

”Why bother to tell me about it all, then?” And then another distressing thought occurred to me. ”Look here, Charlie, this is going to hurt me.

If you have a man going around selling hardware he is going to upset La.r.s.en on his weekly trips to get business. Then, what's the good of my having accessories, if you are fighting me all the time?”

The more I thought about it the more alarming it became.

”I'm going to see old Barlow first thing in the morning.” I felt my temper rising. ”I am going to tell him to keep his old gas tank. I won't have it; and as for those accessories, I'll return them right away.

You're not going to use me as a cat's-paw in your business, and you and Barlow can go--”