American Agriculturist, June 16,1923 
KG’? 
The World’s Greatest Shopping Place 
{Continued from page 503) 
son brand of seeds. And you have 
missed that wonderful advertisement 
showing a dog looking into a Victrola 
and enBtled “His Master’s Voice.” 
But, of course, you do believe in ad¬ 
vertising, or, at least, you use it, in 
one way or another, both in the sale of 
your products and ip what you buy, 
for it is practically impossible to do 
even a small business without being 
aifected by it. 
Its largest and also its best develop¬ 
ment has been within the last twenty- 
five years. We are sorry to say that in 
its earliest days advertising was not 
the honest and reputable business that 
it is to-day. Early advertisers, for 
some reason or other, did not at first 
realize that honesty is the best policy, 
and they seemed to vie with one an¬ 
other in exaggerated and actually un¬ 
truthful statements about the wares 
they were trying to sell. 
Even many of the more reputable 
papers and magazines once carried 
“ads” that promised “something for 
nothing,” and endeavored to get the 
consumer’s dollar on misrepresented 
statements. How many thousands of 
farm boys and girls have pored wist¬ 
fully over advertisements which prom¬ 
ised in such glowing terms the abso¬ 
lutely impossible to those who would 
send them money? How well we re¬ 
member our own wild dreams of be¬ 
coming a great hypnotist and making 
barrels of money. All we had to do 
was to answer an advertisement and 
send $5 for the correspondence course 
in hypnotism. There were many in the 
old days who answered such solicita¬ 
tions only to be disillusioned and disap¬ 
pointed, and to have ingrained a preju¬ 
dice against all advertisers and adver¬ 
tising which years of truthful state¬ 
ments and honest dealing have not been 
able to overcome entirely. 
So great was this prejudice built up 
by the dishonest advertiser that even 
to-day the average reader does not 
realize the complete revolution that 
took place years ago in advertising 
methods, and the tremendous extent 
to which every business in the world, 
including even farming, is built up on 
one kind of paid publicity or another. 
The great majority of advertising to¬ 
day is reputable and reliable. Any 
magazine which accepts that which is 
not, is soon doomed to failure, and any 
advertiser who long persists in state¬ 
ments which are not borne out by fact 
not only will not long succeed, but is 
headed straight for jail, 
Some of the best trained men in the 
business world are engaged in the ad¬ 
vertising business. Talent fully equal 
to that of editors and writers of edi¬ 
torial matter in magazines goes into the 
writing of advertisements that are at¬ 
tractive, instructive and worth read¬ 
ing. The sky is the limit for writing 
advertisements which will sell the ob¬ 
ject advertised. But there is • always 
one qualification insisted upon above 
all others, and that is honesty in state¬ 
ments. 
The advertising pages of honest pa¬ 
pers and magazines are the world’s 
greatest shopping places, where the 
consumer can go at his leisure and buy 
anything that all the merchants of the 
world have for sale from a dress for 
the baby starting life’s journey to the 
coffin at the end of it. 
How many, many times, we used to 
hear father complain about some issue 
of his favorite paper because he 
thought it contained too much adver¬ 
tising. The same complaint is often 
heard still. Father did not realize that 
were it not for the advertising in his 
paper, he probably would not have had 
any paper at all. He would not have 
been able to afford it. Father did not 
know—and the average reader of to¬ 
day does not know—that the subscrip¬ 
tion price of most publications is a 
mighty small item toward paying for 
the tremendous publication costs. 
For instance, one can buy fifty-two 
issues of a great magazine like the 
“Saturday Evening Post” for two dol¬ 
lars a year. This is about four cents 
a copy. The -paper alone used in the 
“Post’ costs pretty nearly as much as 
the subscriber pays for the completed 
magazine. This is to say nothing at 
all of the hundreds of thousands of 
dollars which pay for stories, articles 
and other editorial costs; and to say 
nothing of the hundreds of thousands 
of dollars for investment in printing 
presses and for the pajmient of the 
thousands of workers. 
The same is true of other magazines, 
and of the weekly and daily newspa¬ 
pers. Often the trouble of obtaining and 
maintaining the subscriptions costs 
more than all of the mopey that comes 
from them. It is advertising—and ad¬ 
vertising alone—which has made the 
people of America the greatest reading 
public in the world by giving them al¬ 
most unlimited amounts of best in 
news, information and literature at a 
purely nominal cost, and all of this is 
in addition to the big part it has played 
in our industrial and social life. 
