Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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' V \ \ ?3/ fHrS > 11V/ V V ' To/ / *v ,v k IfCapyrlglit 1007 by Henry O. Pagan A face enough like Bismarck's t< take the resemblance startling, a lender, wiry, boyish figure topped bj white head, a manner self-assured yet never coarsely aggressive. There iu a nutshell. Is the personality of on< f the most picturesque, interestini figures In all New England?that of W L. Douglas, ex-Governor of Maaaachusatta But it is not chiefly as ex-Oovernor or indeed as statesman at all, that thi world at large knows Mr. Douglas. > quarter-mile of factories, a yearly out' gut of something over three millicr pairs of shoes, and a face that look) out from the advertising columns ol eight thousand newspapers?these an the outward attributes that have mad< the name of W. L. Douglas so familial from Maine to California. The story of the man who could makj himself so well known; his secret ol achievement, his life history and hit hints on business success will not onlj bf^ot Interest, but of profit to every class of reader. For the description or a nara cum? tot * winning fight against circunastances and the "climber's" rules fo: victory are al ways worth hearing. Th< world loves a fighter and takes an in terest In his battles. And W. L. Douglas is a fighter, a; even the most casual student of humai nature could glean from one glance a the strong, prominent Jaw, the leve brows, the firm set of the lips. That cast ol features set Blsmarcl to toppling European thrones. The saici physiognomy (with a gentler mould o > eye and mouth) has caused Douglas t< ' revolutionize business, to wrlag wealtl from poverty and political power fron . a State peopled by a majority that dlf f fers from him in politics. I Bismarck tore down. Douglas haj built up. That is where the milder ey< and mouth come In. There is a keyword to Douglas's sue cess, of course. Several of them, ii 4 fact. The foremost Is "Advertising." ? His Life Motto. "Newspaper advertising" is his lifi motto in business. "First, be sure yoi bave something worthy te advertise Something just as good as you say 1 Is. 6truggle to keep It as good, an< then advertise it constantly. Tib newspaper is the field in which my ad vertising has brought me the only per fectly satisfactory returns. And I havi tried many lines before settling down exclusively to that theory." The same "cradle" served for Nev r.-viand and for the man who was ont .. to be Governor of its toldest State } .t was in ancient Plymouth, s.-em v. ..e Pilgrims' landing, that Douglai vtt born, in 1845. His was as pathetii fetid hopeless a childhood ae ever .Dials ens .pictured for David Gopperfleld a other of his luckless boy heroes. Tha Douglas .i??e from 't to any later pool lion whatever speaks volumes for tb< stuff be was made of. In 1850 mews came to a fciyraoutl woman timt her husband, the bread winner Of their large family., had beer drowned at sea. All the cHDdren wen young. 'The mother was almost with out means. So two years later s!m -verbally ^hound out" one ol the braot ?a precocious boy of se^wn?to hfa uncle, a s&.oe'naker. The ohild's lift -from then ?n became one Icog era c( drudgery awl hardship. His jdcIc ?e him at onae to pegging shoes -by band This was A task for grown worker but the baby fingf-rs were kqjt at tlu incessant toil of it from djw-r rt? dark No holiday, uo Jet-up or any ?urs. and worrt of all. ao wages. The seven-year-old boy va? .earryin* unduly htavy weapons In hie liie-bat tie. He has i<*en carrying tbesa evei aince His ,;d. Jlty to do so wjtkilni why |.e be arm* Governor WilHan L Douglas. instead ot merely Jouraeymar ^ BUI Pourlas. Kie t:m-.e a stern task-toaster Ayart Srom t.ie ehct-pegs'.ng, the <twk was .oaled upon xn perform a scare -os * equally severe duties. Among tlien y toe tw:ce-a-day journey^ late tin woods, in bittentst New Eo|^an< winter weather, to cut and dray it weed for the shop s fires. Only at rare intervals was he