tents and purposes, is owned by the American Legion in Oregon, except that 25 per cent of its profits go into a sinking fund annually to keep it on a sound financial basis, and would be available as a private dividend of the corporation if desired.
This is the situation because of the voluntary offer of the Pacific Legion, after its first year of operation, to turn over to the American Legion 75 per cent of its net profits. This contract has been kept. Though the money realized has not been great, it is due to the fact that the magazine has constantly striven to keep up its standard of service and still keep its subscription price down to a point where no Legion member can afford not to take it- From $2 a year it has been lowered to 50 cents for the legionnaire.
The profits from a veteran publication in Oregon cannot be enormous if the magazine is operated on a clean basis, for the reason that there are only a certain number of advertisers who may expect results through its columns.
The Pacific Legion has survived the business difficulties attending any new publication.
Our experience with dishonest solicitors has been unique. The field seems to breed a type of men who are lacking in common honesty and take advantage of the fact that it is difficult to check their work closely. Circulation crews of the sheet writer type flock to veteran publications, and occasionally the Pacific Legion has made the mistake of employing one of this ilk. Our greatest problem has been to weed out the unscrupulous type of business-getter and to build up an organization with clean, honest and ethical representatives. This we believe we have finally succeeded in doing.
One example of what we have had to contend with was our experience last year with two solicitors who turned in considerable cash advertising business. They had not worked for us more than two weeks when they came in with three checks, for varying amounts, made payable to the “American Legion” and not the Pacific Legion. Their explanations were very lame and our investigation readily disclosed that the money was given under the impression that it was going to the American Legion and not for advertising in the Pacific Legion. The money was immediately returned and the men discharged.
These two solicitors immediately went into the employ of a small veteran publication in Portland and though the publisher was informed as to the type of men he was hiring, they were kept on because of their business-getting qualities.
PACIFIC LEGION POLICY
Though the Pacific Legion has always had the only endorsement of the American Legion and Disabled American Veterans of the World War in the state of Oregon, we have discovered other publications in this field laying bald claim to these endorsements. We have frequently found advertising solicitors for so-called service men’s publications using copies of the Pacific Legion for their dummies with the cover of their own magazine superimposed.
Before closing, I would like to touch briefly on the policy of the Pacific Legion in cities outside of Portland where many of the men in attendance here today make their only contact with the magazine.
In the past, this magazine has featured community pages in which appeared advertisements boosting these cities for residential or business locations and containing little of real value to the advertiser, whose money made the publication of the page possible. While our widely scattered circulation may have made this class of advertising of indirect benefit to the cities. it was not the direct result which merchants were entitled to.
As a result, we have evolved a plan whereby local posts, merchants and the magazine may mutually benefit. In the future we will accept only such community pages as contain a center column
given over to news notes of direct interest to the members of the American
[ 28 ]
