The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1922-11-11


have filed every line in my paper
for a: year or two. OF course,
most of it went into the waste. bas-
ket. Print it? Why. no editor has
time even to read half the free
publicity and propaganda that come
tc, him, if he did nothing else. It's
done to death. There's too much
of il. It has become a: nuisance
and useless waste"
The World is His osyter
There's your answer Doctor.
Mr.. sclevenger's experience is
typical of every other editorial of-
flee, although every editorial Office
has not the distinction. of being the
locus Of the State asylum for the
feeble minded. Nor must you be-
= = { - .
Heve that it was only the thought
less or irresponsible who. sent that
Hood OF spropaganda TO osawato-
mie. At that time the postmaster
at osawatonie was regularly sort
ing out for the Weekly Graphic
publicity offerings from an impor-
tant railroad. t.,o Of the. very big
gest New Yors banks, two big New
York theatrical (not motion pic
tureo producers, a New York in
vestment banker. a score or more
OF, industrial groups and manufac-
turers' associations, and the phil
omathean literary society. of a
State normal school. There We're
many other enterprises sending
their unsolicited and useless pub
neity and propaganda to the
Graphic. but the foregoing is a fair
sample.
-. s.I do not know that any Of these
are now sending out free publicity
publicity bureaus, or propasanda
mills, change constantly, but. as
great as was this torrent: Of publici-
" rolling through the mail four
years ago, il IS much greater now
and getting larger. every day. It
seems you can no more keep good
business men from throwing money
away in propaganaa than you can
warn wagesearners against Ponzi
frauds. Yet Ponzi and Propaganda
pay praetieally the same dividends Is
to those who put up the money.
You've discovered that. haven't
yea !.
). "a 81 few weeks ago I attended an
sndus.Ial group meeting in New
York. twenty-five or thirty men.
heads of large houses, were there
to consider their mutual Interests,
and one question was that of pub
licity or propaganda. They had the
UNIVERSAL itch for organizing a
publicity bnreua which would ad-
vertise their industry practically
for nothing. They had 9 keen ap-
preciatipp of the advantages of get
ting their industry more in the
public eye. but they didn't wish to
pay for it. They had some kind
of a hazy notion that a hired pub
licity director could get it for them.
I'll admit, too. that several high
pressure and persuasive candidates
for the industry,s publicity job
made the art Of propaganda
spreading seem the one sure-fire
way OF getting something for moth
ing. No trouble for those boys to
run a dollars worth Of stamps and
SO worth Of typewriitng into
$4,000 worth Of free advertising
7-tn hear them tell it.
Doctor, the minute you or any
man lets Fly few bales. of this
free publicity material. J. no matter
how good it is. at once it becomes
junk in the eyes Of every self-re-
specitng editor. And that's what it
is, partisan prejudiced, self-seek-
ing propaganda disguised as news
or 'uplift' stuff.
'.Our old alma mater has a pub
licity bureau writing about its good
points and hiding its Shortcomings.
The workman repairing the ele-
vator in this building just now
pays dues to a union that has a
hired publicity bureau. The milk
man who delivered milk at your
house this morning belongs to an
organization which has as its chief
object the spreading 70 propaganda
TO increase the consumption Of