Re-elected President - Baltimore Is

D

ALLAS made good!

She promised a royal entertainment to the Advertising Men of America

during their Eighth An

nual Convention May 19-23, And she delivered the goods.

Not only Dallas, but the whote State of Texas, took the advertising guests to her heart.

There were over 2,500 delegates entertained, and a livelier, more earnest, more enthusiastic bunch never gathered anywhere.

Delegations from all

over the country began to arrive early on the

scene.

The San Francisco and California delegations came Saturday morning with a special consisting of seven Pullmans, a dining car and baggage car, and bringing more than 200 delegates and boosters, and one grizzly bear.

The Californians at once began their fight for choice as the next convention city, distrib

Wm. Woodworth, president of the San Francisco Ad League, was in charge of the delegation. A little later the Baltimore special

uting bear badges and buttonholing every voting Ad Man in sight who was made to listen to tales of the charms of Frisco.

with five Pullmans, a diner and baggage car pulled in containing more than 100 advertising men and city boost

ers.

Baltimore also began an immediate campaign to secure the next convention. It was expected that these delegates would bring a trained oyster to compete with the grizzly bear as a center of attention. But, instead, its chief object interest was Joe Mann, who distinguished himself at the Boston Convention by riding Tom Lawson's $5,000 bull. He announced himself as being prepared to tackle the most violent variety of Texas steer.

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Still later came the Toronto delegation, also intent on winning the next convention. There were 60 in the party. Also a band of bagpipers in Highland costume.

And the Kilties were one of the features of the convention throughout.

The Canadian delegation was in charge of W. A. Lydiatt, president of the Associated Advertising Clubs of Canada.

The New York train arrived on Sunday with a party of 52, including W. H. Johns, Herbert S. Houston, Manly Gillam, W. C. Freeman and other notables, many of whom were accompanied by their wives.

The Chicago party, 75 strong, arrived Sunday morning in a train de luxe under the personal direction of Hal S. Ray, assistant general passenger agent of the Rock Island Railroad.

Seven pullmans, consisting of observation car, library car, diner, buffet and drawing room cars made up the train. A stop was made by the Chicago special at Wichita, Kan. The Chicago Ad Men and their ladies were guests of the Chamber of Commerce and were shown the city by an automobile tour. A reception was tendered them at the Masonic Temple.

A 6-hours' stop was made at Oklahoma City, where the party was entertained at a dainty luncheon given by 150 high school girls.

Gov. Lee Cruse addressed the Chicago party. On their arrival the Chicagoans went to the Hotel Southland, which was their headquarters throughout the convention. Among the Chicagoans and others who made up the party were: Gilbert Hodges, Stanley Clague, Herbert Casson, D. L. Taylor, E. E. Critchfield, Fred Sperry, Frank E. Long and wife, Wm. Campbell of Detroit; J. W. Miller, Freeport; Herbert Johnson and J. V. Rohan, of Racine; J. A. Lesher and wife, A. E. Chamberlain, Sylvester Blish, Geo. W. Herbert, J. Geo. Krogness and wife, Luther D. Fernald, E. C. Kreidler and wife, Smith B. Queal.

Gilbert Hodges had charge of the organization of the party and is entitled to big credit for the goodly number from Chicago who made the trip.

St. Louis, Kansas City, Boston, Pittsburghin fact, every city was represented and well represented.

A unique beginning of the convention was made on Sunday, May 19th, when the churches of Dallas turned their pulpits over to prominent advertising men who made addresses.

Sixteen well known advertising authorities occupied as many different pulpits. Dr. Jas. Alex. Macdonald, editor-in-chief of the Toronto

Globe, spoke at the First Presbyterian church, and said in part:

"Incalculable damage has been done by dishonesty in trade promoted by dishonest advertising. One of the most significant and most hopeful signs of the betterment of American life is the earnest leaguing together of thousands of men 'interested in business publicity'-men who sell advertising space, men who buy it and men who write advertisements for it-thousands of such men in all the Advertising Clubs of the United States and Canada leagued together for the high purpose of making the business of publicity honest and clean and of the truest service to the public."

I. H. Sawyer, vice-president of the Brown Shoe Company, St. Louis, spoke at Grace Methodist Church on "Religion and Business."

Geo. French of New York spoke at the Oak Cliff Methodist Church on “Publicity and the Church."

Julius Schneider discussed "Cleansing the Temple" at the Presbyterian Church.

W. C. Freeman, manager of the New York Mail, spoke in part as follows:

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"We advertising men are great optimists. believe that fully 90 per cent of all of the men who use the printed word to exploit their business are telling the truth. This large percentage of honest merchandising and manufacturing did not exist even so recently as five years ago. It was not until the workers got busy and pointed out to merchants and manufacturers the wisdom of presenting facts only to the public that higher standards in business procedure became realities.

