The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1911-04-20

FOR ADCRAF TIERS
Periodicals Supply Timely sugges-
tons for the Last Target Talk
Roosevelt a Contributor.

Ihe Adcraft club viii listen TO the
last OF its great series OF Target
Talks" at the Pontchartrain, at 6: 80,
Thursday night. The sharpshooters
will be William II. Ingersoll. New
York. of the Ingersoll Watch Co.;
John Lee Mahin, Chicago, president
of the Mahin Advertising Co., and c.
w. Post, OF Battle Greek, who spends
mint of money annually on Grape
Nuts" and Postum Cereal All will
doubtless strike the bullseye OF logic
and enlightenment.
Standard advertising, OF Chicago,
I pays this tribute TO the serious work
undertaken by the Adcraft club for
advertising ethics:
Every advertising organization
should undertake some specific work
In the interests OF good advertising
practice.
Don't lean back and say that adver-
Using Is pretty good today. better than
ever before.
IL is more subtle and the postofnce
tho subtle. innocent kind which Is the
most dangerous. because II Is not on
the square
And this leads US to mention the
1
the Detroit Ad-craft club.
Mr.. X. G.. Banker was appointed to
see whether the advertising carried In
the Detroit papers was OF class to
| be discouraged, and in his report ex-
I hibited 80 samples in the meeting, Feb
%. or these, 10 We're medical adver-
tisements, nine OF which were voted
fraudulent by the club members pres
ent. Ten carried illustrations of such
I nature that by vote OF the members,
II was decided that they We're not At
] tn Int hn hA 90 Ar
! were specimens OF fake newspaper
! clippings and advertisements arrang-
/ ell TO resemble news.
In the medical class, Mr.. Banker
| pointed out mothers remedy" which
| he said had. TO his own knowledge,
| caused the death OF a young woman
who relied upon IL because OF news
paper advertisements.
Mr.. Banker told the members that
! The Times was the only daily In the
| city free from such advertisements.
In connection with the educational
and the social. there Is an abundance
OF work which every advertising club
| should do and unless they can produce
some tangible results as an organiza-
ton, they will fall far short OF their
| maximum OF usefulness,
In its somewhat sporadic and thus
far ineffective efforts TO clean up the
older newspapers OF the city the .Ad-
craft club has a distinguished ally
In Theodore Roosevelt, who says In
the last number of the Outlook:
In advertisements there are, OF
course. all kinds OF evil. Perhaps the
evil Is most marked In connection with
fake financial advertisements and ad-
vertisements OF patent medicines. The
fake financial advertisements repre-
great majority OF daily papers stiil
print these advertisements just as they
print the equally detestable medical
advertisements There are papers
with some OF which totally and radi-
cally disagree, even from the stand
point Of morality, in so far as their
eitorial policy Is concerned.whicn re-
ment, and which, therefore, deserve In
this respect high credit; but most
newspapers, including. l regret 10 say.
ton, are still conspicuous offenders In
this regard, and accept indinerently
the advertisements OF practically any
kind OF financial swindle as well as OF
perfectly safe concerns. The latter.
however, advertise very much less
freely than the former.
eculiarly objectionaole feature ,f OK
as with the financial Advertisements.
is that 1t is the poorest class, the most
helpless class. OF people that are most
hurt by them l believe that legisla-
ton could be framed to forbid such
advertisements. In default or sucn
legislation there is at least need that
we should discriminate In the sharpest
way between newspapers which war
against this evil and newspapers which
encourage 1t.
The ex-president's advocacy OF pro
hibitive legislation is in line with Gov.
Osborn's recommendations. which fell
upon deaf ears in the legislature. Ex-
cellent bills were introduced but were
promptly smothered at the instance
of lobbying publishers acting upon
telegraphic orders from advertisers.