West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1909-12-23

Benefits to es Derived from use OF
Opera House Curtains. Etc.


Merchants before the advent Of news
papers were great advertisers, M is at
tested by the appearance Of fences, sides
OF barns, boards nailed 10 trees, etc.
which arc still to be seen, and some bear
the marks Of having been recently put up.
Whether this form Of advertising is profit
able we leave our merchants 10 ponder.
but AJAX that they read the following from
the Arbor State, published at wymore,
Nebr.:
Having learned that a number of the
business firms OF this city have taken
advertising space on the new opera house
stage curtain at prices ranging from SIS
10 300 per space the Arbor State is con-
strained to pen a few lines upon the subject.
we hasten TO congratulate these mer-
chants upon being able TO exploit their
goods and business in 30 fashionable a
manner at SO nominal a cost. There GER
talnly can be no more valuable an adyer-
Using medium extant than the theater
curtain unless il is a race course score card
or a railway time table.
We had thought we were making the
Arbor State a pretty valuable advertising
medium, but we guess we have not
True, we have been laboring long and
hard. Our whole family, including the
pup, has been alert to catch all the local
news items, arrange them in a methodi-
cal order, and print them in an accumu-
lated form for our readers and to make
the paper valuable for advertising pur-
poses. So dominant has been the desire
among the force TO make the paper a
creditable production each week and 10
appropriate each shining hour with that
end in view that the Office towel freely
condescends TO timber up so we can wipe
the CRIME OIL our hands and features with
the least loss of time possible. But IL
would appear from the liberal display of
300 ads that will ornament the new opera
house curtain that our efforts are TO a
considerable extent amiss.
Then, again, we have our reasoning
faculties on one-sided.
Perhaps the merchants have il all down
pat that when Mr.. So-and-so goes to the
eastern market for a week to buy a new
TALL stock OF goods that the public will
b~reathlessly u up the opera house stairs
n read about it on the new curtain.
That when he paints the front Of his
store building or puts in some new shelly
ing people will tramp each others corns
getting up the stairs 10 read OF the extern
sive improvements on the new opera
house curtain.
whenever any matters Of a public ma
ture or benefit to the town or commune
nifty come up which need the impetus of
publicity or editorial Endorsement, quite
naturally and to be sure, the masses will
rush up to the opera house and read
about it on the new curtain.
When the mayor Of the city is to be
"blowed up" for his misdeeds, or pre-
sented a bouquet for difficult tasks faith
iuliy n honestly performed, let us all
adjourn and go TO the opera house and
read about it on the new curtain.
When the household Of some estimable
family OF the community has recently
been visited by the proverbial stork don't
make a mistake; go up TO the opera house
ana read oil the important event on the
new curtain.
When the early Breakfast club pives
a cooking demonstration out at the pala-
tial home of Mrs. Gotplenty, every moth
ers son will grab his opera glasses and
race to the opera house aud learn the de-
tails OF the occasion sandwiched between
those $50 ads.
When Mary Jane, the good old soul
whom everybody knows and loves for her
plety and deeds of kindness, laws aside
the cares OF this life at the call OF death,
we will all procure a clean handkerchief
n meande to the opera house and see
portrayed on the beautiful curtain how
peaceful and angelic was her departure to
that brighter world.
o.. what a glorious privilege it is to
PRINT a real live newspaper in a real live
town 81 weeks each year, where there are
a dozen merchants whose stocks of goods
run up into thousands of dollars, cough
up 800 TO have their names painted on a
dingy old opera house curtain and don't
spend that much with the local news
paper in the course of five years.