"And in this work of standardization, please remember that the men and women customers of the merchants and manufacturers-the real backbone of this movement-held up the hands of the working forces in the advertising world and said'we will stand by you, and we will insist that that which we buy must be as it is represented to us— we will make it our business to expose to our friends the unreliability of the stores that do not keep their word.'"

Herbert S. Houston, vice-president of Doubleday, Page & Co., New York, addressed the congregation at the Erva Street Methodist Church on the subject "Advertising and Religion." He said in part:

"Advertising is a child of the printing press, which brought democracy to the world. In retail trade, in general trade, in international trade, advertising is bringing and will always bring democracy to business. Now democracy is not Socialism. Over against that leveler, it stands for the individual, for his initiative, for his rights, for his freedom. Democracy is the creed of the gospel. It is the hope of all, for it conserves justice to all and opportunity to each. Democracy therefore, is applied righteousness. In bringing democracy into business, advertising is a sure and unfettered force that works for freedom and for righteousness.

Other speakers at various churches were James Schermerhorn, publisher Detroit Times, whose subject was "Advertising is the Thirteenth Apostle." E. St. Elmo Lewis of Detroit, "St. Paul, the Advertiser of Christianity." A. L. Gale of Omaha, "What the Church and Publicity Can Do For Each Other." Mac Martin of Minneapolis, "Am I My Brother's Keeper?"

The convention began in earnest Monday

morning at the Dallas Opera House, when it was called to order by President Coleman. The audience filled every seat down stairs and many were standing, although the balcony afforded abundant room for the overflow.

In a brief opening address, President Coleman said:

"Kind fate has linked together the 1912 convention and Dallas and Texas and the Southwest. Although Dallas is comparatively speaking a youngster in the galaxy of American municipalities, she nevertheless is right now giving glorious old Boston a close rub in the entertaining of the greatest aggregation of advertising men ever held on the face of the earth. I am glad that we have brought a convention, larger, more effective and stronger and more representative than any in the history of the association."

Mayor Holland, who a year ago while at the Boston convention agreed to execute in favor of the ad men a deed to the city of Dallas provided they would select Dallas as their convention city, fulfilled his promise and said:

"Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen: Twelve months ago as Mayor of Dallas, I executed with due solemnity, a deed to our entire city which was delivered to the Ad Men at Boston. It was based upon the consideration that the 1912 convention should come here.

"By your presence you have paid that consideration and I know that you feel not as strangers in a strange land, but as owners coming to claim that which is already yours. For these reasons I feet that a formal address of welcome from me to you would be unnecessary and superfluous.

"Even did Dallas not belong to you by right of deed you would soon feel at home for this is a cosmopolitan place. The energy and the progress which you see on every hand is due in no small part to the fact that our citizenship comes from every state in the Union and almost every province in Canada."

Gov. O. B. Colquitt addressed words of hearty welcome, invited the advertising men to come and make their homes in Texas, made some interesting comparative statements as to the size and resources of the Lone Star State, and said: "I seriously contemplate, as soon as I reach Austin tomorrow, to issue a writ of retention to hold the advertising men in Texas until they have had a chance to go over the entire state."

President Coleman presented his annual report, in which he paid tribute to ex-President Dobbs for the counsel and assistance he had given throughout President Coleman's administration. He also spoke of the valuable support that had been given him by Herbert S. Houston, director of the educational work of the club; of Richard H. Waldo; P. S. Florea, secretary of the National Association and editor of the Voice, and others.

Commenting upon the growth of the Ad Club movement, Mr. Coleman referred to the increase in membership of the association in the last year-from 99 to 130 clubs and from 5,776 to 9,781 members.

President Coleman recommended that in the future the work of the officers of the association be divided up and committees appointed so that the bulk of it will not fall so heavily upon any individual.

Secretary P. S. Florea and Treasurer C. B. Mekeel presented reports showing the National Association to be in a sound and healthy finan

cial condition.

Julius Schneider from Chicago followed with a paper upon "The Organization Needs of Retail Advertisers," excerpts from which appear in another part of this issue.

Then followed an automobile parade-said to be the greatest ever of its kind. 1,700 cars were in line, which took the advertising men and their ladies throughout the principal streets of the city, winding up at the Country Club, where they were guests at an Al Fresco luncheon given by the Daily News.

The visitors were so loath to leave the entertainment at the Country Club that it was after four o'clock when President Coleman called the afternoon session to order.

The educational work at the club was taken up and Herbert S. Houston, who has had charge of the educational campaigns during the past year, spoke regarding the work and urged all to take a greater interest in the practical benefit to be derived.

