The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-04-14
TWO REASONS.

In the midst of the latest furry over
church manifestoes, and juntas we do
not want Salt Lake citizens, business
men and Utah mine owners to forget
the situation as to the chamber of
commerce. President Auerbach has
served notice upon the business men of
the city, that unless that institution
receives the support of the people, it
will go out Of existence. There are at
least two good reasons why this should
not be:
First, Utah's resources are practic-
ally undeveloped There are millions of
acres of land TO be reclaimed by the
construction Of reservoirs and the
building of canals. There are facili-
ties for manufacturing possessed to the
same extent but in few states. There
are railroads to build: and mines not
only of gold and silver, but of iron
and copper and coal, to be developed.
In all this there are fortunes to be
made and great prosperity for all the
people; but we need the assistance of
outside capital or it will likely be
many years before the development of
Utah's wealth can be accomplished. To
secure the aid of the aforesaid outside
capital what there is to induce capital
to invest in Utah enterprises must be
made known outside of Utah In other
words the knowledge of our resources
must be exploited; and what agency so
competent to do that as the chamber
OF commerce? There must be someone
or an agency to which people who hear
OF our country and become interested
IN 1t, can apply for reliable informa-
tion; and by common usage they apply
to the chamber of commerce.
But if our chamber of commerce
goes out of existence, what agency
can outside people apply to for in.
formation? Moreover, what would be
the impression created in the minds
of men when they began to make in
quiries about Salt Lake City and Utah
to find that a city of sixty thousand
inhabitants, and state with all the
undeveloped resources of which our
state boasts-yet our chief city has
permitted its chamber of commerce to
go out Of existence! the impression
would be so bad, that in the case of a
man seeking a place for investments.
he would conclude to look else where
than to Utah.
For the reason, then, that we need
some agency to exploit the knowledge
of our resources abroad, and as that is
the direct purpose and object of
chamber of commerce, the Salt Lake
chamber of commerce should not die
for any cause and least of all for lack
of local support.
Second-Many people not content
with hearing OF us from a distance,
and surely not content to invest
money in the enterprises of a new
country without personal investigation,
or the investigation of trusted agent,
come to our city for this purpose. Who
receives such visitors? Who has on
hand classified products of the country
of factory, farm, stock ranch, and
mines? Who talks with these people
and directs them about the country
wheret they may even more thoroughly
investigate whatever particular thing
in which they are interested? Who in
PRODUCES them to our business men,
and puts them in the way of becoming
permanent residents of the city and
state, and thus makes them fctors in
the states growth?
The chamber of commerce does this
work. and as it is work that the state
can ill-afford to dispense with, the
chamber of commerce ought not to go
out of existence. Salt Lake and Utah
need the chamber of commerce, but
can only have it by our people going
to the rescue Of that institution. Are
they doing that, or careless-nay, bat
blind to their own interests, are they
allowing the thing they most need to
become extinct.