Morning journal and courier., 1884-03-03
HENRY JACKSON.
HENRY JACKSON,
 Dealer in Names.
"won't you explain" said the younger

l "Won't you explain?'' said the youneez man.
 'I buy and sell the addresses of people in
 all parts of the United States and Canada. There are hundreds of business men who reach their customers by circulars as we'll as | by advertising in the newspapers. Thus 8
 book publisher gets out a new book which he wants to sell through agents. He is anxious to learn the names and addresses of all the men and women in the United Statss-< V I sell subscription books. He also wants the 1 names of those who sell other goods in the
 same way because they are very likely to drop | he other article for the sake of the new book. Then he wants the addresses of the I people who have never acted as agents, but who want to try 1t to see what they can do. l He advertises fer agents in variety of papers, 1 and at pretty heavy expense. It costs him I several cents for every letter of inquiry ! about his book that he receives. To that let ter of inquiry he sends his elaborate circulars. | I come to the relief of the publisher by sell | ing him very large number of agents ad- | dresses at a small part of the cost of getting 1 them by advertising"
 "How do you get them?"
 ''You see every publisher has list of agents whom he has employed at one time
 
 copy of his list for consideration. The combined copies make a formidable pile of manuscript. Then there the novelty men, who accumulate large lists of names of agents. Agents form one line of special names. In valids form another"
 "Do you mean sick people2" Mot necessarily. Every community has a lot of people who are always buying medi- cine They are the most valuable lot an ad- vertiser can reach. The consumption reme dy circular gives them a hacking cough and hectic flush The blood purifier circular dushes them with eczema So it goes through the list of chronic and acute ills that flesh is heir to. They will buy thing from beef and bark to a steam atomizer to doctor sprained foot. All these people at time or another write to some advertising doctor or vender of the elixir of life buy ths names from the advertisers. classify them according to the number of times the names have been used by medical men and the last diseases that afflicted the writers, and sell them ever and over again Sometimes l sell the original letters outright The careful advertiser sometimes varies the character of the circulars sent according to the character istics of the letter writer, even writing per sonal letter in some cases
 ''What other classes have you?''
 ''Two general classes. One for the sharp CTS and one for the general advertiser. The
 latter class is cosmopolitan. It includes all others, really, but it is m de up mostly of farmers For instance, in New York, Roches- ter and Detroit are several firms of dealers in garden and farm seeds. They get hundreds of thousands of letters every year. To those addresses circulars for all kinds of farm and household goods, books, jewelry, anything that man or a woman doesn't need, but Is sure to want, can be sent with great profit. The names for the use of sharpers are the most profitable of all, and yield the largest returns to all concerned except the onts Rd dressed Once we get name on that list we know 1t will pan out till the man dies The addresses of all people who buy tickets in lotteries, who write to dealers in fac simie greenbacks, and who write to other adver- risers that offer to give something for nothing, are very carefully arranged by themselves. They are usually very smart in their own eonceit, but they nibble at bare hook"
 "What prices do these names bring?"
 'I have got as high as $25 8 thousand for names for sharpers use. Good lists of habit uaI invalids worth all the way from $10 to $2O a thousand Agents are so easily ob tained that $lO is big price; from $3 to $5 is ordinary General-use lists copied off the he letters bring from $3 to $5 where they have not been mailed to more than twice. When mailed to oftener than that and where year or two old, they get down to g dollar thousand.''
 Are many in this business of yours?''
 ''Not continuously. They drop in, make good thing, and straightway begin msiling circulars on their own account. The number of actual addresses handled by me in one year has never exceeded l. 900, 900, but it has crowded that figure closely"