Evening star., 1927-08-14

various agencies safeguard your
purse-you being the numerous and
prosperous American people and your
purse being the wallet or the roll in
your pocket, the money you have in
bank or otherwise cached. or your
wealth as represented in real estate,
bonds and other investments.
The primary one is the variously
constituted police arm of the law that
protects you against having your
pocket picked. being held up, having
your house burglarized, your place of
business rified, or your safe cracked,
or having your automobile stolen. An
other is the law that guards you or
gives you redress against those who
would or do swindle or victimize you
in innumerable ways. Then there are
agencies, private or senli-private In
character, that forewarn you OF the
Vaccinations of the would.be de-
spoilers Of your purse and lengthen
and strengthen the arm of the law in
apprehending and Furnishing them.
OF the latter, none, perhaps. Is doing
more for you and saving you more
money every year than the Better
Business Bureau. This organization,
which is a unit only in the common
purpose and methods Of operation, is
composed of the National Better Bust
ness Bureau and local bureaus in
some 40.odd cities. Each local bu-
reau is a distinct entity, supported by
and owing allegiance to only it's own
community, and it is not a member OF
or subsidiary to the national bureau.
All the locals and the national CO.
operate and work in harmony to a
common end, which is epitomized In
the masthead slogan of the monthly
organ of the national organization
ITO increase public confidence in bus1'
ness by promoting fair play IN adVer-
tising and selling
In short, the better business move
ment aims to protect the pubic
against merchants who make false or
misleading statements in their adVer-
tising and against the promoters ana
sellers of fake stocks and other al
legged securities.
Started Is Years Ago.
This movement was started some Is
wears ago in Indianapolis at meeting
Of the Advertising Clubs Of the World,
now known as the international Al
vertising Association. A delegate In
that convention arose and voiced the
complaint that advertising was not
bringing in the returns 1t should ana
that advertisers were becoming dis
satisfied as a result, all Of which prom
ised disastrous consequences to the
advertising business. He wanted TO
know the reason for that state OF
affairs.
There was a round Of discussion,
largely in amplification OF the COM
plaint, and then another delegate
arose and threw q bomb into the con-
vention. He said the reason adVertls-
ing was not bringing in the returns
il should was that so much. adVer-
tising was untruthful in whole or in
part and that the public had lost con-
fidence in it. He laid down the dlctum
that advertising to be fruitful must
be truthful, and, furthermore, he de-
clared that the time had come LOT
the advertising men of the Nation ana
of the world to do q big job or mousse
cleaning.
This suggestion was adopted unan'
;roo1slv almost as soon as it had been
offered The convention committed
itself unreservedly to the idea of truth
in advertising, and created vigilance
committee, national in scope, 10 90
everything possible to put the 1dea
over with advertisers, with advertls'
ing mediums and with the pubic. >,
Shortly thereafter a local commit
too was created by the Advertising
Club Of indianapolis and 1t was not
long before similar committees sprang
I'm in other cities. In the beginning
ali these committees functioned as
subsidiaries OF advertising clubs. Later
on as the movement expanded the
vigilance committees became Better
Business Bureaus and independent or
the advertising organizations. They
are now closely affiliated with the ad-
vertising organizations, but they
are distinct, separately Incorporated
bodies, and each Is responsible only
to it's own directorate or board and to
it's public. The bureaus are financed
by merchants, manufacturers and
bankers and other financial interests,
and other activities are furthered i'm
measurably by the cooperation OF
newspapers and other publications.
Ohio Heads the List.
OF the forty-odd local bureaus, Ohio
heads the list with. six. The others
are scattered from coast to coast and
from the northern to the southern
boundaries of the country. With
rare exceptions, all are successful,
growing organizations, broadening
their activities each year and gaining
in public confidence by reason OF the
services they have rendered. One or
two locals have ''fiopped," to use an
expressive phrase; one, for example.
because of failure of the necessary f.
nancial support following a general
disaster in it's community, and another
because its manager decided he would
rather serve certain predatory inter-
8yzks xSN@