HOW TO FIGHT DEPRESSION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21598, 19 March 1932, Page 19

HOW TO FIGHT DEPRESSION

MANUFACTURER’S SUCCESSFUL EFFORT Back about 1908, when the United States was enjoying one of its most severe depressions (writes Amos Stole) a New England manufacturer of fine papers scraped together £IO,OOO and put it all into advertising. His associates thought him mad; but they could not stop him. He held the majority of stock. Two weeks later he closed down the plant, to the accompaniment of criticism for throwing away money that would have kept the plant running. But there was not an order in the place'. He told his workmen the whistle would blow when they were wanted back to work. Two weeks after that his first advertisement appeared. Two days more passed and his first order came in. It was not enough to justify starting up the mill, but he did it just the same, for he was convinced that more orders would follow. And so they did. • The fact is that sane advertising with something worthwhile to offer set that paper mill running at a profit when its big neighbours could not run at all. For some time to come every_ penny went into advertising and factory improvement. It was later that he married the daughter of one of the biggest men in the paper industry. James Gibson Taylor died a young man, some years ago, but not before he proved what advertising could do in the face of hard times.