Billboard advertising (Jan-June 1900)

U ! 2 THE BILLBOARD i' il ! dill Posters DEP4PTIHENT ^ When Prait Dictates to. Gude. They say that sawed-otf Sammy, That sleek and artful mite. Just started up that project To help him in the flght Which threatens Greater Gotham Not very long from now; "Twill be a llTely rumpus, A blooming, big bow-wow. But the weather will be chilly, ■ And stormy, rough and rude. And gold-brick games seem silly. When Pratt dictates to Gude. To Meet in Chicago. A number of prominent Western bill post- ers will meet in Chicago the latter part of this week, probably Friday or Saturday, in response to the call issued by Charles K. Hager. of St. Louis. The purpose of th's meeting will te to exchange views and dis- cuss the alleged merits and benefits supposed to be in store for all those who have sgned what is known as the'-Protective scheme, P'ojected by the Eastern clique. - It Is Impos- sible to give an actual forecast of the results of this meeting, but it is known positively that at least a half-dozen of the leading Western cities will not put any money into the scheme nnder any circumstances. This of course means that Fitch will be compelled to remove a few names from his listed and protected window 'showing. Whether any of the Eastern gangsters will attend the Chicago meeting for the purpose of wb'pning recalc'trant members into l«ne is not definitely known; but it can hardly b-5 expected that they would let such an excel- lent opportunity glide ".by to show their strength, were it not for the fact that perfect harmony, it is whispered, by no means exists rnnon^ the bosses themselves. However, the ultimate Fuccess of the project depepds in a great measure noon the Chicago meeting, >nd the eyes of the New York'gang^te*-s will ho s»ra>ned in that direction for-a few days at least. Ohio State Convention. il«i Just twenty-three members of the Oh:o t State Bill Posters' Association Were assem- * . bled in. a room of the City Hall at Xenia,*0., - when President Phil Oliver rapped the meet- : ing to order at 1:45 o'clock in the afternoon, I May 8. Reading of the minutes of the last s meeting was dispensed with. j Among those in attendance were the follow- ; ing: President Phil Oliver, of Findlay^Vlce President Charles A. Hood,- of Delphos; Sec- i retary W. C- TirrilU of £na; Treasurer H. i H. Tyner. of Springfield: _AL and: Charles Bryan, of Cleveland; Burrell B. Chapman, cf : Cincinnati: S. E. Riblet, of Gallon; M. J. i Kuhn. of Hamilton; C. O. Miller, of Miamis- j burg; Chas. B. Rodgers, of Sidney; R- W. f Lodwick, of Portsmouth; G-E. Pence ,of TJr- ! bana: Chas. L.- McClellan. of Xen'a; S. D. Hunter; of Steubenville: Hlxson Brothers, of Piqua; Sandusky Bill Posting Company and Columbus Bill Posting Company. Prom the very opening of the meet'ng the Bryan influence—an echo of the Eastern gangsters—began to- assert itself in a dDm- neerlng and bulldozing way. This influence shaped all things pertaining to the meeting to its own way of liking, save one very im- portant matter—and the convention, which was advertised to last two days, was ra : l- roaded through in a hurried and higa-handel manner. There was only one sesion, and that lasted about four hours. The only real exciting thing that occurred throughout the proceedings cropped up dur- ing the reading of. Secretary Tirrill's report. Then it was that the Bryans made the only -blunder of the day, when they attempted-to have a resolution passed censuring the presi- dent and secretary for authorizing the adver- tising of the official call of the State meet : ng in "The Billboard." These efforts were bit- ter and vindictive, but they failed, and the Bryans accordingly were disappointed and chagrined beyond measure^ A lengthy communication was read, from General Manager F. E. Fitch, of the new Pro- tective company, which contained nothing strikingly new. It provoked hardly a mur- mur, and ho action was taken in regard to it. DuriDg the time, allotted to the/d*scus*non of trade topics, the representatives of certain tobacco firms were raked over the coals- The matter of the opposition in C'ncinnati was not even touched "upon- In fact, all ques- tions of. great importance were - carefully ■ avoided, and the meeting, on the whole, was orte of those tame and innocuous affairs, which hardly leave an impress on the mem- orv. The officers elected for the ensuing year are as follows: President, Charles A. Hood, Pelnhos: Secretary. Charles L. McClellan, Xenia; Treasurer, S. E. Riblet, Galion. gg^as