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RETAIL ADVERTISING
From the Viewpoint of
the Country Merchant.
Th« following is a portion of an
address delivered by David Oransky,
a well-known merchant and adver
tiser of Atlantic, lowa, before the
meeting of the Western lowa Editor
ial association at Council Bluffs:
It is a sad but too true fact that
the country merchants as a rule are
not extensive advertisers. 1 am con
vinced that they should advertise reg
ularly and persistently. 1 believe so,
not only because some people who
are supposed to know say so, not only
because my actual experience in con
nection with retail advertising in a
small town has demonstrated to me
the far-reaching benefits, both direct
and indirect, to be derived from per
sistent advertising.
lu this great period of advance
ment and progress, mere storekeepers,
can no longer succeed. It takes live,
wideawake, aggressive merchants to
succeed today. The successful mer
chant of today, whether in the large
city or the small town, must deal
with modern conditions. One of the
most important of these is the fact
that this is a great age of publicity.
Printer's ink is today selling more
goods than ever before in the world's
history and from present indications,
its usefulness in this respect is only
beginning.
People depend upon their news
papers and magazines for information
on what to buy and where to buy.
if we would be successful we must
tell the public what we have to offer.
We must, through the judicious use
of printer's Ink, convince the people
that our wares are desirable and that
our values are consistent with the
prices asked. The ultimate eud of
the non-advertising retailer is very
prophetically depicted in a little Inci
dent credited to Mark Twain. Dur
ing Mark Twain's newspaper days,
one of his readers found a spider in
bis copy of the paper and wrote Mark
asking what itUieant. The reply was
that the spider was looking over the
columns of the paper to ascertain who
were the non-advertisers, so that he
could weave his web over their doors.
So if the small town merchant does
not advertise the people of his com
munity are not advised of the fact
that he has reliable and desirable
goods, or that he offers excellent val
ues. They read the announcements
of the large city merchants; they are
attracted to the cities or, in too many
instances, they fall victim to the al
luring literature of the mall order
houses. Trade which rightfully be
longs to them Is leaving solely be
cause of lack of publicity. For this
reason it Is obvious that extensive ad
vertising Is one of the strongest
weapons that, the country merchant
possesses against the giant mail or
der houses.
Hut, if it is true that it pays the
small town merchant to advertise ex-
tensively, if it is true that adver
tising Is one of the merchant's most
extensive means of combating the
mighty mail order establishments,
then, you ask, why is it that he ad
vertises so little.
There appears to be two reasons.
The first applies to,l hope, but a
very small per cent, of the existing
dealers. They are not progressive;
they believe what, was true ten or
twenty years ago js true today; they
forget that this is an age of pub
licity: they do not understand the
mighty power of advertising; in short
they are what we would term "old
fogies." Hut, gentlemen, do not class
all merchants who are not liberal
users of printer's ink as back num
bers.
Advertising is a difficult proposi
tion and it is especially difficult for
the small town merchant. 1 say, ad
vertising pays, but that doesn't mean*
that if I buy large quantities of space
and fill it full of type that 1 get re
sults. The very fact that this is an
age of publicity makes it all the
more difficult to prepare winning ad
vertisements. Hundreds of advertise
ments are being printed daily. The
country merchant's printed announce
ments must compete with those of
the city merchants' and mail order
biuses, which, by the way, are carefully
prepared by advertising specialists.
The advertiser must therefore make
his advertisements attractive. He
must study first of all the layout, he
must carefully plan an arrangement
so that he may obtain an effective
appearance.
Hut although the arrangement and
layout should be the first considera
tion of the advertiser, it is evident
from the appearance of most country
merchants' ads that their first con
sideration is the text Here again
the merchant has some difficult work
mapped out. for him. He must first
determine what to advertise, and
then conies the description and argu
ment. Assuming that he has gained
the attention of the reader, the suc
cess of the announcement now*ile
peuds upon the ability of the adver-
User to create a strong desire for hla
offering.
