The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1912-03-18

lative enthusiasm such as was un-
1eashed by the scores OF contestants
and their thousands OF friends. II
reached into practically every home
in the city; ii was felt In all the
suburbs, and 1t is safe to say THAI
pantry shelves were searched for
vote-counting labels in hundreds CT
farm homes throughout miles Of the
country district surrounding the city
itself. The enthusiasm of the cam
paigners became such a wave of de-
mand in the aggregate that hum
dreds OF grocers provided themselves
with ten times over their customary
slpplies of certain OF the products,
only TO have them swept away and
into the homes of consumers before
they were even placed in display on
the store shelves. Jobbing houses,
their ordinary stocks eaten up In the
earliest stages of the Increased de-
mand, ordered and reordered often
by telegraph, but were unable in
many instances to anticipate the de-
mand or meet IL after IL had been
gagged.
The last two weeks were cyclonic
beyond all anticipations. One de-
partment store head, becoming inter-
ested in the efforts of Sergeant A.
b. Hicks. the popular policeman on
duty at Mayor Thompson's Office in
the city hall to capture the automo-
bile prize. purchased one solid car
load of Olivilo toilet soap and gave
the wrappers to the sergeant-twen-
ty-eight thousand Of them in all. This
outburst of enthusiasm alone gave
the sergeant forty-eight million
votes In bonuses aside from the reg
ular vote on the wrappers. The
bonus vote, which obtained on DIV
Ito wrappers, as the contestants and
their friends know, was 10000 for
every twelve wrappers
In addition, Sergeant Hicks mad
the unstinted support of Andrew
Green, OF the Solvay Process Co., who
became immersed in the enthusiasm
of the campaign, and the hundreds
of employees of this giant concern, in
terested and enthused in turn, re-
vealed themselves as more than ord!-
narily willing and anxious TO lend
their help. This took the form of one
carload of -four, which was purchased
by Mr.. Green.
1t no doubt will be much relief for
many Of the contestants to finally
know just where the much.discussed
and more or less mysterious carload
OF -four went Reports had this ship
ment and the votes ii entailed for the
benefit of practically every organiza-
ton and individual actively at work
In the competition for the prizes. IL
later became known more or less
generally that Hicks had been the
beneficiary OF the flour purchase,
though Twas et-se generally
known that he had felt the help of
che of his friends 10 the extent of
carload shipment of Olivilo soap.
The paper feels that il is not long
er bound to maintain a discreet ST
lenCe regarding the efforts and deals
of the various contestants. and. for
rho reason that rumors, mostly in
correct, began TO appear during the
last week of the contest connecting
Sergeant Hicks with an enormous
Olivilo deal, II may be said here
that the soap was purchased by a
downtown store. The store propri-
ttor and Mr.. Green as we'll were
anxious to help the sergeant win and
II their help hadn't taken the form
Il did IL would have been equally eff
fective In some other vote-getting
method.
Huge as these two means OF as
slstance were, the whole story of the
s,rgeant's campaign isn't half told
in the -four and soap deals alone. He
had in addition TO this help, the el-
thusiastic support OF Ashlar lodge
No. 81 Of the Masonic fraternity.
what this meant is more easily In.
agined than told.
The campaign OF the automobile
winner is told OF first for the rea-
con that the support he won, the en-.
thusiasm which his hundreds OF
friends created and the deals they
executed TO obtain votes were truly
remarkable-more so than were he
results. surprising as they were, OBJ
tanned by others OF the contestants,
both organizations and Individuals
Sergeant Hicks found instant support,
and lasting. from scores OF persons
whom he had at some time helped in
one OF the thousands OF ways ne has
OF helping people, and these friends