South African Letter. Cape Town, April 11, MOD. To the Editor of "The Billboard:" Dear Sir—Enclosed please find postal order for two years' subscriptions to your much es- teemed paper. We regret to say that owing to the war in this country, trade is absolutely at a stand- still, and more especially in our bill posting department. Everyone is hopeful of a speedy settlement of hostilities, which will mean much pros- perity, and will place this country on a proper footing. American merchants and manufacturers wil do well to watch events closely, and they would do well to commence advertising at the present time, as it means the first in will score, the country possessing so many prob- abilites. " • From the enclosed circular you will notice we have the patronage of the War Depart- ment of the British Imperial Government, and have received the appointment of sole advertising contractors. Wishing you every success, yours faithfully, E. G. GLASS. Proprietor South African Advertising Co. Levyne's Letter. To the Editor of "The Billboard" Dear Sir—Knowing the interest you take in the welfare of all bill posters, 1 take your paper as a medium of expressing my thanks to my "bill posting friends, whose cties I have visited the past season, for their co- operation and hospitality. And as each sea- son passes by I note with gratification tha closeness existing between me—as a pas.e.* salesman—and they as bill posters. As a rule, I find the bill posters a hard- working lot of business men, and all they seem to want is to be let alone. As one ex- pressed himself, "We are getting .ruiel to death.!* I find the best service in cties of about 50,000 population, and more actual profit in consideration of' the investment comes out of a plant of that size than in larger cities. As a. large National adver- tiser said, "'Tis just the happy medium." What most attracted my attention this sea- son was the knowledge of the customers t:> the inner points of the business, and which I can only attribute to the bill poster. The bane of the bill poster's life is a thrse- sheet-to be placed on a four-sheet high board, the bill poster to buy only four-sheet high paper. As a salesman who covers such vast te ri- tory I have had abundant facility to become acquainted with so many bill posters that I can see the service grow from season to sea- son, and this education I find among the merchants must be placed to the credit of ths bill posters more than to the paper sales- man. I would like to make a trip with my oli friend, John Moore, once again to see how his eyes would open at the improvement even in the short time he has been away. The greatest improvement I find is in ths cities of 15,000 to 75,000 population. The verv largest cities seem to have stood plumb still. Say. it just popped into my head why Mr. Pratt is working on his- 40 or 100 cities plan. And now. bill posters, wishing you a pros- perous year, and once again thanking you for your past assistance, promising you to call.again in the fall with "4-high" raper, I remain your truly, M. L. LBVYNB. More Trouble for Wilshire. To the Editor of "The Billboard":" Dear Sir—Some time ago this city passed an ordinance aimed against bill posting, which was so absurdly unconstitutional that eren the little, humble police court threw it out as invalid. On the spur" of the moment the city appealed to the Superior Court, but lated repented their foolishness, and repealed the ordinance, having come to the conclusion that it was invalid, and then passed another ordinance which, although equally uhconst'- tutfonal, is not quite such an exhibition of aldermanic stupidity as the first one. How- ever, Judge Smith, of the Superior Court, a superior joker, has just declared, much to tt>» aston'sbment of the aldermen, that their old. abandoned ordinance was quite the right thing, after all, and has intimated that thev were too hastv in repealing it. He also went h°vond himself, and even advised them that the present ordinance is also autre unconsti- tutional, and let them know that if ever he h?s a change at it he will sustain it. Incidentally. T was fined $25 for v'olating t*.p otii r*»oealed ordinance. I ■will not ppt this fine, because the city can not fine me for violation of an ordinance which has been rr- >">aled before I hart a chance of appeallne to Supreme Court. However, this Is a quibble and unimportant as to the main question of tue constitutionality of sucu ord.nuiic<;s. 1 am momentarily expecting a uec&tou from the police court up„n ine cuustuu.iui.aiKy of tuc new ordinance. It is piouame ,n \uw oil iiie superior couit Judges idiu.iu sj uects.un liiat tlie police judge \..ll deter to luat ue- c-s.on and hold tue new orumance vni.il. ,1 Mill then he uued, aim upon ictus.ng to pay. Will be thrown into jail, ana frcin Ui.rel w.i. be taken out on a »r.t ot haucas corpus to e.ther the Supreme Coui t or tue aup.nur Court, as I may elect. 