Can You Tell What Teazles 
Are Used For? 
(Continued from page 502) 
racks which can carry about a half 
ton. The average production per acre 
is 150,000 burrs. 
The variance in the size of the burrs 
and the fluctuating demand from the 
different mills makes the marketing of 
teazles one where considerable expe¬ 
rience is necessary. Several attempts 
by the inexperienced to market teazles 
have been made. Mr. Talcott says the 
result was that the other fellow got the 
teazles, and the man who marketed 
them got the experience for his pay. 
So far, there has been no successful 
attempt on the part of growers to mar¬ 
ket their own burrs in a cooperative 
way. However, the Skaneateles Teazle 
Growers’ Cooperative Association was 
organized in 1920. William T. Thome, 
a large grower and now president of 
the Farm Bureau of Onondaga County, 
is president of the association. 
Grading is Tedious Work 
At the plant of the buyers, men with 
a lifetime experience select and grade 
the burrs in three general grades. The 
stems are trimmed to exact lengths and 
the different grades packed in large 
boxes ready for shipment to the fac¬ 
tory. It takes an experienced eye to do 
this grading, as not only the size of the 
burr must be considered, but the most 
important thing to consider is the 
strength of the hook. 
As I have observed the teazle in¬ 
dustry at Skaneateles the last few 
years, it would be my advice to anyone 
who contemplates growing teazles to 
move to one of the good farms near 
Skaneateles. The land is well adapted 
to general farming. I would grow gen¬ 
eral crops for a couple of years, and 
from observation and study would then 
decide whether or not there was suffi¬ 
cient demand for teazles to warrant 
the growing of teazles. I certainly 
would want to see a change in the level 
of labor prices and the prices that are 
being received for the teazle burrs. 
What happened to Mr. Talcott? How 
did he save his neck growing teazles? 
He made some money out of teazles, 
first, because he put in plenty of the 
hard work and hand labor that is neces¬ 
sary, and because a few acres of teazles 
fit in with a well-organized rotation of 
general crops that grow around Skan¬ 
eateles. 
1924 MEETING OF NEW YORK 
GRANGE IN BUFFALO 
The annual meeting of the New York 
State Grange will be held at the Stat- 
ler Hotel in Buffalo on February 5 to 8, 
inclusive, 1924. In securing this par¬ 
ticular hotel for the meeting,' the Ex¬ 
ecutive Committee feels the Grange is 
particularly fortunate, for it makes it 
possible to hold the sessions in the 
Grand Ballroom and all of the commit¬ 
tee meetings under the same roof. 
Have been taking American Agricul¬ 
turist for 16 years and couldn’t, farm 
without it. We are a family of nine, 
and all like the clean, wholesome seri¬ 
als you print. I think the “Valley of 
the Giants” splendid. If we could have 
moving pictures of such stories as you 
have in your paper, and they would be 
played without that unwholesome man¬ 
ner such as the movie actors have, then 
I would think them worth while. Can’t 
you start such a movement?—G. N. 
Stenger, Chambersburg, Pa. 
SLUG SHOT* 
Used from Ocean to Ocean for 35 years 
Sold by Seed Dealers of America 
Saves Currants, Potatoes, Cabbage, Melons, Flowers,Trees and Shrubs from 
Insects. Put up in popular packages at popular prices. Write for free 
pamphlet on Bugs and Blights, etc.,to B. HAMMOND, Beacon, New York 
Big Sale. 
Now 
OTTAWA 
Smaohod on this better. 
ter cottinx machine Sawa lose. 
Hmbe. falla treee 10>7ear Goarao- 
tee Caab or Basr Terma 
Cma Seek and Spacial Offer 
1166 Write qniek before aale endal 
OTTAWA MFC. COMPANY 
SOIQ WmS Stmt Rsm SOt.Q Mmm SlSa. 
OTTSWa. KAWS_WTTSSUItaH. RA. 
IF.O.B. 
I Ottawa 
Kana. 
From Pittsburuh. 
Pa. $97 .26 
SALARY AND EXPENSES 
FOR RURAL SALESMEN 
If you have had experience in selling 
goods or subscriptions to farmers, 
write us at once, giving full informa¬ 
tion about yourself. 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
461 Fourth Avenue New York City 
'life Insurance 
Without Agents 
is 
a Distinct Public 
n • yj 
service 
Postal Life Method Sanctioned by 
the United States'Supreme Court 
Timely Talk on a Vital Subject 
(Scene: Pullman smoking compartment. Judge Kirkland and 
Lawyer Roberts continuing a conversation begun at dinner.) 
