The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1916-05-23
MATTER!
Topeka Papers Show Visitors
No Advertising.
In Other Cities Dry Goods and
Clothing Ads Booming.

With city newspapers throughout
the middle west filled daily with local
advertising in a year when banks are
full, prospects were never brighter,
farmers having every promise of a
bumper crop, Topeka dailies look like
a vacuum from an advertising stand
point. An effort was made this morn
ing to discover the cause of trouble In
short, to ascertain:
What's the matter with Topeka, a
city apparently not prospecting in one
of the most fertile sections of the
United States?
In the Daily Capital this morning
only one, single, lone advertisement
of any department store appeared, the
remainder of the advertising, except
ads of one or two firms being foreign
in character. The State Journal of
Monday looked little better from a dry
goods or department store standpoint
Yet a glance at the Kansas City pa
pers reveals that they are loaded to
the guards every day now with local
display department store and clothing
advertising The prosperous condition
of the country is used as an argu-
ment for purchasing and all lines of
the advertisements, so to speak, are
now daily filled with optimistic adver-
| tisements of the future that would
| tend to call forth trade and at the
same time advertise Topeka. Other
city dailies at Omaha, St Joseph, Lin
coin, Des Moines and Sioux City also
| carry to the public through wonder
full advertising displays every lndlca-
| ton of prosperity, energy and push
/ Topeka people are anxious to buy,
if they are daily told what's on sale.
| Here's a big convention in Topeka
with visitors from all parts of the
state. Last evening hotels were
thronged with visitors from over Kan
sas-visitors who came here for day
or two and who have the money to
buy goods in our department stores.
Look at the dearth of Topeka adver-
Using in the Topeka Capital this
morning and in the State Journal last
night. From his daily reading the Wis
| itor would not know that there were
big stores here except for one adj
vertisement in this mornings Capital
! 1t is a little different today, but the
convention is over this evening and
the people are going away tonight.
| Frank L. Lindemuth, advertising
| manager for Crosby Bros, and E. H.
| Crosby of the same firm, in an inter
view this morning declared that bust
ness is good this year and everything
pointed to a prosperous season. 1t
was pointed out to them that on the
same date last year big display adver-
| tisements were printed in the daily
| newspapers.
| .
| Lindemuth told an advertising So
| licitor.
| William w. Whitney, treasurer and
general manager of the Warren NJ.
Crosby Dry Goods company, also af-
| firmed that business this year is
good. When the large amount of adj
vertising space in Kansas City news
papers was unfolded to Mr.. Whitney
he said that the Taylor Dry Goods
company was one of the most pros
in [an W n
little newspaper Advertising. Does
Mr.. Whitney mean to point moral?
Do little advertising and prosper.
| Mr.. Pelletier is not in town.
| Others will be seen tomorrow.
One of the Topeka advertisers told
a Topeka solicitor today that the State
Journal advised them to cut down their
advertising. So it did: but it did not
suggest to the Topeka advertisers that
they cut out their advertising entirely.
1t simply suggested that if they did
not wish to spend more money for ad-
vertising than they did last year, they
should reduce their space accordingly.
One merchant said the State Jour
nal had increased its advertising rate.
To be sure it has; but it hasn't
raised the advertising rate but a frac-
ton of the increase in circulation, to
say nothing about the increased cost
of production.
furthermore, the Topeka Capital has
| not raised It's advertising rate. II says
to the merchant: ut is not necessary
to raise the rate OF course it is not
necessary for the Capital to raise ad-
vertising rates on their daily edition
when they can get SAP an inch, SIS ar
inch and s14 an inch in other of the
Capper publications. Mr.. Capper car
lose a whole lot of money on the Daily
Capital and still have very large net
income at the end of the year.
The State Journal is simply in the
daily business, cannot sell advertising
at only AZ cents, the Capitals price
an inch, when the State Journal has
no publication for which it gets 81
an inch. This paper cannot afford to
lose money. The Capital can. That's
all.
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