Better Homes in America | Page 7

home
betterment.
Suggestions for the Sub-Committee
The campaign publicity should commence with an announcement of
the organization of the General Committee and the selection of Patrons.
It should be continued, in advance of the opening of the Demonstration
Home, by the use of reading matter descriptive of home planning,
furnishing, decoration and equipment.
The local newspapers should co-operate with the Sub-committee in
seeing that advertisements of exhibitors during the demonstration week
do not mention the fact that the advertiser is an exhibitor. This, of
course, should not preclude the general advertising of goods suitable
for the equipment or furnishing of Better Homes. This regulation is in
line with the non-commercial policy of the campaign, and merchants
will readily understand its fairness.
This Sub-committee should provide painted signs announcing the
location of the Exhibition Home. These signs should be placed at
neighboring street intersections. Signs in the form of arrow pointers

should be tacked on telephone poles in all parts of the city pointing in
the direction of the Demonstration Home and announcing its exact
location.
Automobile Posters or Banners for the cars of the members of the
Committee may be furnished by local sign painters or printers.
The Committee should also see that show cards advertising the
Demonstration are properly distributed and displayed in store windows
and that posters are put up in suitable public places.
Show cards, posters and stickers bearing the imprint of the Better
Homes in America campaign, with space left for local announcements,
may be obtained by application to the Bureau of Information, The
Delineator, 223 Spring Street, New York City, Secretary, Mrs. William
Brown Meloney.
A circular descriptive of the show cards, posters and stickers may also
be obtained through the Bureau of Information, which has arranged to
have this advertising display matter prepared for the use of local
Committees. It is strongly recommended that these posters and cards be
used in order to standardize the various local Demonstrations.
The stickers should be widely distributed among local merchants for
use on city mail during the week preceding and the week of the
campaign.
Small electrotypes of the Better Homes in America campaign insignia,
or trade-mark, may be obtained through the Bureau of Information for
use on printed matter and in newspapers. They are shown in the circular
descriptive of the advertising display material.
3--How to Form Sub-Committee on Selection of Demonstration Home
A member of the General Committee is Chairman.
The selection of the home to be used for the Demonstration should be
made by a disinterested committee. Experience has shown that this is

the only satisfactory method, as all personal interests are thus
eliminated and criticism avoided.
Previous experience also indicates that this Sub-committee, with a
member of the General Committee as Chairman, of course, should be
composed of the President of the local Real Estate Board (if there is
one in the community), a representative of the Chamber of Commerce
or Merchants Association, a representative architect, and a
representative of the Building Material Dealers. Here again is
illustrated the importance of securing the full co-operation of the
various groups of business men directly affected by home building and
owning. These groups should be interviewed and each group asked to
appoint its representative on this committee. When the National
campaign for Better Homes in America, and the Plan as outlined here,
have been clearly explained to these interests, a Sub-committee for
selecting the Demonstration Home may be organized, which will act
disinterestedly and effectively.
Suggestions for the Sub-Committee
The three cardinal principles to be observed in the selection of a
Demonstration Home are: first, situation with respect to accessibility
and nearness to street car lines; second, type of architecture; and third,
cost.
A Demonstration Home should be situated within a reasonable distance
of the business section of a community, and it should not be more than
four blocks from the nearest street car line. In a city where the
Demonstration Home was selected some eight blocks from the car line
and upon a hill, the attendance was disappointingly small. The
Demonstration Home should not be situated in the outskirts of a
community. This was found to be a disadvantage in a city where a
Demonstration Home was selected in a new, partially developed suburb,
some distance from the city limits.
An extreme type of architecture should be avoided in a Demonstration
Home.

With respect to the cost of the home selected, it has been shown in a
number of cities that a house priced slightly above the average cost of
homes in the community attracted the larger number of visitors. The
public apparently likes to visit a home costing more than the average,
because of a desire to see and admire better things. Demonstration
Homes, therefore, may range in price from $5,000 to $15,000,
including the land,