The billboard (Jan-June 1899)

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*tv •» i ri Is Hi r li THE BILLBOARD DISTRIBUTING. £>/sr#JB£/ro»s ■jp^'i %^:^m To The Advertiser. . N-J 56 * 1118 to me that some advertisers are indifferent as to tow their advertising mat- ter is distributed. Of course, they all want good work, but it seems to be too much trouble to them to look after their distrlb- U v25/ m to make a change for the better. There are many cities and towns where Draw get the poorest kind of service—matter merely thrown on the porches or in the yards, as many as two. three or four pieces to a house. Their attention has been called i°_S e matter, but to no avail. The same distributor does the work again and again In the same old way. If a. competitor reports he" Is put down as a "knocaer." The time has now arrived when at least one good, honorable distributor can be found in each city, and in a great many cases a man with a guarantee to back him: I refer to the members of the International Association of Distributors. This association has done more to improve and encourage honest dis- tributing than we have "ever received credit for. We have not only improved the service of our members, but have* compelled other distributors not members to do better woik In order to hold their customers. The. offi- cers of the I. A. D. have never received half the credit they deserve; in fact, very few persons have any idea of the amount of labor and time it required to bring this organiza- tion into existence. It is not vet complete or perfect, but has accomplished a great deal. It has been tried and tested. Its guar- . antee" has proved good.- Claims have been paid when proven. Can t v \j advertiser turn to anything else and get as much? I think not. Now, Mr. Advertiser, is it not your plain duty to patronize this body of men? Is it not your duty to encourage honest serv- ice? Don't you think they deserve your as- sistance, especially when it costs you but very lKtle, ir any, more? What If it does cost you a little mure—a guaranteed serv- ice is worth more. You are absolutely safe. Did you ever correspond with any of the officers of the L A. D-? If you have, have you not alwa~s received prompt and cour- teous-replies? Have they not tried to serve you to. the best of their ability? Tou cer-. tainly will admit that it is much easier to place advertising matter wiui local distrib- utors today than it ever was before. What brought about this state or affairs? There is .hut one answer, the I. A. of D. Then the association is of benefit and./convenience. Wherever you have a good, rentable distrib- utor, stick to Mm and advise Mm to Join us; but when you have not a good man, give the association the. preference. If you know -pt a member who is not reliable, or does careless work, I would thank you to report him to,me. Rest assured that the matter will be investigated promptly, and at the same time you will be helping to im- prove tile service. Some advertisers claim that the association is trying to get control of the distributing business. So they are, and they are working on the line that by giving the best service «nd guaranteeing you against any loss, it will only be natural for you to patronize them. This is perfectly legitimate, is It not? Besides, you wia be the gainer. We will admit that the mere fact cf a man's joining the I. A. D. does not make him honest, but one thing is certain, if he proves to be otherwise, and is found out. nine case out of ten he "folds his tent" and gults the business. Why? Because the officers and members expose and "cry him down." How was it before the days of the association? If an advertiser detected a dis- tributor wasting matter; he simply dropped him. Other advertisers never learned any- thing about the case; therefore, they con- tinued to ship l.im, and he still prospered. I know you have improved upon this method lately, and that you too have a system to check up work. You can still improve by having your inspectors report all the work they may chance to see. no matter whether tt» -piarty -does - your distributing "or not. Give credit wherever it is due. While speak- ing of the inspector, allow me to fay that ti»«re are good and bad ones, although the latter are the exception, not the rule. I know that two or three visit a certain city where some very poor work is bein-3 done. Still, the same distributor does their work year after year.. Their inspector does not report the work as he finds it, or his firm is indifferent. Every advertiser and inspec- tor should endeavor to place their work t with the one who gives the best service— lot the cheapest. I would suggest that when m inspector arrives in a city or town that le inspect all the work being done at the time, without making himself known to any of the distributors. This would give him an opportunity to select the best man every time, and finally, all the work would be done by the one who deserves it. I have known of one or two advertisers to writ» local distributors, saying, that Mr. So and So. of a certain city or town, has contracted to do our distributing at $1.25. sometimes $1 per M, (always being sure to select a place with a population