Daily Kennebec journal., 1914-01-17

| the year.
The independents Sunshine Offer
Is that 1t will give away it's entire
| eircuiations with hundreds of extra
| copies printed to meet the demands
OF everybody, upon every afternoon
| When the sun has not shone upon st.
PETERSBURG up to the hour of going
to press. And it has been called upon
TO make good 20 times in nearly
| tnree years-certainly fine record for
the Sunshine City.
| copies or the Independent are being
given away free on the streets and at
the offlce to everyone who asks for
one. For the regular subscribers q
record Is kept and each time we have
had SIX sunshineless days each SUBJ
scriber's credit is advanced a week.
| This offer of the Independent has at
tracted attention all over the United
| States and has been a great adver-
tising feature for ST. Petersburg. The
Independent is game" and the offer
still stands to prove to the world that
st. Petersburg has more sunshiny days
than any other place in the United
States-excepting the Western des-
erts.
This announcement tells the story
briefly. When Brown made the an
nouncement of his remarkable offer
on September l, 1910, there were those,
even in the Sunshine City, who
| thought he had gone crazy. Many of
them had lived in St. Petersburg long
er than he had, but they were not as
close observers. His offer was based,
as we have said, on close observation
of st. Petersburg's climatic conditions,
and the offer has stood for three years.
And it still is in effect.
At the same time the sunshine Of
| fer" was made Brown called st. Pet
ersburg The Sunshine City Today
| st. Petersburg is as well, If not bet
| ter, known by the name sunshine
City" as by it's real name.
The sunshine offer" has brought
the city much publicity that could not
be purchased at any price. 1t is
constant source of surprise to the new
comers to one of the best-known win
ter resorts on the west coast of Fhr-
ida, and practically all of the Tree
papers are mailed by the people VINO
receive them to friends in some dis
tant part of the country
Soon after coming to ST. Peters
| burg, nearly five years ago. said MT.
Brown. II noticed, in addition to its
other desirable climatic conditions, the
little city had a low percentage OF
cloudy days. / made record OF the
days on which the sun failed to shlne
and found them to be remarkably Few.
Then T began to wonder how best to
feature this cheerful climatic cond1-
ton to the advantage of st. Feters-
burg. The sunshine offer is the re-
suit.
"One Of the many duties OF news
naner as I see it," said Mr.. Brown'
.fs TO help build up its home town.
ST. Petersburg is winter resort, hrst
of all. and her climate is the foun-
dation on which the thriving city mas
boay hnilt. Therefore, I felt that 1t
was my duty to play up her climate
In every possible, legitimate way.
Yes, it cost US neat niue SUI
of money each year to keep TINS oiie'
standing, but We put this cost on oa.
advertising expense account.
Looking at the proposition from
the business viewpoint, it has peen
Good one for The Independent Wneh
the offer was made The Evening IN
aenendent was doing all the business
nossihIe for a daily paper to DO III 81
po+orsb,,rr Our only hope for m
araased business was to increase the
| size of the town. We undertooh "
do that We are vain enough "
Iieve that our gambling on siie ap
nearance of the sun each day mas uo,,e
more than any other one tnlns 10 le..
tho Sunshine City make her ahiio''
| unpa-elleled growth.
"Thore is seldom day IN the Sea'
that we fail to get at least one inquiry
through the mali from someone VINO
he's heard that you give the paper
away every day the sun ialis u shine'
| and wants to know whether 'he
port is true. We always answer suol
| injuries, telling briefly about the oi'
fer. The Board of Trade also answers
| manv similar letters each year.
No. there's no trick about the Of
fer" continued the editor of Inc III
dependent. "The Sunshine City mas 5.
| few sunless days that we can aHore
| to ,xeep the offer standing year aftel
wear Perhaps the Western deserts
have fewer cloudy days, but l am ap-
| sol,telv sure that there is no place II
America with an excellent year-aroune
climate that can boast of such a large
number of sunny, cheerful days during
the wear as the Sunshine City
So, when the sun fails to shine OF
| st. Petersburg the Sunshine Paper
prints on its front page prominent no
| tices stating that the paper is Free
today; don't pay" The regular boys
whof sell papers on the streets are giv'
en- extra large quantities of papers ant
they go out crying at the top OF theil
voices: Free paper today" These
boys are paid by the management o.
The Independent for giving the papers
| away.
The regular subscribers receive theil
| papers in the regular way from the
route" boys who serve them daily
Each time there has been six free pa
pers the regular subscribers receive
attached to their papers, sunshine
receipt" stating that they are beint
credited with a week on the subscrip
ton accounts. 1t complicates the sub
scription accounts too much to giv'
credit each time there is sunless