Session: 123456789101112131415161718192021         Page 337338339340341342343344345346347348349350351352353354355356357 [missing]358359360361362363364365366367368369370371372373374375376377378379380381382383384385386387388389390391392393394 of 1029

and said he would pay him a lot of money if he would find some way of putting over “September Morn.”

What this fellow did--I'll look up his name--was to get some art dealer on Broadway, right near the Metropolitan Opera House to put up a great big picture of “September Morn” in the window, and then he trained some kids to stand in front of it and make obscene gestures and remarks--coached them. And then he went running down to Mr. John Sumner, who was head of the Committee for the Suppression of Vice in New York, a colossal ass, and said there was a filthy picture in the window of a store on Broadway and when he went by there were a lot of school children being perverted by it and making obscene remarks. Sumner grabbed his hat; went running up with this man to see what was. going on; and when the kids saw this man coming, they were given the signal. They began nudging each other and making dirty remarks. Sumner went in and arrested the art dealer and “September Morn” became famous. They sold millions. It was a great triumph, a wonderful piece of press agentry, and he got all the publicity that he looked for.

Well, one day I told at lunch a story that some people had canned white salmon--thousands of cans of white salmon-- and they couldn't sell it. People didn't believe salmon was white. They only knew pink salmon. They came to this publicity wizard and, I think, offered him $25,000 if he could move the salmon that they were stuck with. He promptly came up with a wonderful idea. He put a big notice on each