The billboard (Feb 1900)

The BtLLBOAftD The Billboard. y PublUhtd First of Every Month, ai ' 137 East Eighth Street, Cincinnati, O., U. S. A- Addrenn all eommunfeations For the editorial or business departments to THE BILLBOABD FUBLIBHIHa CO. Subscription, ti.oo Per Year, In Advance. ADVERTISING RATES: Advertisements will be published at the uni- ' form rate of ten cents per agate line; no dis- c count for time or space. Copy for advertise- l\ ments must reach lis on or before the twenty- ^1 fifth of the month. Our terms are cash. if TAe Billboard is sold iit London at Low's £x- || change, si Charing Cross, and at AmerKan Ad- ri vertising ^ewsfiafier Agency, Troffaigar. Build- ^ings, Northumberland Ave., if,CI in Paris, at »SrtntaHo's,J7Avenwi detOfera. Tkttiradesup- [I fUed by the American News Co. and its truMeiet. a Remittance should iemade iy fost-officeer ex- Wfress money order, or tegis'erai letter addressed VI and made paraile to The BilUoard Put. Co. [ir "Hu editor can not undertake toretum unsolicited l| manuscript; corresfiondents should keefi copy, r| Wktn it IS necessary to wire us the instructions ft Qttd copy for advertisements, great saving in the h matter of tefegra^h tolls may be had by recourse to ij the Donaldson Cipher Code. I Entered as Second-Class Matter at Post Office j' at Cincinnati, Ohio. \ FEBRUARY J900. [; The nwiBy "frieiMls ahfl patrons of If "The Billbosml" will be glad to team % tb»t the company wMeh pnbHslies the L paper lias been IncorpoKrted. The \ i neeesswtry articles and eei-tiflcarte have j be«>n forwartled to the Seei«tary of the H Stafte ef OMo. properly slgnepd anrt j I sworn to. and have been returned in \ ; duplicate to this office, wtth the Secre- fitary's sisnat are aiid the State seal ;, thepeni>on. All the stwbility enjoyed by stock mmpanies in which the capital stock lias l)een .<5nbseribed this company i B»w ha.«»u The privileges and atlvan- ■ Cases which belong only to fiill-fledged i corporations are now onrs. Whatever \ cbanse nwy take place in the manasie- ; imut of 'the company, as a resnit of I the incorporatioo, Trill be duly an- f nonnced. But onr readers and sub- I seribers may rest asstirea that the I present policy of ttie paper will be I uKiiDtnined In every particnlar. S The paper will corittnne to be pnb- I lisbed regularly in the. best interest of ^ BUI Posters and r)ijsl!ributors.-Heonse- * quently the AdTeaitiisets. The FfCr men \ will not be neglected, wor will any der I partnient suffer In the least. In the i paBt. the paper ha.s at aH times, aetetl i impnrtiaUy and without prejudice, [l Has played i*o favorites. Has prptect- . ed those who deserved protection, and has, w are gftid to say, time after time expo^ frands and impos>tors and brought to ligbt the deep-laid, ne- I farious planfe of schemers and nnpvin- j eipled men. • j "The BHlboard" has always been, I and ever wiU remaiin, in t<be straight : and narrow patli. It can not be bull- dozed, neither can it be beaten. It is strong in its might and is conscious of its ijower. It tas grown, in strength and ebdnrance throngU its incorpora- tloD. aWd will be able to wield a more powerful sword and carry a more ef- teeHve sMefd. with Vhlch to flght the etoemies to the causes which it has espoused. »** Thi'oughout the country, in every line of business, commei-eial or profes- sional, the general tendency for the past year or niore has been to join in- terests, far mutual pratection and ben- efit. In some c.i-ses the alliance has been necessary in order to protect the man- ufactnrers against tlie unjust methods employed by the trusts controlling the raw nv.iteriaL In other instances the combination has been bi-ougbt about by s^everal firms in tlte same business, in order to put a stop to murtlerous competition. Such has been the fact in tbe bill posting business. Change after change lias lieen announeeil in tlie make-up of tlie i*dvertising plants of the big cities Hirongliont the connti-y- Tlie four last changes have taken place in the cities of Chicago. St. rx»uis, Xew York and Siin Francisco, i-espectively. and in each instance matters for the bill post- ifrs have been greatly simplified. Whether or not the combina tions are for the genei:al gowd of the display-ad- vertising business, and the general ad- vertisers, or wlietlier tliey ai-e luei-ely of benefit to the proprlotore of the phibts tncludiMl in the combine, Is a