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Larch 10, 1939.
W. D. Long (white),
Forest Hill Inn,
Asheville, i. C.
Accountant.
Douglas Carter, writer.
PERENEIAL CONTESTANT
k,ri2ina1 a.es CuanAzed iamea
D. Long Bil artin
PERENNIAL CCNTESTANT
"Stevenson said, 'Man is a creature who lives not upon
bread along, but principally by catch-wrods,' and, boy, let
me tell you something: it's Just as true today as when he
said it!"
Bill Martin is very emphatic about it. Bill is the
accountant for a large lumber company, but be lives, breathes,
eats, sleeps, and dreams contests: soap contests, cigarette
contests, soft drink contests, all contests. Re is forever
seeking the right word* the right combination of words, the
words that will win the contest. And he is a winner, too!
A cigar company has Just blven him an automobile for sending
in some attractive "catchwords." Be is always collecting
box tops, labels, wrappers, miscellaneous things which must
accompany contest entries. He keeps one ear conata-tly
cocked to the radio, for a new contest may be announced any
minute.
Bill dresses conservatively, and is quite bald on top.
He is sensitive about his baldness, and never removes his
hat or cap unless absolutely netAssary. He wears a cap in
bad weather. is eit is 44406r/hat less than avers, and
his face is piak a;;,d round. is stocky, but n*t :Jose,
and his feet are dainty. 124 his nervous 4uickneas mow,
went and soliteri, he ou.t.eots a part sparrtw or a bantam
roosters 4. amomos ci4arettae Waver el*arsi, Zut ouraull4
tears each ons in twain, and 14u.es 0.41 -4441r in a holder.
The other ilalf ns will 0.04,4 later. oomatiadeo as Uskes a
drink Qr enisky, neat. owett.imo, if ae thinks ha -,uy want
a drink .ater ot 44 will order 4:At at the bar, and, ehou
it is served, have it poured into a diu.ali flask 'that he
usually carries lot tne purpose. 4, lives alone, and aao
never tnought of gArryihti. in fact, wogAin ao Lt. sev to
interest hia4 at all musts.
he ie a hative of th4s LAtatto, haviK beau te,,rn ,50 years
*go in one of tne iledmont citiea. e aa tns oldest of
seven children. his br.dtners and -.Avers are all .strrisid
and raisin', fs4,111ea. insir 'rather Ana a cotton factor,
and quit* auccoasful, and all uC the oaildren were 6ivoin
colle6e educations. 4111 attended one r 44.is denoinational
collagen; near his u und just lAap;-,xed. t ihto
accoutin4."
in 1410 As went to -Sxi474 as a bookkeeper for a leining
company. as *464 there about tei pliaxS, .1/44A never did like
it. picked up a little ,pan a, or nexlcan" as ne says,
but failed utterly in his efforto to alo.e fric4o with tha
natives.
"They didn't like Amer/eons, and wouldn't two anything
to do with them. There wore (Amens there. and Anglish, and
one Frenchman. The Mexicans got along all right with tnem,
but it seemed like they hated us Americans. I don't know
why. 1444 weren't any less friendly than the others.
"I was 414d to 4et 411 job back in the 3tatelo, and I
traveled about quite a bit for a year or so. I vs* with
tne Bauman Adding 4.aohine =pony, and there was a ores of
four of us traveling togetaer. *o went from pion to play,
lotting now agencios organised and running smoothly. In
the fall of 1913 wit 00014 berg) to t:Jakville, and I liked it
so muoh I decided to stay. I like the climate. I Wouldn't
live anywhere els,. I haven't always had a good job, bet
I'm going to stay here as long as I have something to live
on.
*The flood of 1916 washed away the keoples Lumber
Company. where I was working. and I thought for a while I was
out of luck. I hadn't saved any maw to speak of, and at
first it didn't look like triS oAsoulywaa going back in
business. I couldn't find a job anywhoro eise. and I was
thinking about going Lock ao4.s, when the, decidod to moven
the esoples. The flood had meshed everything away, and
it was Just like a now business starting up. *swept that
they had the good will of the oommuniti, of couras. It
took the surveyors amoral days to locate and stoke out
the oompanea property. boo* the Of As had
been destroyed.°
Sill left that °mow of few y a and became
itaLager of an industrial honk. as loot hie position, now..
ever. *hen the bank merged *ILL onothsr. Amoral teiNporary
connections followed, u.til a few years ago he prison%
position. which 11,4wa permahont.
iata;Ot yOU started on oontoeta,
don't hays thee slightest iasa. now. It wag about. 40
years ago, I believe, but I've boon in so sew I don't *von
renembor what thot first one was. I didn't in $47tOlasio
tbouh I resaember that. 1 guess that is what started ae.
