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THE BILLBOARD _■ if Ml Hit ?.. Bill Poster^ DEP4RTMEMT ^ A Billposting Fable. tK .. j A Fox unto a Jackal said: I "I think a Lion's pursuing, .' Ajid as it's cloudy overhead, A storm must be a-brewing. t 'Let's hike into some sheltered place :; - And assemble a collection ,; If beasts from every tribe and race ; j To talk about protection. i s'Then let us spring a scheme, that's slick '■ t And easier than stealing: I'll work the graft-end of the trick, r If you will do the 'spieling.' if ■ . - - ■ /"We'll make 'em fight our own pet games t And put gold on the table, : Uy simply writing down their names : ; For as much as they are able.", :_ court was held, and to it came ■ About a couple cf dozen; l"bey heard the Fox unfold the game, I, While the Jackal kept bulldozm'. &he loud Screech Eagle from the West ■ Was buncoed in a hurry, tnd several others thought it best _^ To s.gn, go home and worry. Jut 'some there were who smelt a rat. And thought 'twas too ambitious: the Philadelphia 'Possum sat ■ And looked with eyes suspicions. J {"he court adjourned, and then a howl 8 Was heard throughout the nat'on: Whe scheme was branded fake and foul, ; ; Wb.ch caused a b;g sensation. Lnd now this discord's in the air, ■" The Fox became notorious; "he Jackal creeps back to his lair. While the Lion laughs uproarious. U - MORAL: ^ou can't stop streams from running, „F°r water, seeks its level: ijude men will go a-Gunning * In spite of schemes and deviL 3 — Philadelphia Letter. f( - Philadelphia, April 28, 1900. vEPhiladelph'a will easily lead all other large SAties this summer in the placing of contracts inyr bill porting and painting, as two firms of Tiis city have already closed four of th2 krgest contracts that have ever been made 5r these two lines. The territory to be cov- l !red will embrace every large city in Ins is&nited States. The two firms that have se- lAured these large contracts are "The Bill TAosting Sen Company and N. W. Ayer & iRons. The former have made contracts for «an enoil-ous amount of paper and pa.nt for iirtie Sovereign Remed'es and one for Cel u- sotd Starch. The latter firm will not only use Ell posting, but w.11 also take in evsry pos- rjble good location for bulletins, and w II fhso use a number of smaller signs on gro- D'eiy stores. N. W.-'Ayer & Sons will also ""Anon have ready for all parts of the \Ja ted Wates a large amount of paper fo- Hires ritoot Beer, and will also place a large num- ber of orders for paint and paper for Uneedi .11 fC scuit- SCU11- . ,. . The Bill Posting S'gn Company, which c~n- ^ls the b ; U posting and- sign work in this A-ty now have their plant in the best of ■phape. Nearly all of their double-deck bi I WJards have had the upper decks ironed and "Tainted for bulletins, and they have a large r ie umbcr of large walls in very prominent lo-. (nations. One of these walls, situated at the i5raer of two or the principal thoroughfares, r i one of the largest in the country. It is _3tuated on the corner of Fifth and Market Erects, and covers 10 000 square feet of space. 8'our thousand feet of this is covered by one rfign. with only 30 letters and two pictures end it. and the rest is used for b'H posting. 0 here is a large amount of commercial work Vw on the boprrls. and a number of ente-- .ris'ng firms throughout the country are lacing orders fo- a b'g amount of d splay uring the time that the Republican conven- tion Is in session early in June. KThe-'Bill Posting Sign Company have closed ei large contract fir bMl posting and tacking ~ 3r the American Tobacco Company, and jyill thoroughly cover tbe counties of Mont- gomery. Delaware. Berks, Bucks. Chester. iff .ancoster. Lebanon and Philadelnh'a, in t,;ennsvlvan-"a. and Camden and Gloucester founties. in New Jersey. Men are now at ^rork on this contract. > • The affvance br'garte of the Buffalo W Id T-Cest arrived here this morning and at nn-e jptarted to Daint the town a beautiful crim- laon hue with the paper wh ! ch h°ralds the ar- bigivsl of that popular show. The numerous l&iarks In and around Philadelphia are alsi r ~£pmmenciDg to put" out paper announcing " "heir opening and the attractions that are ngaged. These places use the walls v-ry .. xtensively to advertise on. and the result is hat they always do a large business. iffi ^o& Camden, N. J., is a prosperous city on the opposite side of the Delaware River, and, as that place