about the same as the one he wants- covered), and stating that the aforesaid distributor has a reputation for doin<- good work, and that if satisfied with the same price, they will make him a ship- meet at once. Do you think that this plan will succeed? I think not B* honest, it pays best. Help bui.a up the I. A. D.; en- courage. Its growth. Many advertisers are doing all they can. If you are not among them Join In and patronize its members. Attend their annual convention, to be held in Cincinnati, July 18-20, 1899. It is to your interest to do so. W. H. STEINBRENNER. Secretary I. A. of D. TIPS. Racine 111. The following firms are said to be distrib- uting or about to -distribute. It. will be worth the .while, and postage, too, lor any Cistributor to write fhem. " Brishfc,' Chemical Co., "Little Fails," New York. - - V. W. Vaughn, Deckertown, N.-J. - -.--' The Safety Skirt Placket Co., Ann Arbor, Mich. * The Laundroid Co., Omaha, Neb. The Trans-Atlantic Steamship Line, New Ycrt. • Erie Medical Co., Buffalo, N. Y.' X>r. R. V. Pierce. Buffalo, N. Y. Kondon Mannf. Co.. Minneapolis. Minn. Chattanooga Medicine Co.. Chattanooga. Tenn. Lydia E. Pinkham Co., Lynn. Mass. C. I. Hood & Co., Lowell, Mass. Dr. Chase Co., Philadelphia, Pa. Dr. Kjlmer & Co., Buffalo, N. Y. Dr. W. S. Burkhart. Cincinnati, O. Dr. Miles Co., Elkhart. Ind. Lettuce Cream Co.. New York. Gram Medicine Co., Akron, O. J- C. Ayer, Lowell. Mass. Tho R. T. Booth Co.. New York. Foster, Miibum & Co., Buffalo, N. Y. The Tdnsollhe Co., Canton, O. Dodds Medical Co.. Buffalo, N. Y. -The.Peruna Co.,"Columbus. O." - Brown Medical Co., Erie, Fa. Dr. Snoop Family Medicine Co., Wis. '...--• Menzo Manufacturing Co., Erie. Pa. Herculean OH Co., Elmira, N. Y. Dr. Bosahko, Philadelphia, Fa. Drs. Hess & Clark, Ashland. O. S. Pfelffer Mfg. Co., St. Louis, Mo. The Hindman Co.. Thompsonviile, The Toledo Starch Co.. Toledo, O. Wells. Richardson & Co., Burlington, Vt. Swift's Specific Co., Atlanta, Ga. Curo Chemical Co., New York. Moores Stock Food Co., Council Bluffs, la. Bell & Bogert Soap Co.. New York. Farkee Chemical Co., 53 Newland St., Bos- ton. Mason Chemical Co.. 515 Arch St., Philadel- phia. Pa. The Tasteless Quinine Co., Asbeville, N. C. Dr. Harry H. Kane, New York. Drs. F. B. & J. A. Green, Woodbury, N. J. The American Rice Food Mfg. Co., Matta- wan. N. J. The Health Tobacco Co., New York. The Wilde Chemical Co., Neenah, Wis. Stonebraker Chemical Co., Baltimore, Md. Binghamton Pharmacal Co.. Binghamton, N. Y. C. Vopeler & Co.. Baltimore. Md. Frederick Stearns & Co., Detroit, Mich. Barron. Boyle & Co.. Cincinnati. O. Drs. Taft Bros., Rochester. N. Y. The Dr. H. C. Klick Medical Co.. Cincin- nati. O. ' Rutland Fire Clay Co., Rutland, Vt. Ft. Charles'Condensing Co.. St. Charles. III. Bcy«r Bittfrs Co., Cincinnati. O. Sterling Remedy Co., Indiana Mineral Sprinrs, Tnd.j v* r . E. Towhe. Holvoke. Mass. Flwood Mfg. Co., 53 New St., New York. H. C. Buchanan, 60 Ann St., New York. If the tins have helDed you, they will help others, and you owe it to us and our readers to se=d us the name and address of every new advertiser who sends you work. It will only cost a cent for a postal, and can be dc-e in a minute's time. If you do not get the work yourself, but find it being done ly some c-e else, send us the name of the ad- vertiser anyhow, and we will reimburse you for the postal. H. G. Wilshire, of Los Angeles, is deep In a newspaper controversy. He advocates con- ducting National. State and Municipal gov- ernment on corporation lines. As usual, he argues well and puts his points cleverly. It is too far ahead of the times. That, though Is a characteristic of Wilshire's. The new location list of the Cream City Bill Posting Co.. Milwaukee, Wis., has the merit of being both new and- practical. It will be widely copied by bill posters because of its handy and convenient arrangement Prank Fitzgerald is deserving of much credit for this idea. A concern calling itself the Dr. Mart-hand Chemical Co.. located at the foot of Twenty- fourth Street, Detroit. Mich., is making ar- rangements for some advertising. Distributing advertising matter from house to house by distributors is fast advancing to the front. Advertisers at large are grad- ually indorsing this method, so that a great deal depends on the distributors and the kind of service that they give to the ad- vertisers. Distributing is a trade just as much as shoe making or tailoring. It takes experience, time and an extra amount of perseverance to make a successful distribu- tor, because no lazy man can ever hope to be a distributor, for he will be found lacking in the make-up of his composition, in en- ergy to climb stairs, and to stretch for doors to locate the matter beyond the reach of small and mischievous children. The old way of distributing is rapidly passing away; every piece of advertising must be made to count. Throwing it on porches and lawns for the people to pick up and read is a dis- "}>}failure, because in this mad. swift rush of life you have got to use every honest and honorable means to place it directly in their way. so that they are forced to LOtice it. Thus, through circumstances unavoidable, advertising is to attract attention. The