OCR Text |
Show ' STILL A HALE OLD MAN. DESPITE CONTRARY REPORTS BAR-NUM BAR-NUM RETAINS HIS VIGOR. Un Was 111 r..r it While, hut Is Now Kn-KUgrd Kn-KUgrd In Tntittut'tlnc llttslueaft ami Hm Made a w Will -Ilia Advertising Schcnii'ii. Nunc t i ago the report went out from I.ridgeport Unit the veteran showman. show-man. Phineas T. f!:irnnm, was on his deathbed. This was mkiii followed by n second statement that he had partially recovered, re-covered, was on the high road to health, hail made a new will and considered the feasibility of several fresh business enterprises. Then his affectionate and relieved constituency the entire United K la tea queried and remarked, "Another 1 off ! i .. n" 1 phineas T. Pakncm. advertising dodge, hey?' Probably not, but tho incident compels attention, nevertheless, nev-ertheless, to the old gentleman's abilities in that line. "Be careful to advertise in Borne shape or other," said Barnuni not long ago, "because it is evident that if a man has ever so good an article for sale and nobody no-body knows it, it will firing him no return. re-turn. Tho whole philosophy of life is, first sow, then reap. This principle applies ap-plies to all kinds of business, and to nothing more eminently than to advertising. adver-tising. If a man has a really good article there is no way in which ho can reap more advantageously than by 'sowing' to the public in this way." Bannim poasesses a genius for advertising, ad-vertising, not only in the newspapers and by posters, but in many other ways calculated to attract attention Another element of success which ho has, and which goes hand in hand with his faculty for advertising, has been his assurance. He has humbugged the public pub-lic and then written a book recounting his methods with remarkable frankness These methods of his more active life he did not seem to regard as anything to be ashamed of. They were to him brilliant strokes, "Preserve your integrity," ho said; "it is more precions than diamonds or rubies. The most difficult thing in life is to make money dishonestly. Our prisons are full of men who attempted to follow this course. No man can be dishonest without soon being found out, and when his lirck of principle is discovered dis-covered nearly every avenue to success is closed against him forever. Strict honesty not only lies at the foundation of all success in life financially, but in every' other respect." One who is familiar with Barnnm's exhibition of the negress Joice Heth, tho alleged nurse of Washington, 161 years old, his woolly horse, his Feejee mermaid, mer-maid, and other manufactured or partially par-tially manufactured curiosities, may be surprised at this explicit statement of the case by one who could talk so well about honesty; but Barnum was and is doubtless doubt-less strictly honest, as he interpreted the word, and although he palmed made up curiosities on the public he would have scorned to do anything beyond what he regarded mere shrewdness. Barnum has never done things by degrees. de-grees. He has uttered some good words about economy, but economy and patience pa-tience usually go together. Whether Barnum has possessed these faculties or not he has certainly declined to wait for avenues, by which to reach the public, to open up to him. He has opened them himself. In the days when Barnum was endeavoring en-deavoring to establish the American museum, and later when in the circus business, he used to do a great deal of advertising in the then prominent New York papers. The Courier and Enquirer, The Times and Messenger and The Herald. Her-ald. "Night after night." he said, "at the midnight hoii ind later, 1 crawled up these several til paper staircases to put in these joi s some fresh and startling announu nt about my business. busi-ness. I even diil 's after the editor had gone home. 1( the foreman in the composing room had some authority then, and would often put the matter I offered in type or make an announcement announce-ment for me." Barnum still looks back with pleasure to his friendly dealing with editors. |