't give it to them, they are dropping the paper. So we've
got to give it to them."

"Now you're talking," cried Shearson. "Cut out this Consumers' League
slush and I'll get the stores back."

"We'll cut out nothing. But we'll put in something. We'll print news of
the department stores as news, not as advertising."

"Well, if that ain't the limit!" lamented Shearson. "If you give 'em
advertising matter free, how can you ever expect 'em to pay for it?"

"We're not giving it to the stores. We're giving it to our readers."

"In which case," remarked McGuire Ellis with a grin, "we can afford to
furnish the real facts."

"Exactly," said Hal.

From this talk developed a unique department in the "Clarion." An
expert woman shopper collected the facts and presented them daily under
the caption, "Where to Find Real Bargains," and with the prefatory note,
"No paid matter is accepted for this column." The expert had an
allowance for purchasing, where necessary, and the utmost freedom of
opinion was granted her. Thus, in the midst of a series of items, such
as--"The Boston Store is offering a special sale of linens at
advantageous prices"; "The necktie sale at the Emporium contains some
good bargains"; and "Scheffler and Mintz's 'furniture week' is worth
attention, particularly in the rocking-chair and dining-set
lines"--might appear some such information as this: "In the special
bargain sale of ribbons at the Emporium the prices are slightly higher
than the same lines sold for last week, on the regular counter"; or,
"The heavily advertised antique rug collection at the Triangle is mostly
fraudulent. With a dozen exceptions the rugs are modern and of poor
quality"; or, "The Boston Shop's special sale of rain coats are mostly
damaged goods. Accept none without guarantee."

Never before had mercantile Worthington known anything like this.
Something not unlike panic was created in commercial circles. Lawyers
were hopefully consulted, but ascertained in the first stages of
investigation, that wherever a charge of fraud was brought, the
"Clarion" office actually had the goods, by purchase. All this was
costly to the "Clarion." But it added nearly four thousand solid
circulation, of the buying class, a class of the highest value to any
advertiser. Only with difficulty and by exercise of pressure on the part
of E.M. Pierce, were the weaker members among the withdrawing
advertisers dissuaded from resuming their patronage of the "Cla