1 could go o^to.-e borne other judge than Smith in tue tiupdr.or Court, but inasmuch as local prejudice co-crj tiicir decisions, I will probably go to the Su- preme Oourc. However, 1 nave uo uouot that almost any other judge of the Superior Coui t would decide in my favor. Of course o.i habeas corpus 1 can .choose iny judge. Too reason this case got before Smith was owing to its being an appeal case from the justicj court, which will not be the case w.th th-j next one, as I shall not appeal, but get OJt my writ; That decision in the Rochester (N. Y.) case against the bill posters there, and which is now in the Court of Appeals in New York, backs up the courts here to decide aga use me. It will be a good thing when Rocheter finally wins out, as I have not the ieaat doubt will be the ultimate result there. In the meanwhile, my business continues at the old stand, with no interruption of tr„de: in fact, I am getting more busineES than I ' ever had before, and no doubt much dua to the advertising so freely bestowed upon me by the newspapers. Faithfully yours. II. G. WILSH.KE. Los Angeles, Cal., May 10, 1900. Hood Purchases Tirrill's Plant. Delphos. O., May 11, 1900. To the Editor of "The Billboard:" I wish to inform my friends that-on Mey 10 I bought the fine bill posting plant and everything included with it at Lima, O., owned by W. O. Tirrill & Co., and have takjn charge at ence. this gives me two of tae best plants in the State outside of the largj CitieS. . * ; As I do nothing else but attend ttj the al- Veitising business, giving it my pergonal at- . tention, I am prepared to give national ad- vertisers a run for their money. Speaking of the Ohio B 11 Posters' Assoca- tion. of which I had the honor of being elect- ed President, it leads all others in the Unite! States, having more members in good stand- ing and a reputation for service that is s:c- ond to none. CHARGES A. HOOD. Clean Up the Waste Pjper. "The Billboard" has always been a stickler for cleanliness in bill posting. Not on.y should the hoardings be kept in shipshape condition, but it is the duty of tha b.ll pos.er to see that the ground adjacent is also kept free from {masses of torn and littered paper, 'which is sometimes washed off after tevera storms. Bill posters should give particular attention to this matter, it for no o.her rea- son- than to prevent newspapers from indulg- ing In envenomed rhapsodies like the follow- ing editorial screed which appeared in the St. Paul Dispatch of May 7 issue: ' "If the people demand bill boards, and ap- parently they do, or they would not permit their public highways to become p.ct.r.al palisades for transient advertising, they might at least insist that these hoards he limited in advertising to som^wnat too gen- erous proportions of the board itself. In- stead of that, the prairie lots on the outski:t3 and the city streets further down town are permitted to become whirling masses of al- vertisements, which the wind blows wherever if lists, and every man knows whencs it comes and whither it should, according to ordinance, go;' but no one insists on that dis position. The pictures are .posted up for a week and a day, and serve their purpose. Then they are scraped down in great, irregu- lar masses, to make way for their successors, and if the bill board is raised a few inches from the ground it offers so convenient an 1 enticing a graveyard for these tattsred and torn ladies and gentlemen of the stage, the fashions and cosmetics, that they are straightway thrust beneath, and this under- taker's work is done. There may te sonn follower who is supposed to cart away all this pasty mass of microbe-bearing and d : s- ease-breeding material, but he certainly fails to find a not inconsiderable part. With the high winds of recent days there has been an epidemic of waste paper raging about the streets, and its counterfeit presentments en- ables one to diagnose the case exactly. It is due, as is typhoid fever and had government, to the indifference and negligence of - the people. They see that ordinances and statues are placed upon the books, and think the books will look after the execution. Thanks to the housewives of the municipality, the down-town streets are kept as clear from flying papers as thoughtless human nature can be persuaded; but further out there is still ample evidence that in the matter of municipal cleanliness we are barbarians. Tha paper should go, if bill board3 do not." Many new ads are appearing on Gunning's bulletin boards, notaoie among whicn are tnuse for the "billiard Camera" Company of Springfield, Mass. "hobert Mantell" Cigar of T. J. Dunn & Co., ±-Uiladelphm. 