The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1913-01-20
WHY MELLEN
ADvERTISES
President of New Haven System
Writes Letter to Small
Stakeholder
Attributes Opposition to Poll
ticians and Professional
AgitatOrS

A small stockhoIder wrote President
Mellen of the New Haven road sug-
costing certain Grand Trunk arrange
ments, complaining of delay in re-
ceiving a shipment of cranberries, and
making elIusion to advertising expen-
ditures- in connection with steamship
lines which might be deferred until
the arrival of the steamers
| President Mellen replied at length as
| follows:
Jan Ia, 1913
Dear Sir: [ herewith return your sug
gestions as requested relating to your
proposals in respect to the Grand
Trunk. I do not care to discuss them
in any way.
There is one matter, however, that I
am at liberty to discuss with you and
that is, the advertising policy of the
| New Haven Road. You say: 1t is
very we'll to advertise Boston as
sailing port If the steamship lines
come here they will undoubtedly do
| what they can to promote their bus
mess here and any corporation would
probably be justified in so advertising
| at that time in rea sonable way"
You evidently wish to criticise the
expenditure Of the New Haven money
! of the port of Boston and speak of
| time table advertising as proper ad-
| vertising- Permit me to remark that
| the time for time table advertising has
gone by. When years ago trains were
| infrequent at points in New England
| and advertising was inexpensive and
as matter of public interest it was
tables standing in the newspapers.
| Today, however, a railroad system
prints it's time tables for it's patrons
| and supplies them literally at all sta
! tions and could not possibly afford
| to keep the same matter standing in
| the advertising columns of the news
papers
Today railroads must go out for bus
| mess. They must fight for it, for the
| manufa curing intel ests along their
| lines, for the cities and villages wirTl
which they connect and above ali they
| must fight for the great outlets where
! in they do business.
| Perhaps you do not know that in
| tonnage Boston ranks No. in the
/ seaports of the world but it hasn't the
/ passenger business to which it is
| rightfu1ly entitled. The more people
] vino can be induced to sail from the
| port of Boston the larger will be the
i nuna Der Ief- people who Will stop over
| and visit the historic spots and sea-
| shores and summer resort places of
New England Every steamship pas
something for New England and New
| Eng1ands transportation system If
/ the people of the West can be induced
| to take ship at Boston instead OF
! POINTS outside of New England the
/ New England lines will get more than
a 2O0-mile haul in this passenger bus
| mess
| The people Of the United States have
spent hundreds of millions in attempts
| to improve the Mississippi river and
have never received adequate return
| therefor. because the railroads which
gathered up the freight on both sides
of the river did not connect that
Il freight with the steamship lines.
i You speak of hundreds of thousands
of dollars that are being spent for this
Advertising You are quite in error.
i The New England Lines have spent to
this date about $4,000 in advertising
from Maine to Omaha, and Minnea-
polls and New Orleans, Sail from Bos-
ton, But First See New England and
I think it is good advertising for the
benefit of New England and its rail-
4 road lines and for the benefit of all
the people of New England.
I cannot enter into details concerning
Individual hardships or accidents to
shipments. can only steadily labor
in the effort to reduce the number that
| we must have in every season OF
crowded shipments and expanding bus
mess, but I must at the same time look
forward to a brighter and broader fu-
ture and build therefor. laying the
foundations broad and deep. 1t takes
| time, indeed years to bring railroad
plans to fruition and there is plenty OF
room for complaint and agitation dur
ing construction and reconstruction
periods. But we must build and keep
building and proper advertising to de-
veIop future business is just as much
and I am not sure bat it is more in
the eye of proper railroad direction
Il
or exoelIencies of past service.
!, 1t is to the future that we must
4 look and broad gagged financial rail-
road management for New England
must provide facilities in advance and
} not be cramped by too narrow views, or
the desire to please the present genera
ton at the expense Of their children.
Much of the criticism that has been
| IeveIled at the New England railroa
lines, so far it has not been pro-
NOTED by politicians and professional
agitators, has been of the narrow view
that says: Il want my cranberries to-
morrow afternoon or [ want the rail-
road system smashed
The broad view is to find out why
the cranberries were delayed, where
was the freight congestion, and what
lie policies can be combined to ex-
; pand and build up, cement and unity
and make more efficient; and you car
only do this by building more and
more for the future.
Very truly yours,
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