The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-11-23
N. S. A. IN CROUCH
Composer of Wedding March
Worse Than the Kaiser.
He Also Says Some Merchants
Hide Their Talents.

saturday morning. just thru with
hot cakes.)
My Dear AJC:
Now that I am all coffeed up for
the day, figure this would be a splen-
did time to write you a letter to tell
you a few things about the Journal
In the first place. it isn't so much
what goes in the paper, that I dislike.
but it is that which is left out, that
bothers me. You know. Art, it's
terrible thing for a fellow to work his
head off for three hours figuring out
nine line pome and then have it
crowded out by some sort Of peace
news.
Art, I'm a married man and there
is no such thing as peace in my life.
so you can see how little 1 care for
such things, and then speaking of
peace and married life, there Is one
German who has caused people more
trouble than all the foul deeds laid at
the door of the erstwhile kaiser. That
guy is Mendelssohn. He's the gink
that wrote that wedding march. Try
ing to get peace in my family would
be as useless as counting the caviar on
a sandwich. You couldn't get 1t
eggsact and then there isn't any ca
yier. But then to get back, thought
at first that it might be the lack of
vocabulary that caused the leaving
out" you know only possess a vocab-
ulary of "a words. The possession of
q large vocabulary is a good thing
and yet there are times when one
afterwards realizes that 1t would have
been best had he been without any.
How do you ever expect me to be a
headliner in the writing game If you
keep killing my stuff. but then one
never knows when they will become q
hadliner: Look at the penny. The
only prominence it ever got before,
was in a baby's bank. If you want
TO Kill something, wish you'd stop
printing pictures of the Clown Ounce
smoking cigarettes. Every time I see
one feel like switching over to cigars.
His Real Peeve-
But what I started to tell you was
this. I'm writing you a letter here that
you are urged to publish. 1t will make
my work a dern sight easier. It Is
simply this.
There are some merchants in this
town content to sell only their 'estab-
lished trade. and these merchants are
not successful. They may sell as many
shirts, as many can openers, as many
shoes, as many watches, as many suits
or underwear, as many drugs and 9TH
er merchandise as they sold In any
year in the past, and their volume in
dollars and cents may be greater be-
cause of higher prices. but no mer-
chant is enjoying healthy growth I'M
less he Is winning new trade all the
time.
ITO lOihS WIN are supplying
needs at a competitors store are his
customers-if he can get them, but he
is rot going 10 win them unless he ad-
vertises his methods and his merchan-
disc to them in mediums which they
invite into their homes and for which
they pay price. The most available
medium for the retail merchant is a
daily newspaper.
The newspapers of the country are
vital necessities. If all newspapers
shoulc suspend publication, it would
be national calamity. A merchant
should appreciate a newspaper by ad-
vertising his store in the newspaper
columns consistently and continuously
Meanwhile, of course, tie erchant
is able to better his own business
= 1t seems to me that any wide awake
merchant in good location can af-
ford to invest at least 2h per cent to
advertise his business and broaden his
territory and the fellow with the side
street location could or should invest
8 per cent to get them around the
corner.
The cost of advertising is yery
cheap. Newspaper advertising is, the
cheapest thing in the world. 1t costs
less than one cent to put a mans ad-
vertisement into ten homes and it is
welcomed.
Competition to Be Keen.
!, The war is over now and competi-
again be pressed by statesmen to buy
their goods. He will be able to get
everything he wants, and more. He
should be sensible enough to make
a reasonable investment at this time
in good will advertising to build up a
prestige and reputation OF his estab-
hshment. We are entering a period of
good will advertising such as the
world has never known. Every retail
merchant should plan accordingly.
Yours. N. S. A.