The Batesburg advocate. [volume] (Batesburg, S.C.) 1901-1911, September 13, 1907, Image 9
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(Copyright 10<V7 by Hcnrv <"! Pitanl.) '
A face enough like BIstnarek'a to
make the resemblance startling, a
slender. wiry, boyish figure topped by
a white head, a manner self-assured,
yet never coarsely aggressive. There,
> In a nutshell, Is lite personality of one
of the most picturesque, interesting
figures In all New England?that of W.
L. ' >ouglas, ex-Governor of Massachusetts.
Itut it Is not ch elly as ex-Governor,
or indeed as statesman at all. that the
world ut large knows Mr. Douglas. A f
nii-irl. r-rrill,. <>f f.iotorles. a Yearly out- f:
iput of something over three million j
pairs of shoes, anJ a face that looks '
out from the advertising columns of
eight thousand newspapers?these are
the outward attributes that have made
the name of YV. h. Douglas so familiar
from Maine to California.
The story of the man who could make !
himself so well known; his secret of j,
acldevemcnt, his life history and his j,
hints on business success will not only f
be of Interest, but of profit to every I
class of reader. ]<
Kor the description of a hard climb,
of a winning light against circum- j
stances and the "climber's" rules for j
victory are alwa>-9 worth hearing. The
world loves a tighter and takes an in- |
, terest in his battles. '
. And W. L?. Douglas Is a lighter, as 1
even the most < usual student of human j
nntllTA rnnlil I'l mim from AMA .rl.. IW>A .It !
Itho strong, prominent Jaw, the level !
brows, the firm set of the lips. j
That oast of features sot Bismarck i ,
to toppling Kuropcun thrones. The same !
physiognomy (with a gentler mould of I
eye and mouth) has caused Douglas to i
revolutionize business, to wring wealth j
from poverty and political power from ?
u State peopled bv a inalirltv tiiat dlf- I
His Lite Motto. r
"Newspaper advertising" is his life >
j motto in business. "Kirst, be cure you j
have something worthy to advertise. |
! Something just as good as you. say it j
! Is Struggle to keep it as yoodt, and.
J then advertise it constantly. The !
newspaper is the lield in which my advertising
has brought uio the only perfectly
satisfactory returns. And 1 have ,
tried many lines before settling down
exclusively to that theory."
The same "cradle" served for New j
England and for the man who was one j
I day to be Governor of its oldest Stato. I
For It was in ancient l'lymou. s. cnj J ;
of the Pilgrims' landing, that Douglas
'f was born, in 1845. Ills was as paillette I
i, and hopeless a childhood as ever Ilickens
pictured for David Coppertield or
!( other of bis luckless hoy heroes. That I :
Douglas rose from it to any later posi- i
tion whatever speaks volumes for the !
stuff lie was made of.
In 1850 news came to a Plymnut .1 r
woman tliat iter husband, tiio br.;" |
winner of their largo family, had *-<01'!
drowned at sea. All the children wcro ; j
young. Tlie mot tier was almost \ i h- i
out means. So two years liter slu>
Verbally "bound out" one of the luood | (
?a precocious boy of seven?V his |,
uncle, a shoemaker. The cliild'.i life I ,
from then on became one lorn; era of 1
drudgery and hardship. His urvlo .sot !
him at once to pegging shoes by hand.
Tills was a task tor grown workeru,
but tho baby Angers wero kept at tins
Incessant toil of it from dawn tc dark. |
No holiday, no let-up of any tor , and, |(
worst of all, 110 wuges.
Tlie seven-year-old boy was carrying {
unduly heavy weapons in hi* lid hat- I
tie. He lias been carrying hei 1 ever
since. His ability to ilo *1 explains ji
why li?* became ("lovernor \ 'illiain 1.. i
Douglas, instead of merely Jo arneyman 11
liill Douglas. 1
His uncle was u stern ta ik-mastor. t
Apart from tiie shoe-pegging, tin- child I .