new up-to-date distributor is thorough]- imbued with that idea. He studies it, he dreams over it, and it becomes a mania with him. He is called a crank among the fake distrib- utors, but you know every machine has to have a crank to make it work. So, my brother distributor, if you are affected with above disease, you will find it a healthy dis- - ease for your pocket-book, and sooner or later you are bound to control the distribut- ' ing iij your section.. Advertisers are looking for you, but you have got to prove yourself, ; -in order to win their confidence. Today, in the office In one of the largest proprietary medicine firms in this- country, the adver- tising manager said to me: "We ised to get letters from you years ago, and we be- lieve you are an honest man, an honest dis- tributor." Those words were Inspiring; they lifted me upon the mountains of success be- cause I had spent six years in 'trying to prove to that firm that I was a real up-to- date distributor, doing and putting into prac- tice all I preached. There are Hundreds of distributors throughout our land today that are coming to the front by exercising their . abilities along this line. The International Association of Distributors was organized for this. I do not want to be personal, but feel it my duty to pay tribute to such men as vv'i.l- A.. Molten, of Cleveland, O.; W. H. Stein- . brenner, of Cincinnati, O., and others wli'j have done so much for distributors by lift- ing distributing out of the mud, where it was gradually being sunk by disreputable distributors, and placing it on a higher plane. Nor would I forget the advertisers who have so nobly responded, and by their hearty corroboration with distributors, also have elevated the business of distributing from the slough of despondency to the ex- alted position it now holds in the advertis- ing world. A great deal has to be done yet. and as each year goes by the I. A. of D. is gathering better men in their fold, sifting out the dross, and every advertiser in the land that has his business at stake, and de- pends on the advertising part to build it up. should pull with- us. We can and will give you guaranteed services, and mean what we say. Our association's and our own per- sonal reputations are at stake. We furnish men, only men, pay good wages so that we can- obtain men that are honest and reliable. It has been plainly stated in the past that the boy distributors are failures. A boy is a boy all over; he is enthusiastic, and rushes ahead at the start, but soon tires out and easily gets discouraged and timed after a few ejections by janitors from fiats and pub- lic buildings, his nerve is gone. He has not reached that maturity of age where he will take hold and hold on. You can not expect he will be able to stand the work I ke a man. and all real distributors and advertiseis long ago have plucked that moat of cheap worn by boys out of their eyes. It has been a failure in the past, and It will also be a failure in the future to all who follow it up. Brother distributors. I hope every one of you have carried the sack, and I do wish that some of the advertisers who are hag- gling about prices could be oersuaded to carry the sack one day; they would be cured, and convinced that the distributor earns every cent he gets and asks for. I have had a great many advertisers write me for my price for guaranteed work, and after a while would find some green young men or boys who slaughtered it. and wh :. asked why they did not do better work, the sullen an- swer was not enough money in it; not hon- est enough to refuse a price that makes themselves dishonest. What do this certain c.ass of boys and young men care; it is only for a few days. They have nothing at stake nor do they depend on this kind of work; it is only a side issue to obtain a few cents to blow to. Advertisers, where you find dis- tributors, and you will find plenty of them in the I. A. of D.. that are doing all they can towards honest work, stand by them. They need your recommendation, your pat- ronage, and if they give them first-class serv- ices, do not be backward in letting them hear from vou with words of praise, - for it will only stimulate them to give you better services in the future. Sing the praise of them to your brother advertisers, that they mav take up the cry and send it along the line, and you will always find plenty of hon- est men in the distributing buslnet-s at all times. They have been able to succeed In tho business through hone&t efforts and J. BOW. STROVER, Licensed Distributor, 287 E. Main St., Room 5, Member i. a. of D. Rochester, IV. V. plenty of patronage given to them to make it pay. —■»»« If any one needs encouragement and sup cess, it is a distributor. Think of the manv weary steps he Is forced to take, especially on a hot day. climbing flights of stairs wandering through dark and filthy smelllne halls, meeting all classes of humanity re celvlng all kinds of receptions, ejected from building only to wander around to another entrance. UKr Poor work being done in Milwaukee I would not i^r.ort It. but upon second thought I saw it plainly my duty, and if I never suc- ceed in obtaining one red cent of work frcm that advertiser