Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1907-09-02
The BOARD OF TRADE
Every Town Should Have a Lively
Commercial Club.
NO PLACE TOO SMALL FOR ONE
Modern Conditions Require That Each
Community Must Work Out Its Own
SaIvation-Business Mems Orsaniza-
tons Growing More General.

Community Must Work Out Its Own
SaIvation-Business Mems Orsaniza-
tons Growing More General.
Nearly every town that has it's eyes
open has board of trade. 1t may be
called commercial club or business
mems league or something of that
sort; but, whatever its name may be,
the purposes Of the organization are
to boom the town. The board of trade
Is modern idea. 1t grew out of
modern conditions. Rome was pretty
near the whole thing In ancient days
and didn't need q commercial club to
push it along. 1t had no competitors
to speak Of. But that was Rome, Italy
at any rate, what is now called Italy.
AS to Rome, Ga, and Paris, Tex, and
New London, Mo-, the case is quite
different. These towns and all other
towns on the map have competitors
to burn, competitors to compete with.
If they simply drag along at the tail
end of the cart of progress, they won't
amount to much. Each town must
work out It's own salvation.
The board of trade is one means of
town salvation. This organization IS
made up of the business men in the
community. The banker IS in it and
the butcher, the baker and the candle
stick maker. The merchants and pro
fessional men are in it. The preacher
ought to be in it. Everybody ought to
be in it that has the interests of the
community at heart.
During the past few years the town
board Of trade or commercial club has
developed surprisingly. Nowadays there
are many towns of less than thou
sand population, particularly i'll the
middle west and the far west, which
have active boards of trade. There
can be no denial of the good these or
CARNATIONS do. When properly con-
Quoted, as most of them are, they not
only develop more neighborly and
friendly feeling among the members
themselves, which always helps a
town, but they reach out and draw
others into the fold. They are really
boards OF public promoton.
The most important officer in the
board of trade is not necessarily the
president. Usually 1t is the secretary,
and for this Office wise board of
trade selects man still young enough
to be enthusiastic for progress and
lively enough to jump at chance
when he sees it coming up the road.
In addition to this, he should have
enough life in him to chase around the
bend in the road and look for oppor
tunities that may be lurking some
where just waiting to have somebody
turn them up for the benefit of the
town.
But 1t IS by no means wise to depend
altogether upon your secretary or pres
idcnt. The officials can do little with
out general cooperation. If few
men balk and pull back, the team can't
pull forward as it should. One OF two
malcontents and chronic kickers in Il
board of trade or commercial club
can do more harm than Il whole nest
Of hornets. Harmony and activity are
the prime essentials.
Every town should have its board Of
trade. There are many ways in which
the common interests may be advanced
by organized effort. Let the board
agree upon some definite plan of cam
paign, whether it be the locating of .
shoe factory or the promotion of Il re-
idcnce section, and then get down To
solid work You can do anything worth
doing If you dig in and hustle. You
can't do anything worth doing unless
you do That's self evident.
The new western and southern towns
know the value of the local board Of
trade as n town booming proposition.
Many eastern towns might profit ~
their example, and there are older
towns in the west and south which
could slough off lot of their dry rot
and pcrk up amazingly If only some
body would get to work and organize
the business and professional men for
mutual defense and advancement.
4 lively board of trade or club for
town promotion is one of the surcSt
signs that town Is alive.