Morning journal and courier., 1888-03-12

eyes to all outside considerations and con l centrate our attention upon the condition
 that pertain more strictly to the science O | advertising as viewed from standpoint O
 the man who has but $10 or $100, and de | sires to invest it where it would do him tht
 most good. The advertiser is here met by several subdivisions of this head; first, the price per inch per thousand copies printed l and distributed; second, character of circula | tion, Illustrating whether the class of people among whom it is distributed are those he 1 desires to reach; third, whether the copies
 are to be sold or given away, the former be- Ing many times the value of the latter as an advertising medium; fourth position; fifth, display. To attempt to discuss these sub divisions would require me to transgress my privilege as to time, but will make the sin gle point that many merchant thoughtless-
 ly invests 80 in little space in some scheme that is to be given away, and of which he has been promised only one thousand cir culation (always remembering that he usual ly never asks for or receives the slightest guarantee that he will honestly get his 1, ,O0O circulation) when the same fve-dollar bill would have bought just as large space in as conspicuous position, with the same display, in a newspaper, of which he can have ample guarantee that 90, 900 or over are actually sold and delivered.
 If the comparison is left upon that of oir-
 culation then it stands, in this cage, as 20 to
 in favor of the paper; but if to this is add
 ed that the paper is sold and the other
 scheme given away, then tLe difference is
 far greater still
 Of course if any advertiser wishes to pav
 20 or 40 prices for his advertising and does
 it willingly and knowingly, no one else need
 object.
 The third general point is that of securing
 tangible evidence that work contracted for
 has been faithfully executed in every respect.
 This should be as easy to secure as to verify
 any bill of goods that the advertiser pur- chases, but unfortunately two difficulties em-
 barrass his attempt to do so. One is found
 within himself and the other from without
 The advertiser himself, too often fails to keep any exact written copy of the statement ot the conditions and representations made to him by the projector of the fsnap" scheme and in week or two afterwards the terms of the contract are wholly or partially forgot ten. The difficulty from without is the un- willingness or inability of the protector of the scheme to deal honerably by his cus- toners and fulfill his contract the latter be. ing usually the case, for the claims often made by these canvassers are SO preposterous in what they promise that it is simply i'm possible, for even the large price asked, to execute them as agreed. I will therefore suggest to newspaper publishers as praeti- cal and sufficient method of correcting this enormous evil (for it stops little short in
 -1'AaJ SeAS0S VI OoeoAHAaS AioHSy IuG0or ISI6e pretenses, crime in law,) that business men should be advised to keep a blank book for the purpose, and when a canvasser calls on him ask him to write out on page in the book full description of his scheme, to- gether with all -hieA promises and claims, together with tde price asked for the advertising that he wishes to sell, and then postpone decision for day or two, or until he should have had time to look into. first, the legitimacy of the scheme; secoad, the relative value of it as compared with newspaper advertising, and then, third, if he makes contract, demand absolute proof that the contract has been compiled with in all of it's conditions before making payment.
 have sufficient confidence in the foreeo- ing proposition to add that if it were general ly observed, two-thirds of all snap advertis- ing schemes would cease to exist within year.