The billboard (Nov 1897)

THE BILLBOARD Bill Posted _ DEPARTMENT^ DEFENSE lyAFFICHER. ROBERT YOUDE, BILL POSTER. TMr the above title the following ar- ticle (condensed for The Billboabd) ap- a The Rialto of October 3. The Rialto is a weekly ■ 1, Engl. - Robert Youde ia an undischarged bank- nipt. He is, therefore, as every right- see a man get on, and by enterprise and bard work put away a competence for the comfort of his declining years; but we cannot help recognizing the fact that some men arc anxious to make money too rap- idly, and. for Mr. Yonde's own good, we would ask him whether be is not at pres- ent laying himself open to the charge of belonging to that class. Mr. Yoode, then, appears to have been for some time past in league with a Mr. J_ J. Bennett, who until recently, we be- lieve, occupied the pist of < circalaled, that "all moneys that may be advanced by this syndicate will be under the control of Mr. Youde.' We may have something to say also with regard to the fact of Mr. Youde having secured the entire printing busi- ness, toiether with the premises, works, plant and machinery of David Allen & Sons, Limited, the pictorial poster print- era and designers, and with reference to the s ate of that firm's business during the past year. He tells us that he will issue his pros- pectus to the public before long. We shall be pleased to see it and 10 compare it with that at present before us. And the great company is to come not later As the stands do not exceed twelve feet in height, they are said not to violate the fire ordinance. Should a conflagration take place in the ii gate the system on the grounds that a fire within the square during the construction buildings of the could not be reached from the street. The tearing down of the stands in the emergency would c ble time, during which tb be derived by a tat him, and even hinting at dire those who do not see their way to fall in with his terms of purchase. In a circular dated September I he says: "I shall be glad to hear if yon are willing to dispose of your bnsiness. It is important, if the rntertained, that yon should decide at once, as all negotiations will cease on September 30, and after that I shall not entertain the question of pur- On m in a sit- 1 frufe which he is calculated to materially benefit both himself and tbe ambitious Yoode. Mr. Bean ell is hlso desirous of sudden wealth, and we have it on,excellent authority that, unless he number of his creditors are likely to go unpaid. We are sorry for his creditors, but we most dj what we can to nip in tbe deserts through the agency of the Robert f500.000, and its object is "to provide funds for the acquisition of existing trill posting businesses and the establ shnient of similar businesses in the United King- i!om. with a view to the transfer thereof to.an intended company called 'Robert Yonde. L't'd.' " In other words, the scheme is to acquire a monopoly of the bill posting of tbe country. That is, doubtless, a legitimate object enough, and might be worth the attention of in- vestors if fathered by responsible people and carried out on reasonable, not to say equitable, lines. Bat Mr. Youde, in his capacity as "Governing Director,' and to enter into an agreement with the owner to give him an option to such bnsiness on or before December 31, 1S9S. As one consideration for the grant- ing of this option, he expressed his will- ingness not to start in opposition 1 1 the firm with whom the agreement might be made for a period of twenty one years, so that should he fail to complete tbe pur- mid not enter into opposition. "Outside this option," he adds, ' I will not be bound against starting at any place I think fit" It will be seen that Mr. Youde is in the deepest dye. He ia a man, too, we imagine, of much resource fulness and of sanguine temperament, the latter being a quality which we are loth to dash. Bnt we would, in all good humor, suggest to Mr Youde and Mr. Bennett that they are playing it rather low down when they be- gin to frighten tradesmen into selling their businesses under threat of extinc- tion, for this is clearly the meaning hid- den away iu the honeyed words of the circular. Translated into plain English, Mr. Yonde's proposal is this : " Give me an option to buy your business or I, with gigantic resources liehind me, will enter into competition with yon and starve you Under conditions of this sort nervaus owners may easily be led into parting with their husinss at quite inadequate prices, bat we would exhort them to take heart, for our own opinion is that Mr. Youde has overreached himself, and. in vulgar but expressive American parlance, has bitten off more than he can chew. We have numerous cards to play before we trump the final trick of Mr. Yonde's little game, but we think that, on the while, we will rest for the present it completely inclose tbe "s, which are twelve it in height obs'rnct pedestrians by eir position at the street line, and inter- re with traffic in the four thoroughfares. time during the day, Jack^in boulevard are compelled to walk on the asphalt pavement at the risk of being run over by bicycles and other ve- hicles. In Dearborn and Clark streets the danger of being hurt is increased by "That fence ia extremely ungainly," said President Thomas B. Bryan of the Union Leagueelnb. "A structure of some kind is needed, but I think that half that 1 the building of a fenc i that they would st completely Mock the south side of the street that the te wou'd he interfered with. . Henry Ives Cobb, the architect, con- tended that McArthur Brothers Company could dispose of the space as they saw fit lowest bidder—McArtbnr Brothers Com- , aled foI in lhe contrM - ti bnt ibatits di- go ahead wil .being made that would keep spectator ing with the work of tbe 1 <a K ed o: McArthur Brothers, with tbe opportun- ity of realizing on the stands, were able to take chances on the amount asked for the excavating. Just as soon as tbe con- tract was turned over to them, R. J. Gun- ning Ji Co. were instructed to put np the use it for advertising. This I no place was left by the destruction of the contractors for their t For tbe privilege of leasing on the big fence, Gnnning & Co. the lowest bid for the work." said he. "and were according to taw entitled to the work. The contractor who over- looked the opportunity to re lease the fence when he bid for the contract made a big mistake. Mere was an opportunity for the successful candidate to realise a little if be had not hoped to make any I of the actual work on the to McArthnr Brothers Company. In putting up the stands the show firm builds them *o substantially that they are advertised to last five years, if that length of time should be consumed in building the postofEce. The displays are to be as varied as a vaudeville program. This is one of the objections which are raised against the "fence"' by the Great North- ern Hotel Company, the Union League club and Kinsley's. Patrons of the bos-