in the future some other reliable distributor will get the work, and good had been accomplished, the advertiser gets better services, and the dis- tributing service in this city are advanced Brothers, do not be afraid to report when you have good foundation to report on Two years ago I knew a traveling distrib- utor of a large firm to throw up his Job Why. he had been doing work all over the country, and the stirring up he got con- tinually from his house made him sick. He told me he would never travel for another firm unless they would never pay any at- tention to those distributors throughout the country that were so fresh as to report everything. There is always some fire where . sm X k f*i J wou:d like «» see a distributor established in every town and city in our land, and then have all unite together in the great I. A. of D.. banded together with that one grand purpose of advancing and promoting horse to house work. True, we have now over three hundred members' but we want more. My brother distributors out- side of the fold, come with us; you can not set the world- on fire alone at this business- put your money and brain with us, and unit- ed we shall stand, but divided we shall fall Yours In the cause of promoting and advanc- ing house to house advertising cm thorough and energetic up-to-date principles. WALTER D. DIXON. Milwaukee, Wis. Cincinnati Wins. As foreshadowed in our January issue, Cin- cinnati gets the next meeting of the Inter- national Association of Distributors. The fol- lowing is the list of votes as cast by our Ex- ecutive Committee: Jos. Rcid. Cincinnati, O. !>. H. Ramsey, Cincinnati, O. R. S. Douglas, Cincinnati, O. W. C. Tirrill. Cincinnati. O. Thos. Kain, Cincinnati. O. O. P. Fairchild. Cincinnati. O. W. H. Steinbrenner, Cincinnati, O. W. H. Case. Detroit. Mich. James A. Curran. Detroit. Mich. F. M. Groves. Detroit. Mich. Total: Cincinnati 7. Detroit 3. The New Haven (Conn.) Bill Posting Co. has instituted a splendid distributing service, and the manager, Mr. C. O. Akerman, is earning the warm encomiums of advertisers. He has received a dozen strong testimonials as to the thoroughness and efficiency of his system Eince the beginning of the New Year. Distributors. You can not build up a distributing busi- ness unless you are willing to work hard and long and try your best all the while. Henry B. Hyde, who is now President of the Equi- table Lite Assurance Co. and draws a salary of U00.O0O a year, (twice that of the Presi- dent of the United States), was once a poor clerk. Says he: But I think, however, that your.g men are learning more every year about what tbev have to do in order to suc- ceed, and perhaps the happy day will come when all who aspire to fame and fortune will be willing to pay the price In hard, faith- ful, persevering work. It is only in novels that young men achieve fame and fortune ir. a day. In real life they must work long and hard to achieve success." Oliver P. Fairchild. the efficient Secretary of the I. A. or D.. has paid off all the in- debtedness of the organization. The associa- tion does not owe a cent, and has a com- fortable balance on hand. We can not make the I. A. of D. list a suc- cess. Over fifty members refused to co-op- erate with us. We will run it as a distribu- tors' directory, open to all, for the balance of the year. If the association thinks a list Is desirable, it m. •- provide for it at the an- nual convention next July. Distributors should bear in mind that we get our tips from distributors. The moment you get a consignment from a new firm, take a minute and a postal card ai.d write us about it. You will help some brother distrib- utor to secure work from the same firm. The Anita Cream Co., Phillips Block, Los Angeles. Cal., has placed an order for 2,000 twenty-four-sheet stands, and will deal direct with bill Dcsters on the Pacific Coast and west of the Mississippi and south of the Mis- souri. Adler, of the New York Legislature, Is still advocating his fool bill, forbidding erection of bill boards over six feet high on any build- ing In cities of the first or second class, un- der penalty or $50, and $10 for each day such sign- is allowed to remain. The PancooRt Co.. 604 Bourse Building. Philadelphia, is reported to have made an ap- propriation for advertising a proprietary med- icine. The Suvio Manufacturing Co.; 1131 Broad- way. New York, lias resumed its advertising Tor the season. K. M. Dexter. 1218 Spruce Street. Phila- delphia, is an addition to the list of confec- tionery advertisers. THE BILLBOARD AGAIN! The International Association of Distribu- tors Makes Good Its Guarantee. The International Association of Distribu- tors gives advertisers who patronize its mem- bers a guarantee of good service that is ab- solutely good. If a member or the organi- zation does hot give an advertiser the ser- vice exactly as contracted tor, the association reimburses the advertiser for any loss he may have sustained. If he has paid the distributor for the bad service, the association refunds the money. Furthermore the association pays him a sum of money equivalent to the value of the books or samples that were wasted, and also upon demand the amount paid for freight or expressage on same. The object is to obtain the implicit confi- dence of all firms that advertise by booklets and pamphlets. Its guarantee is an insur- ance policy issued without cost to all adver- tisers who patronize its members. The latest firm to enjoy the benefit of the guarantee is the Dr. Kilmer Co., of Bing- hamton, N. Y., who ran up against bad ser- vice at Muncie, Ind. The moment their claim was proved, it was paid, and the offending member expelled. Dr. Kilmer's acknowledge- ments arc as follows: Binghamton. N. Y.. Jan. 1, 1899. W. H. Steinbrenner. Secretary, International Association of Distributors, 519 Main St., Cincinnati. O.: Dear Sir.