The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1880-08-05
HUMBUGGED.

Our Business Men STANDARDIZATION Chi
cago Tribune Reporters ''Do" the
Observation-Disclosures aeas q Stranger
and they took 1t IN.
A few weeks ago two men, giving the
names of E. .. T. Edholm and W. +.
Pagett, appeared in Wortllington as
representatives Of the Chicago Tribune.
They had letter from J. II. Drake,
Land Commissioner, introducing them
and claimed that they We're writing up
the country for the Tribune. They can
Vassed the town, wrote up each bust
ness house which subscribed, read what
they had written to each subscriber,
giving glowing account Of Ills bust
ness, and put in their extra Tribunes at
ten ceuts a copy. Tie number of copies
subscribed for by each man ranged from
SO to 200 copies, and the amount paid
by each was from S. to $50. Thus the
Mobiles County Bank took 200 and paid
$50. The Bank of Worthington took so
copies and paid S.. II. q. Shepard &c.,.
7. II. Parsons and others took SO cop
les. Each Of the parties was made to
believe that his business would be writ
ten up'' in the Tribune.
On Tuesday last the TribUnes came.
The whole of Worthington receives a.
bout five inches Of space. Then the pro-
fame business men swore and the pious
ones groaned III spirit to- think how
they had been swindled.
70 show how these swindlers worked
the matter, we give one or two facts rs
to their method of canvassing. Thus,
they took from Banker Smith SUBJ
scrlption for so copies and SIS. When
they showed this subscription to T. II.
Parsons, they had it changed to $50 cop
les and S25. by the time they reached
Banker Day, at the Mobiles County
Bank, they had raised Smiths subscrip-
ton to 400 copies. The money of course
was paid down to the swindlers and
there is 10 redress.
The verdict of the ADVANCES, serves
our business men right. There is not q
town in Minnesota where the local pa
pers are so poorly patroniZed with adj
vertising as they are in Worthington.
But when a swindling canvasscr comes
along with a promise to put them in
the Chicago Tribune, where the men,
ton Of their business cannot bring them
a cents worth of business, they. catch at
the bait like so many catfish after Il
rain. Last fall we gave u full page of
the ADVANCE to an account of our bus.
mess houses; giving about as much
space to each man us the Tribune swind-
lers gave to all and cur business men
took about One Hundred Copies, all told
at 4cents a copy. 10 the Tribune swind-
ltrs the minin UNI number taken by
each business man is so copies and the
maximum is 200 to 300. The two banks
alone paid these swindlerS S;25 for the
bare mention Of their names in one is
sue of the Tribune, willie they could
each have their cards printed in every
issue Of both Northington papers for
the niggardly sum Of S10a year, that is
S. to each paper, yet neither Of them
advertises in the home papers OF the
other business men who were swinLled,
only u few of them advertise regularly
in the home papers.
There is not a town in this section of
country, not even the new town Of Edg-
erton, with its 70 inhabitants. that does
so little advertising us Worthington.
Yet there is no town that las better
papers. and few of them have us good.
Men have told us within the past few
days that advertising did not pay, even
among the people upon whom they de-
pend for business, yet these same men
pay thei! money to the Chicago Tribune
1T the rate Of several dollars Il line,
where it can never reach any one with
whom they deal.