The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-08-27

innate friend OF the people you are
trying to reach in each locality. You
may advertise in the few metropolitan
newspapers and break ground in a big
way, but you cannot get all the best
results unless you bring to your aid
the daily association of the local editor
with. his local readers.
Many a man in Kansas City reads
ana believes a statement vigorously
and often repeated in the Kansas City
star. for instance, who would pay no
attention to the same statement If he
saw it in the New York Journal; it
wouldn't seem to him to be a state
ment from home. And there are
many men in the small towns around
Kansas City that would pay less at
tent1on to a statement published in
Colonel Nelson's newspaper than to
that same statement published in To-
cal newspaper much smaller, much
less important in the worlds eyes, but
published at their homes.
Il am especially anxious to empha-
size this point, because 1 feel very
deeply the Importance of supporting
local newspaper enterprises, and OF re-
wardlng adequately the work done by
the local editor and his staff. You can
not keep this country in order, you
cannot regulate or keep down its
f1nely organized rascality, unless you
nave in every little town, and If pos
sible in every little village, the local
editor, who is moral policeman, US
ing publicity as his club.
IF you kill the local editor by neg
Letting his advertising columns, you
deprive his locality and the country at
large of the most important feature OF
public defense and good government.
You harm the community, as you
would harm the farmers If you went
Systematically to work starving their
watchdogs to death.
he he f1hI nO=
of the local neighborhood, and in addi-
ton to that they are the real defend
ers of the public, they do a work that
handful of metropolitan newspapers
cannot pretend to do.
Fortunately, they give you a good
return, the best return for your adver-
Using investment, when you advertise
with them wisely, and they will grow
In power and prosperity with the
growth of intelligent advertising
Il would say to the writer of adver
tisements, as 1 would say to a reporter,
or young editorial writer, that the
most important thing of all is sim
plicity in language, distinct utterance
of each thought. Perfectly distinct
separation of each thought from each
other thought, to avoid confusion, and
above all things cultivate a style easily
read. Every man can write simply,
readably if he will.
Certain formulas, / think, hold good
in the advertising field as in other
fields of human effort. The value of az
advertisement depends first upon the
number of people it reaches. second
upon their willingness and comfort in
reading it, and third upon the ability
of the readers to buy the goods adver
tised.
1T is important for the advertiser to
avoid duplicating his advertisement.
Much money is wasted in that way. A
man pOeS into a big civ and adVertiSeS
in half a dozen or more of the news
papers in that city. One man buys
three or four newspapers and takes
them all home; only one out of the
three or four is read by the woman in
the house
The advertising done in the others is
duplicated or wasted-money thrown