—We are in receipt of your check for $28.49, amount of our claim against your association for loss sustained through your member at Muncie, Ind. Kindly accept our thanks for same. We regret that this claim had to be made upon your association. We would much pre- fer to have had the matter put out and have received the benefit from the advertising than to receive the actual cost of the same. How- ever, there is a degree of satisfaction in knowing that in dealing with your members we will not lose anything more than tho possible loss of business by reason of the matter not being distributed. We trust we will not be called upon again to make a similar claim: certainly, your guarantee to the advertiser must give him implicit confidence In your methods of mak- ing distributions, and the time is not far dis- tant when your association will have reached sufficient territory to enable the advertiser to avail himself of its services almost wholly. Thanking you for past favors, and trusting that we will be able to give your members a large amount of business in future, we re- main, very truly yours. DR. KILMER "- CO. (Dictated by W. D. Redington, Mgr. Dis- tribution Department.) The guarantee feature of the I. A. of D. Is indeed a most excellent idea. It has con- tributed largely to the great success of the organization. It is destined to accomplish more and more good as the-years go by. for now that the association, under the excel- lent policy or Mr. O. P. Fairchild, has been placed upon a sound financial footing, and Its working perfected by Messrs. Steinbrenner. Case and Reid, it will soon practically control the business. It occurs to one quite naturally that cer- tain restrictions will have to be placed upon the present policy in the near future. It will not always be feasible or even just to allow all advertisers indiscriminately to enjoy the advantages they do at present. The guarantee of the association is. as we have observed before, an Insurance policy. It Is worth money to every advertiser. Of course the association does not wish to embark in the Insurance business, but it is entitled to some consideration of value at the hands of advertisers in exchange for the insurance it gives them. It strikes us that all advertisers who wish to enjoy the protection of the guarantee should be ready and willing to give some- thing in return—not a cash consideration— but moral support. They ought to sign a contract with the as- sociation, agreeing to give their work to a member of the association in every town where the association has a member. Instead of following the hap-bazard plan which many i at ^ present - " *hey patronize an opposi- tion distributor in any town, then they are working against the association, and it should not insure them. This is only just and rea- sonable. Another thing. Every member of the I. A. or D. has to perform careful, painstaking, thorough service. His work must be or the very highest efficiency. He is entitled to a ralr price tor his service. No advertiser who bents him down to the figure asked by an unattached distributor tor unguaranteed ser- vice, should be reimbursed tor any loss he may sustain, ir he Is unwlllins to pay a ralr and a just price tor his work he should not kick If he only gets the kind of service he pays for. In all cases, too. claims should alwavs be closely Investigated. All charges must be carefully sifted and completely proved. There should be no haste and no Jumping at con- clusions. The officers must needs adhere clOBely to the advice or Davy Crockett: "Be sure you're right: then go ahead." The suggestions here offered are all points which will come up at the convention In Cin- cinnati next July, and In the meantime are worthy or the consideration ot all members. Geo. E. Updegravc, or Johnstown, Pa.. •.J! £? : .,_ " B "sl»ess has been exceedingly ''right the paBt fix weeks. Put out for Kon- m"i" Man H fa, ' tur, "K Co., of Minneapolis. Minn., 8.000 samples: Dr. Snoop. R.000 books: 1.000 rlmar.acs for W. H. Comstock Co.. of Morrlstown, N. Y.: 1.500 books for Dr. Kll- L ncr * Co., Binghamton, N. Y.; 8,000 books «°^. V i ct< ; r Remedy Co.. of Frederick, Md.: mT i^l for Celestial Oil Co.. Baltimore. w?Y 8 • < S?» DooV,, for •>■ w - Brant Co.. Albion. S 1 ™--., 300 sheets for George Storm & Co.. nZZ~?°V?