Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1915-12-17
Confessions ST a
Mail Order Man
By Mr.. M. o. X.
Revelations by One Whose Experience In
the Business Covers a Range From
Office Boy to General Manager
FAIL TO sUBsIDIzE THE COUNTRY
EDITOR.

EDITOR.
In waging campaign for in
creased mail order business | wanted
the country press on my side. I
wanted to get more kind words into
the columns of the small newspapers
and country weeklies because l real
lied then, as l do now. the power of
the country press and the great
value it possesses to present claim
for preference before the people of
the community.
| outlined plan to whip the coun-
try newspapers into line and arrange
for them to carry my advertising mat
ter as well as to persuade them to
give me free reading notices and ed
itorials, telling what great help and
comfort the mail order houses were
to the people Of the country.
1t was nothing more nor less than
bribery. I believed that l could get
the editors of the country newspa-
pers to be false to their home inter-
ests and foster ours, for a price
/ had the money to pay them and I
thought lots of dollars could do the
work easily and readily.
| worked months over that cam
paign. 1 prepared an electrotyped
advertisement in which l advised
the use of the mail order medium and
urged the readers of each newspaper
to send into the big cities for the cat
alogue. l prepared sheets of press
notices" and editorials, with elab-
crate and plain instructions for their
use. 1 was going to convert the peo-
pie of the whole country to mail order
buying.
| expected to spend thousands of
dollars during the course of the next
few years, but it would be worth it,
| If l obtained the results. I was after
the peoples dollars.
A strong form letter was prepared
as the first step, this letter to be sent
| out to the editors of the country news,
| papers. From advertising agencies
and from various other sources
compiled list of something like 10,
900 newspapers, all of which were pub
lished in small towns. I was already
fixed with the big daily newspapers
The only touble was l couldn't some
how or another fix it with the coun
try newspaper.
The letter read something like this:
To the Editor:
Dear Sir-You are publishing a newspa
per for business reasons = not for you
health.
You find it difficult to obtain adequat,
support from the merchants in your town
| They do not appreciate the value of you
newspaper as an advertising medium.
We know that you are printing a liv'
newspaper in your community and tina
you are entitled to more support than yol
are receiving.
The postal laws, under which you enjo.
the privileges of second class postage TO
mailing your newspaper, require you t
accept all legitimate advertising offere,
at your rates.
Enclosed please find contract for ad
vertising to the amount of........... dol
lars. Please sign it and return to US an
we will forward electrotypes of adver
tisements to be run together with in
structions.
In giving you this business it is bu
|
each week, the reading notices and edi
torials sent herewith.
Very truly yours.
BLANK ADVERTISING AGENCY
Yes, it was a great scheme. 1 e1
pected to swamp the country wit
sugared editorials and splendid NJ
tices about the mail order business
cheerfully anticipated that l woul
put the country merchants out of bus
ness. l even went so far as to fis
ure out plan for taking advantag
of the conditions of business depre!
sion that would inevitably follow sue
a sweeping fall in values and consit
cred the organization of some sort {
land trust to buy up the riches
farms and most desirable town pro-
erty in the communities where the po
icy would work out the quickest.
was becoming a multi-millionaire witt
out delay.
But l experienced the most astol
ishing disappointment of my life. Th
plan, so well considered, so CAREFUL
planned, so craftily laid out, was a
absolute fizzle.
Why? 1t was the perversity of th
newspaper editor. He would not t
bought, he would not be bribed, b
would not be cajoled or threatened.
In reading the preceding letter yo
have noted the "bunk" and the joll
ing, followed by the appeal to b
business instincts and then the cove
threat about the postal laws. Yes, tt
plan was we'll laid.
But who can delve into the soul I
the man who will spend his days ar
nights in running a country newsp
per in a community that will not gi,
!. adequate support? Who can fatho
the motives Of man who hustles a
the time to Soost his home town, b
. who has difficulty at times in collec
:. ing the subscriptions to his paper al
|, who fails to obtain more than a grud
ing pittance in advertising from tt
merchants in his town?
l could not understand it. I b
lieved that every newspaper edit
would be overjoyed to receive re
J money to the amount of many dolla
: each week, merely for printing tt
g advertising copy and, of course, tt
8 few paragraphs in the way of rea
: ing notices and editorials, which
b thought he would ike to have wi
g which to fill up his paper.
l. And the answers. Whew! What
d storm!
= Ore would imagine from the a