qnesition which it is not onr purpose to answer in this short pai^agraph. How- ever, there are two sides to the ques- •tion, neirtier of which is without Its loyal supporters. : :; *** Ai>r«i>os to the subject of combina- tions will come the presentation of a few facts concerning the largest com- binations of bill posters in existence— nainely. the Assot-iated Bill Po-sters of United Stfiites and Cantida. That the association Ims done much for bill posters and the entii-e bill posting system can not be disputed. Xo one acpnainted with tlie his^ tory of the growtli and progress of this medinih will deny that fact. But what is also an iinsnrmoiintable trntbr-onif which will be freely admit- ted by all excepting those interested and at fanlt—is, that the government of the assoc^.ttion has. In many re- spects!, been absolntely bad. Orders have been promulgated and rules and regidation» formed, the .^iMrit of which *he niajority of the members were not-in sympathy or accoi-d. How is It *liat one man, or set of men, can vent tl»eir personal enmity and malice and attempt to satisfy their greed and avarice, to tire detrim'ent of the busi- ness, absolutely conti-ary to the inter- ests of the membei^? These things are posisible, liecanse tire power is no* in the hands of the members or of their representatives. Are the delegates to the United States Congress or tlie members of flie House of Represjenta- tives appointed by tbe PresltleMt or !tuy other one person^ ifo. They are elected by the people; everj* innu en- titlwl to a TOte has that privilege and every man's wte counts. So it should lie in tlie Bill Positei-s* As.'Mciatiou. The law making body, the executive Imdy. of the association sliouhl Ire .elected by tlic meiulwrs. Until tlie fime comes when tbe direc- tors shall lie elcctetl by Ualiot, the best and the lii.gliest interests of the mem- liei-slrip will be sacriKced for the for- wwrdittg of selH»h and indlvidinil aims. ♦** Tlie desire of every street fair or county fair Secret.a'ry is to make his sliow a success—^by tliis we mean a tinancijvl succefss. Xo matter how well tlie exhlbitoi-s are sa'tIsfied; iio matter how iittiny patrons enthuse over the educational ndvantiigcs offered; no msitter how glowing the press accounts of ;tl>e attractiveness and the success of the exIiiliHion. rlie Secretary has a very bitter pill to swallow, if. on clos- ii^ the Ixvoks. a Italanee Is not found uiwu ilie i-iglit side of the le<lger. How to brin^raltout a surplus In. 'tend of a deficit, Is then tlie question. In answer, diflferent plains and sugges- tions uii^ht be given, eacli to suit fairs -in different locations having dif- feivnt suntnindings, among the differ- ent classes of people, ami with differ- ent a mounts of money with which to mee t exjienses. ^ ' We do, however, know of one rem- edy wliich can lie applied to .ill classes and coiMlitions of expositions; ami In giving it we lielieve we are giving ad- vice wliicli could be followeil pi-olit- ably by all. Knch according to his size take as large a do.se of advertis- ing as i>ossil)le. Do not l>e afraid to spend your money on goml ad%-ertis- iiig. for it will come li.ick witli interest. Commence early. Ge-t out j-our .<«tamls, your assorteM posters, your cloth sti'e.nnci's, h.mgei-s, .ami fence Stringers, your «inls.aiid dodgers. In time. Apprise every jierson In rJie dl.s- ti'lct tli'at tliere is to lie a fair. Fiir- nlMi the newspapers with reading no- tices and advertl.«9emcn'ts. Then, last- ly, make your sliow as attractive as possiil)le, and live up to every promise you Jiave made. Pn4rs conducted on tliese lines are tlie ones whidi take place as regularly as clock-work, .vear after j-*ar, and never know the ineiin- Ing of the word failure. New Kil Posters* Association. A n«w bill posters' association was foimed last month. The movement has been fore- shadowed in "The BiKboard" for tbe past three monthc. The name of the new organ- ization is The American Bill PoMers' Alli- ance. Dr. J. T. R. c:ark, propiletor of the Interstate Bill Posting Company, of Kancas City. Mo., is th« Secretary of the new asso- ciation. He is a thoroughly capable butlness man. of good financial standing. Besides prosperous bin posting plants in Kansas City and sur- rounding towns, be Is Interested In numerous other business venturer. His sdiemo ol or- ganization is a hew one, an^ a {>e<:uliar oii6. He desires Uttle