Show The Fleet Is In Twenty-five Twenty years ago in any city a thousand miles from the seacoast when word went around that The fleet is in it meant that during the night there had descended upon the city an influx of phony sailors Dressed in pea Ilea jackets belled pants and nautical caps and bearing g huge canvas filled with bolts of woolens these sailors made fast contacts with gullible people to unload alleged duty free bargains just off the boat People who had never thought of buying such a thing and who never knew a custom tailor after a fast talk found themselves buying for 35 a bolt of goods which in any regular channel of trade wot would d have cost them not over 20 It happened every year and the demise of the gimmick is is cloaked in mystery mystery mystery-at at any rate the public got wise to just off the boat In the business of soliciting subscriptions to magazines and newspapers the fleets keep coming in it seems Fleets of professional tear descend upon a city and set up shop to solicit by tele tele- phone They are invading the business of your neighborhood neighborhood neighborhood neigh neigh- salesmen carrier-salesmen so be fair to these boys and test all tales of woe As winter passes the public again become fair game for these fast phone talks and because of many inquiries in the past from readers of The Tribune and the Telegram we wish to thus publicly publicly pub pub- disclaim any and all connections with subscription solicitations based upon jerks at the public heart strings Beware of the motive behind the story If you want to subscribe to a periodical because you want to read it do so by all means means but but do not be taken in on sympathy gags Reputable publications are sold soldon on merit and these newspapers would be pleased to investigate for any citizen the merits of any plea for a subscription based on a claim that its purchase is essential es- es essential essential es es- to pay for the treatment or entertainment of a veteran an operation for an invalid wife or mother hospitalization for a crippled child proper equipment for a hospital or to allegedly insure any other need appealing to human sympathy These newspapers sometimes have suffered from mistaken identity through oblique appeals by magazines magazines magazines maga maga- and newspapers based on charity Nonresident and professional solicitors have beguiled people by giving giving ing them the impression they are local residents and members of local organizations seeking to further a worthy cause by soliciting subscriptions If they are let us help you find out If you are approached over the telephone by someone purporting orting to be a member of a local veteran or patriotic organization insist upon getting the name and the facts about his or her claim Give it to us and we will test the facts and report to you impartially |