Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-06-26
LIVE WIRES THAT CAN'T BE
SHORT.CIRCUITED

| rTNHB publicity experts assembled in this
J. city today hold the prosperity of the
nation in the hollow OF their hands. Con-
crosses may come and go, the fortunes Of
political parties wax and wane, but so
long as there Is American enterprise and
Ingenuity to create worthwhile products
| and publicity experts to let the people
OF this and other nations know about
them, so long will there be prosperity
When the wheels are clogged 1t is pub.
licity that routs the incompetents, drives
the inefficient from control and restores
to government, as it does to everything
else, ease and sureness of motion. The
secret of the success of the democratic
experiment on this continent Is in fact,
the universally Of communication and
the distribution Of intelligence, which in
combination form what we know as pub.
liclty.
They made good soup in Camden be.
fore they made good sales of 1t. Those
talking machines were the greatest little
publicity experts ever evolved-they kept
boosting themselves all the time. A
watch did not make the dollar famous,
bub Olt Iil oNdAI tlliilh VI u NNiao'i
without thinking of the kind of watch
for which 1t can be offered in even eX-
change. There is scarcely an automobile
made in the nation that everybody does
not know by name, who makes 1t and
why. Food used to come to the grocer In
bulk, unclean and not particularly APP
petizing, until some publicity expert con.
ceived the idea OF putting sugar up in
cartoons and breakfast food in sealed
packages. That promoted public health
and it stabilized an industry. Not so very
long ago half the world did not know
what the other half was doing. Now all
the world knows when a manufactures
is making something good, because the
publicity experts spread the news.
Publicity Is the diffusion of knowledge,
nothing more and nothing less. One man
tells story well, another does not. But
the fellow who can put pep" into his
tidings and kick" into his sentences
is the fellow who makes the world stop
to read. The man on an irrigated farm
in Arizona has a catalogue of the worlds
best offerings brought to his door. Be it
bathtubs or electric fans or a new kind
of swing or pump, whatever it Is. he
learns of II as soon as his friend in Phila-
delphia, and he can have 1t brought to his
DOOR. Not only does this standardize
methods of living so far as material COM
forts are concerned, but it nationalizes
industry and internationalizes the bene-
fits accruing from human ingenuity. en-
terprise and invention.
These men who are In Philadelphia to.
day are the advance guard of civilization.
They are always, they always have to be,
just a little ahead Of the grent mass of
humanity. They not only point out the
way. but they set the pace. They have
taken enterprise to be their bride and
they have married themselves to progress.
They have a message for Philadelphia
just as they have a message for the
whole country. 1t is the message of
difficulties, of grabbing the impossible
by the nape Of the neck and shaking it
into an actuality." 1T can't be done" is
the kind of job they love TO tackle. Phila.
delphia for a century has been in the
forefront of American progress her fac
tories supplying a nation with its neces-
sites; but there is for Philadelphia
lesson TO be learned from these men who
have put towns as well as industries on
the map. Too many OF our products have
been speaking for themselves, powerfully,
it is true, since quality is a great booster,
but in this era they need, too, the i'm
pulse and the drive that only the kind.
of publicity which these men know how
to give can produce.
Cordially we greet the delegates. The
city belongs TO them. We welcome them
not only for the inspiration which they
bring but just because they are them
selves. From the time delegates from the
Colonies met here TO formulate the cam.
paign for independence, this ancient city
has been accustomed to opening its doors
and its heart to visiting men and women,
and the fires of hospitality which were
lighted generations ago burn now as
luminously as they did In that far-off
time.