'Kingsiord sturch" of the Oswego Starch Factory, Uswego, N. Y. ."Duuderme" of the Knowlton Dande.-ine Company, Chicago. ■"»t\.r.ne" of the Murine Company, Chicag3. "Udetweiss beer" of the bchoenho.en Uiewuig Company, Chicago. lit addition to the above the company ha-* put up a largo display—about luu bulletin s.gns—/or "Tallewanda." "Blind" advertis- ing has b'een used in the exploitation of this article; simply, the name and a ca.ch-line— d.ne.ent reading matter on each appearing simultaneously in all parts of the city. Thj phrases are unique, br.ght and orig nal, and stirred up a great deal of coment. It is now being followed up by a permanent s gn tel - ing the strong features of the "Tallewanda" «»ter. WILL H. KARNES. Detroit Doings. Strauss, Fritz & Co.,.Cincinnati. O., are using a twelve-sheet poster, atvertis ng tne.r famous "Lewis '66" whisky on ou,- boards. This is the first town in the Unite 1 States that they have billed, and - results thus far have been very satisfactory. Paul Jones whisky, is also being billed heavily and H. N. Martin & Sons are pushing the r anti-trust tobacco, "Woith Navy," in De- troit and throughout Michigan. They al'o are new people on the bill boards, and mora than pleased with results. H. W. WALKER. Awaiting the Decision. \Ve are in receipt of many letters from bill posters who are members of the Asso- ciated Bill.Posters, stating that they wou.d Ike very much to run their advertisements regularly in "The Billboard," but in view of the boycott established last October b/ the directors of the organization they pre- fer to avoid trouble with their arbitrary rulers. But just as soon as the matter is settled by the Unied Sate3 Circuit Cou t they will be with us again, strongsr then ever. "The Billboard" enjoys popularity amorg the masses, and is widely read. The large advertisers peruse its columns closely. The policy of. "The Billboard" is to toidy to no single man or clique or men. We simply go after the news and print it re- gardless of fear or favor, and we have abundant evidence that thousands cagrrly read our journal through every week. Cincinnati Pall Festival. Cincinnati is making energetic efforts and displaying surprising enthusiasm in ih; pieparattuns that are now well under way lor the great Fall Festival, which will be held during the latter half of Sjptember. This festival will be advertised like a cir- cus. There will be innumerable three-sheets and all sizes of work, up to twenty four sheets in eize. Nobody within 130 miles o< Cincinnati will have any excuse for not knowing that Cincinnati has on her holiday clothes during the ten days between Septem- ber 19 and 29. It has been deteimined to g;t out a booklet, giving in detail the.program, as pioposed and which is now under revis on. Manager Ziegler has received bids and offers of corporations from other cities, but the as- sociation. has determined that all this work shall be left in Cincinnati. Some magnifi- cent designs have been received from the Donaldson Litbog-aphing Company, the Hen- derson Lithographing Company, the Enquirer Job Print, the Russell & Morgan Corrpany. Henncgan and others. The pictorial and de- scriptive work is to be divided'eqtinlly anoire all Cincinnati's great concerns. The designs for the illuminated pageant are Particularly gorgeous, and they will be carried out to the letter. - Chicago. The R. J. Gunning Company Is now just completing the painting of the State of Iowa for "Bull Durham" tobacco. Every impor- tant market of that State has been en'e ed and their principal points of vantage covered r*v mammoth reproductions of the "Bull " Conjointly with the Business Building De- partment the campaign has been a very si*c- cpssful one—"Durham" has forced to the front, and is literally in almost every smok- er's pipe of that State. Athens, Tenn., Affairs. To the Editor of "The Billboard:" Dear Sir—My work for the past month has been phenomenal. Have had more than I could do. and was forced