Omaha daily bee., 1917-02-21
TELLS CLOTHIERS TO
WRITE GOOD AD COPY
John cogan Says Space in
Papers Valuable and Is in
Sense Merchandise.
SELL GOODS ON FACTS

John Cogan of the NJ. Z. Smith
company of Omaha enlivened the aft
ernoon session of the Nebraska Re-
tail Clothiers' association at the Hotel
Fontenelle by his talk on making the
store pay better profit He told the
dealers not to be SO lazy in the
preparation of their advertising. for
one thing. He told them advertising
copy must be prepared carefully and
with some thought. advertising
space costs money" he said, "and in
that sense it is merchandise you are
buying, You wouldn't buy the stock
OF goods for your store with the same
slip-hod method you use in preparing
advertising copy for the space you are
buying in the papers,
He declared also that man must
sell goods on facts days, aver
ring that the old easy going way is
a thing of the past, and that one must
be truthful and confidential with the
customers all the time and must in
struct his sales people to be so.
Charles Beno OF Council Bluffs ad-
vlsed cheerful front. He said Vt is
much better to burst off buttons in
laughter than to snap them all off
some day in burst OF wrath. VS.
Urges Community Clubs. ~
S. r. McKelvie of Lincoln talked on
the relation of the merchant to the
farmer and urged the development of
community clubs and community
centers where the farmers and the
merchants get together in a social
way and get acquainted He urged
the merchant to make the farmers
problem his own problem, since only
by keeping the community good
place for farmers can one keep a com
munity prosperous. He declared the
good roads problem is as much the
merchants problem as it is the farm
ers problem.
Never in the history OF the clothing
business has there been more need
OF system in buying than now,'
said F. H. Barclay of Pawnee City,
president of the association, in his ad-
hlNSo Whiti opNllNb NV NollNNlllloll.
THE lack of such a system has
besn the direct cause of more store
keepers and fewer merchants than
any other one thing. Know what you
have sold before you buy. That will
bear repeating and in capital letters.
Don't buy so many of this and so
many os that from Tom, Dick and
Harry just because it looks good to
you and because they are good fell
lows. Know first whether you have
room for such an article in your pur-
chases and if you have know the
sizes you need"
President Barclay dealt at some
length with the campaign for hon
est advertising, advocating it strongly
and pointing out the success that had
attended such efforts on the part of
some of the large daily newspapers
throughout the country.
mo Sale" Plan.
The president said that many mer-
chants are finding they can conduct
their business much more profltably
and with greater satisfaction by abol-
ishing the semi-annual sales. Those !
who have adopted the no sale plan,"
he said "are very enthusiastic in the
praise of such system
{. c. Wescott OF Plattsmouth, Neb.,
secretary OF the association, recon-
mended the endorsement by the as
sociation OF the 1-cent postage move.
ment, the good roads movement and |
the Stephens bill, which seeks to
give the manufacturer OF trade
marked goods the power to maintain
the retail price on his product
The secretary called attention to (
the large amount OF work which falls
upon him and suggested that secre-
tarial aide be provided for his Sue
cessor in that Office.
Secretary WcscottI reviewed the
life of the association, calling atten.
ton to the fact that the clothiers
at the Hotel Fontenelle
n 1915 with fifteen charter members
and that before the present conven-
ion enrolment began there were fif-
y-two paid-up active members, with
many new ones coming in for this
Wednesday evening the clothicrs
ire to be entertained at banquet at
he Hotel Fontenelle given by the
and wholesalers Of
Omaha.
THE | hings | Don't Like About
You" was the subject upon which
Joddie Rosenbaum of Kalamazoo
made a twenty-minute talk OF cor sid
,rable interest in the afternoon.
F. NJ. Short, vice president of the
federal agency of Chicago, talked
N the value of team work in the
.lnthinQ business having for his suh