The most profitable and most dif
ficult method of advertising, and
which method Is seldom used by the
small town merchant, Is to exploit
the quality, style, newness, worth and
desirability of his merchandise with
consistent price as a minor considera
tion. Hut can yau Imagine the coun
try merchant with so many different
lines of goodb on his shelves attempt
ing to determine the logical Items to
advertise, attempting to describe the
features of his merchandise which
will appeal to the public, attempting
to choose or rather find the words,
phrases and expressions which will
suggest the desirability of his wares?
Does not this suggest to your mind
some of the problems of the country
advertiser?
Or, if he chooses the less- difficult
but more frequently used method of
appeal, he will talk price in his an
nouncements. He will continually be
holding "special sales," selling goods
for cost and less. And If he gives
values even half as great as his ad
vertisements tell about, he will find
himself conducting business at a loss
or If, after leading his customers to
expect wonderful bargains, he at
tempts to obtain regular prices, he
will soon discover that his ads have
lost all effectiveness.
Hut in this age of publicity, the
public looks to the merchants' an
nouncements, not always for the story
of a wonderful bargain event, but
they are expecting to find informa
tion on what is good and what is
bad, information to help them decide
what they want, information concern
ing the most advantageous place to
secure what they desire.
So the successful advertiser in city
or village must choose for his sub
jects goods in which the public is
interested; he must describe the
goods In an Interesting, truth
ful and forceful manner; he
must advertise frequently and regu
larly, but most important, and difficult
of all, he must make his ads attrac
tive, appealing and easily read.
It is my opinion that the news
paper can increase the pulling power
of the ads 25 to 50 per cent, by a
little effort along the lines of effec
tive display.
So, gentlemen, 1 say again that ad
vertising is a most difficult proposi
tion for the country merchant. We
merchants need your co-operation and
help. You publishers need our sup
port. Let us get closer together on
this problem of publicity It must
be solved by both merchant and pub
lisher alike before either of us can
succeed in the fullest measure in our
undertakings.
j Waiting for business to get J
? better doesn't help improve it 5
5 to any noticeable extent. *
* "
ADVERTISING GETS RETURNS
No Other Legitimate Method Equal to
Publicity, Intelligently Directed,
for Selling Goods.
Effort intelligently directed through
publicity brings larger returns tliati
any other legitimate method. This is
often demonstrated in business of
many sorts and nowhere does It
show up with such continuous activ
ity as in newspaper advertising. Right
ly placed an advertisement is an in
vitation to a possible customer that
has a vital weight. The advertise
ment of a reputable business, in the
pages of a reputable newspaper, is
illustrating the word of honor of the
man behind the publicity. A merchant
tells through an advertisement what
he wants the public to know. He
states a fact. That fact.. If he is the
reputable man he should be, can be
depended upon, day after day and Is
sue after issue of the paper in which
his publicity is gained. It is the trade
mark of his calling, the guarantee of
honest merchandising and the adver
tisements of these reputable dealers
are readable.
And advertising brings in larger re
turns. It is Impossible to find a
method that will make more dollars,
for the investment, as can be brought
out in trade directed by intelligent,
advertising of honest merchandise or
honest needs or wants. The money
spent in this way reaches directly
more people than could possibly be
found by any other square method.
And there are countless Illustrations
where it has been shown that adver
tising pays. There is a recent case
where a local man applied for the ful
fillment of a desire through the classi
fied columns of this paper. The cost,
entirely, was less than a dollar, for
four insertions. The first day's pa
per brought him thirty-eight replies
and during the ruuning of the ad
vertisement there were fifty responses.
It would have been impossible lo have
gained what was thus gained, in any
other manner, than by the expendi
ture of a great many times this much
money.
Advertising and Religion.
Advertising in some aspects is a
good deal like religion. Those who
"get religion" from an evangelistic
burst of oratory* are often disappoint
ed in its effect upon their lives. Spas
modic advertisers are frequently the
converts of an advertising enthusiast
who predicts great and immediate re
sults in the business.
There are backsliders in advertis
ing as well as religion. The percent
age is probably just as high and they
all blame "the religion" instead of
their understanding. Heal advertls
ing must be as much a part of the
business Itself as true religion is c
right living.—Paul W. Mtnnick.
