PLAN No. 465. A HOME-INDUSTRY PAGE
When a new daily paper was established in a northwestern city a few years ago, a young man who was an untiring hustler for business, and who had had a great deal of experience in soliciting ads., proposed to the publisher to conduct a page devoted to home manufactures, and make it an important feature of the paper, on a commission basis of 40 per cent. The publisher agreed to this, as he was confronted with very strong competition, and every new feature he could add to his paper was just that much more in his favor.
The young man therefore had a 3-column cut made, showing a large factory in full operation and below was a prominent display line, “Patronize Home Industries and Buy Goods Made in ———,” the name of his town.
Following this were the names of all products made in the home city, alphabetically arranged, the name of the article coming first, with the name of its manufacturer immediately following, so that anyone wishing to buy a certain article had only to turn to this alphabetical list to find the name of the article wanted, the firm or concern that made it, and either phone for it or call in person to obtain it.
The page became so popular that the name of every manufacturer in the city, with the name of his product, was listed in it, and exactly $5,000 was the revenue derived from it the first year. The manufacturers were greatly benefited by it, the paper got $3,000, and the young man who originated the plan drew $2,000 as his commission.