to strengthen my force and huild new hoards. The circus li- cense in this State is so heavy that few circuses can make money: and being some- thing of a politician myself, I am making a great effort to get the tuxes rcducol. Any hard lick you can hit our tax law and the legislature in general will be greatly appre- ciated by the bill posters of Tennessee. I would he glad if you would state that I Inve started this movement, and request bill post- ers in Tennessee who are Interested In the ^movement to correspond with me. I have just completed large contracts for the Continental Tobacco Co.. New York: New Spenser Med. Co., Chattanooga. I hold col- tract for nil Tennessee for these comnnnics. l>r. Sirnon Merl. Co.: Chattanooga Med. Co.: Haggard Specific Co., Atlanta: Coco Cola Co.. Atlanta: Pensal Co., Nashville: Thatch-r * T ed. Co.. Chattanooira: Perunn Co.. Colum- bus; Chattanooga Carnival; Athens City 1)1- rc'ory, and others. - Thc-e is a good opening here for a cirru-. as it has been five years Bince we have had a i;ood one. I wish' "The Millboard" the too of su-cess. O. M. WEST. Mgr. West Bill Posting Co, THE BILLBOARD I i " The Billboard ** Directories. Once more we call the attention of bill posters and distributors to the importance of nuviug tueir names appear in our wetkiy i.sts ur auectones, whicu will start with tue issue of June 2. *or tne sum of ft your namj will thereby appear before the adveit-sei-d of the whole country for fifty-two times uur ng the year. All men in the advert s-ng bus.neja know that it pays to advertise tuemselv^s. •i n,s is tne reason why we ask you to put your name in. simply because it w.ll pay you to do so. We do not seek your advertisement merely as a favor or because of loyalty to our cause, but because it is an excellent oustness investment. "Let your light shine before men," and let advertisers know that you are iu business. No journal devoted to the in- terests of proper and paying publicity is more closely scanned by the large advertisers than the "Weekly Billboard." We have a multitude of flattering letters to substantiate this statement. Our directories are in con- stant use by these big advertisers; the men whose names appear in these lis' . will tell you so, and they know by fruitful experience. A few have written that they can not afford to keep their names in weekly, but this argu- ment is a very weak one. If our director.es can bring more than four dollars' worth of work which a bill poster or distributor would not otherwise get, then the bargain in itself is an excellent one, but then our directories are sure to bring more than ten-fold the amount invested, and that is as good a bar- gain as anyone can desire. By all means, have your name in from the start. Not Jim Dishon's Men. With the opening of spring and the adver- tising season, says the Terre Haute Express, property-owners and citizens in general are making complaint of the promiscuous distri- bution of dodgers and boys and men tramp- ing over lawns surrounding residences/The city has an anti-dodger ordinance, but so far there has been little effort to enforce it, and in consequence of this lack of inte.est on the part of city officials, the yards or lesi- deuces have become strewn with papers and greatly damaged by the distributors walking over the grass. The men who disregard thj dodger ordinance are not the distributors employed by J. M. Dishon, the city bill post- er, as he insists on bis men placing every bill in the letter boxes, and especially warns his men against walking on lawns. "I watch my men closely." said Mr. Dish- on. "and if I am satisfied that my orders re- garding the throwing of dodgers in yards and tramping over the lawns have been ig-- nored, the man is discharged. My men have been uniformed in order that they may be identified, and I will he glad if any person who can catch them violating the ordinance will notify me. I am just as anxious as resi- dents to insist on my distributors placing dodgers in the letter boxes and keeping off the grass. Bill posting and distributing is my business, and I believe it is necessary for the success of my business that all laws and ordinances should be obeyed. I would not allow a man or boy to throw a bill in my yard or walk over my lawn; consequently I insist on my men respecting other people's property the same as my own. If bills are thrown in yards it is not my men, and I want the public to know it. Many propertv- owners have made complaints to me within the past few days, but on