The Medina sentinel. [volume] (Medina, Ohio) 1888-1961, 1915-04-30

copyrighted. 1914 by Thomas J. sullivan.l !
The first hypocrite was the man who
stole the livery Of the court of heaven
to serve the devil in.
Some people speak as II hypocrites
were confined only to religion. but
they are everywhere, people pretend
ing to wealth when they have not a
sixpence. assuming knowledge Of which
they are ignorant. shamming cui-
ture they are far removed from, adopt
ing opinions thu; do not hold and pre-
tending honest business roles which
are far from the legitimate
As a man loves gold. In that pro-
portion he hates to be imposed upon
by counterfelts, and In proportion as
a man has regard for that which Is
above price and better than gold he
abhors that hypocrisy which is but
its counterfeit.
Lying before the writer Is the acme
Of hypocrisy. 1t is a catalogue of one
Of those mail order houses. and on one
page three sewing machines are adver,
tised The first is declared to be the
most perfect sewing machine on the
market" the second is said to have
more good sensible ideas than any
other" while the third Is praised as
being "the most superior sewing ma.
chine on the market"
Now, which of these machines really
is the best? Which Of them is as good
as the one your retailer sells and guar
antees? Can any reader Of the above
triumvirate of ads. tell! Most assur
edly not.
The lesson should be plain to all who
receive these catalogues. They con
tain glowing descriptions of goods, but
the senders Of money do not know
what they are going to get for theil
money when they send 1t to mail or
der house.
Goods In Plain Packages.
Were It not so serious 1t would bt
amusing to read some Of the smootf
arguments the catalogue houses ad
vance to their readers In an effort tC
induce them to send In orders They
say that goods are sent in plain pack
ages because many merchants who buy
Of them to sell again object to having
their name appear on the boxes. We
know we are safe in saying there is
not one single merchant In the whole
United States who ever ordered any
goods from these concerns. The state
ment is made In an effort to make the
consumer believe that he can buy as
cheaply as bis local merchant can.
But printed matter that will sell
goeds is within the power Of almost
any local retailer. Most all the expert
advice is little more than empty gen.
eralizing about nonessentials 1t Is not
literlture. remember hut advertising.
that you want to write. knowledge of
words and type and the ability to
write tine introductory paragraphs tsnd
striking headings are not to be de
spised. II course hut the facts moi
fancy ways Of saying them. are what
induce the people to spend their money
In the local stores
The merchants knowledge Of his
!, store. his goods and the people Is more
than an Offset for any lack Of ability t.
coin catchy phrases or to use technica
language in telling the printer how h'
would like to have bis advertising
look.
When the merchant sits down d
write his nd be should imagine tina
his hardest customer to sell to is seat
ed ON the other side Of his desk. H,
should write what his talk would b.
If he were determined to make sal
to that customer when In the most oh
stinate of moods. He should write |
all down. then lock II In his desk for |
few hours. later cut out all the super
6uous words and print the facts with
out any trlnnllngS
Personality Brings Trade.
The nearer the lOca. merchant caI
come to making his advertising sOun'
like his talk the more effective 1t will
be. Personality Is what brings ant
holds trade; personality secures to you
competitor trade likewise difficult b
wean away from him
The modern retail merchant mus
make sure that his displays In his win
dows and In the store itself are such a
will interest women A general vari
ETY. ought TO be shown. with price
clearly indicated In plain figures. Max
inspection easy and then let shopper
inspect undisturbed. for In this man
ner many new wants will be develope,
In the minds Of the shoppers. Th
merchant or salesman who stands owe
a shopper and attempts to press sal
invariably annoys the customer AM
hastens his or her departure.
The merchant who has not advances
with the times must come to full real
izatiOn at once that many changes ar
necessary before he can hope to CON
pete resultfully with retail mail Orde
houses, and the frst and principa
change is the manner In which hi
stock is displayed. and In the process
Of this arrangement he must take int
consideration the fact that men hav
almost completely ceased to figure I
the day to day purchases Of househOl
necessaries.