Judge: "Well, this business of 
selling direct-by-mail through¬ 
out the country is surely very 
popular with the public.” 
Lawyer: "Yes. but some of my 
clients say that in the interest 
of local merchants, the States 
ought to find some way to 
check it.” 
Judge: “I don’t see why they 
should check it or how they 
can do it. Selling merchandise 
is an interstate business. I 
can sell and you can buy in the 
best market wherever it is. 
What can a State do about it?” 
Lawyer.'“You’re probably right. 
I’ll admit. The States can’t 
very well put the ‘kibosh’ on 
legitimate interstate business.” 
Judge: "Certainly not. The 
States cannot hold up arbi¬ 
trarily any direct-by-mail trans¬ 
action, nor can they tax life- 
insurance premiums thus sent 
by mail.” 
Lawyer: "How’s that?” 
Judge: “Policies are written for 
people ‘direct,’ all over the 
country, and have been for 
years. The United States Su¬ 
preme Court has decided 
unanimously that life-insur¬ 
ance premiums on such poli¬ 
cies are exempt from State 
taxes. The usual license-fees 
and charges also do not apply. 
All this helps policyholders.” 
Lawyer: "Oh, you refer to the 
Postal Life? ” 
Judge: "Yes, that Company 
hasn’t any agents and never 
has had. United States Sena¬ 
tor Overman, who matured 
one of its policies, said on the 
floor of the upper House of 
Congress two years ago; ‘It is 
a very strong company, and is 
conducting a great business in 
this country. They do it all 
by printed matter.’ The ap¬ 
plicant deals direct, personally 
or by letter. The method is 
good common sense as well as 
sanctioned by law.” 
Lawyer: “ You are quite right. I 
9 \% 
Dividends Guar¬ 
anteed in your 
Policy and the 
Usual Contingent 
Dividends Paid 
as Earned. 
Also, the life¬ 
prolonging ser¬ 
vice of Company’s 
Health Bureau 
benefits policy¬ 
holders and helps 
to keep insurance 
cost down. 
wrote the Postal once myself 
just to find out how the Com¬ 
pany did business, but never 
followed it up.” 
Judge: " I go you one better; I 
not only wrote them, but took 
a policy nine or ten years ago 
and have carried it ever since.” 
Lawyer: "How’s the cost?” 
Judge: " Lower than in other 
companies for the same kind 
of insurance — legal reserve — 
and besides that they give me 
a free medical examination 
each year just so I can keep 
in trim.” 
Lawyer: "That’s pretty good. 
You live in Idaho and deal 
wiih a New York company by 
mail. Did you ever look the 
Company up ?” 
Judge: "Only to know that it is 
chartered and licensed by New 
York State, whose laws are 
very strict, but I called on 
them when I was East last 
June. They’re now in their 
new building on Fifth 
Avenue.” 
Lawyer: " Are they ? Believe 
I’ll write them to figure on a 
policy for me.” 
Judge: “ Don’t think you could 
do better. Life insurance 
without agents is a distinct 
public service. The point is 
made, and I think it is a good 
one, that the Company is sub¬ 
ject to the United States Postal 
Authorities. The Postal sim¬ 
plifies the business, saves you 
money, safeguards your health 
and will treat you right in 
every way. I’d take another 
policy myself if I hadn’t passed 
the age-limit. 
That tclU the itory. Thouchtful inturen like Judge 
Kirkland take policies with the Postal and not only 
hold on to them bnt are disposed to take new insur¬ 
ance. while those like the lawyer Roberts, who at 
first write out of curiosity, at last find they can save 
money by takinf a Postal Policy and they do it. 
Find Out What You 
Can Save 
You should take advantage of Postal benefits 
and economies. Call upon or write to the 
Company, or send in the coupon 
You will receive full information based on 
oflficial reports regularly filed with the New 
York State Insurance Department. No 
agent will be sent to visit you. The resultant 
commission-savings go to you because you 
deal direct. 
Postal Life Insurance Company J 
511 Fifth Ave., New York J 
Without obligating me, please mail full S 
insurance particulars for my age. I 
Name --- 
Address --- 
Occupation _ 
Exact date of birth 
ostal Life Insurance Company 
WM. R. MALONE, President 
Sll Fifth Avenue: New York 
