The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1890-06-07
SATURDAY. JUNE :, 1890.
.rs,xrss MEMS MEETING.

,,s,,oss mems meeting on Thursday
.,a,, while marked by a number OF in'er-
.s,iur and instructive addresses e"u'" ~
al, practical purposes. in a mere s'a'e."s"
Of the peculiar needs Of the CITY, "n'on az
,o,,er car service, a new hotel, new de-
pots. larger appropriations for tne su .,<,
and better railroad connections LIVE,
needs Of the city have often been eh''' s''
mon not only by individual citizens ID pr
waite and upon public platforms, but also .,
tho CITY press. They are perfectly wen
Known. and the urgent demand Tor re''e".
ia now. and has, for long time, oeeh "u'
mitted by all. In the language oil Tue ch"''
ac,er in the play, il required no ghos' W
visit us from the other world to ten Us All
this. 1t is all palpable and seii-e''oen''
Remove all these distractions 10 the pro-
,ress Of the city. place the car service upon
an excellent footing, for instance; puiio
,.u hotel. and tear down the dlsgraceiui
structures known as depots; make larger
appropriations for the streets; secure more
convenient railroad connections, ana VINO
doubts but that the city will have been ao-
v.rced almost n decade upon the road OF
prosperity.
The need Of these is recognized ana ac-
knowledged. The question is: what Is tue
most practical method Of securing them
They certainly cannot he secured ny h'e!
descriptions Of the supineness oil our GU
zens. Activity and enterprise have rarei!
been called into existence by mere sense
Of shame aroused by keen and unreserved
criticism. The lack Of push on the part oil
the people of Richmond has been an imme'
mortal subject for condemnation, but all the
bitter speeches which ithas called forth have
so far accomplished little if anything-how
little was illustrated in the fact TO which
Dr. Page referred in his address, namely,
that after the Chamber OF Commerce had
prepared for public meeting, the wealth
lest and ablest men in the city had shown
their appreciation Of it by remaining ut
home. Why did these men remain away:
Not improbably because they anticipated
that the meeting would be devoted eXclu-
siyely TO a discussion Of what were the
needs OF Richmond rather than to the best
means Of meeting those needs, and substan-
TALLY that was the case.
The most practical suggestion advanced
on the occasion was that thrown out by
Mr., Barton with reference TO the formation
of a commercial association, similar 10
those that have been established in Louis
vile and in Memphis, and which have not
been found TO be at all inconsistent with
the usefulness of the Chambers OF Com
merce of those cities. The great prosperity
Of the city Of Memphis especially has been
chiefly attributed TO the commercial associ-
alton at work there, it having devoted itself
exclusively TO improving the condition OF
that thriving and growing town. what
Richmond demands Is lust such an assoela.
ton as this to cooperate with our ChamDef
Of Commerce. an association composed not
of men who join ii from passing sense OF
local patriotism, but men who have the in
terests of the city as actively at heart as
their own, and who will exercise an I'M
ceasing vigilance in promoting those inter-
ests. The idea suggested by Mr.. Barton,
which has been carried into practical effect
elsewhere, is worthy not only Of careful
consideration by our citizens, but OF thor
ough trial In actual practice.