Brief talks on the educational features were made by O. R. McDonald, of Des Moines; A. L. McCreadie, Chairman of the Educational Committee of Toronto Ad Club; Rollin C. Ayres, of San Francisco; St. Elmo Massingale, of Atlanta; E. J. Shay, of Baltimore; Lewellyn E. Pratt, of New York; Mac Martin, of Minneapolis.

K. S. Fenwick, of Quebec, Canada, read a paper suggesting "A Remedy for Fraudulent Advertising," which was followed by brief talks upon the subject of illegal and misleading advertising.

The night session was devoted largely to the study of municipal advertising. The speakers were Lucius E. Wilson, Secretary of the Detroit Board of Commerce; Col. Henry Exall, of Dallas, President of the Texas Industrial Congress; and G. Grosvenor Dawe, Manager of the Southern Commercial Congress.

A feature of this session was the appearance of Charles Frederick Higham and F. Reginald Hennington, delegates from the Thirty Club of London to the convention of advertising men in America. These gentlemen brought an im

mense British flag as a gift from their club to the Convention.

In the course of his remarks, Lucius E. Wilson spoke as follows:

"Cities advertise because they want to grow. The basis of city advertising, I imagine, is to convince as many people as you can that your city is superior.

"The advertising so far has primarily supplied the world with concrete descriptions, data for establishment of factories, etc. But the world is rather accustomed to accept a city at its own valuation.

"The appeal of the city depends on its attitude of attracting or repelling men and money. Detroit stands first in automobile manufactures because her business men thought in terms of autos in the early stage of the industry.

"It is hard to see why Pacific Coast cities should be thought of as natural when growing abnormally, while some Middle West cities are thought of as natural when in a state of stagnation."

Monday night the Dallas Press Club entertained the visiting newspaper men with a round-up dinner at the Columbian Club.

Tuesday morning was devoted to departmental meetings.

The General Advertisers Departmental session included talks by Robert Frothingham, Advertising Manager of Everybody's; H. E. Robbins, of the N. W. Halsey Co., New York; Richard H. Waldo, Advertising Manager of Good Housekeeping.

The Retail Advertisers Session, Jos. H. Appel, Chairman, comprised addresses by Julius Schneider, A. G. Cheney of Dallas, and others.

At an enthusiastic meeting of the General Advertising Agents at which Frank Presbrey, of the Frank Presbrey Co., New York, presided, David L. Taylor, President of the Taylor-Critchfield Co., Chicago, spoke on "The Advertising Agent as a Creative Power in Modern Business." W. C. D'Arcy, President of the D'Arcy Advertising Co.. of St. Louis, spoke on "The Necessity of a National Association of General Advertising Agents."

Wm. H. Johns, Vice-President of the George Batten Co., New York, told "What the New York Association of Advertising Agents Has

Accomplished."

F. J. Cooper, Cooper Advertising Co., of San Francisco, Cal., talked on "Co-operation Between Agents."

The Newspaper Departmental Session included addresses by W. C. Freeman, Advertising Manager of the New York Evening Mail, and by E. LeRoy Pelletier, of Detroit; and by James Schermerhorn, President of the Detroit Times, and others.

Under the title of "General Publications," magazines, weeklies, farm publications, were included, and in their session R. H. Waldo, of New York, spoke upon the "Viewpoint of the Magazine Agent;" M. P. Gould, of the M. P. Gould Co., New York, spoke on the "Viewpoint of the Advertising Agent;" T. B. Harmon, of Pittsburgh, spoke on "The Functions and Influence of the Agricultural Press." S. R. McKelvie, of Lincoln, Nebraska, spoke on the "Position of the Farm Papers in an Advertising Campaign." J. F. Jacobs, of Clinton, S. C., spoke on the "Position of the Religious Press in an Advertising Campaign."

At the session of Class and Trade publications the speakers were: Allen W. Clark, R. R. Shuman, J. Newton Nind, E. R. Shaw, Geo. P. Edwards and C. D. Mekeel, who read an address written by LeRoy Fairman.

Some of the topics taken up at the Officers' Conference, Tuesday morning, were the desirability of doing away with the contest between cities seeking the conventions and having this matter placed in the hands of a committee. Also drawing the line more closely between advertising and city boosting in local ad club work. The Dallas Times-Herald entertained the advertising men for luncheon at the Scottish Rite Cathedral.

The afternoon session was devoted to summing up the results of the different morning departmental sessions.

Robert Frothingham, of Everybody's, New York, spoke on Magazine Advertising.

B. B. Davis, an attorney of Chicago, acted in place of A. C. McBec, who was to have handled the subject of Street Railway Advertising.

Walter B. Cherry spoke for the General Advertisers. Among other good and practical things Mr. Cherry said:

"First, the stores in the territory to be covered must be stocked before you begin your campaign in order that you may secure the benefits of first impressions. It will not do to advertise heavily with the idea of forcing the merchants to buy your goods because of the frequent calls for them. A hunter might just