The Durant news. (Durant, Miss.) 1882-1985, 1940-02-08
Please Read, Nj. Business Mon

Local merchants and business men, this
little message is addressed to you. Let us talk
over a matter that is really important to you
and to US.
About this time of the year a constant
procession of statesmen with trick advertising
schemes pass through Canton and all towns
of similar size. Here is a plan to advertise.
&c to Church Week" promoted by some per-
son who has not darkened the door of a church
since boyhood. Here is some kind of guessing
contest where the merchant pays the bills.
Here is another promoter who wishes to buy
a page of the paper and write up the leading
business and professional men. There will be
no charge for the advertisement, but the hero
can buy ten copies of the paper from the adj
~vertising man for twenty-five cents each. He
will want to send these to his friends over the
state to prove that he is a successful business
man. A little later there will be plans to
print advertisements on fans and furnish them
free to all the churches. There is no real ad-
v~ertising value in these trick schemes, and yet
our business men fall a victim to the smooth
craftsmanship Of promoters. Even men who
will not spend a dime for legitimate adver-
Using will fall for these trick schemes.
Why is it possible for some slick promoter
to befuddle and deceive our honest business
men? Why will merchants who have a time
making ends meet spend good money on such
foolishness? We sincerely believe that it is be-
cause we all believe that there is virtue in ad-
v~ertising. We believe in advertising, and the
story we hear from the promoter lulls us into
a sort of day dream and causes us to agree
to something that we will regret as soon as we
have thought it over.
There is virtue in advertising. Advertis-
ing has been one of the greatest factors in de-
veloping our splendid modern civilization. Adj
~vertising has created wants and these wants
have set the wheels to turning and given men
jobs. Advertising has made 1t possible for you
to own today an automobile for less than a
thousand dollars that could not have been
bought at any price twenty years ago. Cars
that sold then for five thousand would be re-
garded as freaks now.
There is virtue in advertising, pu. the
virtue lies in legitimate advertising. Legit-
innate advertising is that which tells the buyer
where he can satisfy his wants and at what
price. This is the type of advertising that is
carried in your weekly papers, in your daily
papers, and in your magazines. Practically
none lies in the trick schemes of some transient
promoter
BESIDES, even if the trick advertising were
good, don't you owe something to your local
newspaper? Doesn't the paper keep your
town on the map? Doesn't it make your town.
a better town in which to liveg Isn't the editor
or publisher your next door neighbor who is
striving to make an honest living, just as you
are? Doesn't he belong to your club and your
church?
There is virtue in advertising, provided it
is done ~legitimately and intelligently. - Ban
unity Times, Canton, Miss.
Now that spring is coming, 1--WE hope) there
gin very shortly a veritable stream of smooth-tong1
,keteers working Durant as usual. That is one
vantage of living on a highway. We get a call II
cry tramp on the road.
The only way for the merchants of Durant, C
!, and every other town on 81 that gets so many
promoters, to be rid of these pests is just
their intelligence and common sense and refuse
come their victims.
If each merchant in Durant could have the amo
has given to advertising promoters in the past
ars and spend it in this newspaper to tell the pee
the community about the goods he carries in
re and make an honest effort to get their busir
IN the chances are he'd have a much better busir
years from now. At least he'd have assurance t
d still be in business.
Try it for a while, Mr.. Merchant, and convi
urself.
,ere Is No War
"It is all a frightful mistake; there is no war a