STRANGE CIVIL WAR INCIDENT
Negro With Piece of Spent Ball In
Head Is Restored to Consciousness
by Surgical Operation.
After the battle of BuEl Run, when
the whole country was holding up its
hands in dismay and breathing hard
in the realization that the war was
not, after all, to be a picnic for the
northern troops, E, together with many
other doctors and surgeons, rushed
into Washington from distant cities,
writes G. Guffing Wilcox in the New
Orleans Times-Democrat.
1 was taken, one dark, rainy night,
by an affable old negro woman to her
cabin, in the outskirts of the city.
She came to me in tears: "Doc-
tah, 112 des wisht yoh come an' see my
Samson. He 'pears mons'ous cur'ous,
an' he acts des like he 'stracted."
At her cabin 1 found her son, a tre
mendous fellow, as black as a coal
and evidently an athlete, with no evi
dence of a wound upon his body, but
with a tendency to bear off to one side
as he walked, an apparent inability to
talk, and possessed of a persistent ef
fort to march and keep time to mar
tial music, which he could not do.
Aunt Hannah told me that her son
had always been strong and healthy,
and that when he left Washington
with the army he was perfectly sound
and "des like de res' of de folks; but
dey fotch him back to his po' ole
mammy des like yoh se him. doctah,
an' T des skeered plumb outer my
senses, dat 1 is."
I examined Samson carefully and
could find not' the slightest thing the
matter with him, and half believed
that he was shamming.
The room was whitewashed and 1
noticed a streak entirely around it
that was so evenly drawn that it at
tracted my attention, but in the stir
ring events of those days 1 really paid
scant hwd to so trilling a case as
Samson's, and so apparently trivial an
indication as was that level streak on
the wall.
I spent several years in Paris and
in Germany after the war, and it was
not until 1886 that I was back in
Washington.
We had an international convention
there at the time, and were taken to
various public institutions, among
With a Tendency to Bear Off to Ono
Side.
which was a little asylum for poor and
insane negroes.
In one room, as we were passing
the door, I happened to observe on the
whitewashed wall a well-worn streak
drawn so level and circling the mom
so perfectly that it called to my mind
a vision which I had wholly forgotten.
Before noon the next day we had
Samson's small room looking like a
hospital operating room, and the great
black frame lay on tho table under the
influence of ether.
I cut open the right side of the
thick skull, and sure enough, a splin
tered piece of bone from an old de
pressed fracture pressed into the
brain.
I lifted It, dressed It with aseptics,
and replaced skull and scalp and
placed him in bed.
Then we set about reviving him.
Presently Samson opened his eve«
arid stared about him.
Then be asked —and it was the first
f.rticulate word he had uttered for
over twenty long years—"Whar did de
army move to yisterday
I was too excited to reply, and no
one else seemed to grasp the full
meaning of the question.
Presently 1 said: "Forward —Rich-
mond, Samson, but you were hurt a lit
tle and had to stay behind, and we
have been doctoring you. You are all
right now. How do you feel?*
"First rate, thankee, sir; first rate.
Which side licked yisterdayT OnrnT"
The war and his experience up to
that time when he was struck on the
head, most likely by a piece of spent
shell, are as if they were yesterday in
his memory, and his mind Is as clear
and as good as the average of his race
and condition, but where that mind
WAS. and how it was occupied during
'hose years, is a never-failing query t«
ne. all the more, perhapß, because It
'oes not trouble or puzzle Samson Ir
■t* least.
TOWN VOTES FOR
S4OOOO LOAN
Collingdale Decides forSewers
and Better Streets.
A SPECIAL ELECTION HELD
Will Issue Thirty-Year Bonds Bearing
5 Per Cent. Interest—Debt of Bor
ough Is Only $17,500 —Little
Opposition to Plan.
Collingdale.—With only little oppo
sition, the $40,000 loan bill was passed
by the voters of Collingdale at a spe
cial election. Now that the loan has
become a law no time will be lost by
the borough officials in beginning the
borough improvements for which the
bill was pased. The money will be
used for general improvements, the in
stallation and construction of a sew
age system, macadamizing the streets
and other necessary work, in order
to negotiate the loan the borough will
float 30-year bonds in denomination of
not less than SIOO at a rate not to ex
ceed 5 per cent, per annum. The act
ual debt of the borough at present is
only $17,500. The percentage of the
actual net increase in the indebted
ness by the passing of the loan bill
is only .0381 of the assessed valua
tion of taxable borough property.