- N .' Y ' : 3, ° 8nec, » for Sterling Itetnedy Co., Attica, Ind." The Distributor And The National Advertiser. The foundation for a successful distributing buElness is the National advertiser. This is the one which the distributor should seek to secure. Hew to get him on his list of patrons is the question. Some think one methci superior to others. I believe the proper way is to advertise in your trade jour- nals, and to solicit his patronage through correspondence. In this respect. I wish to say that it is absolutely necessary to use a business letter-bead and a business card. A great many distributors become discour- aged after having written a few soliciting letters and received no replies. If I had become discouraged so easily, I would have gone out of the business long ago. I believe it tal.es more time and energy to build up a good trade in the distributing business than in almost any other line, and if you see a distributor's name in the advertising columns of the trade journal for four or five years, ;';u can make up your mind that he is a survival of one of the fittest. A great num- ber of distributors start into business expect- ing the advertiser to jump at the opportunity to employ them, and finding that this is not the case, they become disheartened and quit. Such a class is a detriment to the business, for it makes the advertiser lose confidence in local distributors. The distributor is prac- tically the medium between the advertiser and the public. It is through him that the manufacturer of proprietary articles and other goods ad\erti*ea ieacu-?s pcsiiDle pa- trons. In fact, the advertiser needs the dis- tributer. A great many advertisers are very careless in paying their bills, and often are unwilling to pay a fair price for the services they re- quire, which is only a temptation to the dis- tributor to do dishonest work. I would say to my fellow-craftsmen: Do not accept a proposition from any one unless you are sure there is a fair profit for your labor in it. ir the advertiser would consider that there are a great many days that the distributor can not work on account of rainy weather, bad walking, etc.. and would also remember that there are quite a number of days lost through not having anything to do. he would probr.b!r be more willing to pay a better price. It is a well-known fact that a man can not attend to distributing and work at something else at the same time. He must devote his entire time and attention to the work, especially in the large cities. I have received a great many letters from parties saying that they were in ill health and un- able to do hard work; consequently, they were desirous of going into the distributing business. To such parties I would like to state that distributing is the hardest kind of work, and that it requires a good, healthy man. Some advertisers seem very careless as to the manner in which their distributiro- is done. They seem to think all that is neces- sary is to have their matter distributed. It some competitor writes them, reporting bad work on their matter, they imagine he is a "!-r.oc!:er." Yet, if you do not report bad work in soliciting, they write and say that they see no reasons for making a change. My reply to such people usually is: If you would send an inspector and have your work thoroughly inspected, you might probably find good reason for trying some one else All distributors who are doing good, honest work welcome the inspector, and I think when he finds the work well done, he should so report it to his house. Some firms require a voucher signed by five or six dealers before they will pay the bill. I think this is a rank piece or foolish- ness. It only puts us to some extia trouD.e, and does not make the work a particle better. In ninety-nine cases out of a hundred the parties who sign the voucher know nothing whatever about how the work was done, and merely sign their names as a special favor. There is another class of advertisers whom I want to mention in this article—the "dead beats." There are more dishonest adver- tisers than dishonest distributors, and the sooner we get them out of business, the bet- ter it will be for the honest advertiser and distributor. Every distributor should con- sider it his duty to expose these "beats," and by so doing, he will save others from being rhested out or their hard-earned money While our association guarantees the adver- tiser a thorough, honest distribution and makes good all losses sustained, we have no such guarantee to secure us. In conclusion. I would say to the distrib- utor: Do good, honest work at all times. Use all honorable means to push the goods you nre advertising. Use all honorable means possible to get more business. It will only be a matter or time, ir you pursue this course, until you will practically control the business in your city. While some or the ad- vertisers may be slow to recognize you. they .".re bound to do so in the end. Yours very truly. W. H. STEINBRENNER, Mgr. Steinbrenncr's Distributing Service. Chas. Caylor. of Cumberland. Md.. writes: "I received another shipment rrom Dr. Burk- hart to-day. He wrote me in a previous let- ter that he had 4.000,000 samples destroyed by dishonest distributors last year, costing him $9 per 1,000. I think that is outrageous. He employed 1.600 distributors last season: 500 of them were dishonest and worthless. No wonder advertisers are carerul." If the Doctor really wrote that, we would