New-York tribune., 1919-06-12
WHEN I read in proof of one of the
wv new newspaper recruiting ad-

wv new era newspaper recruiting ad-
vertisements that one of the induce
ments to :oin the regular army is the op-
portunity to meet mice girls I tried to
imagine what "hard boiled" of the Ind
ian campaigning days, the Philippines or
Cuba would say and do if he were to be
told that by joining the regulars he would
get 4 chance "to come UP with nice girls"
His remarks of surprise and incredulity
would certainly not be "nice."
Times do indeed, mutate, when you join
the army to meet good society, and you are
invited to do so through the medium of an
honest-to-g goodness, paidfor newspaper dis
play advertisement, paid for too, by the
government Of the United States. Even the
decorous General Staff, which conceves of
life as a succession of cold, impersonal or
ders with no emotional trimmings what
ever, realizes that things are not as they
were 1t seemed incredible that that ag-
gregation of human icebergs and profess
sional critics had passed on the mice girl'
advertisement, but on investigation it was
found to be the fact.
Croucl,iest Army in the World
"Why, would you believe it," remarked
officer associated with the new idea in
recruiting, as we'll as the new social age in
the army, chat the solemn old boys laid
down only rule in regard to copy, after
we had persuaded them that the way to get
the right kind of soldiers in the year A.
D. 1919; having in mind that the grouchiest
army in the world is being simultaneously
demobilzed, to advertise? They insisted
that we must tell the truth and promise
nothing we could not deliver Well, now,
with the Y. M. c. A. and the Knights of Co.
lumbus and the Y. w. c.. A. and so on, it's
a cinch that any rookie we take will
meet nice girls. So the grave and revered
seniors OF the staff stood for this and lot
of other up-to date. human stuff in our
copy"
If you don't believe it look at the re-
cruting ad in the Sunday papers and read
it through Now remember that that ad-
vertisement is remarkable not only for the
kind of copy-for a government ADVERTISE
ment-but also for the fact that it is an
advertisement. Your Uncle Samuel has
started real, live, up the minute adver-
tising campaign in the newspapers to sell
army service to the young men Of the
TRY, ana ne is no plker, eltncr, Tor ne mas
put $lS5,O0O into two weeks campaign and
he takes pages and 1,100-line space at that.
This copy wasn't written by any spurred
gentleman between other duties, either. The
army called in an advertising agency, took
it's advice, had it write the copy, choose the
mediums" place the advertising and direct
the campaign, just as any business house
would. 1 saw the rough proofs when they
came back from the agency and I can tes-
tify that the only blue -pepclling that was
done to them around the War Department
was some minor changes to make the state
ments of the copy artist adhere scrupu-
lously to the facts-not that he had pur-
posely misstated, but because through in
complete information he was Inaccurate
The Sand,cich Sign
In the good old days when theatres used
to refuse admittance to men in Uncle Sans
uniform the advertising usually consisted
of a sandwich sign and flag or perhaps a
small poster and mayhap a want ad in the
newspapers. recruiting sergeant as i'm
mobile as a statue, stood in front of the
recruiting Office and would barely dern to
take some notice Of the man. who was de-
termined to get into the army. But now all
is changed. No more Of this "Men-wanted-
for-the-United-S -States-Army" stuff. Oh, mol
Now comes your Uncle Samuel with several
thousand grand. positions which hc wants to