The pioneer press. (Miller, Hand County, S.D.) 1893-190?, 1898-11-10
A GENIUS IN ADVERTISING.
But He Surprised by the Odd Eject OF
His Capitalization.


When was a youngster. say of 2l,''
remarked the veteran Journalist of a
western city. Il was the editor of u
country paper in a town OF about 5000
people, and having lived for year in
New York, l had an idea that | was
really the only person in town who
knew anything. l had pretty hard
time making things come my way,
but youth and enterprise are hard to
down, and / kept at it. There was
one firm in town, Smith Bros, which
was the strongest and most conserva-
tive there, and | knew an advertise
ment from them would be the making
Of me; but they were very slow in
letting me have it. However, persist
ed, until at last had it in my clutches,
and | grasped ii as a drowning man
grasps at life preserrer. The senior
partner, who was a most austere and
particular old chap, and deacon into
the bargain, was anxious to impress
me with the fact that they were doing
great deal for me, and / must return
value received. All OF which / agreed
to do; and then the old gentleman sur
prised me by telling me he would give
me the copy and leave IL to my new
tangled notions, as he called them,to
make up the the ad. that would show
| the Smith Bros. to be as progressive
as any other merchants in town and
| quite as ready TO meet the modern
! ideas. Wen, this was more than !
| could have asked for if they had beg
! ged me 20 do SO, and / went out Of the
| place almost shouting. When reach
! ed my office / read the copy over again
! to find its strong points of display.
| 1t was as follows. for / can never for
! get it: Smith Bros, the well-known
dealers in groceries, are pleased to
make the announcement that they are
in receipt of the biggest stock of can
ned goods ever seen here, and they will
! be sold at prices hitherto unknown.
| Some advertisers may be liars, but
| Smith Bros. are happy in knowing that
they have a reputation for veracity
which is worth more to them than
gold. That was good, plain stuff,
with not much of margin visible for
the play of my versatile fancy, but
! was expected to do something that
would attract attention, for the old
gentleman had been especially strong
on that point. He was tired of the
plainly severe, he said. and wanted
something that would not fail to stir
things up. / sat up more than half
the night with that copy, and when
morning came / had in all in shape to
fill column, the amount of space he
wanted it to occupy. He told me.
when he gave m the copy, that if he
to let ii go and take the chances,
which did when he didn't appear, and
when the paper came out, there, in
| the biggest and blacklist letters could
set ur, was the advertisement for full
column on the first page:
SMITH BROTHERS,
the well-known dealers in groceries,
ARE
pleased TO make
THE
announcement that they are in receipt
of the
BIGGEST
| stock of canned goods ever seen here,
and at prices hitherto unknown.
Some advertisers may be
LIARS
but Smith Brothers are happy
IN
knowing that they have a reputation
in this
TOWN
for veracity which is worth more to
them than gold.
We'll, when the Smith Brothers
saw that ad. fairly shouting to them
and at them, and about them, they
were only restrained by their religion
from shooting me on the spot How
| ever, they sued me, in spite Of all my
| defense of the attractive qualities OF
the display, and l would have gone to
the wall for my genius and Napoleonic
brilliancy had it not been for the fact
that before the time Of hearing the
suit the ad. had actually given the
Smith Brothers a boom that almost
frightened them by it's tremendous
popularity, and though they never re-
peated the ad., and always made me
submit matter before it was printed we