believe It without question, even though there Is no law whtch compels us to. We strongly sus- pect, though, that bis advertising manager has been writing letters and sending them out over the Doctor's name. Advertising managers are proverbially careless about fig- ures, and the bigger the figures the more careless they get. It is well to take their as- sertions like you do a newspaper circulation claim—with a little salt. New Members Of the International Association of Dis tributors. ♦i,r r T >m A incI J t T. amons tne re cent additions to viz • membership are the following. ne^'MarKera S n a d%Sfh nC itre°ets OWenS & Var - 10l1 a Ostge"stre V e e t nW ° , ' th ' C ' k Hat ^way. Louisiana-Shreveport, Ed. H. Seaman coto street EdWlD L Emmons - ^ Lin - Missouri—De Soto, John Ljnsley Downer. Indiana-Crawfordsville, H. M. Mclntvre Pastor" 8 " 101 " Street: Prank ^rt, Chat Gool: Ohio—Middletown, Buckles & Barnet Rhode Island-Providence, New England Bulletin Sign Co., 909 Banigan BIdg. Avenue~A° UnC " BIUffS ' C ' W ' Nicnols . 3501 Tennessee—Union City, Oscar R. Crews 3. P o n BIdg UnCie ' Ge ° - W - Vansvckle . R°om Two Instead of One. An enthusiastic distributor, 'who, by the way does not live a thousand miles from Cincinnati, while out inspecting the wort maul, ° WD ™ en : ran acro - s another lot of bSter%n1;f 8 , h PUt ° Ut ' It . WaS " :ace » "»"* ,m i? i .*£? avera ee. but in following it up he invariably found that two folders were ni-» in f* 6ad ? f one ' Tnere we re new more Sf.iT ' e « S; aI !"»>' s i<H* two.and so he reported suhmtt^neir^p/y^ f ° lderi *»""'«^ We r» D « e itL Sir T Your ^teemed favor of the 17th !^I« ^ e ,, are very B lad that you take interest enough in us to Inform us regard- £.% iht. ti, IVery ° f our fol<J ers. We wish to rt?™.!^ ^ e 2°, une ■ maa has been following directions in delivering two circulars at each d £S r '~ ° U f ' , ,Em «« «as been a little dull. S? flfS B I h ,mpIy t tock one of our offlce help to distribute these folders, and from what right?"" 6 SeCn 0t Mm m thlnk ne is a » J'-'" the future, we have any circulars which we wish to be distributed, and can favor jsou. will be only too glad to do so. ' Our informant naively observes: "I sun- pose they thought if one folder was a good th:ng, two would be better." ». T S*.. c, .^ umstan . ce is ""teresting inasmuch as it is the first instance that has ever been brought to our notice of i. firm instructing a distributor to leave two books instead of the customary one, and olc only. Who 'Tis Items. DROPPED. i,oT5 k am I s of *be following distributors have been dropped from the roll of member- ship in the International Association of Dis- tributors, viz.: A C Qui r nf° _ViCt ° r ' CrippIe Creek Dist -. Jos. Illinois, Peoria. Monk Introduction Co Indiana—Richmond, Dobbins Bros. .*. st j' but .°I s ou Sht to advertise more than Jhf? ii°"<„ T .v ey ou £? to testif > r to tlre faith IS™ iS xi? them ' They ou Sbt to keep their name before the general advertisers of the country all the time. Nine-tenths of all distributors lose hun- dreds of dollars worth of business yearly s:mply because they fail to properly adver- tise their business. Distrioutors constantly comp,ain of distributing falling into poor hands, when it should rightfully belong to them. If such is the case, tnen it is simply because you have failed to make it known that you are in the business, and render the proper service. Your business can be built up to satisfactory proportions by constantly advertising youiseli. and rendering an hon- est service. Your advertising gets you new Patrons, your honest service holds them. '•The Billboard" reaches all the prominent advertisers in the country every month. You can huve your name in our Distributors' Directory for one dollar per year. Vow honestly. can you afford to have vour name and address left out Whenever a new concern sends you work it will be well to write us and find out whether they are responsible or not before you start on the work. We will save you from many a dead-beat if you are a sub- scr.ber of ours and w.ll write us. If you are a regular subscriber to "The Bill- board," and have any accounts that you can not collect, send them to us and we will get your money for you. Our services are free to subscribers. T , h ? K° n ' >r M fe. Co., Baltimore. Md.. which has advertised proprietary remedies in previous years, is said to -ave made a moderate appropriation for this season. Various dealers in seeds are preparing for their advertising for 1S99. The T. J. King Co.. Richmond, Va., is one of the first in the field. Clark & Zugalla, 43 Gold street. New York have started out on a moderate amount of advertising of a pocket heater. If you are in arrears for your subscrip- tion you had better pay up or you are liable to be dropped. The T. S. Hocknoll Advertising Co.. De- troit, Mich., who have bee-- using the I A D. cut. have promised to desist using same! The Standard Chemical Wtorks. 