ADVERTISEMENTS (ante). In the U. S., advertising has grown to a sur prising extent within two or three decades, and is still growing, not only in the newspa pers, but in boats, railway cars and public buildings. Fences, rocks and trees are cov ered with print and paint. So much was this the case along routes of travel that some years ago the legislature of N. Y. enacted a law against defacing natural scenery by such devices, and the advertisers then hired vacant spaces on conspicuous walls. The shower of advertisements in the shape of small handbills is incessant, and they are put into one's hands at every step, at church doors and in hotels, in public vehicles, thrust under pri vate doors, and sent by millions through the mails. Large boats bearing on their sails huge advertisements sail up and down all the season before a crowded watering-place, and now and then a rain of advertisements comes from a wandering balloon. When daylight fails the magic lantern throws advertisements on large screens in conspicuous places in N. Y. and other cities. The eve and the ear are attacked by the indefatigable advertiser, and music, chord and discord, horns, bells, gongs and yells are used. In legit imate newspapers the progress of advertising has been wonderful. About forty years ago an advertising agency was started iu N. I. and barely lived for the first dozen years; now such establishments are counted by scores, and some of them do business amount ing to many hundred thousand dollars in a year. The city papers that in 1850 were of four pages of six columns each are now of eight, twelve, sometimes twenty pages, of which more than half the space is taken up by advertisements. One paper receives more money now for one week's advertisements than it did from that source in the first three years of its existence, which period was about forty years ago. It has printed eighty columns and nearly 4000 new advertisements in a single issue. Prices of advertising vary widely, graded if at all by the character as well as the extent of circulation, and by position in the paper. Rates may be generally stated at from two dollars down to twenty
cents a line in city papers of large or fair circulation. The highest prices are for the news column, or for a notice that appears to be the voluntary statement of the journal. In the matter of "wants," those who want occupation are charged half rates less, while employers pay about 40 cents a line, and the latter rate is the highest for the greater portion of regular advertisements. The extent and apparent extravagance of American advertising astonishes Europeans. Not long ago one publisher would take a whole page on a given day of each of four or five city papers, in which he would repeat over and over again a single announcement that occupied only four or five lines. The cost to him was enormous, but lie testified that it was a judicious outlay, for the mere notoriety of such prodigal expenditure led people to inquire about him, and his publica tion (a literary newspaper) speedily rose from a few thousands to more than a quarter of a million of collies a week. Odd forms of beginning advertisements are not new, and are not so popular as they were a few years ago. Some journals debar pictures and very large type, and business announcements are usually plain and practical. It is impossible to learn the extent of the business. Some houses and companies do an immense amount, and sonic very little; but in general trade, such as dry goods, those who do the most business are the largest advertisers. For notice of meetings, lectures, amusements, the opera or the play of the night, for time of boats, trains, etc., the public in cities depend almost entirely upon the advertising columns of the morning and evening newspapers. When there was a duty of 3 per et. on receipts for advertisements, in 1667, N. Y. city publishers paid $80,000, representing about $2,700,000 received for advertisements during the year.