allowac io leave hie workbench for the scbooP room. But at such periods he prorec eo apt a scholar as to make up for th< long lapses. He was greedy for educa ticn aim seemea to aosoro nis scant] portion of It without effort It wai only by this strange proficiency that h< gleaned any learning at aH For four yeara the slavery went on. Then Douglas returned to hla mother Butlso valuable had he heeome In the that his uncle induced him tc 0R$| come back to him at the munlflcenl Wage of $5 a month. Until he was fifteen he continued to work thus, all th< time busy with new ideas a!o..g his own line. These ideas were one day tc hear fruit Once, seeking to better himself, he went to work in & Plymouth cotton mil' st C3 cents a day. This meant fuIJj "r.ih. and the S3 r<i?e Oeemed K.. ..j.t.* a dream of wealth. But fate v to NEWSP^ 'd bu a Ma encn. Beca l? Now fi / intended him to- his origin*! callinr' Hers was & Iite*J command tf "'Shoej maker, stick te thy last!" For when he i at ?w?. (*iinn/?tinn on aftirft-nt in j UISUUCJCU ?? the cotton mil! put a quick end to his plans of becoming a weaver. Douglas was pulled out of the debris with a, " j broken leg. That ended his eocton-mill r : experiences. 1 He went back to his mother. T7hlle1 1 recovering from !his injury he attended I school aod once more plans*] for a I full ednce&en. Fut the lash cl poverty e that has whipped so many nvn on to [ greatness eras bnsy about tl?? young ' ! student's should ear and drove .lim back II to the earning id? .a living, .nut as ha' 1 was beginn-wg .to lrejoice in .iuti school I ( progresa. J I No longer rroixterr to work aimlessly j 1 Jat one job and another, Dcuetas now! sat about kwrning the boot -uud shoe j t?usiness from bottcn to tpp, ir. all Its' ; branches. From itswn to tesrn hej 'worked hie way, ?tu*>ing tl* rjuethoo* i luff each shop until .he had n-wrtared! ?r. ery rudimeci of bis chosen put Version. 1 i Lore of the GtfVrien Wert r j ?y the sprig of 3845 he felt sevdy to ! s start in for hisawif. ILike muty an. ' other ambitious bey. ai that .tip; e he j ; farvcieJ the future was brighter ra tha new Wert than nearer heme. Jto ta . j Denver he went, -carrying aiopg his I j hardly-acquired rtnok <of uctoaJing f knowledge?and little awte. i Arrfc-.ng mere, ne found capital was j ; as needful in Colorado us in jdaaea I chueetM. To acquire this capital he j i took ttw? first work that icflered. Ttie work is question chanced to be tie j 1 sot very congenial position of day J?- f - borer in a lime-kiln. 1 Mot exactly a brilliant fulfilment of] t the golden promise of the West, nor a direct aaraccemenc toward awooers in r the ehoe trade. But Douglae went on i the principle that success consists lea ? la holding a good hand than in playing a poor band well. Working hard and spending little, be . at last saved enough to travel to ibe i town of Black Hawk, where, be had i heard, lived one Zepheniah Myers, one I of the most skilled bootmakers is . America. From Myers the young man 1 t yearned the finishing touches that epeiied ' i perfection in his trade, and he soon ! ) acquired so wide a reputation ia the' same business as to outstrip his tutor. ] > Douglas and another man termed a i i partnership and started a flourishing r boot and shoe store at Golden City. I But New England always rails to s her sons. Doug.ae betid the uui and . lPER advertise n Who Be me Gover. lead of a BY ALBERT PA ^ HON. tM. [none back to Massachusetts. "W-m-king as . journeyman and larer as foreman, 'heipassed the next jfw years, sujd in i Jiiy. 1S76, made th?:plange that began 1 iifc real career. He harrowed X5 and rta-ted a facamry <f 2iis own. This -"tsctory" was osnaU'eiwugh to t* .swallowed up in the mo. t ,nsigniflaas.r nrorksbi'P of his present \awlding. it. was iaa. 30 by HO Itet 11:360 square Jw-t) in j***a. Yet it was the nucleus r?y the 'pitent that new has an area ?Jl -23S,!?r?0 square feet -Prosperity cxae, but ?1Jd not orrlve I taei enough .U sCtt rhe amVtl is j yv.mg financier .He ."we'-ket' about, for i j means of ixvtnaaesing i*. mere rajkdiy. j iTte? method h* those wuit cxieu&ive j 'auii unceasing raewsfaflier advertising, j Ptan the first x\* 7>?an was a su-ae-ss. I It ias grown mu?t anil .ra re ranuwrra- j lire each year. "flave I xrief any :AriT?