Omaha daily bee., 1896-02-17

Of past times and those Of the present da,
shows at a glance the rem arkable change tia
has taken place In the appreciation OF thh
method OF promoting business and increasin,
prosperity. Formerly they were e. a common
place and monotonous order. and frequent,
stood unchanged for a year: now they ar,
bright. ingenious and new every day. They
are written ard arranged with a view to in
nuencing the popular mind, and no othel
form OF current literature represents a bettei
understanding OF human nature. An adver
tisement IL worthless, of course, IL Ii does mo-
interest and persuade those t. whom IL Is
addressed. 1t must str he the average intel.
llEencS OF the community In o pleasant way
or II viii net pay, and so the advertiser awaits
himself of every eXpedient to make his mes
slges attractive. lie Is quick to detect the
fluctuations Of popular thought and feeling
aud to utilize them as accessories OF his en-
tetprise. His duger is constantly upon the
popular pulse. and his advertisement are &c
constructed as to suit the prevailing mood
or caprice. lie aims to associate his name
and business with the things that every
body is talking about. His success de-
pends, as he knows, upon his ability to keep
his private concerns In the current of general
conversation and inclination, and he misses
no opportunity CT that kind.
Thus the advertising columns OF a daily
newspaper become a history of society In
those respects which imply as
10 the successive sentiments anu DTOCl,NlUSS
OF the masses. We can read In them the
continuous story Of material civilization
not only, but also OF intellectual effort and
diversion, the variations OF taste, the intro
duction of new opinions and Inspirations
and the shifting of points OF view and plans
Of endeavor. They tell us all about the
dress, the diet, the industries, the amuse-
ments OF the people. The things advertised
are the things most illustrative Of ordinary
life, the things Of first Importance in the
work Of acquiring correct knowledge of the
conditions Of society at a given time in a
given locality. They enable us to see what
Taine calls "the living man, telling, i'm
passioned, intrenched in his customs and
he is the principal fact in the case after
all. The records that omit these details
are not trustworthy, because they are not
complete. 1t is easy to conceive that a
page OF advertisements may be worth more
In point of exact and comprehensive infor-
nation as to a country and its institutions
than long and profound accounts of Its lsgis-
lation and diplomacy. In the one instance
We get simple. practical, unmistakab!e facts,
and in the other we get an ounce of such
matter TO a pound of tiresome and useless
pedantry.
1t requires but little effort Of the imagina-
ton to find in newspaper advertisements all
the elements of comedy and tragedy that
make up the tangled skein OF lie, the
threads of human experience and destiny,
in Il the world at all times. There is
much more signifed by these many state
ments of personal interests and situations
than we are able to think, unless we stop
to analyze them and read between the lines.
When we consider the extent and variety OF
such messages, it Ia easy to understand that
they must involve a great deal OF anxiety,
of romance, of vicissitude. They pertain
to everything that can be supposed to touch
the matter OF living. There is no object,
no wish, no tendency that is without ex-
.raa,t- ;n thnr, Thnu rnnctitlta n snrf Of
whispering gallery through which all classes
make known the thoughts that are uppermost
in the collective mind of the community.
We may treat them with indifference if we
are so disposed, but the fact remains that
they nave an important meaning, and that
we cannot afford to disregard them In their
relation to the general scheme of civilization.
They are infused with the essence OF his
tory, and the influences for which they stand
cannot be put out Of sight by lightly ig-
noring them, whatever we may think about
their inferiority to the considerations upon
which the historians place exclusive en-
phasis.
Some years ago a distinguished scholar
wrote a learned address on journalism, in
which he appealed to the newspapers to shut
out all advertisements and publish only
news and special literature. The idea was
laughed at, as he might have expected 1t
would be. and the laughing was not all done
by those who were thus asked to relinqulsh a
nalI OF LutlT lHCOllle " II puliaithi phN
purpose Of elevating the standard Of jour
nalism. A majority Of the patrons OF the
papers Joined in ridiculing a proposition that
the suppression of a most interesting
and useful fund of There are
as many papers bought for their advertise
ments as for their other contents. The
pages that are filled with business announce
ments appeal to all persons who DO any sort
Of trading. or desire any form OF employ
ment, or wish to make any kind of an in
vestment, and the Hist OF such persons Is so
large that the rest are hardly worth con-
sldering. 1t is not for the few who never
read advertisements that the newspapers are
published, but for the numerous men and
women who are engaged in the practical
work Of life and who need just such facts
as the advertisers furnish-facts that come
directly home to them and help them in
ways that have a vital bearing upon their
plans of prosperity and happiness.
This is an age of advertising and 1t Is
foolish to decry a process that has become
a we'll recognized business necessity. The
man who seeks customers for any KIND OF
merchandise must do so through the news
papers. or he will not secure them. There
is no other effective way to bring buyer and
seller together, because the buyer never
looks beyond the newspaper for reasons why
he should give his patronage to a par
ticular seller. 1t is claimed, to be sure. that
advertisements are not always candid and
but this is only saying that there
are always some tricksters In trade. AS a
general rule advertisers are honest, ana the
are soon found out. II is not to
the interest of any reputable firm or cor
p~oration to misrepresent its wares or to
any kind Of deception In its business
methods. The advertisements that pay are
those that carry with them an assurance
that they mean what they say, and do not
conceal a possible insincerity. When that
quality is lacking nothing else can supply
It's place, and the result Is a forfeiture OF
public confidence and a loss rather than a
gain of customers. The people who read an
advertisement want to know that they can
take the advertiser at his word. That is
the main thing. Therefore, falsehood or
in advertising is a fatal blunder,
and all frst-class houses strictly avoid 1t,
both as a duty to their patrons and as an
to themselves.
Anxious for More Bonds.
NEW YORK, Feb. l6.-The World this