investigation it was shown that I had nothing to do with the men who were violating the law." Waterbuty, Conn., News. I have second shipment under way from Dr. Miles Med. Co. since January. About cross- road advertising I will say it costs from $3 to $10 per thousand to reach small villages in my section. I know it, and have been told so by firms who have tried small villages. I could mail advertisements to said villages at less expense: to about twenty to thlrty-e ght small manufacturing towns and farming dis- tricts. If advertisers desire this service. I take good care of same. Local barbers have been well supplied with Peruna books. Plnkham booklets distributed in center of city twice.' On one street about noon 1 have seen the man throw from eight to twelve pieces on the ve- randa floors. Of course this saves a great amount of work for that distributer, and keeps htm from going to the outskirts. These two firms do not seem to care about their ad- vertising matter, or else do not want to piy anything to have their work done properly. Dr. Clmac. Philadelphia, made two distr- buttons here. They have a new man e»ch time. Smith's Green Mouhtnin Renovator has n sign In drug store, size of ha«s drum: glass signs in front, with advertisement on san>c, red glass. Ulngling Bros.' Circus has be<m here. They had a fine narade. 4-Paws-SelIs Bros.' show here Mnv 17. and New Haven May 10. We hnve had two ten-cent side-shows In town for over two months. J. A. NEFF. The Amazons Again. P<-rbv. Conn.. May 11—The Woman's Clu>> of Dprby, Shelton and An son "a has instituted another reform by attacking the handb'U nuisance, which It Is determined to nbnte. At its Inst meeting. Mrs. James R. Mason, rhilr- mnn of the Civic Committ-e. took the matter In hand and secured the club's p"rmlss'on to puss copies of the following nct'tion among the members for the purpose of obtaining sig- natures: "The distribution of circulars and handbills having become a public nuisance and a great annoyance to the householders of the associated communities, the under- s.gned citizens do hereby appeal to all mer- chants, managers and agents cf D<.r~y, She.- ton and Ansonia and neighboring towns to cease this mode of advertising." As many of the merchants have already signed the pe- tition, the presumption is that the nuisance will soon cease. The new woman is certainly a wonder. What next! An Advertising Bombshell. An Italian inventor has recently inven'el what he calls an advertising bombshell. The bohbs are made of papier-mache, and, as de- signed, consisted of two members adapted to screw into each other, leaving a space for the explosives and a space for the handbills, a fuse completing the unique distr buting de- vice. The idea is to send this bomb up in the air in rocket fashion and then have it ex- plode, when, instead of a shower of toy bal- loons, mice, cats, elephants, dice, flowers, etc., descending, as is usual in Japanese day fireworks, a shower of hand bills would be scattered broadcast over he streets. thmus of Tehuantepec. Their intentions are to send their circulars broadcast throughout the United States and to every part of the globe where people are interested In the cUi- • tivation of tropical products. "Philadelphia merchants are migb'.y candll advertisers," says the advertis.ng man. "I've always, known that fact, but I never saw it so strikingly illustrated as I did in the Philadelphia papers recently. I picked up one of the leading papers there and read over, the bargains the big stoies had to of- fer, and in the middle of one advertisement, under the head of "Hats" I found this: "What do you get when you buy a $4.00 hat at other stores?—stuck. Same here,- $3.50.' Of course I thought it was a break, but I got the other papers and I found the same thing in every one of them." TIPS. Leads to Obscurity. Some one has discivered that there is a peculiar harbinger of comparative obscurity hovering over the doubtful honor of having a cigar named after you, if you happen to be a stage player. Jessie Bartlett Davis was stunned with perfect happiness four years ago when she received a box of Perfect s bearing her name on the cover—and now she is in retirement. Robert Mautell thought it an excellent advertising device to have his portrait pasted on every cigar and news- stand of the country as the trade mark of a cigar, but now he is certainly on the decline. The following is a list of probable eariy spring distributing advertisers: Akron Cereal Co., Akron, O. J. W. Brant