is a large railroad eentrr, as well as a thriving, bustling community, the fences are all fairly well filled. Some three months ago The Bill Postlng- Sipn Company put a large paste plant in operation for the manufacture of patent paste for bookbinders, paper bangers, etc. At present this is running night and day to • nil orders, last week's output being over 200 barrels. DAD MILLER. Ariniston, Ala. Ann is ton, enc of the most energetic and prosperous towns cf the South. Some time .since tbe daily papers suggested that another cotton factory was needed in that city. The people fell in with the idea, and a short time afterwards two new cotton factories were under way. and will be in shape for tbe coming cotton crop. S. G. Jones is the bill poster, and has an up-to-date plant. He is a member of the Southeastern Bill Posters* As- sociation, and is an enthusiast upon-the sub- ject of tbe development of tbe bill posting business is the South. Wichita Ordinance No. 1703. Published April 15, 10CO. An ordinance relating to bill posting and providing for a license tax upon said busi- ness in the city of Wichita, Kan., and re- pealing paragraph 31 of Ordinance 1645. Be it Ordained by the Mayor and Counc.l- men of the City of Wichita: Section 1. That from and after the taking effect of this ordinance no person, persons or corporation shall, within the corporate lim'ts of Wichita, pursue or carry on the bus ness" of bill posting without first having paid a li- cenpe'tax therefor for six months to the city of Wichita. Sec. 2. Any person violating the provision-* of Section 1 of this, ordinance shall be fined, ■ upon conviction, in any sum not exceed.ng *100. Sec. 3. That all ordinances in 'conflict h3re- with* are hereby repealed. Sec. 4. This ordinance: shall take effect'and be in force from and after its publication in the Wichita Daily Eagle. ' -Approved April 13, 19C0. A Good Showing. The tale of Johu MqBride, a b'll poster iu New Yoik, created a sensation by the loca- tions he secured for b : s work, is best told in the words of the World the morning after: "Keng a conscientious bill poster, JDtn went fcrth early yesterday morning wHh a plentiful supply cf paste and many red and yellow posters, prepared to make "The Casino Girl* assault the eye of every pedestrian on Broadway. "But vacant spaces were few, and John fett that he couldn't rrake much-of a showing, wherefore he sought liqu'd insp'rat'oi ft r rn idea. The idea was not fortfaco:nirg-:mmed - atcly, an*! John r=pcate3 the prescr ptlon sev- eral times. "Then a happy idea struck the billl poster —or rather it seeired to him that Fcales bai been removed from bis eyes, for as he walkei along Broadway he saw endless smooth b'ank ppaces simply yearning to be decorated wih bills. "With a shout of tr'nmph be bepan to wield b'"s paste brush and to lay on ths rel and yellow bills. When Detect've Kramer came along be found that McBride had cov- ered the entire fronts of two Broadway, stores. The big plate-glass windows and the dcors were blazing with red." Judging from what they did to McBr'de we will pay to any one who might possibly be entertaining a similar idea, "don't do it.*' Hager's Opinion. No man ran question the sincerity r v r Tightness of Mr. Charles K. linger, ot U. Louis. Ncr can anyone deny that he 1^ a clever and well-educated gentleman, stud,- ous and far-seeing, thoroughly famil'a w th outdoor advertising in all its branches, and deeply ronccrned about tbe future advaace- ; ment and welfare ot the craft. His op'ntons, therefore, ore worthy of respectful attention. He has carefully surveyed all the documents and information attainable, concerning the proposed comb ! nst : on, an-algamat'on. or pro- tective organization, and his conclusions on the subject are summed up In the foil awing words: "My candid and unbiased opinion Is that this scheme is impracticable, and even If it were operative in its present form, it has features which are dangerous and destruct- ive. Briefly stated, it is a trust, which the advertisers can readily see, and the black eye which many of these large combinations bare lately received, as, for instance, the flour combine, is a fair instance of the direction in which it is tending. It is bound in the end to work incalculable harm to everyone in- terested, save a well-guarded few, and in- stead of destroying opposition, it will encour- age it all the more. I am not in spirit w.th these