The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-01-14
Dignity of Advertising.

'.There should be a certain dignity In
the advertising of a reputable house, or
the quality OF its business Will suffer In
consequence said an observing friend
of the Man OF tho Street. who has Just
now been looking over the advertisements
OF a Northern paper. simply through tho
fact that he has several times been In
the place where that paper is published
and Is therefore acquainted with nearly
all the business houses.
III an establishment resorts to cheap
methods It. will secure cheap trade. for
the fiaHhy and tawdry In advertising fails
to attract the better element, just as 1t
falls to do so in anything else. II is hard
for many advertising agents to under
stand this, az l found through expe-
riencs, and. as every other reputable
business man doubtless has. An adver-
Using agent must be hustler to sue
coed. but too often he Is apt to mistake
the bargain sale method for enterprise.
and II he carries this sort Of enterprise
into his ads. unless II isSa house catering
TO that sort of trade. 1t will invariably
prove III for the establishment. The tone
of house must be maintained and pre-
served rigidly in every effort of any kind
that 1t makes. or 1t will sink sooner or
later In the quality Of trade IL attracts to
the level Of its cheapest expression OF
enterprise. BY the way I see that the
advertising characters OF the Richmond
houses are so good as to show that they
understand their business.'
Slang All Right if Correct.
Talking about the fact that tho Univer-
sity OF Chicago seems to be doing It's best
to embrace every opportunity to get free
advertising by organizing societies for
various purposes, ana that the latest
attempt of that college of fancies and
fads to abolish slang Is about the limit,
a neighbor of the Man Of the Street de-
clares that they have made poor start
this time. They should have established
society for the suppression of cold
waves, which would at this season of the
|'year interest many, persons. AS It is
they nave taken up task that they will
find will meet with little favor.
AS It stands IN Richmond and Virginia.
think the use of 1t is all right II good
notwithstanding the fact that 1t has been
referred to by an, eminent writer as a
vestibule in which language hides when
| about to commit crime On the con-
trary, IT Is OF great value in the building
of vocabulary. Local conditions pro-
duce local dialects.
Slang words and phrases often express
volumes. Some one suggests a short.
sharp word. II illustrates an idea plainly
and directly. Because 1t does not appear
In dictionary and not having the stamn
Of approval of the writer's of the hour.
1t Ia called slang. But the latest die
,tionaries have plenty of phrases that
doubtless have been slang words. If a
slang word Is good one, 1t becomes
generally used. and thus eventually finds
Its place In the language. II It is not a
good word. itssoon dies. and no harm is
do1e.fs In that respect slang regulates
itself and any effort on the part of uni
isversities to form societies to regulate the
use OF such vernaoular will be useless and
will amount to about as much as the
attempt to spell words phoneticalIy in
stead of the way they are spelled at
present"
/ A Matter OF Birthplace.
"How the idiosyncrasies OF local en-
yironment will stock out and mark tho
locality from which person halls has
been noticed ] suppose, by every one
who has travelled and come In contact
with people from different parts of the
country" said a drummer, neighbor of
the Man OF the Street. who was at home
for the holidays.
~ have often been approached and
asked II did not come from the North
by a travelling companion while making
the Southern States, The usual explana-
ton that followed was: thought SO;
you look and speak like q Northerner."
! Several weeks sA0s however ran