w.is called upon to perform n score of 1
equally severe" duties. Ai tont them t
was the tvvicc-a day journ-y Into the
woods, in bitterest Net" Knglaiid winter
weather, to cut ; /id drag in. 1
wood for the shop's tires. 1
only at r.ire Intervals was he allowed '
to leave his workbench fi?r .lie sihoofi- 1
room. Kut at such poio.l' he proved
so apt a scholar as to inak up for tha t
long lapses lie was greedy for etluca- <
tion and seemed to absorb bis scanty t
I portion of It without ft irt. It was t
Ktl)\> K?? ?V\la ot?.. **" "
, anaiiKc pruin ?:n y mat ne 11
gleaned any learning at a (
For four years Hit* s!.? t ry vent on. ,
Then Douglas returned to in .mother. It
Hut so valuable had he hi-<-rtu>? Iri the 11
hop that his uncle induced Tin to \'
come back to htm at the 1 inn tiocnt ,
waRe of $r. a month. Until ho w. : if- '
teen he continued to work thus, ai' thel'
time busy with new Ideas (Hong li s
own line. Th??? i > ? -
.MK-nn were on-- <lt> to
1t>? ar fruit.
Once. seeking to better /?lm.*lf. he
?M?nt to work in ;i Plymouth cotton
mill at 3:t cent* a day. This unsure, fully
in a month, and the $:? raise iH: -mod
tut unlike a dream u( weal it). Hut tuto
I
I ^
r IU <
NEWSPA
I bff a Ma
nek, Y>eca
Is* Now H
?
/V
nterrded him for Jiis original railing,
iurrs was a literal command of \S!i ? n.ul
or. stick to thy last'." h'or when he
lisobeyed tin- injunction an a idf.it in
ho cotton mill put a quick end to 'lis
>Liiis of lccuming a vvo.'ver. Dougia;
?as pulled out of the dobik* with a
roieii log. That ended ins cOttOi -mill
?ip?-riences.
Ill- went back to motlicr \.'hilo
'<"0V( rinj: tfrom his njury he ,\t tended
school and onco i.nrc pl.itmed tor a
full education lint the ia.n of i?r*.eriy
tha t has ivhl./pe 1 no ninny men on to
neatness w.i busy about the youne
student'.. si.ot:i..r*r.-* e 1 drove :m back
to the earning uf .l living, just as iio
was beginning ? rajolco In ins school
irogretvj.
ingcr content to work aim essly
it one job and .\not!u:i\ IVougias now
et about lean Jny tlio boot and iioe
business from l??t out t? top. i:? ;;1! its
brandies. Kr< n? town to t??i\ t he
worked liis wti. . . t uil> Lng tin- met i.qu.
di* cacii shop until ho had mast r vl
jvery rudiment of ills chosen prates tc: .
Lure cf the C>vldcn West.
11>" t lie spr iiR of ImC he f.it rotudv to
itort in for himself. Idko niac.y .111jtlicr
ambitious boy, at ihut time he
run<*ie?l the future was ,;htcr in th;
lew West than near or ixnale. So to
Denver ho wont. cf.rryfc.? amn;; lis
uirdly-iwaiulreil stuck ut cobbl Ag |
knowiedg*?and little elsi.
Arriving there, tie fouod :ij>it:il was
is need .111 in I'OlO ttilo a-> - \ MoSsaliusotts.
T.> uC(|U till- capita? lie
00k the first work Hint o.Ycrcd. The
vork in quest i >11 ? h mood to be 'he
iot very congen ol jiteillon *>f day laKirer
in a lime-kiln.
Not. aXautl) a bri.lir.*nt fulfilment of
ho golden promise of alio West, iu<r
lirc-c t ndvainvn.-iit t>*i\ anl .success 5:i .
,h? slioe trade. Burt Doug! is wen. on
hf? principle that success consists ess
n holding a good hand ihnn in playing
1 poor hand well.
Working hard and spending Uttlo, he
it last saved enough to travcnl to the
own of Hlack I lawk, where, lie Jiad
n?ard lived one Zrphe:ai:i)i Myers one
if t!ie most skilled bootr inkerr in
America, l'roni .Myers tin? young nan
i : 1.-11 ; le :iii i.ni: li.n.r. . . 1 *l...i
perfection in bis trade, and he .soon
acquired so wide a rcir'latitA 1 In t!"e
- mie l>u- nos.s as t > out: irip .is tvM ir.
Iiou/la and another man formed, a
partnership and ataj-ted a ft >m t.slbnK
boot and hoe tore at Golden City.
