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sometimes very expensive and will make quite a hole
in the estimated profits.
In any event, in closing the bargain, in paying
money, and receiving receipts, and other incidentals,
it is safe to engage the services of a lawyer, who
is familiar with such details, one who will protect
your interests, and one who will be quick to notice
the changing of a sentence which may mean some
thing entirely different from what was intended.
The bartender who you may inherit from the
former owner may be worth retaining because he
may have a large personal following, and so be able
to control considerable trade, so it is not poor policy
to arrange with him in advance. He may demand
high wages, but he may be worth them. The mere
mixing and serving of drinks does not alone fix a
barman's value, as temperament, disposition and
magnetism have a lot to do with it. It stands to rea
son that the man who draws and can control custom
is worth more than the dummy who is merely an
automatom.
When the bill of sale has been made out and is
ready for the signatures, glance over it, and see that
there is a clause stipulating that the owner shall not
open another saloon within a specified time nor in
your .vicinity. Such things have happened and the
good will—which really means trade—has been di
verted from the old place to a new establishment
within a week or so.
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