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Show THEN HE FLED. The German regulations connected with the foreign traveling - salesman who may desire to ply his trade within the Kaiser's realm are particularly stringent. All foreign .salesmen must procure licenses. If the articles handled han-dled should include fruit, eggs, poultry, beeswax or honey, the salesman will be refused a license if he has ever been under police surveillance, or if he has ever been known aa a habitual drunkard drunk-ard or vagrant, though what selling beeswax has to do with vagrancy or drinking more than any other article of commerce Is not apparent. It will be well for any salesman considering a trip through Germany to look up the regulations at any German ' consulate before starting. He may be spared expense ex-pense and possible humiliation by so doing. A case in point was the experience of a salesman for a typewriter manufactory manufac-tory who went across to work Belgium, and at the last moment thought he would make a short trip through the northern part of Germany. He carried with him a compound prepared by htm- self. Which contained Dees wax as one oi the ingredients and which he desired to Introduce as a lubricating article for typewriters and other delicate mechanism. mechan-ism. e e e When he presented his passport at the first custom-house across the "frontier an officer began to question him. He was first asked If his only line was that of typewriters, and when he replied that he had a lubricating compound to sell the officer demanded to know Its Ingredients. Ingre-dients. When beeswax was mentioned a new line of interrogation was started. "Have you ever been under police surveillance?" sur-veillance?" asked the officer, crisply. "No," replied the American. "But what " "Have you ever served a sentence of three months or more for any criminal act or misdemeanor?" he was Interrupted. Inter-rupted. At this the salesman became angry. "Are you trying to Insult me?" he cried. "What do you mean by asking such idiotic questions? I never stole anything in my life, and even If I did, I never stole beeswax. I bought that wax and paid for it. If you require an autobiographical au-tobiographical sketch of my life I'll have one printed and mailed to you; and even if it Is necessary to make a fool of yourself, you can't make one of me. I don't have to sell my compound In your country. There are other places. Back home In God's country they don't make a man tell what his grandmother died of before he is allowed to sell torn plasters." e e e The officer was unmoved. He made an entry upon a piece of paper and continued: con-tinued: "Have you one or more children not properly cared for, or who, if between 6 and 14 years of age " He did not finish the question. There was no need. The American had (led, evidently convinced thut only the angel Gabriel could sell beeswax in the German Ger-man empire. The regulations under which this commercial traveler was Interrogated In-terrogated can be found on file at any German consulate. They were In force as late as May. 1905. Success. |