The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-01-13
BAN ON THEFAKES
Advertising Crafts Receive
Another Body Blow.
j. w. Robinson Tells of the
Struggle Of Merchants.
SAVES MUCH MONEY.
System Adopted by Commercial
Club a Success.
Souvenir Editions and .Write
Ups'' Are Condemned.

The committee on advertising. through
its chairman, ]. W. Robinson. last night
gave its promised report to the Com
mereial club on graft advertising"
It not only came up to the mark which
mad been forecasted, but it proved to be
a real eye-opener for the business men
Who heard it.
The "anti-graft' advertising rule is
one Of the best ever passed by the Com
mereial club. It was adopted more than
a year ago, but the year of 1905 gave
1t real test. The purpose back of the
measure is to save merchants from
spending large sums of money every
year Tor advertising in programmes and
hlildTed matters, very few of which are
OF any value. To do this an agreement
was formed among number of promi-
nenI IOpeka merchants to contribute
certain sum to the Commercial club ad-
Vertising fund to be expended towards
printing these programmes and other
similar publications. Then the mer-
chants in the agreement could re-
fuse to spend money for promiscuous
worthless advertising. They did so and
with success as Mr.. RobinsOn's report
winch follows, shows:
The Advertising Situation.
Advertising is the vital energy that
promotes sustains and perpetuates
the worlds commercial interests and
industries. The latitude of its posi-
blities has widened until even the
most cOnservat tive individual must rec
ognlze that advertising scope is as
l1mitless as the fruitful harvest to be
gathered from a judicious fertilizing
with the printers ink.
Advertising is as essential to sue
cess as air and sunshine are to all
physical development, and it is but
natural that the universal recognition
accorded meritorious advertisements
should stimulate the countless pirates
TO brazen bOldness in forcing their
worthless fakes and schemes upon The
merchants, under the guise of adver-
Using.
Every thrifty business man or firm
Is 4 slave to advertising and how TO
escape the worse than worthless pro
positions which besiege US daily. and
the Vexing question that confronts
each of US is, What is the remedy
In q nutshell, advertising MAJ be
properly divided into two classes
Legitimate and graft or hold up
Legitimate advertising embraces
all the display publicity which one is
willing to buy at value price as we
do any commodity or necessity.
Graft advertising is thar type osI
hold up for which you smile and pay
So Ior an afiiotioa which YOU would
Glsdly pay $40 to escape. Nor is the
mo reliant the sore Prey of the graft
vulture.
Manufactures, bankers. newspa-
pers. lawyers, doctors, ministers
teachers. musicians and artists al are
touched early and often by the man
with an advertising scheme and II Isl
surprising now few manage to escape
has tolls.
Your familiarity with the various
schemes which might be enumerated
in the category renders it unneces-
saiy to single them out, but number
are sufficiently conspicuous to warrant
consideration.
I'm taking up specifically the OBJ
jectional advertising features, / desire
to pay the tribute of my admiration to
the press of America, and it is my
candid opinion that fully ninety per
ments might be judiciously and profit
ably spent for space in the newspaper
Slap at Souvenir Editions.
lone of the impositions which every
newspaper should join in celebrating is
the pernicious souvenir edition in which,
for so much per, one is permitted to
write or have written, bouquets of such
size and favor as may suit the fancy
Of the advertiser to toss at himself or
his business, and be entitled to have
mailed a stated number of copies to
friends who, otherwise, might escape the
aff1iction, and Topeka merchants have
not been wholly exempt from coercion
along these lines
No criticism, however, attaches to our
local dailies in this connection and it
any paper to exploit the advantages or
resources of a town or to emphasize any
feature of its enprise. are always
commerdabIe and are entitled to receive
hearty, loyal support such as is always
evidenced by the citizens of Topeka. But
the personal write up for revenue only
and manipulated by outside promoters
has no justification.
1T is not my purpose to assume what
kind of advertising is or is not advan-
tagous to the advertiser, nor even to
suggest a general outline for any class
of business, but the fact that every firn
OF Individual in commercial pursuits
yearns for relief. is evidence that the
time is ripe for united action.
Premium Stamp Craze.
THE premium stamp craze which
struck Topeka drained thousands of dol
lars from the merchants of this city
and gave in return to the customers a
few dollars worth of chinaware bric-a-
brac and trinkets but never made one