Hat New ICiiRlamt always calls to
her sou*. Dou^luii heard ti.o ^ call and
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PFV* A DVF-RTTMNi
n Who Be*
me (Soveri
ead of a ]
BY ALBERT PA1
' W*r-. , !: :/! ! '/ /;#>
tt mmk
,b MMrn
' ' vA(M
HON. WM. L
I r imo hark to Massachusetts. Working
; as Journeyman anil later as foreman,
he pushed the next few years, and in
July, l^Tti. made the pi .age tliat began
i his r-cil career. He borrowed $S73 and
tarti il a faetor> of his own. Tills
"factory" was small enough to he swallowi
d up in ttie mo.it insignificant worki
shop cf his present building. It was
just 'M l>y to . ('..SoO square feet) in
urea. *oi u v. the nucleus ot me |
plant that now has an area of 293,950 .
.square foot.
Prosperity came, bu* did not arrive,
fast enough to sui. the ambitious
young financier. lie 1 -?oJ about for
i in. uis of Increasing: it more rapiilly.
The method lie chose u k extensive
and unecu. nig newspaper advertising,
j Front the llr.-i the plan was a suoooss.
K has grown more and more romunera;
live each year.
"Have I trifd any advertising mediums
other ta.in i ? newspapers?" he
s.ii.l recently, och uig a question of the
wiit >r. ' 1 sjiouid ay to! Magazines,
rculfl.-s. street . ur signs and many
{ i lo'.ier. \\ iy, once i actually 'painted
i w idc town red.' J spread my ad|
, Tti;.i-:iict:is o\yr its fences and tool's
i,.f )i:i > . . lil ?-V? ? Vtt tinihi iii ?r i
j. otilt! : n.l spare lor an \ul." Oh, yes,
I'v. triid : tern all. An 1 the newspapers
I giv e by far the best results."
' "10veil better than the magazines?"
I "Mu> i lietter. And i"or many reasons.
in the lirst place, a newspaper adver!
tiseiin-nl strikes the eye the moment
I ".in* snoot i- opened. The .same advertisement
would lie hidden anions tl?e
I pages of a magazine unt 1 the reader
[ found his way to it. If he ever did.
The busiest man's eye will he caught
ind his attention held by sight of a
strong advertisement In his d illy paper.
Whereas that .-yme busy man might not
i " "" iiiiouko uii
.lie advertisements of a magazine
"Thou, ton0 practically every man
roi ds a newspaper. Kvcry man does
nof road magazines. Take a village, for
Instance, where tho one local newspaper
ha* p Tnaps Joo readers, if I put an
advert scment in that paper, 200 people '
are soft g to see it. N'o one magazine,
nor. for that matter, all tho magazines
comb nod. will circulate 200 copies in
that .saino town. The reasoning is very
* .tuple.
j ' There >s no hamlet or tiny settlement
Ion the continent that i. not reached by
noffsp pe s. There is no place where
j newspapers are n >t read with eager inItercst.
So l>y placing my advertlsment
in tho nev/sp.ipers it is a rnlf-evldent
(ti X hit) I cuuu iuoic peo
>ela
G THE jUEY TO Si
n m\ .iPo a:
j Ml ? u? M. M
larofTtis
B usness' ]
if SON TERHUNE
fid \
&^Mii
J " If i
pie thn any other medium could secure
ft me.
K;y to Financial Success.
"Tlii is why T advertise exclusively
in netvpapcrs. I advertise not only in
tfie piers of ail the principal cities,
but als in S.tM) country newspapers."
If t!i cynical claim that "money is
the find argument" carries any truth,
then M. Douglas's sincerity in declaring
the newspaper the foremost advertising
tedium cannot be doubted.
"In l!*i alone," he went on. "1 spent
jUO'i.OOO n newspaper advertisoments. I
should -ot have done so wore I not sure
the outiy was going to bring tne adequate
rturns. Tliat was a fair sample
of u ;ear'3 advertising expend tare.
Kigurlnj on that liasis I li .ve spent
$2,00o.<*>0tn newspaper advertising during
ilie p*.-t ten years. A fortun. ? Yes.
Hut, as 1 say, the results warranted it.
"1 ha.? given every form of advertising
tin fairest sort of trial. I began
with newspapers in 1883. The results
were so good that later I also advertised
in liagazines. TUB KI0TU11N3
DID NOP WA It HA NT MR IN CON-I
TINU1N0. I withdrew my advertisements
Iran the magazines, but later on
tri d the experiment again. Onee more
1 took ou my advertisements, and since
then I hive used only newspapers to
bring mv goods before the public eye.