combines, nor in sympathy with their principles, and most of them, aside .fruin the Carnegie and sugar interests, are pretty shaky affairs at that. A combination without unlimited capital behind it can not stand on its legs very long." In this connection, the opinion of the editor of "The Bill Poster," of London, England, is also very interesting. We give it as it ap- peals in the current number of the publica- tion, as follows: "We have received information that our friends in America are endeavoring to float what we may term a combine of business in forty of the pr.ncipal towns in America, which is intended to be known as 'The Bill Posters and Advertisers' Piotective Compa- ny.' Something similar to this, our mem- bers will recollect, was suggested some two years ago by . certain members of our asso- ciation, but it was found to be unworkable in its then form.' Whether our American friends will be more successful in their ef- forts remains to be seen. We notice that the proposed capital of the new concern is $100,- 000, which, in comparison with some schemes that have been endeavored to be floated in recent vears, -is a very modest sum indeed. It is within our knowledge that for years past a combination such as this has been the drenm ot many of our members, but, un- fortunately, up to the present, no tangible scheme has been formulated, and the matter on each occasion has simply been allowed to drop. We, therefore, shall await with Inter- es tthe result of the efforts of our American cousins." ... Bill posters will find much m-at tor thought in these statements and- arguments, which they will do well to ponder seriously before throwing any of their hard-earned money into such a scheme. Billboard Arguments. For every argument that can be advanced in favor of space in daily newspapers, two may be had for the bill-board. Any argument that can be used in favor cf newspaper space, can be far more ef- fectively utilized for the bill boards. ' If you want returns now, today, quick, US3 pesters. If next week or. the one after will do, try some other medium; papers, for in- No intelligent solicitor will waste 'time en the man who wants to argue upon whether advertsing pays or net. As soon as he Bnd3 out that the tyro entertains any doubts-on that score he passes him up. Right here Is where the advertising papers come in. They take up the work that the solicitor can not find time to do.- They'patiently teach and preach month in and month" out unt'l their pupils are safely schooled in all the rudi- ments of the art. If you can not use posters, then try dis- tributing, or unite the two. -. Wise men change their minds: fools never do. Are you one cf those people who have always considered posters uncommendable? Yon can not go wrong on posters. Keep posted yo'-rself and you help to keep the public posted. A beard in town is worth two,in the bush. Advertise in the papers'and some people see your ad.-Put it on the bill beards and everybody sees it.- They see it because thf y can not help it- It confronts them ten, twenty, thirty times a day^ In every quar- ter—localities widely separated, on evfry hand, it sbr'eks-"aIbi!d~from board, gable and wall until it hatters down the most besotted inattention or abstract'on. For the poster is no respecter. of persons. • Aconflrmed' bachelor has no interest in crrs"ts. but If corsets are advertised on the b'll boprds rest assured that every : crusty old bachelor in town -will be a fountain of w'sdom res;arling f>e mcr'ts cf crrsets. Why do our prescher3 decry with such accuracy the ev r 's of the theater w^tl-out' ever ha"'ng entered one? T t i? becjinse fie bill .boards <? ! ve thwn all the .necrsgery. information, ard the ladles. _H-w coi'ld thrv sneak with sveh anthor'ty nn the mcr'ts rf chewing tobacco without the aid cf the poster? Althctzgh Campbell is supposed to be presi- dent of the conglomerated official organ cor- poration, be is only a thousand miles away from the base of supplies, which is the ratio cf his influence. Notes. A correspondent in Kaloon, China, writes to suggest that tbe proposed Protective com- binat.on concern, sired by "Brownie" Pratt and dammed by Stahlbrodt, migbt have prov- ed a huge success, if honest and irrepressible Old Hote had presided at its birth. Then there would have been millions in it for somebody, instead of a few paltry thousands. R. J. Gunning started for. New .York on May 1, prepared to spend two busy weeks