A client is advised to make his labor policy, the hygienic aspect of his factory, his own personality, part of his sales campaign. Another client is advised to exhibit his wares in a museum and school. Still another is urged to found a scholarship in his subject at a leading university. Further incidents could be given here, illustrating different aspects of the ordinary daily functions of the public relations counsel--how, for example, the production of “Damaged Goods” in America became the basis of the first notably successful move in this country for overcoming the prudish refusal to appreciate and face the place of sex in human life; or how, more recently, the desire of some great corporations to increase their business was, through the advice of Ivy Lee, their public relations counsel, made the basis of popular education on the importance of brass and copper to civilization. Enough has been cited, however, to show how little the average member of the public knows of the real work of the public relations counsel, and how that work impinges upon the daily life of the public in an almost infinite number of ways. Popular misunderstanding of the work of the public relations counsel is easily comprehensible because of the short period of his development. Nevertheless, the fact remains that he has become in recent years too important a figure in American life for this ignorance to be safely or profitably continued. CHAPTER II THE PUBLIC RELATIONS COUNSEL; THE INCREASED AND INCREASING IMPORTANCE OF THE PROFESSION The rise of the modern public relations counsel is based on the need for and the value of his services. Perhaps the most significant social, political and industrial fact about the present century is the increased attention which is paid to public opinion, not only by individuals, groups or movements that are dependent on public support for their success, but also by men and organizations which until very recently stood aloof from the general public and were able to say, “The public be damned.” The public to-day demands information and expects also to be accepted as judge and jury in matters that have a wide public import. The public, whether it invests its money in subway or railroad tickets, in hotel rooms or restaurant fare, in silk or soap, is a highly sophisticated body. It asks questions, and if the answer in word or action is not forthcoming or satisfactory, it turns to other sources for information or relief. The willingness to spend thousands of dollars in obtaining professional advice on how best to present one’s views or products to a public is based on this fact.