"During the past decade, while I was
spending f2.0o0.000 for newspaper advertisements
1 sold (basing the estimate on
my 190t> riturns) 1,324,240 cases of shoes.
There are twenty-four pairs of shoes to
a case, fiat makes a total of 3,17$.17t>
pnirs for 1900, or 31,781,700 pairs for the
ten years. At the wholesale price of
$2.59 a pa r, that would be, for the decado,
179.154,400. Or. at the r< tail rate of
43.60 a pa r. it would equal $UI,236,ltiQ.
"In my advertisements, as a ride, I
call attention to my shoes, leaving the
local dealers In their own newspaper
adverti. emcnts to mention the fac t that
tiny carry the Douglas shoe.
* By the way, another excellent reaboii
for th * superiority of newspaper
over magazine advertising rests in the
fact that In those ,-amo local papers
the reader sees the 'ad' every day of
his life, while he sees it, at best, only
once a month in a magazine. In other
words, he ees it thirty times as often
in a newspaper, and it lias, therefore,
tli.rty times as many chances of impressing
h.m. Every man reads his
paper first. Then, if he has time and
inclination, he reads magazines. Sometimes
ho has neither, and ?he magazine
'goes unread.
i "I am not a bel.ever la spasmodic
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UCCESS
taShoemaik
JLfllK UlUl
Empire.
factual
meritmust
quality
him ir
qualit]
r rn*
/ I I | j)t?an
? \ i i i 1 ,.t the
' Si cons
^ ' .'i *<* - ' ,
- ' ; J/1 'V T6
V ' - ' <' ~:4bf ,v\> in
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"
act*
advertisement. My principle is: Keep son!
pounding away at the reader all the pow
time. Formerly it used to be a custom B,
to advertise shoes at only certain sea- Do\
sons of the year. J never adhered to afu
that idea. I advertise?and 1 keep on the
advertising. jus
"When a season Is dull I increase my
advertisements. That may seem odd.
Many don't do it. But I do. II
"'That is one of the secrets. I think.Itipr
of success. Instead of hanging back, too
waiting for a slack season to pass, i she
believe in advertising all the more. i;,s
Tins past spring, for example, was not
backward and cold. It was bad for mil
trade. 1 did extra advertising. tini
"Nor, at such times, do I raise the T
price of shoes. It would not be fair to are
make the public pay for the slowness <jer
of a season. 1 do not lower wages in spa
that event, either, as the ItHW scale will ant
prove. The scale for that year shows wu
the average shoemaker's pay in the jng
United States was $bil. In Maasachu- t
setts it was $"C0. in Brockton. vei
while at my Montello factory It was thi
, $7ti0. That does not include superinten- sij
dents and high salaried men. Just the dhl
workers, on the union scale. ai,
"Another advertising theory of mine i,0i
is that u good 'ad.' should be changed his
very seldom. Of course in the case of tju
dry goods stores or other places where stc
special sales are held and new attrac- j
tions offered from time to time it is En
necessary to change the form and in- pr,
dueements of an advertisement. But gta
where a man deals in a single staple ho
article, I think lie should write one fT(
strong, convincing advertisement and mi
let that stand fo.' a long time.
Let him make sure first that it is as
tne strongest. ixv t-woraea advertise- j
mont (i?- can concoct. Then let it stand. er
"There are good reasons for this. Sup- to
pose a man has glanced at my adver- oll
tisement for several days in succession })j
l without reading it. Then one morning w,
lio does read it. That may be the day w
when (if 1 constantly change my 'ads.'i
1 might have a weaker, less attractive, ve
less convincing one than usual. Per- t(1
haps I lose his possible custom. U|
"A good Advertisement is an argumont.
Remember that. An argument.
Not a boast. It does not shout .. un- m
J reasonable command to buy something.
It explains to you WHY you should cr
buy the article. It appeals to your nf
sense of reason. It should never exag'
gerate in any way, bet tell the mere
1 truth r
Ba?e Claims on Merit.
"An advertisement should never claim i
I for goods nlore advantages than they w<
*'^':wS^^^^KBBSBk-- vi$Jl
1 %
~' " ^wRWE^MV: ^W$S
on
'&& : - '""" Hall
I ., I Mil
. rO; . ; ,; _?i^*
ly possess. An article must fia-ra
-real merit?and its proprietor
fight, every minute, \o keep tha
* high. Success must not lure
lto letting up, one atom, on high
r. If he does, in the course of
le will lose. Some people get to
g money fast. Then they think
.-an lower the quality (and, inclly.
the cost of production), and
more. I have made more bemy
goods are worth more.