Co., Albion, N. Y. Winkelman-Brown Drug Co., Baltimore.Md. Dr. Kilmer Co., Binghamton. N. Y. Dis. F. E. & J. A. Gieene, Boston, Mass. Potter Drug & Chemical Co., Boston, Mass. C.L. Graves & Son, Boston, Mass. E. C. Cowdry Co., Boston, Mass. Koster-Milburn Co., Buffalo, N. Y. Gerhard Mennen Chem. Co., Buffalo, N. Y. Dr. Pierce, Buffalo, N. Y. Hutton Remedy Co., Buffalo, N. Y. Newhro Drug Co., Butte, Mont. Pope's Med. Co., Charlotte, Mich. New Apensen Med. Co., Chattanooga, Tenn. Thatcher Med. Co., Chattanooga, Tenn. New Spencer Med. Co.. Chattanooga. Tenn. Chattanooga Med. Co., Chattanooga, Tenn. Providence Medical Institute, Chicago. Pabst Ohemical Co., Chicago, 111. Hanson's Ready Recovery Co., Chicago, 111. Boston Med. Institute, Chicago, IU. One of Tbe Minnesota Advertising Company's Bulletins. and is successful only in small cities. Agnes Booth also had her name on a cigar wrapper, and she Is now living in retirement in Bos- ton. Lillian Russell made up her mind to have a cigar named after her—and . behold, she is now a burlesque actress at Weber & Field's music hall, and the public sees her no more. Time to Callers. A business man of Sterling, 111., is the originator of a novel advertising card. It is in the form of business rules, and gives the length of time a business man should devote to callers. Among other rules are: Peddlers, one-fourth second; friends who want us to go to lunch, thirty minutes: friends who wish to give an order, thirty minutes; friends who want to talk lumber, all day; friends who want to borrow over $50. no time at all. Re- porters are allowed ten seconds. The last rule is subject to amendment.' in case the merchant has some important news to im— part. Tallapoosa, Ga., is rejoicing over a brand new set of bill boards. James G. Stickney is the owner of the plant. He is a -member of the I. A. of D. Every member of the Associated Bill Post- ers who possesses a spark of manhood knows that he has a right to a voice in the cho'ce of the Board ot Directors, and will flght for. that right. The management of the Interoceanic Road, whose headquarters are In the City of Mex- ico, have decided to introduce a new style of advertising in that country. They will use a recent article published in the "Two Re- publics" as a circular, describing the many advantages in the close connection made by their road with tho Alvarado Road at Vera Cruz, thereby facilitating travel to the Is- Roy Med. Institute, Chicago, 111. Dr. W. S. Burkhart, Cincinnati, O. Coffee & Spice Co., Columbus, O. Acme Chemical Co.. New Orleans, La. Peruna Drug Co.. Columbus, O. - Dr. Harter Medical Co., Dayton, O. The Sprague Pub. Co., Detroit, Mich. Kennedy & Kergan, Detroit, Mich. Dr. Miles Med. Co.. Elkhart, Ind. The Cooking Club Pub. Co.. Goshen. Ind. La Harpe Pattern Co., Grand Rapids. Mich. The Guarantee Medical Co., Hot Springs, Ark/ Van Camp Co., Indianapolis, Ind. Dr. N. C. Davis, Indianapolis. Ind.' I. C. Hubinger & Co., Keokuk, la. Allen Olmstead. LeRoy, N. Y. S. C. Wells & Co., Le Roy. N. Y. Frank O. Reddish-. Le Roy. N. Y. Wilson Drug Co., Lexington, Ky. Bright's Chemical Co., Little Falls, N. Y. C. I. Hood & Co.. Lowell. Mass. L. E. Plnkham Med. Co., Lynn. Mass. sterling Remedy Co., Mineral Springs, Ind. W. H. Comstcck, Morrlstown, N. Y. Kondon 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. & G. Corset 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. Shoop, Racine, Wis. Miller Drug Co., St- Louis, Mo. Koska Mfg. Co.. South Bend. Ind. Novelty Plaster Works. Soutvr'e. Mass. Dr. B. J. Kay. Saratoga Springs, N. Y. -Payer Med. Co., Toledo, O. Cheney Med. Co., Toledo, O. Merchants' Association. WlHIamsport, Pa. I. B. Ford Co., Wyandotte, Mich. NOTES. Guy W. Hart is the bill poster at Lake Odessa, . Mich., and, according to t.l ac- counts, is an enterprising hustler. There is much speculation as to the reason why Bailie Carroll so suddenly droped out ot sight and sound. Guess the gang could ex- plain. J. B. Nevin, manager or the opera house, Rome, Ga., writes that he will institute an opposition bill posting and distribut.ng plant iu that city. The following clipping is from "The Citi- zen," of Athens, Tenn., and is a positive pi oof that advertising in the smaller towns brings its results: We have received the May number of "The American Printer." It is one of the hand- somest of the illustrated monthl.es, anJ do?s great credit to the publisher, Mr. J. Clyde Oswald. One ot the best bill posting lists that has ever come under the observation of *"lhe