Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-05-03
DAILY SHORT STORY
The Value of Advertising.
LOrigInaL.l

What can do for you:"
Il am Robert Maclae, advertising
agent. would like an order for.
I'VE don't advertise growled the
merchant. Nobody reads advertise
ments.''
Perhaps you haven't had satisfac-
tory evidence of the number of people
| who do read advertisements
You prove it. and I'll give you all
| the orders you want
That's n fair proposition" said the
| agent. You must convince buyers OF
| the value of your wares; l must con-
vince you of the value of my methods.
| / will he the beginner. l will insert
an ad. for you free of charge. 1t Will
| be designed expressly to convince you
of the number and variety of people
who read advertisements"
The merchant looked at the young
man out of the corner of his eye, but
said nothing.
If you will mention" the agent
| went on. some article you have for
sale | will write out an ad. for it COM
| mending its virtues in Il way to at
tract the public eye and insert it in the
| next issue of q newspaper with fair
circulation. If in thirty days after its
issue you are not convinced that it has
| been largely read, l shall not trouble
you further. If, on the contrary, you
are convinced, it shall be optional with
you to give me an ORDER
The merchant stared over his glasses
FOR half n minute at the solicitor with
out speaking; then he suddenly snap
| ped:
"GO ahead, and git outr'
zone thing more-the article to be
| advertisedT'
The merchant tossed a card to the
young man on which was written out
the merits of Ashley's prepared Gin
namOn.
\ week passed and the merchant had
| forgotten the advertising agent. One
evening the former was sitting in his
| home with his wife. who was reading
the evening paper. Presently she ex
claimed:
For heavens sake. Henry! What
in the world do you mean by such
| ignorance of your own business:"
What is it? Let me seer and he
reached for the paper. He was sur
| prised to see that his wife had been
more interested in page of adver-
| tiSementS than the news. His eye
| lighted on Il half column advertisement
with large display heading of his pre-
! pared cinnamon, and his hair stood on
| end. 1t read:
| ASHLEYS PREPARED CINNERMON.
PUREST COOLEST.
| This CinncrTlOn is ErOwed on our own
| farm in northern New York. under our
| s1san II n
/ there by obViating the possibility of adul-
! tura ton. 1t is from the original berry. n
| bright red, the only pure cinnermon berry
and no substitute. This berry grind 10
| a powder. which after being clarified by
| process of our own is nodded into the
| form with which the public is familiar.
All grocers have it.
| AS the merchants eyes ran over this
| tumble of IniSspelled words. ingram
NAUTICAL phrases and absurd statements.
! the blood mounted to his cheeks and
the fire to his eye. When lie had fin
| iShed lie vowed vengeance on the man
who had produced it.
The agent did not appear at the of
| flee for week. and wien he did, he
found Mr.. Ashley surrounded by
| heap of letters, with several waste
| baskets beside him crammed full.
Good morning. Mr.. Ashley. Are you
convinced that people read ads"
Convinced? l should think so. Look
at these letters. They're all about
your nonsense. I've had them CLASH
fed. There are $50 schoolteachers. $50
housewives. % clergymen. 40 boys,
| J62 girls. theatrical managers, 30
| farmers. II doctors, 90 lawyers and
| 1862 scattering or of unknown Occu-
patton. The SchoolteacherS and most
of the boys and girls point out the bad
| spelling and ungrammatiCal phrases.
The clergymen deprecate the false
statements. Some of the housewives
commend us for the pains we take to
| get up a pure article. The doctors
warn us against poisonous berries. the
lawyers call our attention TO the legal
risk of selling such goods, while the
rest. in trying to state the truth about
the spice. make as many plumbers as
you have made in your COMPOUNDED
ad. The theatrical managers want to
| introduce the idea in one of their vari-
eties''
Meanwhile the agent was getting out
a book of blank orders. filling up one
of them and listening ut the same time
to the merchants catalogue.
However" the latter went on.
sometimes one can do more by blum
der than in the regular way. If hau
known you didn't know any more about
| cinnamon and the English language
| than that I'd never have trusted You
to do that job in the world. But I'm
convinced that people do read adver-
tisements. and all kinds of people.
Why. two of these letters were from
| distinguished men. All you have to
do, young man. 10 succeed in the world
| is to get an education, though most
| people claim that it's no use in bust
ness. Where did you get your school
| ing. anyway"
| AT Yale
What. Bottom Of the CLASSY"
| IN ton. SIGN there Inlea Sc -