The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1901-12-31
SAM OLD THING.


1t must be admitted that The Ga
zette has been awaiting with consider
able curiosity the appearance of a
publication which has received more
than passing notice from the news
papers of other cities in the state. The
notices given the thing have been of
such an uncomplimentary nature that
it was very evident that it possessed
none of the qualifications intended to
commend it to anybody. At last a copy
of the publication has been received
by The Gazette and this newspaper
is free to admit that all that has been
said concerning it has been well mer-
tied.
"The North American Industrial Re-
view" is the high-sounding title which
this latest contribution to the write
up class of publication assumes and
the number under consideration is de-
voted to Montana. Mechanically it is
of an inferior order and reflects but
little credit on the print shop from
which it was issued. Supposedly illus
trated with half tone cuts, the press
a. who had the job of printing it
concluded to go the publishers one bet
ter and give them full, deep, bass
tones and consequently was lavish in
the use of his ink. The result is that
it is difficult to distinguish between
some of the pictures and daubs of ink
that accidently adhered to the leaves
when the galley boy tossed them over
into a corner to be assembled and
bound. The reading matter that it
contains IS the usual complement of
namely written gush and sickening
%laudation, which the "write-up' man
knows SO well how to dash off. The
people whom he mentions paid for it
and, of course, were entitled to all
the gush that he could crowd into the
space for which they parted with their
good money. The names mentioned
are the old, familiar ones to be found
alwaysin things Of that sort; men who,
with few exceptions, never patronize
a legitimate publication and who as
far as the public knows are not aware
of the existence of a newspaper in
the community in which they reside.
They "do not believe in advertising
because it does no good, for nobody
ever reads an advertisement, anyway"
and turn down the local publishers in
the most approved manner whenever
he has the temerity to ask them for
business. They know him and he has
no impossible promises to make be-
cause he is a business man of their
own city and does business honestly
and fairly. When the smooth talking
gentleman appears, the man whom
they do not know, and tells them a
fairy tale about some great PROPOSE
ton he represents and makes every
promise of returns and results they
may ask, they conclude that, after
all, there may be something in adver-
Using and when he leaves them it is
usually with a fat contract tucked
away in his pocket and when the
time arrives for them to fill their part
of it they find that they have been
taken in. A few numbers, sometimes
none, of the publication which is to
make them and their business famous
are given them. These they distribute
to their friends, who lork them over
carelessly and throw them away. The
larger share of the public never sees
a single copy of the thing, or if it
does it neve looks at it, for a glance
shows the character of the publication
and it is tossed aside,
Here in Billings the agent of the
high sounding advertising pamphlet
did a fair business and with the usual
ones. With the exception of a very
few, the names that appear in the
pages set aside for the city never
appear in the local newspapers and
probably never will, unless it be to
announce the death of the bearers.
Men are styled as prominent" in bus
mess matters and enterprises of great
magnitude who are practically I'M
known outside of their own families
and circle of immediate acquaint-
ances. But they paid for the stuff
that is written around their names
and presumably r content. By pay
ing to any, of the local newspapers the
same amounts they paid to the I'm