Pitchmen's Cant
1942; Duke University Press; Volume: 17; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.2307/486450
ISSN1527-2133
Autores Tópico(s)Leadership, Courage, and Heroism Studies
ResumoDITCHMEN are migratory merchants of America. Like their French 1 counterparts, the 'forains,' they are a cross between the early packpeddlers and the medicine-show men. They travel all over the United States, Europe (one was made a lieutenant in the Finnish army for his courage in fighting against the Russians), South and Central America, and Hawaii, where Doc Nieusenhause, one of the most illustrious of the brotherhood, lately had a great success at the leper colony at Molokai and left the inhabitants-to a man-using the Waltham push-button pen. 'Time, perseverance, and the spirit to go places are the prime requisites for success in Pitchdom' (that vast and naively heroic kingdom of the Knights of the Tripes and Keister). But of these it is 'the spirit to go places' which distinguishes the pitchman from the rest of humanity. After three years of routine existence managing a gasoline station, one pitchman 'piped' that now that the bluebirds had come the old urge was strong within him and he too was setting off again on the roads. Another, a female of the species, wistfully remembering past excitement, mourned that this year she was a 'home guard' and urged any of the profession who might pass that way to stop in so that they could recount together the days of shared experiences. Less than almost any other profession does 'pitch' limit its practitioners. Any work is pitch in which the essential qualification is good salesmanship: whether it is sidewalk salesmanship, acting as master of ceremonies, touring with a small road show, auctioneering, selling magazines, working in concessions at county, town, or even World's fairs, and (of late) managing health stores. Although the limits are few, the demands made by the profession are numerous-pitchmen must be ingenious, quick of wit and of foot, social psychologists, orators, actors; in short, they must possess all those qualities which will enable them to fool the public and make the public like it. They act within the shaded region which lies between the lawless and the law-abiding. Like other people on the outer fringes of society, they show loyalty and generosity to each other as members of the clan, and they jealously cultivate a canting vocabulary. They 'jump, hop, trot, breeze, or fly' from one place to another: anything rather than travel like the rest of mundane souls. They 'info, scribe, pipe, pencil, wigwag, pen, typewrite, signal, or postcard' their messages, but no true pitchman ever ever wrttes. Not much
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