visiting old customers, ferreting out new ones and incidentally studying the rather complex condition of the outdoor advertising world as it prevails in the East to-day. Me will be at his desk in. his Chicago office again about May 15. . The Economic Bill Posting Company, sole owners of which are the Busby Bros., have purchased the bill posting plant of Tate & Sloppy, of Clinton, la., and-will immediately put it in first-class shape. They now own every board in the city. The firm of N. W. Ayer & Son surely have "unluck." "Little Annie" is going to manage their bill posting. Mr. J. C. Warvel, formerly the owner cf the bill posting plant at Kenton, Ohio, was a "Billboard" caller May 3. He was enthusi- astic about the change in "The Bill Board." and said that lie believed we had struck a popular chcrd, Mr. Warvel is now the gen- eral advertising agent of the Great Western . Carnival Company, making its hcudqua. tcra at North Vernon, Ind. A correspondent from Atchison, Kas., writes: "The :;wl,0(K»,lHM) bushels of corn rateei by Kansas last year is attracting tb.3 attention of all National advertisers. A'chi- son has a population of 20,0*10 and envoys ex- cellent railway facilities. In former years distributing in that town was done by boys. Mr. Schaffer now "does most of that wo k, and the C'ty Bill Posting Company takes charge of the paper which goes to that town." H. F. Doska, who has been following dis- tributing for a living in Detroit, has ent-r;i another business and will give up d sir bill- ing entirely. - George H. Lennox says Colfax merchants draw trade from an aiea larger than the State of Rhode Island, and the county is larger in area than the land portion of Dela- w»re. George- has a nice plant out there and is ready and willing to take care of any circus that might come his way. The bill posters at large are now ful'y awake. They realize that they must, above all things, have the privilege of self-govern- ment.. -Jim Curran, of Denver, uses three teams, with - two men- on each -wagon to pick up posters that have been washed off by ra ns. Mr. H. A. Taylor, ot South Side, is fa-:t recovering from an attack of typhoid fever. The attack fcas left him very weak, and 't ■■ will be some time before he can attend to his work. * ' . The Roscnfeld-Smith 'Co. Portland. Ore., are extensively advertising Experts, Cream and El Capltan cigars. Mr. "J. F. Clark, of Conway, Ark., wr tea that the J. Lee Cruse Co. . is a new firm, doing sampling and tack'ng. They are using their own men entirely at present John Seaman distributes a little paper called "Good Things"".to the people of R ch- mond. The publishers of tbe paper give him much credit for his systematic work iu plac- ing the paper. It has been just a little over a year s'nt-e Lewis E. Hanson entered the distributing business. He is now doing quite well. 'He has recently distributed for W. T. Hanson Co., of Schenectady, N. Y.; David Kennedy Co.. Rouhdout, N. Y.; Dunnells Medical Co., Scranton, Pa., and Dr. Currier's Rheumatism Cure, Manchester, N. H. The I raveling distributor was the subject of a long letter from Mr. S. J. Burgess, of - Pontiac, Mich. He is strongly in favor of local distributors, and presents some good arguments In their favor. Chas. W. Stutesman, Peru. Ind., Is a great believer in bill posters devoting some of their time' to -soliciting among local mer- chants. .1. W. Dow, Davenport, lowb, says ti-at he.would like to Jo'n the.I. A. of D. Unfor- tunately for himself, he can not. because Mr. W. D. Morris holds the franchise for that town. THL UILLBOaISO. *l The (ientieman from Missouri. Down East they've started things a-hum With a scheme which runs as follows: They want me to put up a sum Of about three thousand dollars; Ami in return they'll guarantee More business and protection. Hut how, I don't exactly see, In spite cf close inspection. I've read the constitution o'er And all by-laws pertaining. And I really find the stuff a bore. For there's nothing that's expia.nln?. Vow. signors. don't get mr.d as Turks. And storm and swear like fury; .lust show me how your system wcrks— You know I'm from Missouri. There's no man in the business yet That's fought with opposition As much as I have done, you bet. And still holds his position. Of your association I Have long since been a member: Your aid I never once d.d try To : get,. if you'll remember. You threatened once to throw me out. Without a speck of reason. And now. because I buck, ye shout: "Rebellion and high treason." Hut, gents, pray take another puff, Yoi;r scheme looks rather lury: Th^ii show me once, for that's enough— You know I'm from Missouri. 