was disappeintad at not 0innin4, a..a wash another contest
came alon. I suppoot I said to asyself. "itoll, lot's see if
you can *in this one.' 1 didn't, thou4h. Itwilled very
conaisteutly. I orked like ths devil on sow of tuem. to0*
"I ransabor ono in partieulor. It ea* sponsored by a
powepapor. They had a largo pioturo of an olopuant. made
up tLundrode of fiavreas likr401 s.j alls and VA idea
was to Jotomina 'the *eight of W.* eiiphante by *adtos. uP
all of U.. fi %Arts in his piotore. I think the first prise
was *b.400, bat in order to qualify f,r it. toe contsetant
tad to send in a cortain nuLibsr of aubscrietiona. A smaller
number would only qualify you for a smaller prise, ar.a so
on down the line. AS I remeaber it, if you sent in only one
subscript on, the most you could win was #600, or pz't*ps it
was 4100, I'm not ours. Anyhow I naturally aimed at the
tap prigs, and it kept me busy getting new subooriters. Ma
plotur puzzle was easy too *say. I'll bet 1.000 ;Apple
solved it. Thome who did wore sent a secohd puszle, acrdsr
than tue first, and quite a few were olimivated. ae others
had to work a *till...herder puszle, a..4 it &mooed liko the
damn thiNt, was oirce, au forever. oetting hardar each time
I lost out on the last puzzle. and didn't got a thing :or
several mouths' work. well, I was more determined than
ever to win a tig contest. but I continued to lose. 1 got
'honorable wontion' several times, but no coon'
'I've written and mint in slogans ror evoryti' toot's
advertised. it *etas like, and I've solvad tnousands of
picture puzzles, a4 unscrambled billions of word*. Now
you have to oivi iNeSsOns for ustnj somethind
learned all the auporlativos in the book. They *tart you
off with something like thios 'I think ulahr.hlan ooap Chips
are best for baby's clothes oecauee.... ...(fislah this
statement in words or loos.' then you osin to toss
your superlativse around uUl you bet t.,41 'wotoh-oords'
that appeal to the judo's. They like to 1vs away automobiles
now, instead of mousy. I suppose the autoaobile AAanufaaturere
work with them, because they oet a lot of advertising out
of it. too.°
Milt aboutts cont.ost you wo:••''
111.ch one? I've *on t oln
toss., tnene"
vie first tiaa I ever won 44)+1.1414; in life
was just b. few weeks a in u contest sponmored by Duild+
ah C. loan uaeociation. ay wanted a slo4an, and I .ave
them a zood one; 'Avis to Luild. at:O h4ild to save.'
(Jt4'sZ 0 It to4rit ix. Ono sua.e J1i4, hp *IQ 44U to
nave u run-oef, contest. -aca of us nad ti.1 write an iid34141
t;Ut. Vitt ,iudges thou6nt iaine was tno hest, so Iwon tne 4,100.
a.ay
eou tLk I *won't 4d1 4fter 'a.0 j*ar t,.rned in
a winner/
t tuatla not all a darn a.g4t: send+
swers to a cigar cAaian6y for weeAs. It, WAW OLO of
thos's /AMUU4104 =Aosta. and gave 'ea every lauson in
at could tnink 4 ii.41 4one 4nould ini(44e tpiaair
ibare. 4 vLi otner tnat LOU nau to
bend in boa* bands trod. tneir c.4„ors wit4 eaon entry and
scoured ute vown 4;ettInt; tnea,. I don't at.ok.o
et, out all t,:e frlen..ia I cou1,1 to skooxe tnam
and av t. .446 f -e. cro
ly sent in u answers.
.'inan ono day. ahoot a *4 utter I wn tne hullaing
and 14a4 C4tA:41,1p neurd t•=ait. ty“e titittriApti (141iL any was
tryint; to rv.aon tn u touss e. i never thoo4;nt of
toe --tt.ot at all. osoa,..so Loto *ore annou-cit tne winner'
over U. radio. I %nougat tau. telegram was bad nowa of same
sort. 9motaer is getting krett4 old, for ene thing. I
wept otrait to a speak-oaay for a bracer before aalliag
the tele‘repa compang for ti4 isoaage, and it's -a 6,'dod thing
I did I couldn't have been more eurpriaad by aaitniag.
TA* telegram etarted afro !Congratulation* on being
winter and 411Q 04. It sae a long aasaage. aad I
Coulda't t440 it all La at firat. I ;Ad ta oparator road
it over *gala, an4 taut it 4awnad au s taat I ba4 won one
a %tie automobile* given sofa' tly twi cigar Compa440 it
was taa Oigiost siScRak 1 over 4;ot in mg lir.* TI4y told is
to ileten in on a **EWA radio program that ni,,at, and of
cadre, I did, after Galli% owAd tUin mily friends about
it. I bo4iint drink* all aroki4d, for tne first tike La wy
life, anU v4ini tba 'nous* served a freo rou..4. Later, wawa
they anuouneed ug 4440 on tns radio, and road tne Auntwor
*ant it, I 6ot about *LA W.bgeot tnrill I ever aad."
nat was the eiaaln4 asaswitri`'
-au to man, amoke osaaw*e it puts kio into
amokini, u.d taitoo kick ot.t o prioo."
"Vtry catany. Aava t4Aby ,givan you tne aar iota"
yea. I got it the 4aoat, woek, and solo it tae same
441. I ion't ays ani 450 fur a or. 1 asuickad vloo ar
trios re4Aaar erioe 41.4 so4 It fr taa gou sae my
picture in tile paper the mixt day? 1.(141/ had a fork -al
presentation. with repreeent*tive of the cigar company,
the automobile dealer, phytoiiravars. ond sventhino. The
paper L.ave a.* a nice erite-up. too."
.0oss that end your career as a 4ontestant? Iou realised
your ambitioai you became a winner*"
"140. indeed* I'm not ...uittinig nye. Llie just Dooluning•
Lost 41Qr 1.0 win L*4r a whilst"