or. no publicity. His aims are In'tensely practical. He believes in acts, not talk. He brings before the bill poster a simple business proposition possessing Im- mense advantages. All that a bill poster has to do is to accept the proposition and then- hold his tongue. ' It is said that there were but seven plants represented at the first meeting, at wblch the organization was perfected, Jan. 4 and- S. Haidly three weeks later the membertlhip had grown to thirty-two plants. We have b«£n favored witli the prospectus of the new association, but may not publish it. at lea&t not at this time. For obvious rea- sons we can not offer any comment, either. We are permitted to state, though, that two organizers are on tbe road and that almost every day they Jointly add two or three names to tbe roll of members. There la a financial feature/to the scheme and an element of the secret society. The fact that a bill poster belongs to another bill post- ers' association does not prevent him from, nor Interfere with, his becoming a member of the .American Bi:i Posters' Alliance. The latter Is a close, mutually protective, benevolent secret society, cotMlstlng of no one but bill posters. Solicitors are barred from membership. In plain woids. It is an as- sociation of bill posters, run by bill posters exclusively for bill posters. The small-town bi:i poster gets a run for his mcney in the new organizatlcn. He gets real help and this help is worth more than he pays for It in the shape of inltlatlor tees and dues. The attitude o( the new association Is not hostile towards so:ieltors; neither Is It friend- ly. It simply does not know or recognise them. The matter of commission s Is left en- tlrely to the individual membeis. They can pay them or not. Just as they choose. The association bids fair to accomplish much good. Rivals No More. The consolidation of the rival firms of Owens & Varney and Slebe & Green, of San Francisco to form The California Bill Post- ing Company, put an end to the most Intense and bitter biU posters' war in progress throughout the entire country. The light practically began four years ago. when Slebe & Green entered the Held in op- position to the California Ad. Sign Company. w<hlch was finally sncceeded by Owens & Var- ney, and the war, up to the time of the con- solidation. Increased rather than diminished In fury. Lately the competition for locations became so fierce, that choice lots were to be secured only at enormous prices. The ab- surdly high rentals asked by real estate men and property owners for the positions desired rendered it impossible to conduct either one of the firms so that the income wou:d amount to more than the expenidlture. It Is said' that the losses of the two flrms during the last two years aggregated t272,OGO. But now things are different. Fancy prices tor lota will be paid no more. The property owners will have to take what they can get for the use of their ground or get nothing at all. Few^ wi:i be thotie who refuse to leue the boards on their property If reasonable prices are offered them. The new company has a capital of a quarter of a million, and among the plants included In the combine are San Franciaeo, Oakland. San Rafael, San Jose, Alameda, Petaluma and Honolulu. The California Bill Posting Com- pany is composed of tha following members: Thomas Varney, L. D. Owens, Fred, and George Slebe and J. C. Green, all five of whom are equally Interested in t>be business. Just who will be the otncera nt the com- pany has not been definitely decided, but It Is understood that Mr. Oreen will be the ad- vertising manager, and that the Inside worl? will be In charge of Mr. George Slebe and L,en Owens. The new company has a monopoly, since there Is no other plant In San Francisco, and It would not be possible for any one unless possessed v.f the riches of Croesus to enter Into competition with them. Notwithstanding that fact, their prices for posting, painting and distributing will remain unchanged, and the advertisers will be given the best possi- ble service. Good advertlslog Is telling the truth about what you hav« to cdl. Tell It with aJI the force your own faith In what you are saying will inspire. Deal In small words and short sentences. Keep right In the middle of na- ture's well-trodd'cn path all tbe time; This win keep you wtlh the common people and them with you. Success must fyiMow.—Typo< tbvtac and Plate Maker,