The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1907-07-12
COMMERCIAL CLUBS.
CAN eE MADE IMPORTANT FAC
TORS IN TOWN BUILDING.
BEST FIELD FOR THEIR WORK
Their Efforts Should Be Put Forth to
Keep the Dollars in the Home
Town-protscting Bust
ness Interests.

the organization Of So-caiied CONNER
cial clubs. business mems leagues and
similar associations in the agricultural
sections of the country. Some had
mushroom growth, and like some flow
ers. bloumed and blossomed, withered
and decayed in an hour. Others strug-
gled along indfferently and succeeded
IN spending much OF the people
money without assisting the town to
greatness. while very few succeeded
in doing things that were OF Deneht
ID the community.
There is little use in trying to make
suit Of clothes for man out OF
pattcrn of cloth that has only sufti-
cient goods for a Child's suit. There
is little use in trying to build up a
great town in a locality where there IS
not The material to sustain it, and
where mere are only resources for the
support OF a hamlet Towns OF I'M
portapce exist only where there are
certain natural advantages, resources
thar can De utilized in manufacturing,
territory sufficiently large to command
extensive trada, Or some other favor
able condition In the west manulac-
turing must by the economy of things
10 confined to such lines as can be
advantageously produced. ln manufac-
turing there are many factors. There
must ne considered the cost OF fuel,
the raw material the labor and highly
Important are the transportation facil-
tiles.
one Of the noticeable things about
commercial clubs IS the optimistic
tendencies of their members. Business
men Of 4 strictly agricultural town will
form IN association. Perhaps the
leaders are Interested in the real es-
tate business. They want the town to
boom Some of them may have few
acres Of land worthless unless for
factory site Meetings are held,
mans ale made for he bringing in OF
some manufacturing plant that per-
hsps may give employment to hal1
dozen Cy a dozen hands. Corresponds
euce is started with view of getting
some outsider interested. The right
man. apparently. makes his appear
ance. Re wants u bonus of few
thousand dollars His proposition is
seriously considered The subscription
PAPER is passed around. the amount
secured and the real estate man sells
his factory" site Al a good price. The
Factory IS started It runs about
yea &ac there is vacant factory
building for raut o. for sale. How
maa, towns in the southwest have had
this oNperience2
Even lad the enterprise been sue
cess !. remains that there is field
more productive Of good for the town
that the club" overlooked. Say that a
factory he started in a small town. 1t
may give employment to dozen men.
The uay roll amounts 70 $50 a day. The
output q the Concern may reach
total q from $4,000 to $4,000 year
Every little helps" aud all other
thiucs in harmony this adds to the
importance of the pace. But let us
d. little "estimlCns Suppose that
there IS about the town a territory OF
$50 square miles Suppose that each
,lltare mile represents four families
farmers families This would make
$40 families who should do their trad
ing il the town The reports of the
bureau of statistics Of the United
States department Of labor and COM
merce assures US that the average ex-
nenditu-e of the f1rrue, each year for
all the supplies he requires in the way
of agricultural machinery, carriages,
wagons clothing, aud food, is S62I.
Careful estimates Of the amount OF the
farmers trade that goes to the mail
order house and is 10 other ways di-
verteL from his home town, shows that
il is more than % per cent of all he
spends Thus we find that from the
territory of the town there is annually
diverted in trade the nice sum of more
than $4,000. This amount goes from
the town, ceases to be a factor in its
upbuilding. II means that every day
the town loses about 1892 in trade.
Now would it no. be much better if
the commercial club took up the mat
ter OF devising means Of protecting the
business interests Of the enterprises in
the mercantile lines already estab
lished. than to bring in new enter
prise Of uncertain success? Is not the
trade Of the farmers and the people of
the town equally as beneficial as the
wages paid to the few men that the
factory might employ Does not si9,-
600 in trade more than equal the out
put and the genera, accruing to the
wealth Of the town by the factory?
It is evident that there is a wide
field for commercial club effort in the
keeping in the town the dollars that
are earned and ieyising means Of pro-
.ecting trade.