Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 92.djvu/40

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��Popular Science Monthly

���Below : A tall board fence screened the little community from curious eyes

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�� ��No one but the builders saw these houses until all were completed

Whetting Public Curiosity — A Real Estate Dealer's Ruse

AN unusual method of building houses ,. was adopted in a real estate develop- ment in Portland, Oregon. The builder believed that "familiarity breeds con- tempt." As he did not want anyone to have contempt for his houses, he corralled them until they were all done. As soon as he began building, he erected a tall board fence all around the property. The most curious person could not get a peep in. No doubt he saw to it that there were no knot holes.

This arrangement had all the elements of surprise which the public enjoys in at- tending the theater. Not until the houses were complete to the last little detail; not until the lawns were green and the shrubs all planted; was the or- der given to tear down the forbidding fence.

���How a newsboy saves his voice and yet "calls" his papers most effectively

��How a Los Angeles Newsboy Increased His Business

AN ingenious newsboy in Los . Angeles, California, has de- vised a method of at- tracting attention to his wares which has not only interested passing persons but has been the means of sparing his voice, while greatly increasing his daily income.

The boy has con- structed a sign, which is placed above his head so that it may be seen by persons who are at a distance from him. It is fastened to a wire, which is held in place by a belt which he wears around his waist. He has ar- ranged two loops of wire, through which he passes his arms. This keeps the sign from falling either back- ward or forward.

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