The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1912-02-12
IN THE MATTER OF ADVERTISING

A few days ago, the Star took
whack at the scheme or Times
Union solicitor to induce the board of
trade of Ocala to appropriate money
for a page or so In a special edition
which that journal will soon print for
dissemination in the north. Several
people have since accused this paper
OF having a dog in the manager spirit
It may be that the Ocala printers.
who live and spend all their money
here. who never receive a dollar they
do not earn, and earn many they do
not receive, who print almost every
day something that goes out into the
world for the betterment OF their city,
and who are never the recipients or
an appropriation from the commits
sioners. the council. the board of trade
or anything else, can't help feeling
little sore when they see stranger
from another city. sometimes from an
other state, come and carry of wad
OF cash, SO per cent of which might as
we'll be thrown in the fire SO far as any
benefit to our people Is concerned. II
they are, they have not used much
time or space In complaining. They
them as q part Of the game, and gone
on working for the best little city in
Florida In q way that doesn't make
much of show in one edition. but
counts up some in year, and a whole
lot IN five years-and the Star has
been here seventeen, and the Banner
nifty.
It's the way the world over, and
Ocala is no exception, except that it
Is better than most other places. We
all love to give the stranger our mon
ey. We not only cough up our cash
for an ad. In big city daily, which
ad. nobody reads except the printers.
the proofreaders and our own people,
but We are q good thing in other ways.
We raise thousands OF dollars for a
college In another city while our own
children are taught in a barn; almost
any peripetic evangelist can 1ope thru
tho town and corral more coin in a
week than the stay-at-home preacher
can pry loose from his congregation in
a month; its no job at all to raise a
stack Of scads to cure sore eyes in
China, but its like drawing eyeteeth
to obtain the funds to put our own
hospital In a decent building; we hand
out hundreds, IL not thousands, every
year to give to the heather a gospel
that they don't want. and ninety-nine
and nine-tenths per cent OF them
won't have. but our charitable organ
izations have to scratch like an old
hen with thirteen chickens to obtain
means for the few cases Of restitution
In our comparatively prosperous city.
It was ever thus. since Helen eloped
with Paris. and will probably be SO
until Gabriel comes along turning
over tombstones trying to find the man
who ran on the republican ticket for
governor Of Florida in 1908
It's the Stars opinion that the best
way to obtain Immediate returns for
advertising our city and county is to
have booklets filled with reliable in
formation. attractively illustrated
disseminated through individual chan
ne1s. That Is. they should only be
given to men Observation-Disclosures
in fact only responsible citizens who
would guarantee to send them to peo-
pie In other states who would be like
1y to read them. There is hardly an
established citizen of the community
who has not at least one friend in an
other state who would read such a
pamphlet with interest, and the more
so because 1t was sent him by an ac-
quaintance in Florida. And such a
friend. IL requested. IL not interested
himself would be almost sure to hand
the pamphlet to some other friend who
might be.
The Marion county booklet. issued
some time ago. was a fine specimen oil
this sort Of advertising. It was beau
tifully gotten up. did much good, and
would have done more If its distribu-
ton had been pushed more assiduously
on the plan above named. This bookle.
should be revised, added to and an
other edition printed; and every man
In Marion county should make point
to send away as many copies as he be-
lieves he can place to good advantage
Probably the next best way OF ad-
vertising is in magazines of large and
we'll established circulation. An in
stance Of this Is the advertising done
by the New South Farm and Home
Company couple of years ago. Per-
haps some of this advertising was toe
roseate. but 1t had the facts to back q
lot of 1t, and 1t brought many settlers
to Florida Some of them were quit
ters. but many stuck. and the state Is
better or in consequence.
ne eS-OulOn Is q SOOu neWSpd-
per and a first class advertising me.
dunn inside the state. But we wan
to advertise Florida outside of Flor
ida man living in DeLand or Or
fando isn't likely to move to Ocala fol
something he sees In a Florida paper
Visitors to the state nearly all read
the Times Union; that is, they reat
the dispatches, the sporting page, per
haps the editorial, and If Ocala had
page ad. in one edition, few OF then
might read 1t. but the little city o.
ocala has no money to bet on such {
long shot. Our observation in this i.
confirmed by experience. Ocala ant
Marion county have advertised more Of
less IN the Times-Union in the past ter
years, and we have never heard of any
results from It The same objection
would apply in any other state-ad
vertisfng for prospective settlers IL
any city daily is expensive in quantit,
and microscopic in quality.
Mr.. Barringer, who represented tn,
Times-union here last week, explain
ed to the Star that his paper intended
to Issue a special edition containing
descriptive matter of as many locali
ties as would take space in 1T, ant
make special efforts to put 1t IN thu
hands OF northern readers. This, IL
the Stars opinion, is worse and NOR
Of II. Marion county has real merit
but would be on the same level will
Palmetto Flat or Pine Barren Ridge, o.
any other place that employed a talent
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