The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-02-25
MEN, WOMEN
 AND THINGS

|
 think that the American papers are
 the only ones flouting advertisements
 in the faces Of their readers, and that
 Americans were long, suffering peo- pie.
 | I came down early the other morn- | ing, and seeing copy of the London Times on the managing editors desk,
 I picked it up to see what was going on in the British empire. It had been sometime since I had seen copy and 1 I had forgotten that the front page ! was not devoted to the big, live topics of the day as is our American papers, and imagine my shock on finding it devoted to what we put under the head of classified advertisements. I just concluded from that that the
 English public is more patient than the American public, for my what scream would go up from our readers if each day we plastered the front sheet with the petter we put well to- ward the back. and yet the amount Of classified stuff" carried by a daily gives a. good line on it's pulling power and testifies to it's varied clientele. It
 you do not read this part of the paper
 you are missing some good things each day.
 Now, .The Thunderer,' as the Times
 mot rJIh n-
 tices for song. It gives no free mo-
 tces, and nothing shows the liberality
 of The Age-Herald more than the way,
 in which it publishes death notices
 free and turns it's columns over to
 charities, in comparison with the way
 the staid old English journal holds up
 it's patrons The charge for birth,
 marriage and death announcements
 being 12 shillings and six pence for
 three lines or less, and three shillings
 and six pence for every additional line
 of about seven words. GA shilling oe-
 ing about a quarter in our money)
 A policy like this would put The
 Age Herald out of business, but if it
 
 of the ledger, think what money
 maker the society page would be at the
 rates given above. Mrs. Ryall would
 be regular bonanza as a revenue pro-
 ducer, and Dolly would be better
 than a gold mine, for the paper, if it
 could adopt the policy of England's
 great daily Just the thought of such
 8 new source of revenue would make
 the business manager want to spend
 his week ends at Palm Beach. If you wish to make announcement
 in the Times that the stork has blessed your home with bouncing baby boy
 or a dainty little miss if you are will ing to restrict your exuberance you For, say, $10 you can modestly let the world know that your daughter has wed, and for the same sum give notice to your friends that one of your loved ones is dead. But to air any private matter from the cradle to the grave | it takes pounds, shillings and pence. / l- ar 1as
 lsl in national prohibition, even in the days of saloons on every prominent corner, the free lunch" habit had be- come nuisance and in some cities was abolished by law before the saloon keepers got together and did 1t vol
 untarily. But in this twentieth century our dailies each day set before their Da1i jet l
 which is more of a banquet than a ''hand out" and yet many patrons kick because they fail to get more of their ,"personal dishes" in the daily spread. Charity appeals, which flood our American papers, is a big source of revenue to the Times. and the way the English charities advertise their needs and virtues and go after fun Is
 shows that the average head of charitable institution in England be- lieves in the virtue of printers ink and is willing to pay for it. Our American papers are as rule at the service of any worthy charity without money and without price, and yet instead of It's being appreciated, in many cases, in spite of the large space given to the publicity agents, one hears complaints that the newspapers are indifferent. Here are some paid advertisements inserted in the Times: St. Mary's hos pital, Cancer hospital, Metropolitan ! hospital, Guys hospital, Elizabeth Gar ret Anderson hospital, Maternity hos pital and others. Then comes appeals for Armenian refugees, for the sailor, for the Shpwrecked Mariners society, for the national funds for nurses. for thank offering for peace. Then for Dr. Barnadoes Homes, for the Mission of Hope, for the London Orphan school. These are some of the ones making their appeal in the form of paid no- tices
 The Young Mems Christian associa- tion takes big display space for an illustrated appeal. showing soldier
 on guard, and beneath him the words. 1 in big type, If You Were on Duty Outside of Cologne" and then it is followed up by some of as heart-pull- ing copy as I ever read with plea for HOO, 900. Praise is given to Ameri- ca for it's gift of millions. The adver- tisement ends with place to sign a suhscri pf ion hJapki tO he fOrua rded to