Billboard" is that issued by the Los An- geles Bill Posting Company of Los Angelas, California. Lewis N. Morton, writes that he has star tel a bill posting plant at Shawnee, Okla., a gooi town of 8,000 population. Shawnee ep.ang int > existence only four years ago, and was with- out a regular bill poster until Mr. Mor.on started in. Robt. J. Wilson, the advertiser and distrib- uter at Kewanee, 111., notifies us that he has received his-certificate of membeish p in taa I. A. of D. He says work this year has heen very good, and he contemplates starting a bill posting plant. J. Wier, of the firm of J. Wier & Son. c'ty bill posters and distributors, Nebraska City, Neb., writes to infoim us of the death of bis daughter-in-law, which occurred on May 4. She was 28 years of age, and had been ill for several months. .. According to an exchange, the advertise- ments on the cars, omnibuses and tickets of the London County Council trainwayj brought in nearly $40,000 during 1899. Of this the Council netted about $30,000, the balance going in commissions. W. H. Steinbrenner, the well-known Cin- cinnati distributor, has recovered fr-m his re- cent illness. He rcpoits that the annual con- vention of the I. A. of D., scheduled to be held at Kansas City, will verv l.kely be changed to Detroit or Milwaukee and post- poned till August. By order or the street committee of the village council of Painesville, O., tin and cardboard signs advertising plug tobacco, yeast, soap, etc., are being torn down from telegraph and telephone poles. More than 2.000 have already been removed. The acton is taken under a hitherto unenforced ordi- nance. R. W: Lodwick, the bill poster and distribu- tor at Portsmouth, O., was a "Billboard' caller on May 9. He is a hustling young fel- low, who succeeded in knocking hs opposi- tion out of business about a'year ago. Hs plant is strictly up to date, and he reports that both his bill posting and distributing da- partmentsT are continually increasng the r volume of business. \ "The West Bill Posting- Company, of ths city, has come to the front in. that l-ne of advertising. They have just completed a contract with the Star Tobacco Company far all towns between Knoxville and Chatta- nooga, and the - elegant displavs on their board shave attracted much attention. Thi3 is one of the largest advertising companies in East Tennessee. Manager West says he has posted over 10,000 sheets this month." Al Bryan has held many Important official posts in his day.-and has exhibited considera- ble executive ability in-the discharge of his duties, but no position has ever weighed him down, he declares, with so much responsi- bility, worry and insomnia as the director- ship of the Eastern clique's white elephant journal, which was handed over to him at a recent meeting during his absence and with- out his asking. Al, moreover, says that h s position as director of the International D s- tributors' Association is also very trying and onerous. According to the "Berkeley GazeUe" of Berkeley. Cal., the sightly bill board has at last made its debut in Berkeley. It has se- lected the most conspicuous corner in the city. Passing to and from Berkeley Stat on the traveler will soon see emblazoned on green Bigns, in red letters "Borrow Money From Uncle Bill," "A Long, Sweet Puff " or at "The Dewey Next Week." It is ver- itably an age of show. The business world expects a man to display his sign and make himself known. The American ch:ld learns its letters at the early age of three or four years. . One-third of life is perhaps spent in reading, and every advantage possible is given the young student an opportunity to learn. Bill-posting agencies recognize that striking colors add attractiveness to the sign, and, accordingly, following the first law of color, sight and sensation, display their signs in bold colors. t f '» I':' it JI 3 ! Moline*Jti., Matters. J»i v- •■.,-", ■ News in this section is very scarce. The reason is because I am too busy to pay any attention to anything but work. I have put out upward of 70.000 booklets and samples so far tills season, and have correspondence for several thousand more. My. b"H boards (of which there are 1.700 running feet) are fairly well filled, and I have plenty of paper on the way to fill them. I am satisfied this will be the banner season for outdoor adver- tising, and I can cheerfully state that I a»- . tribute part of my success to the advertised jnent I ran In "The Billboard." You are all right. Very truly yours. R. II. TAYLOR.