Shot Fleeing Wife-Beater.
Chester.—Albert Cletterbuck was
shot twice by Policeman Cosgrove
while eluding arrest. One of the bul
lets entered his back and the other
penetrated his leg. Word was receiv
ed at the police headquarters that
Cletterbuck was beating his wife, who
was shouting "murder." Policemen
Cosgrove and Van Horn hastened to
the house and placed Cletterbuck un
der arrest. They stood in front of the
house with Cletterbuck, waiting for
the patrol wagon, when their prisoner
made a dash for liberty. The fugitive
was pursued down an alley by Cos
grove, who fired at the fleeing man
several times for the purpose of
frightening him. Suddenly Cletter
buck fell to the ground and was moan
ing with pain when Cosgrove reached
him. The injured man was taken to
the Chester Hospital
To Fight River Pre-Emption.
East on. —The Riverside Canoe Club,
an organization of young residents ot
Kaston, had adopted a resolution re
fusing to pay the fee of s."> demanded
by the Lehigh Coal & Navigation
Company on each canoe that plies the
water of the Lehigh River. Instead
of paying the "graft," as the club
terms the fee, it was decided to assess
a small amount on each member of
the club and test the question in the
Courts It Is probable that the rights
of the Navigation Company will be
; tested with respect to other matters
relating to the ownership of the Le
high River, and if necessary, the
canoe club will carry the question to
the Supreme Court.
Stoning Car, Hits Woman.
Lancaster. —Henry Bender, aged 22,
of Port Deposit, was ejected from a
Lancaster & Millersvllle trolley car
near Lancaster, for using foul lan
guage. In his anger lie threw a large
stone at Conductor George Moore, who
escaped it by ducking. If went through
car window, striking and seriously
Injuring Miss Millie Neff, of Millers
ville. The assailant escaped in the
darkness, but was arrested in Lancas
ter later.
Driver Recovers Laka Victim.
Ambler.—A driver recovered the
body of Giovanni de Liberto. drowned
while taking a swim in Asbestos Lake.
The driver, Herman Walter, made two
attempts before ho was successful in
recovering the body. De Liberto was
a foreigner, who had been in this
country but three months and was 18
years of age. The expense of the
driver and funeral will be paid by fel
low-countrymen, who have taken up
a collection. About 2000 persons wit
nessed the driver at work.
Car Beheads Trackman.
Allentown. Joseph Paradise, a
track layer employed by the Lehigh
Valley Transit Company, made his
way to the side of the high South Al
lentown viaduct as a car came along,
just as did the rest of the gang. As
the car neared him tye shouted, fear
ing h« would he thrown to the depths
below or squeezed to death, and jump
ed for the fender, missed his footing,
and as he fell to the track the top of
his ht«d was taken off by the car step.
His death was instantaneous.
Whole Family Perished.
Jacobs Creek.—While searching for
John Raymond, the rest of the Ray
| nioi.J family, consisting of nine per
sons, were drowned by a wall of water
in a ravine.
Stood Like Statue In Death.
Shamokin. —"Get your wagons out
j of the way!" yelled miners to Joseph
Bucks. a driver boy at Gimlet Colliery.
He stood motionless in a gangway be
tween two wagons, with a miner's
lamp shining' brightly from his cap,
his teini of mules likely wondering
why he did not start in motion
One of the miners ran to Bucks and
'iad started addressing him when he
liscovered he was talking to a dead
nan, Bucks having been crushed tr
teath while his body retained an ur
■iih; coslticn
SNAPSHOTS AT
STATE NEWS
Ali t ennsylvania Gleaned for
Items of Interest.
REPORTS ABOUT CROPS GOOD
Farmers Busy in Every Locality—
Churches Raising Funds for Many
Worthy Objects—ltems of Busi
ness and Pleasure that Interest.