1. A. of D. Convention. Although the I. A. of p. convention has been riot.eed before in our columns, we desire to once mere call attention to the importance- of all members and advertising agents at- tending. Every member should begin to plan and make arrangements whereby he will be able to go to Kansas City in July. The rail- road fare, especially for those in the Middle and Western States, will not amount to a great deal, as excursions will be run on ac- count of the National Democratic convention, which will be held there at the same time. The crowd in Kansas City will be large and perhaps the town will not be able to accom- modate it, although President Reid has as- sured us that it will. To be on the safe side, distributors who in-, tend to be there should endeavor to make' arrangements for rooms beforehand. The convention this year is to be a most inter- esting one, as there are many important questions to be considered. Since all dis- tributors know tbe points which are to be brought up, we will not mention them, but merely urge all to be present and lend their influence and make their voices heard in the management of tbe association. $500.00 Reward. The following notice has been circulated by F. C. Donald. Commissioner of the Central Passenger Association: To Whom It May Concern: The undersigned having been authorized by the railroads comprising the Central Pas- senger Association to act as a joint agent to validate for passage return portions cf ex- cursion tickets, which will be sold at reduced rates for a number of important conventions to be held in Chicago. Cincinnati, St. Louis and other cities at intervals from May 1 to September 30. 1900. involving the use of auto- graph stamps, ticket-dating dies, etc., will pay a reward of Five Hundred Dollars ($500> for information resulting in the arrest and conviction of any person or persons fraudu- lently using such stamps or dies, or imita-' tions thereof. SPECIAL NOTICE TO ENGRAVERS AND STAMP MAKERS: . Orders have been placed for all stamps and dies required by the undersigned or his em- ployes for the purposes above referred to. Therefore, any orders which you mav receive purporting to emanate from the undersigned or his representatives for stamps or dies bearing the name of the Central Passenger Association, or of F. C. Donald, will mani- festly be given for the'purpose of perpetrat- ing a fraud on the railway companies. Yours truly, F. C. DONALD, Commissioner. How a Billposter should Advertise bis Plant. Siegel-Cooper Co-operative Plan. c The two mammoth establishments of Siegol & Cooper, the one in Chicago and the other in New York, have been consolidated into a co-operative enterprise oh a proflt-sharins basis. The two stores have been Incorporated under the laws of the State of New Jersev. with a capital stock of $24,000,000. Two mil- lion dollars of the common stuck has been placed In trust, the annual dividend of which will be distributed among such employes ns have been or may be with the New York or Chicago establishment for a period of three years. Dividends will nlso be continued nnd paid to employes for life who. after ten years- of service, became Incapacitated for further employment. This movement is in perfect accord with the tendency or the present age. A new advertising scheme has been intro- duced by a Huntington (Ind.) grocery Arm. With every cash purchase they' issue a check for the amount purchased. The checks or one dav only during the month arc to be re- deemed. The purchnser does not' know the day that the good checks will be issued, nnd the only way one can double his money is to buy goods every day. The Isham California Waters of Life Ccm* pany, of New York, sent us a circular wh.ch is a circular. Here is what they sent for a one-cent stamp: One cardboard cover, pre- senting ten faces of reading matter, one book- let of twelve pages, six circulars of recom- mendations, etc. They certainly do get! their money's worth. Boston Medical Institute Plan: BOSTON MEDICAL INSTITUTE'S PLAN.... Concerning our remarks in last week's is- sue about their $150-reward scheme, the Bos- toi. Medical Institute has this to say: "A3 far as the I. A. of I), is concerned, this may be true, but unfortunately there is not u I. A. of D. man in every city in which desire to distribute booklets. We do Wish to keep our method a secret, from the distributor or the adve.