The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-07-28
Copyright 1907. II. G. Pagani3

Unlike the lawyer and the doctor the merchant and the broker, the car penter and the eobbler, the advertising agent makes no claim to descent from antiquity the Middle Ages, nor even Colonial days, but is a shining exam pie of pure modernity-not always pure enough, however. to be free from the curse of graft. as will be seen further on. He refutes the words of the Psalm 1st as to nothing new under the sun. So the grand old Roman Code, many provisions of whose law merchant still live to guide the complicated com merce of today, and to shame by heir enlightenment the barbaric though lib erty loving feudalism of mediaeval times knew him not, and can apply to him only indirectly by extending to him the duties and privileges of older Narities of agency.
 He possesses the peculiar, perhaps unique. interest of having been for generation or more an important and useful factor in the business world, without having had his business and legal status definitely denied. While hl newspapers and magazines, except ing only trade papers (which unitedly refuse to deal with him at alb, allow him a commission ranging from 10 per cent to 90 per cent out of the business he places in them on the theory that he is their agent yet the advertiser whose business lie so pldceS IeSdTuS llle agent IS his agent, acting solely for his interest the relation between them be- ing in the advertisers eyes, somewhat akin to that of lawyer and client. But the new profession has not yet pre- scented it's controversies to courts sui 1iceintly to have defined by adjudica- tion just how far in placing an ad- Nertiser's business the agent may pick mediums which allow him the largest commission or which he himself owns.
 Disputes between lawyer and client have engaged the attention of courts for ages, and it Is to the honor of the profession from whose ranks are drawn the judges who decide all controversies that legal tribunals every Wh ere hold the lawyer to strictest loyalty to his clients interest, and going even further bar associations enforce salutary regu- 1ations to guard those confidential re- lations which through the strength and glory of an honorable profession are al- ways liable to abuse by occasional balck sheep.
 Unquestionably there is a considerable body of upright advertising agents whose dealings are not less sCrupuous than are those of reputable lawyers. Spending millions for advertising every year they make out lists of newspapers, magazines, street cars, bilboards and booklets with sole regard to which gives the best pub licity, ubliVious of the fact that news
 
 cent agents commission, while many magazines allow % per cent or 30 per cent directly or indirectly. and that book lets frequently afford them an easy profit of 90 or 10 per cent
 It is more to the credit of such agents that this high standard obtains without supervision by courts or associations
 those of the bar, but, lacking such de- terrents it is not to be wondered at that there is considerable number of vastly different characters who regard 1t hs .'smart." in fact good business to place advertisers appropriations with the single end and aim of making the big gest commissions for themselves, or of securing good share for publications owned bS themselves
 : Tins Is particularly manifested in the zeal with which these agents oppose newspaper advertising. Often they are too cunning to dispute its value but they hedge and qualify until they elim- inate it altogether or else scale 1t down to very little and grab the greater part of all appropriations for booklets of their own manufacture or for magazines.
 The advertising manager of d big man ufaeturing concern lately dropped we'll known agency which for d time handled his business because of the startling dis covery that the charges made to him Tor a list of magazines used were in many cases greatly in excess of what the agency had actually paid for the space, in some cases 90 per cent more. This policy if pursued with all the large busi- ness placed by that agency would net an enormous sum each year. and Is certain '1y form of graft all the more meretri- cious, because in many ways protected from exposure.
 Agents can make so much more by placing general advertising in magazines and by getting up booklets for their cus- toners that in view of the fact that neither of these methods is at all compar- able to newspaper advertising it seems to be the simple truth that the agents in- terest clashes directly with that of all general advertising, for it is the ten or twelve millions q year of general ad- vertising which the agents place in 200 or 300 magazines (many of very little val ue) which chiefly makes their great sue cess To expect them to give this up is like asking them to do right regardless of their bread and butter.
 Trade papers recognize that advertising agents must be expected to oppose the use oi anything but magazines and book lets hence the trade papers refuse all recognition to agents and will only ac- cept business from advertisers direct.