Drilling to fire quickly, E'eter Metz
ner, Shamokin, forgot his revolver
was loaded and shot himself through
a hand, the bullet tlieu breaking a leg.
Edward William Matthews, of Dal
lastown, York county, has ail orchard
containing 4500 trees, 2000 of which
are bearing.
A vicious dog near Belfast attacked
T. K. Hawke, of Easton ,and lore one
of his legs in a half-dozen places be
fore being beaten off.
William Maury, one of Allentown's
best ball players, is suffering with a
broken arm, the result of a friendly
wrestling match in a camp along the
Perkiomen.
Two girls who recently graduated
from the Carlisle High School have
taken the examination for letter car
riers and will seek positions in that
town.
Thomas B. Beaver, of Bellefonte,
who has been appointed battalion ad
jutant of the Tenth Regiment, Nation
al Guard, is a rou of Judge James A.
Beaver, former Governor.
Catching by the neck a rattlesnake
that struck at her three times, near
Hazleton, Emma Pasco, 12 years old,
killed the reptile and carried it home
in triumph.
Climbing after a nest oi young pige
ons, Herman Walters, a Dover town
ship. York county boy, fell 20 feet,
breaking his left arm and sustaining
serious internal injuries.
In the sefen anthracite counties of
Carbon, Columbia, Dauphin, Lacka
wanna, Luzerne, Northumberland and
Schuylkill there are 91 silk mills, em
ploying 15,255 operatives.
By granting an increase of two
cents an hour to 800 laborers, the
Pennsylvania Steel Company, Steel
ton, has ended dissatisfaction which
caused several strikes in departments.
A little daughter of Harney Sheeler,
of near Sanatoga, was severely burn
ed during a storm when lightning
struck the brass top of a parasol she
was carrying.
Crawling through a picket fence in
the back yard, William Adams Huff,
alyear-old son of Clarence Huff, who
resides along the canal at Riegelsviile,
fell into that stream and was drown
ed.
William F. Ruck, of Hollidavsburß,
killed a "champion" weight calf a few
days ago. The animal was 34 days
old and weighed 171 pounds avoirdu
pois. It was raised by a Frankstown
township farmer.
Found dead in Yellow Breeches
Creek, near Lehigh Station, Adam
Stein, of Chambersburg, a Cumber
land Valley brakeman, is believed to
have been killed by falling from a
train.
Because a five-year-old daughter
was awakened and gave the alarm
when a coal oil lamp exploded, and set
fire to the home of Mrs. Minnie Bar
ger, at Carlisle, the family was proba
bly saved from burning to death.
A Gettysburg foundry has shipped
to the t)aughters of the American Re
volution of New York city two British
cannons captured at Yorktown in 1781.
Carriages were made for them at the
foundry.
H. Fuller Smith, of Fernwood, was
sent to .Media jail, in default of JSOO
bail, on the charge of stealing three
watches from Township Commission
er William Shepley, of Upper Daj-bv
township.
Johft Joliat, a Frenchman who lives
in West Mead township, Crawford
county, always a hard-working and
thrifty man, has purchased the Henry
Lippert farm in that township. When
he came to pay the real estate agent
who made the sale, Mr. Joliet had half
of the purchase price, $llOO, in silver
dollars and half-dollars. The shining
coins filled a tin bucket, and the
weight was considerable.
Kx-District Attorney John M. llhey,
of Carlisle, who l.as been elected
president of the Oratorio Society, was
journal clerk of the Senate when the
old Capitol burned in 1597 and while
the firebrands from the ceiling were
dropping about him, he cooly made a
record of the motion to adjourn, tell
ing what caused the adjournment.
A bill for a Federal building at Loci
la ven, Introduced by Congressman
V. B. Wilson, lias been approved an<
N ill be included in a favorable repor
o Cougnias in December.
NEW HOME FOR
PUBLIC LIBRARY
Cornerstone Laid at Front and
Walnut Streets.
IT DATES BACK 118 YEARS
Was Debating Organization When
First Formed as Mechanical Socie
ty in 1794—Present Library
Grew from City Movement.
(Special Harrisburg Correspondence.)
