The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-01-27

can set, without leaving his chair, any
line of news matter or heads that ap-
pear on the first page of this paper or
any ordinary advertisement.
The machine is a triumph of me-
chanicaI art and skill. Some years ago
this one machine alone could have set
all the news matter. heads, and adver-
tisements which this paper carried in
its daily issue.
The machine cost s4.21s net cash,
including a special individual motor
to drive it.
Publicity is a wonderful remedy. It
has been advocated by wise statesmen
as cure for many of the evils of
corporations. The corporations should
be just as much interested in a rem
edy for the ills they have produced as
the people are. for in the long run
right will prevail, and will be best for
all good people concerned.
Formerly newspapers were political
organs, now the best ones are organs
of publicity, that is real newspa pers.
The prosperity of the country and
the welfare of the public depend very
largely upon business and upon big
business. The small business today
becomes the big business tomorrow.
What is known as Big Business,
that is the business of the large cor
porations. or of the Interests, if you
choose, has been upon the defensive
for several years. Many of the old
methods of doing business needed de-
Tense, that is to say, they were not
defensible but they put the companies
conducting it upon the defensive.
There were discrimination, rebates,
bribery, corrupt practices and all sorts
of things which needed the knife. The
knife has been applied and many of
the diseased parts of the corrupt con-
duct of corporations cut out.
With the business of the country in a
healthier condition and conducted on
better fairer lines, and everyone must
concede that it is in such an improved
condition, there is a necessity that in
justice be not done; that business be
not destroyed, but regulated but fairly
treated.
In this connection E. w. Howe in his
Monthly for February has these sen
sible paragraphs, which are probably
as valuable and interesting as any
other "Reminiscences available for
this column today:
What is known as Big Business
makes practically no defense against
| the unfair and untruthful attacks of
magazines, newspapers and politicians,
| regarding public sentiment as hope
lessly unfair. The result is millions
| of honest people believe many discred-
/ table things about Big Business that
are not true.
Big Business could afford to en-
gage in campaign of education. 1t
! is possible for Big Business to appeal
| every week to practically all of the
! of a n mt
the newspapers, arranged and paid for
through one of the advertising agen-
cieS. The advertisements should frank
" state that they are advertisement is,
Z and that their purpose is to place the
facts of Big Business before the people.
The advertisements should be written
very simply. and tell nothing but the
plain truth. There should be a man
of judgment in charge of the advertis-
ing, and he should have as assistant
two or three men capable of collect
ing facts. The advertisements should
be in reading matter FORM and appear
simultaneously in every important
newspaper in the country. Before be-
ing finally sent out for publication, the
advertisements should be submitted
for approval to a board composed OF
three noted captains of industry, Sc
lected by the Big Business interests
making the publication appropriation
by means of such advertisements
appearing every week for a year al
, / cussed: always briefly, truthfully. and
: without prejudice. In a few weeks
the advertisements would be more
generally read than any other newspa-
per feature. In case of a big strike
let the facts be printed. There has no
been big strike in years that has no
been exaggerated by the newspape
against employers. The simple fact
! are that practically everything il
print is prejudiced against employers
who are almost as vital to the pros
perity of the country as good crops.
BY the plan I propose, in a year
i Big Business could hammer the mis-
: chievous politicians to stand still
without printing a parag graph that wa
not true. important and readable. Lit
orally millions of people in this coun
try have been deceived by sensational
a newspapers and magazines and publ
? speakers. The facts would be suffi
! cient answer, if presented in the wa
/ I have suggested.
Two columns of reading matter
marked as advertising, could be print
= ed every week for year in five hun
4 bred newspapers at a cost of $500. 00t
Big Business had better spend $500
| 600 in a can paign for education tina
have a much larger sum distributed b
e unfair and mistaken legislation TIL
pa0nla are all right but they nav