Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1914-03-19
Thursday, March 10, 1914.
Five Cent Apples.

Northwest, from the publicity bu-
reaus that are booming that part of
the country. Out there they know
the value Of advertising. Out there
they are always booming.
While we are just slowly and
drowsily awakening to the need of
Boom Maine" movement, they are
selling their apples, right here in the
middle of our apple growing country,
for five cents apiece.
Think of that, o you Maine farmers
apples actually selling. in Augusta
and Waterville and Gardiner and Hal
lowell and Lewiston, in the Central
Maine apple region, for fifty cents
dozen!
And we are TALKING about
Booming Maine" and are wondering
how to go about it.
The Boom Maine" movement needs
$4,000 members at one dollar head,
slap bangl The organization cannot
do business without funds with which
to work. Why don't you send in
your dollar and tell of some of the at
fractions in your part of Maine that
the rest of the world ought to be told
about?
That is the way they do it. out in
the Northwest. Every day the Ken
nebec Journal waste baskets are filled
with the free" stories from these
boomers. They furnish anything and
everything in the shape of literature
news and fiction; fakes and foolish
ness-to keep that section in the
minds of the rest of the country.
And they are selling us something
more costly than their five-cent APP
ples-they are selling us gold bricks!
They know how to do it and We let
them. They teach us to think that
they have the most wonderful place in
the world, and they put wonderful
prices on their apple orchards, and
We take our money out there and buy
them.
And here is the real truth Of the
matter-we are blamed fools to do it.
We have better fruit lands in Maine;
we can raise apples that would beat
theirs from skin to core (if we'd take
as good care of trees and fruit) and
we have better climate and better
market.
perience and gold bricks to the North
west, but they got the jump on us.
They are advertising. every day
everywhere-and it pays!
Oregon apples at five per, in Au-
gusta! Think of that, you farmers
of Winthrop and Monmouth! And
you sending yours to Europe for So to
81 a barrel!
Washington apples at so cents a
dozen in Augusta, and Maine farmers
trying to make their five-cents apples
carry their apples that aren't worth
over five cents a hundred!
Out in the Northwest, they have no
use for things that are not good adj
vertising.
Five.cent apples ARE good adver-
Using!
A district that can invade an APP
ple-raising center 5000 miles away
fAc SC a -
worth living in. 1t is worth buying
gold bricks in, because If you become
a part of it you are bound to prosper.
There lies the secret of it-en-
thusiasm and advertising. Both are
vehicles of get there" Both are
needed in Maine.
If our Maine boys would go to rails
ing five-cent apples, they'd learn how
to select the trees, protect the trees,
feed the trees, destroy the enemies OF
the trees. trim and groom the trees,
guard the bloom, thin and Gull the
fruit, let in the sun, color the fruit,
pick the fruit, PACK the fruit, and,
most important of all, let the world
know that you've got the BEST fruit
in the world.
1t would scare Maine farmer to
death, If he should awaken genius
enough, and muster up courage
enough, to select only apples worth it,
pack them as tastefuily each in tissue
stamped with his guarantee of select
stock and quality and ask that they
be placed on sale side by side with
Oregon apples at five cents apiece.
q Well, why not? If you boom
Maine and boom your own goods, and
keep booming, by and by Maine will
BOOM" and be able to sell fve-cent
apples-and gold bricks in fancy or
chards, ranch sites. etc, as they do
to us, out In the Northwest.
But that isn't all of it. We have
been saving this sumner for you who
raise apples-they are actually selling
Oregon apples livery fancy in Au-