-tifc an(1 such methods, .i universally pursue WO uld hold a very tight line over disirib Hon- est ones welcome it. Advertise news- papers key tlie.r work, and there, no rea- son why distributing should not be- watched by the same methods. We will cheerfully answer communications on this subject from large advertisers." It is evident that the Ifoston people wilt not disagree with McMatt and h.s key system. A Knowing Bootblack. Probably tbe latest acquisition to the long list of advertisers who believe in the efficacy of distributing as a business bringer is a man in Paterson, N. J. lie' conducts two shoe blacking parlors, and is doing a rush- ing business through having distributed cir- culars containing the following read.ng mat- ter: "The Yale Shoe Blacking Parlor, corner ' Market and Faterson Streets, and Bud's Par- lor, 49% West Street, near Broadway, where you can get six shines for 25 cents, three russet cr three patent leather, by purchasing a coupon ticket, and they are good in either place. The bootblack cf to-day must be a professional, and not the youth you meet on the street with a box who g.ves you a polish not as good as you could do yourself. 'Our shine* is put on to stay by those who know how. a hard, durable polish, that will last three times as long as the other kind, and it will cost you less. Our places have every comfort, easy chairs, heated, and everything to make it pleasanter than being seated on the sidewalk, or braced up against a build- ing. Our material softens and preserves the leather. Shoes' under our care last one-half longer, and only tbe best goeds known used in our establishments. ■ Ladies and children, special attention given to their shoes. We call at your residence or office, get your shoes shined and return them promptly with- out extra charge. A postal card will do it We are responsible, and will fulfill any agreement made, and -are open for sugges- tions where we can cater for your comfort Hoping you will give us a call, and tell your friends and neighbors, so they can Co the same, for the best shine to be had in the city. Do not sit outside in the wind aad cold, as your health is your fortune, but call at the Yale or Bud's Parlor." The above is by no means a model of d''f~ ■Hon or expression, but it presents some good points and shows considerable - or g-nality. The bill itself illustrates to what degree the idea- that advertising pays has taken hold cf the people, and the success which resulted from its distribution demonstrates that that faith is not misplaced. Billposter's and Distributor's Notes. President James F. O'Mealia, of the A«so- c-'iucd Bill Posters, has removed his offlc nnd plant from 27 Montgomery street to 257 Washington street, Jersey City, N. J. Well, well! Stahlbrodt has removed his own advertisement from the pages of his own official orean. He has evidently d'scovered fcr himself that the medium is valueless, and that nobody reads'the sheet. If you have time to spare, just take a peep through the advertising columns of Stahl- bredt's sheet and observe the cold-blooded fact that not a line of advertising appears therein from President O'Mealia. O. J. Gud>. .Samuel Pratt. Sanford H. Robison or Stahl- brodt himself, and yet all these gentlemen are directors of the journal. The sheet there- fore depends upon the gullible for its support. Those bill posters who contemplate joining the gangsters' grafting game should remem- ber the failure of Robert Youde's enterprise in London a few years ago. And yet Youde's scheme was far lucre plausible and purpose- ful than the Pratt-Stahlbrodt-Fitch project. The gangsters claim forty-one cities for their proposed combination scheme, but very prudently fail to state how many Western cities have so far refused to contribute a penny toward the enterprise. ' - It would be interesting to know what Gude really thinks of the Pratt-Stahlbrodt-Fitch game. Do the theaters in Rochester and Erie post with the association member in these towns? We hardly think so. One of the members of the American Bill Posting Company, of Brooklyn, recently re- marked: "Our firm spends $240 annually in Stahlbrodt's paper, and for all the benefit we derive from it we- miKht as well toss that amount Into the East River. One cf the crying needs of the bill