The French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1896-1912, 1911-08-17


What your publicity campaign mas doHe
for them. in that they have the big
gest crowd the town has known for
some wears"
The above is an extract from per-
sonal letter received by Mr.. T. R.
manager of the Henderson
vile Press Bureau from Mr.. James
H Caine, the editor of the AsheviIle
Citizen.
The Hendersonyille Press Bureau
has sent out an aggregate cf not less
than 1,500 columns of news from
this city.
Some of this stuff, more particular
ly the volcano" and the 'subterran-
can river" stories, have been widely
copied, and, have appeared in every
prominent Southern daily paper. The
volcano" story reached many of the
northern dailies and is probably still
travelling.
Both of these nature faker" items
attracted immediate attention, for
they were original, they were we'll
written and interesting. )
It is absolutely impossible to tell
just how many columns of newspaper
space they have filled, but without
doubt, many hundreds,
A recent copy of the Jacksonville
Metropolis received here carried the
volcano story. under big headlines,
on the front page, long after it had
been sent out Without exception,
every paper handling it made a front
page story of it with headlines cal
culated to attract the readers imme-
diate attention.
Editorial comment followed the
nnws story. Mr.. Norman H. Johnson,
editor of the Merchants Journal, when
in Hendersonville recently stated that
his press clipping bureau in Raleigh
Rad already clipped editorial COM
ment and news stories about the vol
cano which in his Judgment were
worth not less than eight Thousand
dollars to the town as advertising
matter
The volcano story created more ex-
citement in Hendersonville than any
where else.
At one time thele was talk of
lynching Mr.. Barrows Ga joke) for
completely and absolutely running all
the fair prospects of a good season.
.on the proposition, However and the
live to do further damage"
An interesting Correction" c. the
volcano yarn was then sent broadcast
and was generally published II
rave q reasonable exclamation of the
Volcano and attracted general atten-.
ton of itself.
She tly after this a subterranean
river was discovered flowing under
meath Hendersonville. No time was
lost in informing a waiting world of
the fact and it made almost as great
a bit as the volcano success.
Those two stC.-ies were sent out at
precisely the right time to advertise
Hendersonville. The value of this pub
Iicity to the town, to every merchant,
every boarding house keeper, every
citizen interested in his home town,
.nay net be calculated in dollars and
cents Should an effort be made to
do so. the figures would be startling
It would be impossible to raise an
amount c. money here to buy SINH
lar amount of newspaper publicity.
To repeat, both these stories ap-
peared on the front page, under big
headlines, of every prominent news
paper in the South, almost.
The columns of editorial comment
which followed was worth as much.
The discussion of the "ethics" of
such advertising methods, discus
sion participated in by most of the.
weekly papers of the state, was also
extremely valuable.
When Mr.. Barrows attended the re-
cent annual meeting of the North Gar
oIina Press Association he found that
he was best known, and his home
town best known, as the author and
the scene of the two biggest newspa-
paper hits ever made in the South, in
the opinion of the trained newspaper
men there gathered.
Aside from these stories, the legit-
innate news originating here has been
sent broadcast The Bankers and
Merchants conventions we're handled
in detail and filled untold columns in
the State papers. improvements
made and contemplated. accidents.
visitors here and their names and
everything of news value has been
mailed or wired to the leading papers
of the entire South.
In addition tc this a Henderson
county news story, sent out by the
Hendersonville Press Bureau, has
been accepted by one of the greatest
New YORK raae-s.
Hendersonvile and Henderson
county ha.- ;seen. more thoroughly adj
Vertised since May 18th than ever be-
fore and probably than it will ever
be again for a long time to come. To
give the actual number of newspaper
columns which have been filled by
news from this town would be an ut
ter impossibility- the aggregate
must be startling probably merely
to give an estimate would be unbe-
lieveable.