Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-08-13
BUSINESS BUREAU
EXPOSES SHADY SCHEMES
Stands for absolute Honesty advertising and Pursue thu
Fake" Promoter Until He Is Forced to Quit
Tn OPERATION little more tina

Tn OPERATION a little more thar
1 three months, the Better Business
Bureau of Philadelphia, which was
formed for the purpose of promoting
honesty. truthfulness and dependability
in advertising and merchandising. has
already made its influence distinctly
felt in business circles.
The bureau. which was incorporated
in December, 1910, and applied for O
charter the following month. is com
of the city. More than n hundred oi
the principal business houses of the
city are now numbered in its ranks.
Beginning its operations May /, with
an Office in the Real Estate Trust
Building. the bureau has handled eighty
cases which have come to its attention.
In that time they have compelled
several concerns in the piano bushes:
to build their advertising on more de
pendable lines. and have baked the get
rich quick plans of some used car auto .
mobile concerns. who they say have
used unfair and in some cases crooked
business methods.
Elwood Russell is director of the or
ganizatiOn aud J. Thomas Dale. the
secretary. Mr.. Dale said yesterday
that the bureau has been and is at the
present time active in the prosecution
Of Investigations against crooked
brokers.
I'VE have compelled q number OF
such men to discontinue business alto
gcther." he said. "whilp a number OF
others arc still under investigation. In
a number Of cases we have furnished
evidence TO legitimate banking and
brokerage houses which has resulted in
prosecution Of the offenders.
Expose Crooked Schemes
"One of the principal types of of
Between publicity and business eX
posurc and in some cases the prospect
Of Jail, we have succeeded in making
things quito unhealthy for this type
of illrgitimatc business man.
The bond business has found others
whom we have exposed. In one case
man was selling German bonds to
his Compatriots at a 30 per cent higher
rate than legitimate banking houses
we're charging, taking advantage OF
their ignorance of prices.
THE merchandise man who misrcpre-
S'HtS NHluRS anu tlc ny Wy -hiHHl
man who either offers something worth
n fraction Of the price he asks or else
tries to sell something that he hasn' I
got have received attention from US.
I'm one instance We received infor
nation to the effect that thirty five
truck loads of clothing were to be sent
here for the purpose of conducting a
big sale, similar to one held in New
York City recently.
Investigation disclosed the fact that
big building in West Philadelphia had
beer rented for the purpose, No one
could be found who was responsible for
the sale AMI as there were to be no
alterations, exchanges or money re-
funded, n serious investigation was
made.
"A committee of four buyers, who
could qualify as experts and give an
unbiased opinion as to the stock of
clothing which was to be offered for
sale. reported that the stock was gen
orally inferior and that it would be an
injustice to the people of the city to
permit the sale to be advertised
1T was also decided that 1t was un +.
fair competition for legitimate mcr-
chants and no advertisements were al @.
lowed by the newspapers to be printed
on the sale.
An attempt on the part Of the man
ayers Of the sale to advertise by means
of handbills and wagons carrying large