Part IL] ADVERTISING PRODUCTS. 59 



fed by the sun of public favor; but ever, at a certain point, the 

 sun gets behind these trade obstacles and you are kept humble 

 and subservient. However, now and then some one individual 

 or association more enterprising, more alive, active and pushing 

 than the rest, bids farewell to the old way, gets aboard the 

 train of consumer advertising and starts down the valley 

 of progress. A miracle happens. The sun of public favor — 

 the interest of the buying public — which used to set at 5 

 o'clock keeps blazing away until 6, because, between the pro- 

 gressive business farmer and his buying public, the old hill 

 of fixed trade conditions suffers so sharp a decline that long 

 before sunset it has tapered to a point and vanished away. 



It is that kind of a miracle that I believe advertising would 

 work for you New England farmers. Why not try it? 



Secretary Wheeler. I would like to ask if Mr. Hannah 

 thinks there would be any possible way of working out a per 

 capita or per package tax on packages which are sold by an 

 association, so that that money could be used for advertising? 

 I understand that in some places they do something like that; 

 that is, charge every member of an association a cent or 2 cents 

 or 3 cents or 5 cents a package, according to the amount of the 

 business that is done, and that money is used for advertising 

 that particular product. 



Mr. Hannah. It certainly could be done if you can convince 

 the members of your association that advertising is something 

 that will help their business; that is the first thing to do. 

 Whether you could get an association to consent to that as a 

 preliminary, I do not know. There are a great many concerns 

 that have a fixed rule of spending a certain proportion of their 

 income, their gross income, for advertising. I should think that 

 in an association of farmers you would probably have to demon- 

 strate in some way what advertising would accomplish for the 

 advertised product. Of course, the general feeling as to the 

 value of advertising is beyond discussion any more, if it is done 

 in the right way. 



Secretary Wheeler. Don't you think that would be a good 

 way to get an association started that really is producing a 

 pretty good product? 



