The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1918-03-23
Some Mail Order Houses Find
Them Very Useful in Their
Business.
CAN DOCTOR" PHOTOGRAPH
Concerns Can Give Wrong impress.
sicns With illustrations While
Sticking to Truth in
Descriptions.

Copyright. 1917. Western Newspaper Union.
Figures never lie," it has been
claimed, but this is far from the
truth. The defaulter who has doc
tored" his books in such a way that he
has escaped detection for years, knows
that figures can be made to lie. The
Shrewd politician, who knows how to
juggle statistics, knows that they can
be made to tell story that is far from
the truth.
But there is another medium of ex-
preston which is also supposed to be
stickler for truth, but which is q
greater prevaricatOr than figures,
That is picture. A picture of any
person or thing, supposedly, is an ex-
act reproduction of the original, but
this is frequently only wild suppo-
sition. The photographer who did not
make his picture tell little fib now
and then would soon go out Of busi-
ness from lack of patronage.
Pictures Better Than Words.
Pictures have come to occupy a very
important place in the life of the world
in recent years. It has been said that
for newspaper purposes picture
which tells its story strikingly is worth
more than columns of written words
on the same subject. Newspapers and
magazines have realized the truth of
this fact and as result pictures are
used profusely in illustrating the news
and fiction OF the day
No one has been quicker to realize
the possibilities of the picture when
properly-Or it might be said improp-
crly-used, than the mail order man.
He has realized that a picture will
do more to sell his kind Of .merchan-
disc than column of words and fig
ures. One reason for this is that it
is harder to catch a picture in q lie
than it is printed words and figures.
For instance, if you sell a man table
on the strength Of a printed statement
that 1t is 48 inches wide and if when
the table reaches the customer it is
only 36 inches wide, the customer not
only has a moral right to kick, but
he has legal right to accuse the SELL
er of obtaining money under false pre-
lenses. However, If the customer
buys table which looks in picture
to be 48 inches wide, but which proves
upon its arrival to be only SO inches
wide, he has no legal grounds upon
which to base complaint if the SELL
er has not told him in SO many words
that the table was 48 inches wide.
Stick to Truth in Figures.
Some INSCRIPTIONS mail order
houses have taken advantage of this
selling power Of pictures in a very in
yenious way. They adhere strictly to
the truth In the actual measurements
given in their catalogues Of the arti-
cles which they have to sell. They
may employ descriptions which exag-
serate the qualities and appearances
IF the articles offered, but when it
comes down to actual measurements
he descriptions given are technically
correct. Then these concerns rely upon
heir pictures to sell the merchandise,
that picture will make a |
ar deeper impression upon the mind |
# the prospective buyer than the act
lal figures given. A picture of wide,
'oomy bed will attract the eye and |
he reader probably will not stop to |
Measure off the width of the bed as it |
s described in the catalogue to see
whether it is as wide as desired. Fig
Tres, in the abstract, mean little to the
lverage reader and do not convey the
Impression that Is given In the pic
ure.
A former manager Of a mail order
louise tells how his concern manipu-
ated pictures in this way to suit it's
purposes. It had pictures Of its
hairs retouched so that the legs
eemed to be an inch and half in d.
meter, when they were really less
han an inch. It made narrow beds
ppear in the picture to be wide and
comfortable. Posts Of iron beds that
vere really an inch in diameter were
made to appear as II they were three
inches in thickness. These things are
asy for any competent artist to do.
Patrons Had No Recourse.
This concern, however, adhered rig
1ly to the truth In the measurements
1cluded in the descriptions. Custom
rs who found, When they received
heir goods, that they were not what
hey expected, could kick, but 1t would
o them no good. The mail order
ouse could show that it had set forth
he measurements truthfully In cata-
'gues. and there was no recourse for
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