Weekly journal-miner., 1909-02-03
GOVERNMENT ADVERTISING

4 thing peculiar to the present age is the widespread system of advertis- iRg. It is designed to attract human beings to some purpose which the ad- Tertiser desires to accomplish, whether it be commercial or otherwise. Usual lv at is commercial motive, but it is not always so. There IS always chance of charging the advertiser with going beyond the proprieties of the advertising process, but it seems to us that there is an equal change of re- probatine the reader of advertising fer not adequately fortifying himself against any abuse of it which the pub lieity man may indulge in. Certainly the public should know what advertls- ing is, that it is method of appeal which has grown up to take the place of personal persuasion. The doctrine of "caveat emptor "-let the buyer beuare-should to some extent apply to the person who deals upon the strength of advertising publicity, though it is not to be assumed that the deliberate liar should ever be ex- eused for his mendaeity. Lying, to our mind, is the greatest crime there is.
 In discussing this subject of public ity, a no more appropriate agency can be chosen than that of the United States government, which in recent years has been observed to engage in the very latest methods of sensational advertising. First, it is interesting to note that the government appre- ciates the necessity of advertising, when it desires to accomplish a given object. Recently, congress took the forestry bureau to task by inquiring as to the authority for the distrTbu- tion of bulletins. It had been a part of Clifford Pinchot s plan to arouse the public in favor of conserving the forests, though it would appear that no money had been appropriated for this purpose. When objection was raised, the attorney general took up the subject and rendered an opinion under which he stretched a precedent to permit MT. PinchOt's s publicity work to continue. President Roosevelt is commonly said to be the greatest adver- tiser in the United States, and certain ly his associates would be expected to keep up that principle. The govern Rent conservationists have been mak- ing good use of this encouragement.
 It is in the army and navy, how ever, that we find the advertising idea pushed to the limit. The government has recently issued a new set of street posters designed to attract young re- cruits.
 We suppose no one will deny ia the government as full a right to adver- tise as anyone, but we cannot avoid the reflection that this same govern ment sometimes interferes with the advertising of others. Perhaps it's in reference is justified by the evidence that lying "literature has been sent through the mails, but if the same amount of criticism were directed against the recruiting posters as one sometimes hears with respect to stock advertising, not a particle more glow ing, we imagine the recruiting service would rise on its ear in a minute h. deed, we know of one instance in which the service did object to crit icism of it's posters and circulars. We may further say that there is a law on the statute books of the nation which takes direct cognizance of ad- vertising as practieed by others. It refers to the second class mailing priv ilege of newspaper and, in a general way, intimates that newspapers "de- signed primarily for advertising pur- poses" are not acceptable at the sec Ond class rate. As a matter of fact the chief revenue of all newspapers is derived from advertising, and eonsid-