The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1907-07-04
COMMERCIAL CLUBS
CAN BE 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-Proteeting 5usi-
ness Interests.

ness llbCi iCSASs
During the past few years there mas
been more than ordinary activity in
the organization of so-called CONNER
cial clubs. business mems leagues and
similar associations in the agricultural
sections of the country. Some had
mushroom growth, and like some hoW-'
ers, bloomed and blossomed, withered
and decayed in an hour. Others strug-
gled along indifferently and succeeded
in spending much of the people
money without assisting the town to
greatness, while a very few succeeded
in doing things that were of beneht
to the community.
There is little use in trying to make
a suit of clothes for a man out OF
pattern of cloth that has only sutfi-
cient goods for child's suit There
is little use in tryiag to build up
great town in a locality where there Is
not the material to sustain it, and
where there are only resources for the
support of a hamlet Towns OF I'M
portance exist only where there are
certain natural advantages, resources
that can be utilized in manufacturing,
territory sufficiently large to command
extensive trade, or some other favor
able condition. In the west manutac-
turing must by the economy OF Things
be confined to such lines as can be
advantageously produced. In manutac'
turing there are many factors. There
must be considered the cost of fuel,
the raw material, the labor and hlgnly
important are the transportation tacil'
tiles.
One of the noticeable things about
commercial clubs is the optimistic
tendencies of their members. Business
men of a strictly agricultural town viii
form an association. Perhaps the
leaders are interested in the real es
tate business. They want the town tc
| boom. Some of them may have few
acres of land worthless unless for
factory" site. Meetings are held
plans are made for the bringing in o
some manufacturing plant that per
haps may give employment to half
dozen or dozen hands. Correspond
ence is started with view of getting
some outsider interested. The righ
man, apparently, makes his appear
ance. He wants a bonus OF a feV
thousand dollars. His proposition Il
seriously considered. The subscription
paper is passed around, the amour
secured, and the real estate man sell
his factory" site at a good price. Tn
factory is started 1t runs about
year and there is a vacant factor
building for rent, or for sale. HOY
many towns in the southwest have ha
this experience?
Even had the enterprise been SUE
) cess, it remains that there is a fiel
more productive of good for the tow
, that the club" overlooked. Say that
factory be started in a small town.
may give employment TO a dozen mer
The pay roll amounts to $50 day. Tn
; output of the concern may reach
, total of from $4,000 to $4,000 yea
J Every little helps,' and all othe
) things in harmony this adds to tn
importance of the place. But let Il
{ do little estimating Suppose tha
, there is about the town a territory {
/ $50 square miles. Suppose that eac
square mile represents four families
! farmers families. This would max
! 600 families who should do their trat
r ing in the town. The reports of tn
D bureau of statistics of the Unite
States department of labor and con
+ merce, assures us that the average e.
t penditure of the farmer each year fC
all the supplies he requires in the wa
e of agricultural machinery, carriage
L wagons, clothing, and food is $62
a Careful estimates of the amount of tt
farmers trade that goes to the maj
g order house and is in other ways d
e verted from his home town, shows thi
it is more than 25 per cent. of all
t. spends. Thus we find that from IL
y territory of the town there is annual
r diverted in trade the nice sum of mo-
8 than $4,000. This amount goes fro
7. the town, ceases to be factor in i
upbuilding. 1t means that every ds
the town loses about 1892 in trade.
u Now would it not be much better
i the commercial club took up the me
% ter of devising means of protecting Il
= business interests of the enterprises
> the mercantile lines already ,esta
. lished, than to bring in new ente
prise of uncertain success? Is not Il
=, trade of the farmers and the people
- the town equally as beneficial as Il
wages paid to the few men that Il
- :, factory might employ? Does not 81
900 in trade more than equal the OF
put and the general accruing to Il
o wealth of the town by the factory
n 1t is evident that there is a Wi
n field for commercial club effort in t
keeping in the town the dollars tn
are earned and devising means of pl
= tecting trade.
His Dire Threat.
There was determination stamp
m hie hpnU