A. N. A. Convention

Buttresses of the U. S. business structure are those firms which advertise their products nationally. Significant to all business was the 21st convention of the Association of National Advertisers, held in Washington, D. C., last week. And especially significant was the figure-picture of what these firms plan to do next year. ''Your faith and enthusiasm are already apparent," Hon. Frederick Arthur Tilton, third assistant postmaster general, told the convention. "Members of your organization collectively will spend during the next calendar year, 1931, $265.000,000. Of your 256 constituent companies. 121 will repeat their 1930 appropriation; 60 will increase their 1930 appropriation; only 14 will reduce, and 61 are undecided. ... It is estimated that $1.400.000.000 will be spent in all kinds of advertising in the U. S. in 1931."

Mr. Tilton's speech came during the first day's session, which was announced as a conference between the A. N. A. and Government officials. Secretary of Com merce Lamont made a speech in which he deplored "a very great lack of knowledge on the part of our people generally of the Department [of Commerce] and its organization and what it has to offer in the way of exact information on almost every phase of business, every industry from all over the world."

Ending the first day's sessions was a banquet at which President Hoover spoke (see p. 15). Usually the President leaves after making an address. President Hoover, however, heard that the next speaker was to be David Lawrence, politically wise publisher of the United States Daily. He stayed to listen to Mr. Lawrence, who reassured one & all that the alleged spirit of co-operation between the two parties in Congress (see p. 16) was real, not simulated.

Elected A. N. A. president for next year was Lee Hastings Bristol, vice president of Bristol-Myers Co. He succeeds Bernard Lichtenberg, short, popular, alert vice president of Alexander Hamilton Institute. President Bristol is 38, first worked for Bishop Calculating Recorder Co., left this business in 1923 to tour the U. S., study retail merchandising methods and dealer reaction to window-displays; especially in the drug business. He became associated with Bristol-Myers the following year as secretary and advertising manager, was made a vice president in 1928. Bristol-Myers is a subsidiary of Drug, Inc., and among the products which Adman Bristol tells the world about are Ipana Tooth Paste, Sal Hepatica, Ingram's Shaving Cream.

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