posting field is a few more active solicitors in some of the big .Western cities. Chicago is sorely in need' of'a first-class solicitor. Wm. D. Ingram, a distributer at Om3by, Pa., has turned the business over to his wife, who will have entire charge. Mr. In- gram enters a new field. Con A. Hall, who for the last two years has been manager cf the distributing depart- ment of Owens & A'si'iey, of San Francisco, has decided'to c~ w a businessof his own. He will b*- „ii of his experience to bear to tin . a President has appointed the Board of Direct-: ff, ors for the last time. Hereafter they will iwi Hi elected by ballot . '[ «■, C. H. Brooks, the veteran at Leavenworth,■, jit i has evolved a Very clever scheme for making, |[J ,' good scenery for theaters at a low cost. J. D. Boering, solicitor, or outside man for the L. Moxley advertising service, 'is one* of the greatest bustlers in his line of busi-.. is* ness in America. JIjS i fli $ .« TIPS. e best way to please "the advertisers is I do work according to contract. A poor distribution of Kohler's samples and circulars is reported from Dawson, Pa. Barber Remedy Company, of Conneaut, O., write: "We are preparing a 9 by 10 folder for trial in a few good towns, but will agree to make all ditributors a liberal offer for a trial distribution." "The Billboard" knows nothing about the firm. Harry Miller sends us a copy of his solicit- ing circular letter. We present it herewith. It may furnish a suggestion for a change in some of our readers* circulars: Gentlemen—I have been informed that you contemplate an advertising campaign through the house-to-house distributing method in the near future, and that you will probably give the work to local distributors who can prove themselves to be honest and reliable. Therefore, I beg to inform you that I am prepared to distribute advertising matter or samples of any kind in a way that is sure to satisfy the advertiser. My services are guaranteed by the. International Association cf Distributors, and I can furnish first-class local references if desired. My prices are as low as good honest work will permit, and the territory I cover is'one of the best. Will you give me a trial? My services, are at your command. Very truly yours, Mr. B. F. Falkenhalner, of Elkader. Iowa, uses a team and wagon to do his country bill posting and distributing. To the Editor of '.'The Billboard:" Gentlemen—Enclosed please find Jl, in ad- vance payment for subscription to "The Bill- board." It is just thirteen months ago that 1 happened to run across a cony of your valuable magazine, and in looking through it decided that there was an opening here for a first-class commercial advertising busi- ness, as Newton is a town ot nearly 8.000* people, and the Santa Fe Railroad alone has . a pay-roll here of over $60,000 a montb. As a starter. I subscribed to "The Billboard," then ordered a Donaldson paste brush and ji Robertson magnetic hammer, from advertis- ers in your paper, and waded In. At the present time I have 23 big, matched bill boards in Newton and handle the work in Ave neighboring small towns. I have joined the Tri-State Bill Posters' Association, the I.A.cf D., Feisters' List and Will A. Molten's Agency, have bought out the opposition I had at the start and have bad this made a licensed town. Business has been good ever since the start, with prospects brighter than ever. I feel that most of my success is due to information obtained from "The Bill- - board," and it is not surprising that I can not do business without It. With best wishes, I am sincerely yours, JOHN DICKEY, JR., Proprietor of the L. L. Dickey Adv. Co. Up to a year ago Mr. Griffith, of Greens- boro, had practically no acquaintance -with the large advertisers. Now he is doing w_rk for many, and numbers them among bis reg- ular patrons. The Newark- B'll Posting Company sends us a list of their rairoad station stands. They cover both sides cf a sheet of paper fully a yard long. E. M. Slocomb is proving him- self to be a very energetic manager. Mr. J. C. Corbin, manager of the Centen- n'al Opera House, Plymouth, Ind., has start- ed in the. bill posting business. He says that he was driven into the busine-s by poer service. He begins with 5C0 faet, and expects to have 3,000 by spring. Mr. Geo. P. Day now owns all of the boards in Salem, Ore., having some time since bcrgbt o»t the Salem Bill Posting Company and the Theatrical Bill Pcsting Comrany. Lee