The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-07-16
PUBLICITY CAN AID REAL ESTATE MEN
 IS HENSON VIEW
Urges National Body to Inau- gurate Campaign on the Value of Real Estate
 Investments

Calling attention to the drifting from the home ownership idea and
 into that of investing in securities
 on the part of the American people.
 Robert Jemison, Jr., made plea be- 1 fore the National Real Estate Deal
 CTS association in their national con vention in Chicago yesterday to the necessity of counterbalancing the drift from the homes by national campaign of real estate advertising. MT. Jemison declared that in his own city real estate was losing its
 attraction as an investment, while investments In securities are becom- ing more and more popular. this in spite of the remarkable increase in
 the values of real estate here. He attributes the trend to security buy ing by the advertising campaigns conducted by their vendors
 In part MT. Jemison said: A Vital Question
 There is no question before the
 national association today of such
 vital importance to the very life and | prosperity of the estate business or other welfare of thes nation as the adoption of some plan and policy
 which will conserve and develop in- terest and confidence in real estate 1 investments and home ownership. There is no more effective way of
 accomplishing this purpose than through nation-w wide campaign of constructive publicity, advertising | and propaganda.
 Tt seems to me that the question we are called upon to decide is not whether we can afford to put on a l nation wide campaign, but whether we can afford not to do so. Constructive and educational ad- vertsing is accepted as a necessary
 method of selling commodities and service of practically every Kind and description.
 "A few years ago it was considered
 unwise and undignified for religious,
 educa tional or even financial in- stitutions to advertise. Today adver-
 Using is recognized by all those as a
 necessary policy and investment. Associations of all kinds, rep resenting merchants, manufacturers bankers, etc, are engaged In adver-
 Using and publicity campaigns, ma tion- wide in their scope. These po- licies and investments are evidently
 profitable as the practice is growing and becoming more general. The recent World war -demon- strated the power Of advertising. Without it, England could never have raised her mighty army; without it the United States could not have found 20.000,000 bond buyers Sell the Home Idea The same power of advertising a hn oF to the people of the United States, l and impress upon the whole country the safety and attractiveness of in- vestments in real estate.
 I ls real estate az an investment holding the place in public estimation
 in your community which it formerly did? Or is 1t being crowded out slow | ly, but none the less absorbing the | appreciation and the money which rightfully belongs to real estate? In His Own City Answering for my city and sec tion, I can say, however, unwilling I
 may be to confess 1t, that real estate as an investment is losing its ap- peal, while investment securities are becoming more and more general. And my city is one In which concrete cases of the large profits or incre-
 ment on real estate investments are probably as great and impressive as can be found in any city of the same
 age and size in the United States. What is the trouble, then? Simply
 this, while we are sitting still, the public is being very efficiently edu- cated as to the value of other forms or investment, especially securities. Ana this is but the beginning. Pick up your paper any day and you will see new security advertised in a
 way that appeals to your own busi-
 ness sasacity and the effectiveness or which you cannot deny.
 "As this advertising continue. to increase in value. real estate recedes rom the public view until the tim. may come when 1t will be lost from sight altogether.
 The remedy is in our hands. if we use It intelligently. Advertisine. tion.
 Our only remedy is cooperative comprehensive advertising campaign of national proportions.
 What Others Do As l have said already co-opera- ttive campaigns of this kind are by m means new. Lumbermen, concrete manufacturers, tile manufacturers and other bodies representing inn portant industries have blazed the path Tor us with measure of suc- cess that leaves no doubt. Results have more than justified the expend- iture, and not the least important of these results is the unity and accord which have been established in the membership Of these organizations by reason of this cooperative effort
 The people are drifting away from home building, just as they are drift ing away from investments in the land-because of other attractions. Il feel that I am right in saying that If we arouse the American citizens to the fact that his first duty to him. self. his family and his country IS, to his home town, the long antici- pated and long delayed building continue indifinitely
 And when we convince the people that their first step in home build ing is the buying of the lot now while prices are in their favor, we will have a healthy and active real estate market not confined to locali- ties. but in evidence everywhere.
 While it may not be possible or advisable to finance and launch a nationwide campaign of advertising and publicity at this session, we can and should take a positive and defi- mite step in that direction.
 That step is the organization of bureau of advertising and pup licity to be under the supervis )n and control of the executive commit tee.
 MT. Jemison's Plan
 The duties of this bureau should be:
 II. To. originate advertising edu-