Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-01-04
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Laurel, Jan 4--The Christmas trade
this year was unusually large IN the
larger towns and unusually small In
the smaller towns. This for three rea-
sons. Firstly the roads were IN splen-
did condition, the weather like spring
and ten to twenty mile drive some
thing of itself to be enjoyed So the
big towns had a benefit. Secondly, the
stocks of goods in the larger towns
We're never so complete before, and
thirdly, because the advertisers in the
larger towns used printers ink, used
it in the newspapers.
In some of the stores in Marshall
town when they closed at nearly mid
night Christmas eve. nearly of the
shelves were literally empty. AS one
man said, they looked as tho they were
struck by lightning The writer has
been asking some questions of the
merchants of Grinnell and Marshall
town, and finds this fact. The big ad-
vertisers in some cases sold more
goods of certain kind to customers
from a nearby small town than they
did to their home trade To illus
trate, White. Black and Jones, big adj
vertisers with a big stock Of cloth
ing, sold more suits of clothes In one
day to customers from Nextown, than
they did to home trade. Everybody
in NeXtown seemed to come to their
store on that day. Smith, Black and
Jones now remember they ran an ad"
in the daily. semi-.weeklies and county
weeklies, making "a leader" Of GER
tain make Of clothing. 1t lead.
Speaking of advertising the BUSH
ness men of Marshalltown never be-
fore had anything equal to the recent
magazine supplement-. On the out
side the writer hears: Il never knew
uring done before in Marshalltown.'
II knew there was a concern there
making , but had no idea they
employed so many men" Again, out
side Of the state, where the writer sent
copies, have questions been asked:
whats your population" Have other
western states such residences and
streets?" This from down east ten
derfoot, "Mr. Blank asked me to write
you If any copies We're for sale, the
price, and who to write" Another man
asks are all of the business men of
Marshaltown young men? One trav-
cling man had stranger walk up to
him in a railroad depot, ask IL his
name was not Smith, representing the
KY company, gave him a small order
then and there, and finally enlightened
the travelling man by saying: II rec
ognized you by your picture in that
magazine the business men got up
And now if the expenditure Of few
thousands of dollars for one town so
clearly shows immediate and lasting
talked of, Of the state of Iowa going
into the write up business. Nearly
all of the southern and western
states have been for years taking
away hundreds of our best citizens.
We Fave virtually Settled UP" the Da-
kotas, Minnesota and northwestern
Canada. We've added to the popula-
ton of Missouri and Texas. All by
the use of printers ink, ably assisted
by the railroads and their land seekers
literature and low rates If the next
legislature will appropriate 100000 for
the purposet of advertising Iowa it will
come back to the taxpayers ten fold.
If thought best to spend such an APP
preparation thru the State Agricultural
Society, well and good, only before
they spend a penny let them hire an
advertising man. Some man that
knows how" and pay him good sal
airy. The railroads outside of Iowa can
be made partners of such business.
Land seekers excursions from Maine
to Iowa, even from Illinois to Iowa.
Tell them of our hundred bushels of
corn to the acre selling at SO cents a
bushel. How many readers of this col
umn know of, or will believe such a
story. But it happened in Iowa in 1907.
Tell them potato stories of Grundy
county, cabbage stories of Butler coun
ty, watermelon stories of Muscatine |
county, onion anecdotes of Davenport |
hog stories of Marshall county, cattle
feeding in Poweshiek. Mention the |
farms of Iowa where they cultivate |
soil on the top of the ground, and dig |
coal under the same ground, in either |
case paying for the farm in three |
years. Tell them that an airship land
ing in Iowa anywhere in the state linn
it's is only nine miles from a railway.
Tell the world we ride for 2 cents
mile, but have got to build lot of
trolley lines, because even now we
want to go sooner. Mention our eli
mate, especially the early winter of
1907, when farmers were blowing two
days before Christmas, with only an
inch of frost Also that at State Cen
ter on the Christmas table were violets
picked the day before. Boom Iowa