351 Her- kimer street. Buffalo, N. Y., is said to con- template some advertising. The P. L. Abbey Co.. Kalamazoo, Mich., will resume some of its advertising shortly. A report reaches me. that one of Hood's dUtlibutors. in a well-known Illinois town, puts his bi.ls over the fence by letting them slide down his c-ne. This is a novel scheme and a new one on me. I wonder, how C I Hood & Co. would like to contract for this c.ass of service all over the United States? Hood certainly gets the worst of It in a great many cases. Well. Hood's is the best. I recently received a letter and soliciting circular from a distributor in the East. He complained in his letter of not being able to do any business, saying that advertisers did not even ask him to quote prices. The first part of his circular was well written, but the last clause mined the whole thing, reading as follows: "Matter to be put out must be sent pre- paid, by freight or express; one-half the pay for my work to accompany the order, the balance when work is done." I am surprised to know mat any distrib- utor would care in what way lie received the matter, just so it arrived all light. Distrib- utors, as a rule, ate well satisfied to receive their money within ten days after bill has been rendered, if there are any more dis- tributors demanding one-half pay in advance I would advise them to either drop It or get out of the business. One of the large advertisers stated to me the other day that it cost $270,000 to make one distribution, covering all the towns of the United States, consisting of from 5 000 population and upwaid. He also estima'ed that it would require 10,000,000 pieces. The above figures include printing, samples and everything pertaining to the distrlbu- " tion. Drs. Kennedy & Kergan. 148 Shelby street, Detroit, Mich., are anxious to hear from all the members of the I. A. D. They are pre- paring to contract for the distribution of their advertising matter. 1. A. D. members please take notice. A Galesburg, III., correspondent writes as fGllows: "See Monk about it today. I saw him for J37." Moral: Do not monkey with-Monk any more. Mr. Peter P. Steketee, Muskegon, M£ch., writes as follows: "I am distributing the W. H. Comstock almanacs. This makes the seventeenth distribution in as many years." When a man has done work for seventeen consecutive years for one film, he certainly must be giving good service. Can any one beat the recoid? Mr. H. T. Hayes, Advertising Manager of the Dr. Chase Co., of Philadelphia, is re- covering from a severe illness, and will be ready lor the road in a short time. As Mr. Hayes places lots of advei Using matter with the distributors, and is a jolly, good fellow, it will please "the boys" to know that he will be with them again in the near future. Dr. Burkhart states that he has distributed during the year 1898, 13,500,0m, pieces, be- sides the 3,500,0uu placed lor him by W. H. Steinbrenner. He has already contracted for paper and envelopes for 35,000,0(0 to be dis- tributed during la99. The Doctor, on his re- cent trip East, established an agency in London, Eng., and will immediately com- mence advertising, in that country. He also states that he did a very good business in New York City. Philadelphia, and all the large cities- in tile East. He calls Chicago. Philadelphia and New York City his "ban- ner towns." All distributors should get in line with the Doctor for his next season's work. Mr. P. J. Smith, bill poster and distrib- utor of Loraine, O.. has one of the most beautiful letter heads of any in the craft. It certainly shows Mr. Smith to be possessed of excellent taste. Ramsey & Co.'s bill posting office at Lex- ington, Ky., was entirely destroyed by fire on December 31st. Loss $1,500. with an in- surance of ¥500. Mr. Ramsey states that they are not handicapped in any way, but are ready for business as usual. Mrs. E. E. Welch, of San Jose, Cal., re- cently joined- the I. A. D. This lady per- sonally carries the distributor's bag. and does all of the work herself.-She has a rep- utation for being a very careful and consci- entious distributor. The New England' Bulletin Sign Co., of Providence, R. I., have recently joined the I. A. D. Mr. Steinbrenner informs me that the firm is very highly recommended. The manager, Mr. M. J. Gallagher, is spoken of by the parties whom he gives as reference as being "not only a shrewd r-«n of busi- ness, but a gentleman of integrity praise- worthy in every respect, a thorougn gentle- man and a scholar." Any business, entrusted to this firm's care will certainly receive prompt and careful attention. The Evansville District Telegraph Co.. Evansville, Ind.. use a verv n.or imitation of the I. A. D. cut on their stationery. If "lacei by the side of the I. A. D. cut, it would make a good illustration of "beiore and after joining the I. A. D." The I. A. D. cut is the perfect picture of health and pros- perity, while the District Telegraph Co.'s looks like a man in the last stages of con- sumption, or a fellow slowly dying of star- vatiiHi. It could be used with better suc- e. -.- by a dime museum as a poster of a liv- ing skeleton. 1 do n<* understand why all of the mem- bers of the I. A. D. do not use the associ- ation cuts. They certainly are a good trade mark. If they were not. outside parties would not copy ana try to steal them. There are now at least a dozen imitators. The Sceretary "goes after" these imposters as soon as he finds them cut. W. ACHESS. /