The Farmington times and herald. (Farmington, St. Francois Co., Mo.) 1902-1905, 1903-08-27
HAD A SMOOTH TONGUE.
And Our Business Men Contributed Lib.
orally to His Advertising Scheme.

A couple of weeks ago an oily
tongued advertising fakir was in
Pennington and induced a number
of our merchants and other bust
ness men to pay him ST. 90 each for
small advertisement to be placed
on what he termed a Catholic
Home Review" to be distributed
among the members of the Catholic
Church at this place. 1t was sim
ply a large card, 13x20, with the
center column filled with the name
of the church, order of services, a
short article on morning aud night
prayer, twelve gems Of thought, I"
and ten days of important events. ]"
Two columns, one each side of this,
were filed with the advertisements.
lie had $50 of these cards printed,
aud represented that Father Toomey
indorsed the scheme and would dis
tribute the cards to the members Of
his church.
lie contracted with THE TIMES
to print the cards for him and de-
liver them to Father Toomey, and
also to show him the proof so that
the order of service" would he
sure to be correct. From the ad-
vertisers he took negotiable notes,
which he proceeded at once to ne
gotiate to the st. Francois County
Bank, paid us for the printing and
left town with $40 or $7j for his
few days soliciting here.
When we took the proof to Faith
er Toomey, he said he told the man
who got it up that he would have
nothing to do with it; that he
would not undertake to distribute
them to the members of his church,
and he told us that the man had no
Introductory letter from any priest
nor other credentials. but made the
plea that he was poor man and
was trying to make living, and
offered Father Toomey $l5 if he
would sanction the scheme and dis
tribute his cards. Father Toomey
refused to take the money or to
have anything to do with it, telling
him if he were so poor he would
better keep his money, and yet the
fellow went on with his soliciting
in the name of the Church, even
telling one merchant. 80 we are in
formed, that if ne didn't place his
advertisement on the card he would
be boycotted by all the Catholic
families in the community. This
secured the advertisement and the
five dollars from that firm.
When Father Toomey understood
the situation, Notwithstanding he
had refused to have anything to do
with the matter, he said he would
give out the cards 80 that the ad-
vertisers might possibly get some
return for the money out of which
they had been faxed.
When the work was brought to
us to print, we remarked to the So
licitor that it was a humbug, and
that that sort Of advertising wasn't
worth the material it was printed
on. He said he knew that, but that
people liked to be humbugged. We
don't see why business men will be
faxed into paying ont their money
for this sort of advertising out of
all proportion to the good it does,
when for one half the amount they
could get the same space for two or
three issues in reputable newspa-
per with 800 to $500 circulation,
each copy Of which is read on an
average by four or FIVE people; still
they will pay these fellows who 90
with their advertising
schemes $5. 90 or 5000 for stick
ing their names and business on a
bulletin board or in some sort Of
an alleged souvenir that has about
as much effect in bringing them
trade as fly on q wheel has in pro-
pelling it. Bnt, as this particular
ad. fakir said, people like to be
humbugged.