Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1909-12-20
WAR ON B|LLB0ARDS
Many Sections Waging Crusade
Against Obnoxious Posters.
TOWN ADOPTS THE TAX PLAN
Lynchburs, Va, Finds That Good
Means Of Meeting Question of Dis
f1urement by Advertisements-Fu-
ture of the Billboard.


ture of the Billboard.
The billboard as Il means of adver-
Using will soon be but memory-a
pjghtmare-if public sentiment against
ii continues to increase In volume and
effectiveness as 1t has during the past
few months. Never since the Ameri-
can Civic association opened its cam
paign for the abatement Of the bill
board nuisance has there been such an
awakening to the fact that 1.-The bill
board is an eyesore, a nuisance and
disgrace and should be abolished alto
gether," as the Washington Herald
APPLY puts 1t.
From the east to the west organized
effort to eliminate or regulate the bill
board has been taking definite and ef-
fective form. Carefully prepared ordi-
nances have been passed. and others
are being drawn for passage. Cincin-
natl recently scored against the bill
board by the adoption of a building
code containing elaborate provisions
regulating outdoor advertising. Under
that code large number of sign
spreads have been ordered down.
Moreover. many advertising mer-
chants are voluntarily abandoning the
bilIboards. In the far west Portland.
Ore, and Seattle, WASH. are graphing
with the problem in an intelligent
manner. In Cambridge. Mass. a wo-
mans club secured the removal of
many stands by appealing to the ad-
vertisers direct. Lynchburg. Va. has
placed most effective ban on the bill
board by means Of taxation.
This is an ingenious way of meeting
the difficult question of the distigure-
ment of towns and cities by ADVERTISE
ments. so long as public opinion Is
d rmant SO long will tlaring advertise
mcntS continue to make the street and
the landscape uglT.
1t IS of course idle to blame the ad-
vertisers They are simply looking
after their interests. They have gone
8 far - to plucard the islands above
NIAGARA and the august face of the
81 my. Fences. barns. sides of houses.
Cl"t.Sh the virtues Of this nostrum or
e. flaming posters.
Ii 70 aeStAete says they are often
sifc e. farmer replies that they pay.
ard 50 long as he prefers money to
beaG,E 4. is hard to see where the
rc,led = t. he found.
But Iii l.ynchburg the city fathers
have dec,rtd that for every billboard
the advertising firms shall pay Il min
mum tax Of 500 For larger boards
the Ia is mere. II people will make
tie locality hdcous they must pay for
the privilege That is fair enough.
and it would be Il good thing if the
idea could be introduced generally.
The American people believe in adj
vertising. they read advertising. they
ratr0niZe advertisers but they are
discriminating. They don't want the
kind of advertising that mars scenery.
that shuts out light that depreciates
adjoining property. that offers Il rem
devious for uei%hhorhood juvenile
gatherings Of dangerous tendencies.
If the billboard must exist the day
is not far distant when it will be a
subject - municipal. state and fed
eral regulation. It will be regarded
as revenue producing structure. as
sessed and taxed accordingly. 1t will
not be permitted to exist as a menace
to health, The property rights Of the
man who does not believe in bill
boards and refuses to grant space on
his own lands for their erection will
be regarded.
No amount of seductive offers Of the
billboard owners. such as free space
for laudable work like the eXplota-
ton Of preventive measures against
tuberculosis, rs recently made to the
National Association For the Study
and Prevention of tuberculosis. will
stem the tide Of popular disapproval
Of the billboard. The opposition is
strong and it is growing. 1t is most
hudable undertaking for the making
Of better and more beautiful Amer
lea"