The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1889-03-14
THURSDAY. MARCH IA. 1889
ADVERTISING TOWNS.

ADVERTISING TOWNS.
Too often people who have due
appreciation of printers ink under es-
innate the value of the home paper.
This fact has been demonstrated very
recently in some of our North Caro-
lima towns. Not long ago special
representative of the New York W0rM
visited this State for the purpose of
"writing up some of our prospective
cities. These "write-ups' were paid for
of course and paid for dearly. We
have been told that the citizens of
Fayetteville paid $500 to the World
correspondent to "advertise' their
town, and the article was not over
two columns in length. Such noto
rlety came high, but it was the service
of a foreign paper you know, and the
people would have it. We venture to
say that if the editor of the Fayette-
Vile Obserqer one of the oldest and
best and most influential weekly pa
pers in the State, had asked half that
sum for doing ten times the amount
of work, and four times as much good,
there would have been no "write-up."
Other towns in the State were writ
ten up (and done up in the same man
ner. Asheville was one Of them, and
here is what the daily Citizen of that
place says of it:
Severe criticism has been made by
many of our citizens regarding the So
called "write-up' Of Asheville by the
New York JVorM correspondent. 1t
was tough, to be sure but experience
is dear school, and, home papers, it
seems are not good enough through
which to set forth home enterprises
and advantages,
Commenting on the subject of these
periodical "write-ups" by foreign pa
pers (Which always have to be avell
PaId fo,), the Jonesboro Leadsy has
the following timely and sensible ar
tiCle. 1t says;
We believe that these write ups are
good things for a town, but we also
believe that if a town already has a
good newspaper established in it, try
ing-posslbly struggling-to make a
living and advertise its locality, that
some of the money now being paid to
foreign publications for pufs and blows
should be expended in aaeH bahoaiSed
and well paid for extra editions of their
home paper, which can be sent broad
cast wherever the patrons order, lists
of names being easily obtained from
the State immigration Office, individuals
and other sources,
We say we'll patronized edition.
We mean by that the business men Of
the town should take advertising space
literally, and by this means show to
those to whom the sheets are sent
what there is. to sell, who there is to
sell it, and so on, in the town SO ad-
vertised. 1t may be said "that won't
reach the circulation that these great
northern dailies have, nor so many
readers" Very possibly not, but it
aoiH help to inspire the management of
the paper SO patronized with conf
dence in the good faith and will of his
patrons, spur the same on to further
endeavors, and two to five hundred
dollars, the price variously charged by
those same dailies for enc write-up,
will go long way toward putting your
own home paper into the hands of as
many prospective and possible settlers
(for you send them to the choice recip-
ients-those who have been enquiring
for some such information) as would
be reached by the same expenditure in
the Aforesaid dailieS.
Besides this, these write-ups are
getting common. They are advocated
and adopted so much of late that the
wise reader thinks ''pshaw! money did
that writing while the same one
would look twice and think over well
printed home sheet, showing a good
advertising patronage and seetting out
a towns advantages in we'll written,
sensible manner. Don't you believe
this? If you don't you are mistaken,
and years of spasmodic or dead head