-rM.-ing .we- j j cilicns other then r.he uemlp.ipers?* -he i isai.' recently, ec'mirsg.a q?s\ion of-*.-?e j IwriV-r. "I xit&a.d ?ty ;sl! Magazmna, | | i-iic-Oars, sties-t ar signs and maa^y I jaaer.ier. Y?'hy, ca.ue I actually 'painted I I a ttboie town red." 1 'pre* d my ati- I verfkeT.ents over its fenoes and roofc j s>:al barns and every where my mea j : o*ld find space for ?n 'ad" Oh, yes, 'i jl'vearied them aX And the newspapers^ give toy far the iw*t results." j "Even better titan the magasines?" j "MBi-n oeuer. AM ;?r many reason*. In the first j>lac?. a awspyxs adver;i.?em?rt strikes tlte tie the moment the shfet is opened The same adver:i?emefl/. would lie bidders amonf the pages si a magazine imt.J the reader found tits way to k. K *e ever did. The busiest man's eje arm be cavght and his attention beM by right of a strong advertisement In his daily paper. Whereas jhat same busy man might opt find time lo go laboriously through all the advertisements of a magazine. 'Then, too, practicaOy every ma* reads a newspaper. Every soan does noi read magazines. Take a village, for instance, where the one local newspaper has perhaps 200 readers. If I put an . advertisement in that paper. 200 people ' are going to me it. No one magazine. | nor. for that matter, all the magazines . combined, will circulate ?t<> copies in!( that Kotae town. The reasoning is very j' dropVa ' I "T J e: ? Is no hatn>t or tiny settlement |: o-? the continent that is not reached by j necspnpess. There is no riaco w;e*c;| newspapers are not read w-th er.ger ir.- ! teresU So or placing rny advertitment | in the nswppnpers it is a self-evident j proposition Ui*: I wui rtMM oturt peo > s rgy\ ' n\ tl IG THE KEY TO gan L t nor of hi B nsiness* I YSON TERHUNE pie than any ofher medium .could secure for me. Key to Financial Success. "That He why I advertise exclusively In newspapers. 1 advertise not only in the papers of ail the principal cities, but also ho $.000 country newspapers." If the cynical claim that "money is | the final argument" carries any tru'r. th?m Mr. Douglas's sincerity in declaring the wesvrp^per the foremost stiver1 tiiuag medium cannot be doubted. I In M06 alone." be went on, "I spent ta a*<wspsper advertisements. I should net Lave dene so were I not sure the outlay a*as going to bring me adequate re'icrrn. Thar '-as a fair sample of a. yesr? wcverlising expenditure. Figuring Ibst b**is I hare spent t2.00M? tn juewepaptx advertlsJrv; during the past ttn yvaiw. A fortune? Yes. But, as ^ say. the results warranted It. "I hare given evt.-y form of advertising the fairest sort of trial I be ran with newspapers is SS3. The results were so good that later I also advertised in 7iagar!nee. THE ilLTUfi.V3 DID NOT WARRANT ME IN CONTINUING. I withdrew my advertizements from the magazines, but later on triad the experiment strain. Once mo-e I took out my sdvert'sements, and since th*n I have used only newspapers to (bring my goods before the public eye. "During the past tiera<^. while I was spending J2.000.000 for neyspaper advertisements. I sold (basing the estimate on m<y 1000 returns) 1,314.210 cases of shoes. Tktcre are twenty-four pairs of shoes to a ta.se, that makes a total of 3,173,176 pairs for 1906, or 31.781,760 pairs for the ten years. At the wholesale price of 12 GO ji pa;r, that would be, for the decade, 579,454,400. Or, at the retail rate of 13.50 u pair, it would equal 3111.236,160. "In sny advertisements, as a rule. I call attention to my shoes, leaving the local dealers in their own newspaper advertisements to mention the fact that (hey carry the Douglas shoe. ' By the way, another excellent reason for th? superiority of newspaper over magazine advertising rests in the fact that in those same local papers the reader sees the "ad" txtrf. day of his life, while l.e see* it. at best, only nr.: e a month ir a nv.r. r:"e. In other f s-ord*-. he see* It thirty time* as often in s rewspaj'si. and :t hs.?. therefore, ij. 