Bank Advertising

For many years, banks considered it undignified to advertise. Presently they changed their minds and began steady and extensive "campaigns." At first, only the ultra-conservative "card advertisements," carrying the name and address of the institution, with perhaps a few statistics as to its resources, were published. Of late years, however, more stress has been laid upon explaining to the public clearly and simply the services which banks have to offer, and perhaps to trace the constructive work performed by bankers in establishing the industries of the country.

It has remained for the Harriman National Bank of Manhattan to make of its advertisements pithy and pungent expressions of opinion upon economic and political topics, and upon prevailing legislation and legislators in Washington. Recently, the Harriman National's advertisements took occasion to praise Senator Fess of Ohio for a speech by the latter on April 16 in Boston which commended President Coolidge. When Senator Fess voted to override the President's veto of the Bonus Bill, the Harriman "ad writer," who is reputed to be Joseph W. Harriman himself, at once retracted his praise of Senator Fess, and after charging him with insincerity, apologized for having been "fooled" by his Boston oration.

Said the "ad": Upon his [the Senator's] attention being called to his speech, he retorted that he would not allow anyone to dictate legislation; that he had no apology to make for voting for the Pension Bill and certainly none for the vote against the President's veto, so he voted accordingly. We are asking our friends to reread Mr. Fess's speech and then consider how a man who could make such a speech could act in such an inconsistent manner. . . . The present session of the 68th Congress is reminiscent of the story of the critic who went by request to hear a certain politician make a speech. "Well," said the politician, after he got through, "well, how was it?" "Sound, very sound," said the critic. "Yes," said the politician, and then, hungry for more, he beamed and added, "sound--and what else?" "Nothing else," said the critic. To date, Senator Fess's only reply has been a declaration that the episode has shown that "Wall Street" disliked his attitude on the bonus. Upon his sudden failure to sustain the President's veto, however, he has not commented.