West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1909-12-16
WAR ON BILLBOARDS
Many Sections Wasing Crusade
Against Obnoxious Posters.
TOWN ADOPTS THE TAX PLAN

Lynehburs, Va. Finds That a Good
Means Of Meeting Question Of Die.
fisurement by AdVortisements--Fu
taro Of tho Billboard.
The billboard as n means OF adver.
tising will soon be but memory--a
nlghtmare--if public sentiment against
it continues to increase I'm volume and
effectiveness rs II has during the past
few months. Never since the Amcrl.
can Civic association opened It's cam.
palgn for the abatement OF the bill
board nuisance has there been such nn
awakening To the fact that "tho bill.
board IL an cycsorc. n nuisance and n
disgrace and should be abolished alto
gethcr," as the Washington Herald
optly puts Il.
From the east To the west organized
effort 20 eliminate or regulate the bill
board has been taking definite and ef-
fcctlve form Carefully prepared ordI.
nancos have been passed. aud others
arc being drawn for passage. ClncIn-
natl recently scored against the bill.
board 10y tho adoption OF building
code containing elaborate provisions
regulating outdoor advertising. Under
that code large number OF sign
spreads have been ordered down.
Moreover. many advertising mcr.
chants nro voluntarily abandoning the
billbonrds. In the far west Portland.
Ore. and Seattle. Wash. are grnppling
with the problem I'm nm intelligent
manner, In Cambridge. Mass. n wo.
mnnfa Rlnh q
many stands by appealing to tho nd.
vertisers direct Lynchburg. Va. has
placed n most effective ban on the bill.
board by means OF taxation.
This * an ingenious wny OF meeting
the dlflicuk question OF the disngure.
mcnt of towns and cities by advertise.
ments. SO long ms public opinion IL
dormant 30 long will fiaring advertise.
ments continue to make the street and
tho landscape ugly.
II IL OF course idle TO blame the nd.
vertisers. They are simply looking
after their interests. They have gone
so far as 10 placard the Islands above
Niagara aud the august face OF the
sphinx. Fences. barns. sides of houses.
publish the virtues OF this nostrum or
tnut In naming posters,
III tho aesthcte says they nro often.
sive tho farmer replies that they pay.
and so long as he prefers money to
beauty II Is hard TO see where the
remedy is 10 be found.
But In Lynchburg the city fathers
have decreed that for every billboard
the advertising firms S!snll pay min
imum tnx OF $3.50. For larger boards
the tax is more. III people will make
the locality hideous they must pay for
the privilege. That Is fair enough,
and II would be good thing IL the
idea could be introduced generally.
The American people believe I'm nd.
vertislng, they read advertising, they
patronize 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 a rem
devious for ncighborhood juvenile
gatherings OF dangerous tendencies.
II the billboard must exist the day
Is not far distant when II Will be a
subject OF municipal. state and fed.
eral regulation. II will be regarded
as n revenue producing structure, as
scssed and taxed accordingly. IL Will
not be permitted TO exist as menace
to health. The property rights Of the
man who does not believe I'm 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 cxploita-
ton OF preventive measures against
tuberculosis. as recently made TO the
National Association For the study
and Prevention OF Tuberculosis. will
stem the tide OF popular dlsapproval
Of the billboard. The opposition IS
strong, and II is growing. IL is n most
laudable undertaking for the making
of better and more beautiful Amer.
ica."