The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1906-02-11

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
sary to restore him to his usual state
y! of health.
DIFFICULTIES IN ADVERTISING.
| India is almost a hopeless case for
| the advertising experts. This is true
because ninety-eight per cent. of the
| population cannot read. The Moham-
medans, numbering sixty-two millions,
| cannot be reached through pictorial
| devices because they believe that the
! reproduction of anything that has life
| is usurping the power of the Creator.
| The Hindus who constitute the bulk
| Of the population, do not believe in the
| destruction of any form of animal life,
| and consequently will not buy many
| products that sell readily TO other
| races.
| The publishers in India are so old
| fashioned and slow that they exhaust
| the patience of the modern advertis
| ing agent. The representative of one
| of the best known concerns in the
| world told me that he sent a letter of
| inquiry to $50 publishers asking them
| for specimen copies of their papers and
| a quotation of advertising rates. Only
' sixteen of The entire number replied at
all, and most of these told him they
| did not give papers away; that if he
wanted d copy to send eight cents in
| stamps. This agent is now trying to
| reach the people by sending men
| through the streets mounted on gaily
| caparisoned camels. Samples are dis
| tributed to the crowds which congre
gate and the merits of the goods are
explained. However, this method is
regarded as too slow and expensive,
and it is likely that the company will
consider it's investment in India "A bad
one and withdraw from the field.
THE ENGLISH ARE SLOW.
India is so slow in a business way
that it almost breaks the heart of
a western hustler when he tries to do
business according to the antiquated
standards in vogue there. Would it
not be exasperating to have to wait
thirty-tWo days for a reply to a letter
from a man doing business across the
street? Especially when you knew
your customer was at home and
eventually expected to do business with
you. His assistant says that he is
somewhat behind with his work but
it is noticed that he is never late at
the CIuD VI ldIdS dI TIE ltIlItIS IcuI l.
You talk with an Englishman about
the slow-going methods of doing bust
ness and he will excuse the fact by |
saying: Look what swine we have
to work with''-meaning his Indian /
assistants-but in reality he is as much |
to blame as his help.
In a bank it takes three men to sign
a paper One holds the blotter and
-lxrI
when it is signed The Englishman
has his dog boy and his pony boy.
When he goes to the tennis court or
the swimming pool his boy goes along
to carry his racket or bathing suit.
1t makes a grown-up man real tired
to see these AngIo-In pacing
around with their retinues of petty
assistants and carriers. If they would
pay more attention to business in
stead of strainng themselves for sty-
ish effect. they would doubtless find
L partial explanation of the reason why
the Flooding German is getting their
trade away from them.
OF INDIAN RAILWAYS.
a great deal has been said about
The cheapneSs and excellence of the
indian railway service, but to all who
read I say. beware! First class travel
n India is not equal to the accom-
noda tions offered by the freight trains
n America. You are piled into an
apartment with other travellers who
nay have enough luggage to fill
freight car. When an Anglo-Indian
goes travelling he takes along his bath
-ub and tent, his blankets and boots
md saddles. and his numerous tin :
boxes and trunks, the latter often be- 5
ng elongated chests about the size of :
collins.
You have to carry your own bed
ling and towels. Your journey may
De for days through the desert, but
here is no drinking water in the car
some trains carry dining cars, but you
must wait for the train TO stop before
-ou can get into them. once inside
he diner you may have to remain
here for several hours after you have
inished your meal. The rolling stock
5 poorly constructed, poorly lighted 3
md poorly cared. for. On the whole
he railway system in India is an argu-
lent against government ownership.
Fully 20 600 people are killed annu-
lily by snakes in India the deadly 4
obra being responsible for the most .
f these fatalities. The numerous
make charmers who appear before
he hotels to entertain visitors are dis &
ppointing. They attract little atten-
ion from anyone except the tourist,
nd he loses interest as soon as he is
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