The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1915-05-20
Advertising
Talks
GREAT POWER OF
LITTLE WANT ADS
Have Prevented Suicides, Reunit'
ed Families and Done Other
Remarkable Things.

The want ad is the modern miracle
worker. 1t performs feats daily that
could be accomplished in no other way
with the same swiftness and sureness
says the Chicago Tribune. The want
ad finds homes for abandoned chill,
dren. 1t has been the direct cause of
the marriage of young couples by
providing a position for the man with
an income sufficiently large to enable
him to support wife. 1t has reunit-
ed amilies-restored the lost son to
his mother, published the wife's mes
sage of forgiveness to the runaway
husband
Want ads have been published ask
ing for rain and it rained Can any one
question the cause Of the doWnpour?
Lost engagement rings, love letters,
and Boston bull pups have been found
through means of the want ad.
The want ad has prevented suicides.
Men, despondent, moneyless, friend
less, alone in a hurrying city, have
turned to the want ad as their last
resort. With 10 friends to tell the
down and outer" Of possible positions,
lacking the car fare and perhaps, in
deed, the energy and determination,
because of continuous rebuffs, to seek
a place by a personal canvass-an al
most hopeless task In city the size
Of Chicago-these men have found
their chance in the want ad columns.
In some cases suicide may have
seemed the only way out, In most
cases distant possibility-but still q
possibility-but with the appearance
Of the want ad, carrying It's message
of a chance to make good, hope re-
yived.
To some people the want ad section
of a newspaper contains more ro-
nance than any other section, because
the romance found there Is real ro-
nance, boiled down and not embell-
ished by a finished writer. Reading
between the lines, one can gather lit
tie stories Of the various activities Of
life. A classified section Of today If
read a hundred years from now would
give material to the thinking man for
drawing a fairly accurate picture Of
the life of this age. The lines OF work
men were engaged in, the amount OF
pay they received, the cost OF many
articles we use today-these and many
other facts could be deduced.
These little stories contained be-
tween the lines Of the want ads are
stories of the young and old as well as
of those in the prime Of life. Here
we see little girl seeking home:
CONDITIONS FORCE A 12 YEAR OLD
girl to seek d hone. No relatives known
financially able to care for ner. Can you
assist? x The Tribune.
In another place a childless couple
or perhaps one whose children have
grown up-are looking for child to
adopt.
A home broken up is indicated by
the following:
WILL ]. M.-YOUR BABY DAUGHTER
i'll; wife heartbroken: let US hear from
you. c M, The Tribune.
The list-fortunately not large-of
those who will be responsible only
for debts contracted by myself indi-
Gates broken partnerships either bust
ness or matrimonial. But the follow.
ing perhaps has happier explanation
the children have grown up:
FOR sALEsULKY CART FOR TWINS.
x, The Tribune
This advertisement would indicate
that some young couple were setting
up housekeeping:
wANTED-sEcoND HAND SET OF
silver for family Of two. x, The Trib-
une.
But this one appears to contain the
story of Tilted or socially disappoint-
ed young man:
FOR SALE-BRAND NEW DRESS SUIT
for young man. x. The Tribune.
And this one, that illness no longer
aflicts some member of the family:
INvAL1D's CHAIR FOR SALE. x. The
Tribune.
In the want ads one can find for
sale cradles, feathers for the nest, and
even tombstones. A secondhand mar
rage license has yet to be advertised
The want ad section has its humorous
side as we'll as its romantic. At differ
ent times many queer ads have ap-
peared. II you are a reader of this
section you will remember examples.
A look through the classified columns
any day probably will reward you with
a problem to ponder over or joke to
amuse you.
This, the modern market place,
where buyers meet sellers in print as
they used to meet on market day, con-
tains a strange assortment. We find
an offer made to exchange lessons in
dancing for time watching a tele-
phone;" man, apparently with sad
experience wants to exchange an auto
for horse; another one has 200 dozen
tin boxes Of healing foot salve to ex-
change, which should last one for
considerable length of time; an icebox
is offered for parrot cage; "fine
old violin, typewriter, and five acres
for q foot lathe" a dramatic teaching