New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-06-28

tilted with a property which. once the
foremost in its city. had long been los.
ing advertising revenue at the rate Of
S0VOOO 20 100000 year Once the
leader IN annual revenue. IL had gone
back SO far that the paper which had
taken over the leadership carried $40
20 every 81 spent with the old-time
property. Heroic efforts had been put
forth, and there had been no stint Of
money spent. but still the tide went
down, though circulation rose slowly,
as circulation must always rise when
unaided by the power Of clean advcr-
Using.
Into this situation I was injected.
with absolute liberty of action and
such backing from the owners as man
might expect to know only in his
dreams. A little time 70 get my bear
lngS, and there was written money
back guarantee for every line of ad-
vertising carried that represented the
ultimate refinement Of simplicity which
many minds could conceive.
Stood the Test of Time.
"'Not moro than fifty words and not
q string on IL was the rule laid down
The combined product has stood the
test Of time. and is offered here. with
out money and without price, 10 every
publisher whose property is less pros
porous than ne would have ii be. Take
the guarantee and use II, making re-
funds at every chance that a kind Prov
idence will give you. Charge the ex-
penSe 20 advertising accountant at
the years end tell ME if you have ever
seen $40 work as we'll for you as each
81 will work that is put into this ser
vice fund.
1T has been my pleasure TO refund a
good deal of money, but IL il my in
creasing regret that there has been so
little that / have been given the oppor-
tunity 20 refund. No stone is left I'M
turned in our organization TO find ways
and means whereby the public shall
take money from us. and il is the hard
est task we have to-day. For each
thousand dollars OF advertising car
ried we average ninety-eight cents in
money given back, and we have pros
pered twice as we'll as though the cost
had been but half Of that tiny sum.
"Our guarantee, widely advertised,
revealed a normal state Of public skep-
ticism. Believed? Not by very large
margin was it believed! All the sim
plicity and all the wit that had gone TO
its creation-all the space and all the
planning put into making it known
did little more than produce crop Of
letters mocking the perpetrators of the
'joke. In the city OF New York it was
an inconceivable thing 20 the public
that any publisher should be willing to
say that the publication Of false or
fraudulent advertisement could only be
due to his own mistake and that he was
80 70 mil
money out Of his own pocket.
Going After Recalcitrants.
Disbelief being rampant, strong &C
ton becomes necessary. In the vlrile
pen of Samuel Hopkins Adams-he who
ripped the patent medicine business Of
the country from throat TO waistband -
we found the action and we have wiped
out tho unbelief To-day the money
back guarantee Of The Tribune is as
much matter of course in New York
City as its price of one cent per copy,
and it is equally a matter OF course
that any case Of malpractice IN mer-
chandising will be dealt with by The
Tribune as no other paper in this coun-
try will deal with it more's the pity!
Some Of the biggest drygoods stores
have been pilloried and their methods
absolutely changed. Some OF the
smaller schlock stores have been dis
sected and their owners put into Dank
ruptcy. Some Of the Oldest abuses IN
advertising and selling retail goods
have been brought out into the glare
Of pitiless publicity, and some Of the
clean young men, who for years had
been fighting for their chance, have
been given the opportunity to show
their firms that the word Of truth IN
an advertisement will pay seventoid
and that the unfair competition OF the
liar cannot long endure.
and we have gone after that unfair
competition tooth and nail. As we see
il. the elimination of unfair competl-
ton will lower the cost Of doing bust
ness for every man who completes
fairly. and il is an absolute law Of So
cial economies that only the fair, the
lust and the honorable can permanently
survive. With that belief firmly fixed
I'm mind. every step of our task has been
as clear as the open way of Broad
Street.
Only Paper Feared.
although backed up with steadily
better paper in every department, we
hold il TO be largely due TO the cam
paign for truth in advertising that The
Tribune has again become a powerful
factor in the newspaper world Of New
York and all that touches that world.
A leading Western publisher said 70
me within few days, The Tribune IS
the only paper in New York Of winch
the others are afraid Gentlemen, 1t IS
the campaign for clean advertising a
campaign that has marked out a deh-
mite clear-cut individuality for the pa
per that is responsible for that very
accurate statement
In closing Mr.. Waldo paid warm
tribute to the work of the Assoc lated
Advertising Clubs OF the word III
SPREADING the gospel of clean and hon
est advertising.