Bemidji Daily Pioneer Newspaper, September 1, 1914, Page 4

We are asked to advise if, under present conditions, advertising should be curtailed. But each line has its own unique “present conditions.” Such a question involves several forms of advice. These are boom times in some lines. Many factories are overwhelmed with orders. Some face a demand far be- yond their capacity. Some cater largely to farmers, and farmers in general seem this year to be getting rather more than their share of prosperity. The farmer with full pockets finds nothing too good for him. He’s a magnificent spender. These fortunate advertisers who are oversold can very There is no virtue in selling more than one can deliver. = wisely cut down on théir advertising, There are other lines imported, or requiring import- ed materials, on which there is stoppage of supplies. There are lines which for these, or other transient rea- sons, sell now at abnormal pricés. There are lines sold at fixed prices, on which advancing costs have decimated frofits for a time. On all such lines one might advise curtailment in all forms of salesmanship. But “present conditions” in general mean a degree of depression, a shade of uncertainty. And the query s, if in such situations advertising should be curtailed or stopped. By all means, no. Should a runner stop. for a rising grade, or a swimmer for an adverse tide? If they did, where might their rivals in the race be when they started up? Advertising ought to be the’ cheapest salesmanship. Also the most efficient. If it is that, then it is the last force to reduce. If it isn’t, then it needs, in ‘good or bad times, re- habilitation. In national advertising our most prosperous times come during business depression. Then is when men who are on the right lines fight hardest. Then is when waste is eliminated, and the cheapest and best methods are used to the limit. And then is when the weak and inefficient abandon the field to the stronger. : There may be less business to get in dull times, but there are also less men who use the best ways to get it. of the greatest harvests ever gathered in advertising have been garnered in times of depression. ' : Some - .they must come.if we-reach out to- ;get them: ‘We find that good advertising is rarely stopped by misfortune. It is ten times as often stopped by over demand. The chief clients of this house are today pressing advertising harder than ever before. A But is this in reality any time to feel blue? Doesn’t it look as though we might be on the verge of unprecedented business prosperity? Home prospects look better than usual. Big crops at high prices bring smiles to the faces of nearly one-half of our people. The railroads got a little encouragement. Our new banking system will ward off some dangers. Then what new boons may come to us—like gifts from ' the dead—as a result of this pitiful warP Reason tells us on amid ‘that’ devastation. People must be clothed and fed. And the markets abandoned by the nations which held them should be rupplied by us. When millions desert the arts of peace, those who abide, well equipped and ready, surely ought to prosper. As for war news affecting the value of ads, it certainly doesn’t detract from them. It is giving to advertisers in- creased circulation with no present advance in cost. The argument that it makes newspapers too interest- ing is a new one in advertising. The most interesting mag- azines have always been the best patronized. Why should we seek for dull newspapers? In any event the average woman is not a great reader of war news. Her favorite pages in the newspaper remain about as ever. She is the household buyer. And the major- ity of advertising; even on men’s things; depends on its ap- peal to her. ~ No, these are no times to cease advertising, save und- er rare conditions.” The harder the fight the more one needs his best weapons. The more "quitters there are the more there is for the rest of us. And we who keep ready and act- ive_and fit; who keep in the thick of things, dull times and - good; will hold 1mmeasurable advantage when the tlde comes in. . LoRD & THOMAS, S. E. Corner Wabash and Madlson Chicago CLAUDE C. HOPKINS, b Vlce-pruldent ; Lifesstill-flows -- -