'rty times as r/.r.y c!iai:ces of I in- ' prewing fc.m. E **y man reads his COc* first. The.'., i* he h.?- time and ;nt llnation, he readc mars sines. Some.imee he lias ne'.uier, iu' tne magazine *oe? i) r rend. 1 "1 am uo a iu spasmodic - t /Sill QTTrrFSS it a Shoem ? State Empire. \V' v X " advertisement. My principle is: Keei pounding away at the reader all thi time. Formerly It used to be a custon . to advertise shoes at only certain sea sons of tne year. I never adhered u : that Idea. I advertise?and I keep 01 ! advertising. j "When a season Is dull I Increase mj advertisements. That may seem odd ! Many don't do It. But I do. "That Is one of tne secrets, I think of success. Instead of hanging back waiting for a slack season to pass, i be! eve tn advertising all the more This past spring, for example, was backward and cold. It was bad fot trade. I did extra advertising. "Nor, at such times, do I raise the price of shoes. It would not be fair to make the public pay for the slowness of a season. I do not lower wages In that event, either, as the 1906 scale will prove. The scale for that year shows the average shoemaker's pay in tbe United States was $461. In Massachusetts It was $530. In Brockton, $63; while at my Montello factory It was $760. That does not include superintendents and high salaried men. Just the workers, on the union scale. "Another advertising theory of mine is that a good 'ad.' should be changed very seldom. Of course In the case of dry goods stores or other places where special sales are held and new attractions offered from time to time it is necessary to change the form and Inducements of an advertisement. But where a man deals In a single staple article, I think he should write one strong, convincing advertisement and let that stand for a long time. "Let him make sure first that It is the strongest, best-worded advertisement he can concoct. Then let it stand. "There are good reasons for this. Suppose a man has glanced at my advertisement for several days in succession without reading it. Then one morning he does read It That may be the day when (if I constantly change my 'ads.') I might have a weaker, less attractive, leas convincing one than usual. Perhaps I lose hi i possible custom. "A good advertisement is an argument. Remember that. An argument Not a boast It does net shout an unreasonable command to buy something. It explains to you WHY you should : buy the article. It appeals to your sense of reason. It should never exaggerate in any way, but tell tbe mere truth. Baft Claims on Merit. "An advertfsement should never claim I for goods more advantages than they . '^Tt t - -Vj' ___________ / * * v .4 v-?^ t ? ion akerJf id actually possess An srt'cle mart hare merit?real merit?ar.d its proprietor must fight, every mir.ute, to keep the quality high. Success must net lure him into letting up, one atom, on high quality. If' he does, in the course of time he will lose. Some people get to making money fast. Then they think they can lower the quality (and, inddentally, the cost of production), and make more. I have made more because my goods are worth more. "It Is a strange fact that fully twofifths of the shoes sold throughout the entire week are sold on Saturday. Whether because that Is pay day or merely because it is a favorite shop! ping day I don't know, but the fact remains, and we regulate our advertising accordingly; making it heaviest toward the latter part of the wee*. Of course, with a raagarine (published only once a month) this would be 1mpracticable* The Douglas shoe is sold all over the United States and also has a large sale in Canada and Mexico, besides having created more or'less of a European demand. I employ 4,000 persons la making and selling my shoes, and I tfwn and operate seventy retail shoe stores In the lar?e