Bismarck daily tribune., 1912-06-08

SpSSA~A " AAo AAA~eAs~
ST. PAUL, MINI. June SIN a ire
port" which minimized past activities
of the Northwest Development League
and sought to point out how a sys-
tematic campaign may be carried out
by an organization Of the seven North
west States, to bring them big returns
by the more rapid development Of
their natural resources and settle
ment of their lands, Will A. Campbell
secrtary Of the organization, today
outlined the plans for future work
OF the most definite and result getting
nature.
Mr.. Campbell became secretary a
year ago, and with capital OF 81 900
paid in by the Great Northern and
Northern Pacific railroads, has paid
out or had expended directly through
this office, the sum Of 100000 in
advertising the American Northwest.
OF this amount the states have paid
but $500 for membership in the
league, and all other money paid by
communities into enterprises of the
league, has been heen paid for things
Of definite value to the community
and for their individual benefit.
"The most important thing before
the Northwest Development Congress
is to determine what the league shoul
do," said Mr.. Campbell. 1T is easy
enough to do things out here in this
great country, if We can first deter
mine the necessity of doing them, and
defnitelp settle the way in which
they should be accomplished. Financ
ing such campaign is easy as com.
pared to outlining a reasonable plan,
which will be considered a good cold
blooded business proposition by the
best and rightest usiness men of the
Northwest.
We have had a great many things
to do. They have been done as every.
one who Is In touch with the work
knows, but the most important thing
We have accomplished, is to get many
minds to thinking over what should
be done, and determining to do some.
thing.
Here as a few things which your
secretary's office has determined as
necessary:
Eliminate the waste in community
advertising: quit depending on free
publicity; get the message in papers
and magazines outside the states in
a legitimate way. The publicity which
is ordinarily considered free news
matter will follow.
We must inaugurate campaign Of
mouth to mouth advertising, and take
samples Of our products down into
the east and middle west, and show
the people there what can be pro.
duced. Showing the products of the
land humanizes advertising so tat
it breathes, speaks. whispers, thun-
ders, button-holes, hooks, arms, tugs
at heart strings. hammers on the
brain, gets in and under. There is
nothing as good as showing the goods
they tell their own story, create
confidence. No language, no pictures
will equal display of the products
themselves. II you have not the goods
to show, you have no right to adver.
tise.
It is absolute waste to invest in
costly booklets, showing beautiful pic
tures and expect these to interest
people in a community or section.
We must interest the people first,
and then they will be ready for the
booklets. The average booklet is
nonsense. II you don't believe it take
one Of the booklets which tells about
your community, and commit a coup
lie Of pages Of It to memory, then when
you are talking about your town to
some friend, repeat the stuff to him,
try 1t as a part Of your conversation,
and you will be disguised at its weak
ness and shocked at its inaccuracy.
The Northwest Development League
stands for absolute honesty In all
advertising, and would like to see a
law o nthe statute books Of every
state, making it felony to make un-
true statements about lands, cities
and communities in published adver-
tising matter
There has been so much damnabie
advertising done in one way or anoth-
er, by all sections Of this country,
and others, that people are losing
confidence in published statements.
and especially in community booklets
and real estate advertising matter.
To overcome this, suppose we put