Is a strange fact that fully twoof
the shoes Bold throughout the
week are sold on Saturday,
her because that Is pay day or
y because It Is a favorite shopday
I don't know, but the fact
ns, and we regulate our adveraccordingly;
making It heaviest
d the latter part of the week,
urse, with a maga7lne (published
once a month) this would be lmcable.
e Douglas shoe is sold all 'over the
d States and also has a large sale
nada and Mexico, besides having
>d more or less of a European deI
employ 4,000 persons in making
idling my shoes, and I own and
to seventy retail shoe stores in the
titles. The vast area covered by
ealers renders It all the more necr
y for me to use local newspapers
one end of the land to the other
Ivertlse my shoe3. and made It the
i needful for me to study out carejust
what would be the best met
through which I might reach the
le at large." 8
ncernlng those 4,0u0 employees 8
n Mr. Douglas ? > casually men- 8
:d. an entire article of more than 8
non Interest might be written.
r form a sort of Utopian community B
reof he Is the head. At his expense 8
>f them are provided with medical 8
In illness, and they are In other B
s made to feel his personal Interest B
lent. P
e labor question assumes none of u
harsher features in the Douglaa E
t. By special agreement between W
proprietor and his workmen, all J#
?renccs, so far as possible, are mu- S
ly adjusted. Those which cannot K
thus disposed of will by common k
sent be submitted 8
y a etc is ion to
Lulji i. . : JU tic.
r. , .vn a vi,
t Vi.-t ftr- >r t
eu. B
nee the beginning of his first cam- B
;n of newspaper advertising, in 1883, 5
Douglas has gradually but steadily E
>me known to nearly every one In
eri a. The face that looks out front
diamond-shaped frame In his ad- g
dsements is familiar to all. Tet the I
! that accompanies this article gives Lj
ar more accurate idea of ihe Wll- |
\ L.. Douglas of to-d.iy. The char- ?
;r reader may peruse there the rea- E
s why a lowly start in life had no fc
rer to check this man's rise. H
y judicious newspaper advertising I
iglas quickly "outgrew" factory J
ir factory until, hi 1S92. he erected K
huge works now in use at Montello,
t out of Boston. j?
His Payroll Grew. ? t
tere his payroll grew until It num- 5
ed Its present 4.000 names. Here, J
i, gTew the facilities for turning out ?
>es In unparalleled numbers-^about .*
00 pairs a day being the capacity ,,
v. In the jobbing house alone a half iv
lion pairs of shoes are carried at all fe
es In stock. B
lie factory?or factories, for there I
two of them practically joined unone
series of roofs?cover as much ^
,ce as the walls of an ancient city,
1 are arranged In rectilinear lines, '
h wide-reaching wings, like eufilad;
earthworks.
'he man who employed newspaper adrtising
as the magle wand to raise
s mighty structure from the earth 'J.
II works as hard, in his own way, as %
I the seven-year-old carrier of wood ?
d pegger Of shoes. Outside niftce
urs ho is of simple, domestic tastes, ^
one "rich man's amusement" taking I
form of frequent cruises on his big ?
am yacht, the Machigonne. If
lo has found time, too, as ail New v?
gland knows, to make a decided iinvasion
in the field of politics. A
inch Democrat, lie has served in 24
tit houses of the State Legislature,
imed the arbitration and weekly pay- r.
rnt laws, was Mayor of Brockton in
0, and lias four times been chosen
delegate to the national conventions.
His victorious campaign for the Govnorship
of Massachusetts was such as
awaken national interest. Throughit
his term of Governor he conducted
s great personal business interests oa
ell as those of the State in such a
ly that neither suffered from inatten- ?'
>n. IBs wide use of newspaper ad- ?
irtising during the Gubernatorial con- $
st was one of the most striking feat- \it
cs of the campaign and contributed In '
light measure to his triumph. I
Why a man like Douglas, having
ado such g.ant strides in the world of
isinoss, should have sought the Govnorshlp
was a puzzle to many. And *
>t a few wondered that he was not g
tlstied with the success he had al- ?
ady won. S
But the man who is satisfied with sue- j?
!SS would In- with f*ltnr?, B
I rto not think William K Douglaa
uuia U.- oaiuuioU witt> eiLher. j
Hi