HolI'day. cf Fayette. Mo., has only been in the bill postim? business for one year, but has made a very good shewing f~r that length of time. He says: "I owe nearlv all mv work to "The Billboard." I cnuldn't do without it. f get pointers every month, do a little writing and then get some work." Harry Merkle, manager for Brvan & Co.. rt Dayton. O., is very popular. He has only been in Tlayton a con*parativ«»ly short t'me, but already numbers his friends by the score. Walker & Co., of Detroit are going aftor large advertisers with a new circular, which is in the shape of a folded mailing card. It is an excellent "dea.. for it afTords tbr^e times the space for printing that an ordi- nary private mailing card does. Walker im- proves the opportunity thus afforded, and presents pome strong arguments in favor of paoer and naint. The Elrectorj of every legitimate corpora- t'on are elected by the stockholders. The members who pay tbe'r dues into the treas- ury of the Associated B'll Posters' Asiocia- t'rn should have the same power—and they will have it. TV-J. Cass'dy is out of the Tntemnt'onal .Advertising Company, of El Paso, Tex.. A. T. Samworth is now sole manager. The dark lantern roetheds of the sranir are universally condemned. Section 1, ot Art'cle VII.. of the By-Laws, will be amended. The La. The following is a list of probable spring distributing advertisers: Akron Cereal Co., Akron. O. J. \V. 'Brant Co.. Albion, N. Y. Winkelman-Brown Drug Co., Baltimore.Md.' Dr. Kilmer Co., Binghamton, N. Y. * D.s. F. E. & J. A. G.eene. Bjston. Mas. I Potter Drug & Chemical Co., Boston, Ma-3. ' C. L. Graves & Son. Boston. Mass. i E. C. Cowdry Co., Boston, Mass. i Koster-Mi'burn Co.. Buffalo, N. Y. Gerhard Mennen Cheni. Co., Buffalo, N. Y Dr. Pierce, Buffalo, N. Y. ■• Hutton Remedy Co., Buffalo. N.-Y. ' * Ncwbro Diug Co., Butte, Mont. \ Pope's Med. Co.. Charlotte. Mich. ! Thatcher Med. Co., Chattanooga, Tenn. f New Spencer Med. Co.'. Chattanooga-. Teun.' Chattanooga Med. Co., Chattanooga. Tenn. , Providence Medical Institute, Chicago. Pabst Chemical Co., Chicago, Hi. Hanson's Ready Recovery Co.. Chicago, 111. Boston Med. Institute. Chicago. IU. Roy Med. Institute, Chicago, ill. Dr. W. S. Burkhart. Cincinnati. O. Coffee & Spice Co., Columbus, O. Acme Chemical CO., New Orleans, Peruna Drug Co., Columbus, O. Dr. Harter Medical Co., Dayton, O. i The Sprague Pub. Co., Detroit. Mich. f Kennedy & Ketgan, Detroit. Mich. ; Dr. Miles Med. Co.. Elkhart. Ind. I The Cooking Club Pub. Co., Goshen. Ind. | La Haipe Pattern Co., Gland Rapids. Mich. \ The Guarantee Medical Co., Hot Springs, < Alt. J Van Camp Co., Indianapolis, Ind. j Dr. N. C. Davis. Indianapolis, Ind. > I C. Hubinger & Co.. Keokuk, la . • j Allen Olmstead, LeRoy, N. Y. i S. C. Wells & Co., Le Roy. N. Y. J Frank O. Reddish, Le Roy, N. Y. j Wilson Drug Co., Lexington, Ky. * Bright's Chemical Co.. Lltt'e Fills, N- Y. C. I. Hood & Co.. Lowell. Mass.. 1_ E. Pinkbam Med. Co., Lynn. Mass. sterling Remedy Co , Mineral Springs, Ind. W. H. Oomstcck. Morristown. N. Y. Kondcn Mfg. Co., Minneapolis: Minn. India Spice &. Drug Co . Marietta, O. Abbey -Effervescent Salt-Co.. New York. Dr. Radway & Co.. New York City. Humphreys Med. Co.. New York City. Seely, Fitch & Co.. New York City. A. M. Bininger & Co.. New York City. Tarrant & Co.. New York City. R. ft G. Corbet Co.. New York City. Health Food Co.. New York City. N. Y. Condensed Milk Co.. New York City. Jam W. Hoke, New York City. Dr. Chase Co., Philadelphia, Pa. Fels & Co.. Philadelphia. Pa. Dr. Bosanko Co., Philadelphia. Pa. Hand Medicine Co.. Philadelphia, Pa. Dr. C. I. fthoop, Racine. Wis. Miller Drug Co., St. Louis. Mo. Koska Mfg. Co., South Bend. Ind. Novelty Plaster Works. Soutvl'.Ie, Mass. Dr. B. J. Kay, Saratoga Springs, N. Y. Bayer Med. Co., l' '"f^p, O. Cheney Med. Co., Toieuo, O. Merchants' Association. WiHlamsport, Pa. I. B. Ford Co., Wyandotte, Mich. * t in : fjfi s R. L. ALLEN, Dows, Iowa. We present this week a portrait of Mr. R. L. Allen, of Dows, Iowa, a town of a strong 1,200 population. Mr. Allen up to a year ago was a painter and paper hanger. At that time he added a bill posting plant to his business. His boards are ot matched lumber and painted on the back to prevent them from swelling. He is a member of the Iowa State Bill Posters' Association; also, an I. A. of D. member. He Is giving his personal attention to his out-door advertis- ing. He can thus see that it is done right