cities. The vast area covered by ; my dealers renders it all the more nec! essary for me to use local newspapers ! from one end of the land to the other to advertise my shoes, and made it thw ' more needful for me to study out carei fully Jurt what would be the best medium through which I might reach the pejple at large." , Concerning those 4.000 employees whom Mr. Douglas so casually mentioned , an entire article of more than common Interest might be written. They form a sort of Utopian community whereof he is the head. At his expense all of them are provided with medical care In Illness, and they are In other ways made to feel his personal interest in them. The labir Question assumes none of Its harsher features In the Douglas plant. By special agreement between V>l? xnrlfm^n all 11IC * ? ? > differences, so far as possible, < are mutually adjusted. Those which cannot be thus disposed of will by common consent be submitted to the State Board of Arbitration and Conciliation, that body's decision to be binding on both disputants. , i i In this way strikes and lockouts are unknown among the Douglas workmen, and the rleasantest feeling has always existed between employer and employed. Since the beginning of his first cam?j paign of newspaper advertising, la 1883, | Mr. Douglas has gradually but steadily 11 become known to nearly every one in 1 America. The face that looks out from the diamond-shaped frame in his advertisements is familiar to all. Tet the face that accompanies this article gives a far more accurate Idea of the William L. Douglas of to-day. The charj acter reader may peruse there the rea> sons why a lowly start In life had no t power to check this man's rise, i By Judicious newspaper advertising - S Douglas quickly "outgrew" factory ?! after factory until, in 1892, he erected l; the huge works now in use at Montello, Jus; out of Boston. ^ r rn mm. Kit Fayroll Grew, Kere his payroll grew until it mnn- ' . j bcreJ its present 4.000 names. Here^. ! too. crev: the facilities for turning out ! ! shoes in unDaralieiod numhors??hnuf . ; i..WC pairs a day being the capacity ) | now. In the jobbing house alone a half ' million pairs of shoes are carried at alllimes in stock, i The factory?or factories, for there $ < are two of them practically Joined uni der one series of roofs?cover as much space as the walls of an ancient city, ' and are arranged In rectilinear lines. 1 with wide-reaching wings, like ecfilad1 ing earthworks. The man who employed newspaper advertising as the magic wand to raise this mighty structure from the earth still works as hard, in his own way, as did the seven-year-old carrier of wood and pegger of shoes. Outside oflce hours he is of simple, domestic tastes, his one "rich man's amusement" taking* the form of frequent cruises on his big: steam yacht, the Machlgonne. He has found time, too, as all New* rnirlend lrwA? - ? Igittiiu ruiwwn, iy ujanc CI aCClOVO I HI"" presslon in the field of politics: A, standi Democrat, he has served hi both houses of the State Legislature, framed the arbitration and weekly payment laws, was Mayor of Brockton la 18M. and has four times been chosen as delegate to the national conventions. His victorious campaign for the Governorship of Massachusetts was such as to awaken national Interest Throughout his term of Governor be conducted his great personal business Interests as well as those of the State in such a way that neither suffered from inattention. His wide use of newspaper advertising during the Gubernatorial contest was one of the most striking fast. urea of the campaign and contributed In no light measure to his triumph. Why a man like Douglas, having made such giant strides in the world of business, should have sought the Governorship was a puzzle to many. And not a (ew wondered that he was not satisfied with the success he had already won. Eut the man who is satisfied with success would be satisfied with failure. I do not think William Ik Douglas would be satisfied with either. * J : i v- - ^