Evening star., 1916-08-07
FAKE ADVERTISING
ARREST IS MADE
Continued from First Page.)

far. every effort has been made to see
that the defendant has the benefit of
the doubt" At the same time every
available bit of evidence has been care
fully obtained and placed in good form
Berberich Explains La vigne.
Chairman Eerberich. speaking today
of Mr.. La Vigne's activities. said:
Mr.. La Vfgne is field representative
Of the American Fair Trade League,
with offices in New York city. He has
earned reputation of one of the fore
most authorities in the United States
on methods of distribution, has been
actively identified with the great
movement now spreading over the
country for truthfulness in advertising.
and just recently finished tour of
more than $4,000 miles in two months,
addressing chambers Of commerce, Ro-
tary clubs and boards of trade in the
principal cities Of twenty-six states.
The public press and trade papers have
his work.
MI. La Vigne is q member Of the
New York Advertising Club, and has
been actively cooperating with sew
eral bureaus of the Associated Adver-
tfsing Clubs of the World as well as
upon which the postal authorities were
later busy and now are issuing many
fraud orders against them.
The Retail Merchants Associate
ana business men generally in Wash
lngton undoubtedly have the interested
moral support of these organizations"
Fake Worked in Usual Way. !.
Mr.. La Vigne said today that in his
experience with stores advertising
falsely he had found they all worked
along practically the same lines.
They use a standard line of garters
underwear and collars. for instance, as
leaders to create the impression OF
great bargain offerings on unknown
nondescript goods of whose quality and
price the public is unfamiliar" said
Mr.. La Vigne.
Cut prices on these standard lines
attracts the public to the store Then
as IN my experience, the store is not
aple TO supply the standard collars, be-
cause they are out of my size but they
are able to supply a nondescript ar
ticle. represented as a cut-price bar
gain. which was actually sold for about
6o per cent more than a duplicate Of 1t
could be bought for at a regular store.
They advertise 81 union suits, 4ac.'
but would not sell a standard. well
hnoWn 9l union suit at any such price.
other instances in evidence here
show show strikingly the acute evils con-
nected with the use Of standard mer-
chandise as a leader in advertising and
merchandising. The result is an over
charge to the confiding consumer under
the lure of bargains, amounting to vast
sums of meney in the aggregate.
The public needs protection against
this sort of trickery and deception 1t is
Just such practices as this that the
stephens -Ashurst honest advertising
price maintenance bill, now pending in
Congress. is designed to prevent by
federal enactment.
The Associated Advertising Clubs of
the World are engaged in wonderful
campaign along parallel lines, with
active vigilance committees in some
l30 cities correcting abuses in many
They have nine bureaus
now at work for better advertising
and better merchandising in the United
States in the following places: Minne-
apolis, Milwaukee. Indianapolis. spo-
and Cleveland. Iowa has a state bu-
reau conducting truth-in- advertising
work for Des Moines, Davenport and
other Iowa cities"