Los Angeles herald., 1891-09-21
LETTER BAG

The Chamber of Commerce Flourishing.
EDITORS HERALD: In your issue OF
Sunday, the goth, at the head of the ed
itorial column, the following statement
appears;
GA brochure which seems to be issued
officially as a list OF members OF the
chamber of commerce would be handy
booklet for reference, if it were reliable.
We noticed that the names of number
of members of the chamber have no
place in the list"
Coming from paper which is so good
a friend of the chamber as the HERALD
such statement seems to call for COM
ment and explain alton, and | doubt not
the opportunity will be accorded. The
list is official, having been compiled
with good deal of labor by the secre-
tary and superintendent, under instruc-
tions from the board of directors. 1t
was proof-read and revised four times
by as many different persons. Every
address was verified. The list was COM
piled directly from the secretary's
financial record of the standing of each
member. Those in arrears for dues-as
the board directed-were omitted from
the list. Those who have resigned
their membership were omitted. On
the last revise proof every name was
carefully checked back and forth from
the books to the list, and the books are
kept carefully corrected up to date by
the secretary and collector.
With ali these pains it is of course
possible that name or two may have
been left out by printers error, and
such one the EDITORS experienced eye
may have pounced upon. The list con-
tains 563 names, and printers and proof
readers are fallible. Your article says,
E'the names of number" and that is
what hurts the feelings of those who
spent 80 much labor on its compilation.
There are several ways in which sup
posed omissions may be accounted for.
One is that as the list is made up under
sixty-fve different heads Con the advice
of the board and on consultation with
many business men) there is chance
that the sought for name may be over
looked. Again, individual members are
often entered as firms and firms some
times as individuals. These names were
taken as they stood on the books when
the present secretary went into Office,
or as the individuals or firms requested.
But third point which explains the
largest number of the so-called omis-
sions is the failure to pay dues. On the
first of last April the chamber of COM
merce was heavily in debt, and on its
books about two members out of every
five stood more or less in arrears for
dues. The board and the secretary had
been lenient about the matter, and as a
consequence tradesmen who had given
the concern credit in good faith found
that they could not collect their bills.
Many members drew out because they
declared they would not pay if others
were getting the privileges OF member
ship for nothing. At present every eff
fort is made to run the organization in
strictly business fashion. AS a conse-
quence $4,000 has been paid up on the
debt and only a trifiing sum remains.
A few months more and the chamber of
commerce will be in position to ac-
complish more good than it ever has in
its debt-ridden past. But if it gracious
ly put on its list the names of all who
have ever been members or claimed to
have been members, its road would for
ever be rocky. Because the chamber of
commerce is run as far as possible for
the good of the community in general,
it does not follow that whatever privi-
leges and honors gowith its membership
should be lavishly bestowed upon those
who do not contribute anything for
its support.
In conclusion it should be stated that
the financial records of the chamber of
commerce are always open to the inspec-
tion of all its members and to the pub
lie press.
THE SECRETARY OF THE CHAMBER.
lin justification of the point we made,
we will merely cite one instance: We
find no mention of the name of Colonel
Fl. G. Otis, who is undoubtedly live
member of the chamber. If it was
deemed best 20 sink his name in the
Times-Mirror company, why were
Messrs. H. q. Osborne and ]. M. Davies
given their identity as of the Evening
Express company?]