Page:The Newspaper and the Historian.djvu/412

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farmers to support the proposed bill. Later, a number of the farmers ' organizations through a speech at a county fair opposed the confirmation of Mr. Perkins as president of the state food commission , and when their representative was asked why they

did not give their objections publicity through the press, he replied that “ Mr. Perkins was able to purchase space in the

press, but that farmers had no money for such purpose .” Mr. Perkins at once offered to pay for an advertisement in every

morning and afternoon paper in the State giving the reasons against his own confirmation by the Senate that had been advanced by the representative of the agricultural societies. The offer was accepted and the advertisement appeared .

The episode is significant not only as illustrating the belief in the efficacy of the advertisement as a means of securing

desired legislation and of defeating a plan of a state governor, but also as showing supreme confidence in the ability and the willingness of the voters to decide between two opposing sides

after both have been presented by advertisement and most of all the willingness to make the trial by advertisement” at the

expense of the person opposed. Reliance on the advertisement as a means of settling political controversy can scarcely be carried further. The domestic political advertisement in its turn leads into the

advertisement that has its international aspects 26 or that may lead to international complications. The advertisement was used in an effort to prevent the sale of arms and ammunitions

to the Allies,27 and residents of other countries have used the

advertisement to influence public opinion in times of emergency,28 36 The Republican National Publicity Committee, in the interests of protective tariff, reproduced in American papers a poster issued by the Tariff Reform League of London ; the Association to Resist English Dom

ination of American Commerce issued an advertisement addressed to the Secretary of State in regard to the black list published by the British government; the appearance of the Deutschland gave opportunity to direct advertisements against the Administration . The hyphen in disguise often

appeared in political advertising. 27 Advertisements signed by the editors of four hundred and thirty -two out of the five hundred and seventy -five papers belonging to the American Association of Foreign Language Newspapers; the appeal was published in two hundred newspapers scattered throughouttheUnited States,April 5 , 1915 . 28 This cable message sent the Belgian Consul -General in New York appeared as an advertisement in the press : “ News from Belgium describes