Harrisburg.—The Public Library,
the cornerstone of whose new home at
Front and Walnut streets was inform
ally laid, is the successor of libraries
organized as long ago as 1794, nine
years after the founding of Harris
burg. The present library corpora
tion, however, dates its official exist
ence only from 1889. The first of the
old library enterprises, that dating
back 118 years, held weekly meetings
and was known as the Mechanical
society, the belief being that it was
more of a debating society than a lib
rary, although it kept books for its
members. The members included Ja
cob Bucher, Stacy Potts, Henry Baed
er, Jacob Reitzell and others promi
nent in town affairs. The next year
the first library corporation was form
ed under the name of the Harrisburg
Library Company, the directors being
John Kean, the Rev. Henry Moeller,
John A . Hanna, William Gravdon.
Adam Boyd, John Dentzell, the Rev.
Nathaniel Snowden and Stacy Potts,
Mr. Potts being the treasurer and
Henry Fulton secretary. The library
lasted a number of years but like
some succeeding enterprises gave it.
up. The present library grew out of
a city movement for a library which
was backed by prominent men.
Needed Larger Quarters.
The library was formed at a meet
ing held November 29, 1889, the date
of its charter, the charter trustees be
ing Charles L. Bailey, president;
James MeCormlck, vice-president; L.
O. Foose, secretary; W. K. Alricks,
treasurer; State Librarian W. 11. Egle,
Maurice C. Kby, Judge John W. Si
monton, A. Boyd Hamilton, Ehrman
B. Mitchell, Oscar S. Houtz, Congress
man M. 10. Olmsted and Editor M. W.
McAlarney. The library was opened
on the second floor of the Kelker pro
perty at the southeast corner of Mar
ket Square, now occupied by the John
ston building, and remained there un
til 1895 when, through the practical
generosity of James McCormick it
was able to move into its own home
at 123 Locust street. This building
sufficed for several years, but the li
brary needed larger quarters and tha
bequest of Mrs. Sara J. lialdeman-
Haly made possible the erection of
the present building.
Private Enterprise.
In addition to these public libraries
there have be< 11 circulating libraries,
private enterprises .maintained in the
city for years. Before the Civil War
there were several societies which
conducted such libraries and a num
ber of individuals had libraries which
circulated the best sellers and the fic
tion of the day. One of the best
known was in the old Exchange build
ing, now the site ol the Federal build
ins. Several were conducted by
churches and debating societies, which
flourished sixty years ago and even
later had fine collections of books
which were loaned to members and
some times opened to the public.
Some Funny Letters.
Jim Sweeney, who standardizes
weights and measures for Father
Venn's cities and counties, has soms
funny letters from people who fail to
comprehend why he can not look after
their measures as well. The law only
provides that the chief shall standard
ize official weights and measures. His
mail, nevertheless, contains letters
like this:
"I am going to send you a new set
of weights I bought for my store. T
want to be sure the company sold me
the right ones. Will you please put
your stamp on them."
"Please see if the weights I bought
pre O. IC. I don't want to get pinch
ed."
Sweeney has to tell them that
the law does not permit the weights
or measures of individuals to be gonc>
over. Rut they nc.-er seem to like
that kind of a letter.
Traction Comoany Directors.
Directors for the next three years
wvre elected at the annual meeting of
the Harrlsburg Traction Company, a
subsidiary company of the Central
Pennsylvania Traction Company, *.t
the offices of the Central Company.
Market Square The directors are as
follows: J. M. Cameron, K. C. Felton,
.lames Huss, W. H. Seibert and F. E.
Walz. The annual business meeting
of the Central Pennsylvania Traction
Company will be held here.
Gasoline Price Increased.
The advance in the price of gaso
line, which went into effect a short
time ago. is causing not only lamenta
tions from owners of automobiles, but
is likewise having an effect in experi
ments with oth«r fluids to run cars. A
couple of local geniuses have been
working lately on an engine which
they hope will bring results from the
use of denatured alcohol. However,
the b'llk of motor enthusiasts are
»rimly using gasoline even at the in-
Teased price and hoping that the com
plaints may cause a reduction in price.