The Forrest City times., 1907-09-13
MAK|NG \ BLUFF
WEll-MEANlRG CITIZENS WHO WORK ALONG WRONG LINES.
KNOCKING THE HOME TOWN
Her Commercial Clubs Fail In Work Undertaken for the Improvement
 Of Local Conditions.

In a western town not long since a General Call was issued to citizens to hold Meeting for the purpose of or ganizing Business Mems Association, or as the papers announced, a Com mercial club. According to the News paper Reports of the event the meet ing was Grand Success. and some 40 or 50 prominent citizens enrolled their names IS members. Thus the Com mereial club was started on it's Career.
 Among the active citizens and those who were foremost in advocating the Club as an Important Thing for the welfare Of the Town. were Minister and q Lawyer. The good clergyman was made the Secretary, a Banker of the town was elected President. and the Lawyer Treasurer As is usual with such clubs. a Constitution and Bylaws were adopted;. an Executive Committee appointed and also a Illus ting Committee to add Push to the club. It was outlined that by harmony and cooperation the town could be Doomed and made much Better. One
 
 Library. Among the other Things were Manufacturing Enterprises. Creamery and another Elevator fer the town, to compete with the one Eleya- tor already located there.
 Six months of careful labor on the part of the Commercial Club devel oped the fact that the efforts towards rrt. without results. There was no Library, the Creamery Proposition was consid cred unfavorable, as the farmers could secure more by shipping their cream out of Town than the Creamery could afford to pay, and as to the Elevator only part of the Stock necessary for it's start Was subscribed An investi- gation revealed that out of this very same town each day an average of more than s200 was being sent to Out side Cities for Goods that might as well have been purchased at the home stores. It was discovered that the Minister. who was the Secretary of the Club, all the while he was Advo- eating Town Improvement, was quiet ly Working among the Members of his Flock to secure Orders for Groceries and other goods to send to a Chicago alleged cooperative concern. He was receiving five per cent. commission on all Purchases made. The Lawyer of the town, who was made the Treasurer of the Club, was sending away for the Clothes he wore, and even the Banker could not find Carpets sufficiently good In his home town, and sent away the money to foreign place for rugs, and also Piano that ornamented his home
 These misled Enterprising Citizens were working all along the wrong lines. While they were Anxious to Inn prove the Town, to start the Creamery that, perhaps. would keep few thousand dollars a year in the town an Elevator that was almost unneees- sary. as the one already located in the Town was capable of handling all the grain produced in the neighborhood. and would result in no saving or the bringing in of greater income, they overlooked the importance. uf devising means of retaining Business to the Town that was going away from it. The very ones intrusted with the Building Up of the Industries of the Place were foremost in turning over to other communities the Dollars that should be retained to improve the Home Trade, and make Wealthy the community
 Moral-It would be well for mem bers of Commercial Clubs to take heed that the most important action for the Club to take is to Devise Means of Protecting Enterprises already es,ab, ,ished instead of gaining new Enter prises Of Doubtful Utility.