The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-01-11
THE BUILDERS EXCHANGE
ITS ANNUAL MEETING AND BAN-
 QUIET LAST NIGHT.

Report for the Year of the Retiring Presi- dent, S. F. Dibble-The Officers Elected for tho Ensuing Year-Pleasant Hours Passed.
 The annual meeting of the Builders exchange was held last night in their assembly rooms on Orange street. It was decidedly interesting meeting. The regular routine business was trans acted. Beside this a musical pro- gramme was rendered by string or chestra. Master Lewis Dibble played cornet very acceptably.
 Beside the reports of the secretary and treasurer the annual election of of ficers was held, which resulted as fol- lows:
 President--Robert Morgan.
 Vice president-David H. Clark.
 Secretary--C. Elmer Dbble.
 Treasurer--J. Gibb Smith.
 Trustees-E. H. Sperry and A. H. Buckingham.
 The retiring and incoming presidents both made addresses.
 After the meeting an elegant banquet was served A graphophone was also on exhibition and served to entertain those present.
 The annual report of the retiring pres ident, s. E. Dibble, follows:
 To the Builders Exchange of the City
 of New Haven:
 Gentlemen: According to the consti- ution and by-laws of this exchange 1t is one of the duties of the presiding officer to make an annual report; inasmuch, however, as what would naturally come under that head will be covered by the reports of the other officers, I propose to make an address upon the objects of an association of this character; how they may be best accomplished. and what our duties as individual members are.
 I was elected your president one year ago. Stimulated with an ambition and enthusiasm to accomplish something, my first desire was, with the aid of the members, to perfect the organization. I must say now, at the end of the year, 1t seems to me we have fallen far short of that purpose. With the exception of one or two meetings, at which both cor porate and non-corporate members were present, little has been done. At the meeting in February tried to present to you my ideas of what an organiza- tion of this kind should be, as I desired to impress upon you how much the sue cess of the Exchange depended on each individual
 The objects of this association, as set forth in section 1 of our charter, are to create and maintain reading and ex- change rooms for the accommodation of members and to afford facilities for in formation and the interchange and dis cussion of social, architectural and bus iness matters. These purposes cannot be accomplished without your united ac- ton, determination to be honorable in all your dealings and perfect confidence in your. fellow members. With these must go a willingness on the part of the individual to sacrifice something for the welfare of the whole. This must be one of the fundamental principles on which we are to act, and do not see how we can accomplish our objects without it. The same idea is embodied in the resolution which you passed in 1893, whereby it was resolved that each
 
 self to work for the interest of every other member, when it can be done without detriment to himself. Your in- terest must be uniform and constant, not manifesting itself at critical periods only, but at all times, and perhaps none more so than when the business situa- ton seems to demand it the least. The acquisition of the Crown street property was a move in the right direction, and along this direction we should go until we have a suitable building adapted to our uses and purposes, wherein we can meet frequently and regularly for dis cussion and social intercourse, and where also our members may meet each other daily, if desired upon business transactions of common interest. If ii seems to any of you that the payment of your yearly dues is money poorly in vested, 1t is your own fault, to a large degree Interchange of ideas, co-opera- tion, frequent contact with each other are bound to promote and benefit the interests not only of the organization but of the individual members thereof This result, to be sure, does not come ali at once, but is attained only by slow and steady growth-so slow and steady that at times you may doubt its existence, but 1t nevertheless exists Il would be best seen when comparing one period of time with another. This ides Is not an experimental one. It has beer tried and proved elsewhere and there is no good reason why, in a moderate de gree at least, we cannot attain the same result. The practical working of the Boston Exchange, for instance, if yot were to see it. would convince you ot this It broadens and strengthens 2 man to be brought into contact with tht world outside. New ideas and new methods are most surely to be found wherever you go, and if the thought. and interests of this association, being first cemented together among your selves, could then be directed In tn. channel have indicated, the results would be most satisfactory and benefi cial. Why should we not affiliate our selves with the National association and acquire the benefits which would come from a larger ecquaintanceshil with both men and methods. We car learn something from the men of Bos ton, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia Oatroit and other pIapeS The worlf