The log cabin Democrat., 1907-07-11
|(lMMERC|AL CLUBS
..u RE MADE IMPORTANT FAC TORS IN TOWN BUILDING.
,rsr FIELD FOR THEIR WORK
vs.,, Efforts Should Be Put Forth to keep the Dollars in the Home Town-Protecting Busi-
 ness Interests.

tho organization of so-called commer-
 .,al clubs, business mems leagues and
 similar associations in the agricultural
 sections of the country. Some had
 mushroom growth, and like some flow
 .rs bloomed and blossomed, withered
 and decayed in an hour. Others strug-
 eled along indifferently and succeeded
 in spending much of the peoples
 money without assisting the town to
 ereatness, while very few succeeded
 in doing things that were of benefit
 to the community.
 There is little use in trying to make
 a suit of clothes for man out of a
 nattern of cloth that has only suffi-
 cient goods for a child S suit. There lis little use in trying to build up a great town in locality where there is
 not the material to sustain it, and where there are only resources for the support of 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 manufac- turing must by the economy of things be confined to such lines as can be advantageously produced. In manufac- turing there are many factors. There must be considered the cost of fuel, the raw material, the labor and highly important are the transportation facil- .ities.
 One of the noticeable things about commercial clubs is the optimistic tendencies of their members. Business men of strictly agricultural town will Norm an association. Perhaps the leaders are interested in the real es- tste business. They want the town to boom Some of them may have a few acres of land worthless unless for factory site. Meetings are held, plans are made for the bringing in of some manufacturing plant that per haps may give employment to half a dozen or a dozen hands. Correspond ence is started with view of getting some outsider interested. The right man, apparently, makes his appear ance He wants bonus of a 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 at good price. The factory is started. It runs about a year and there is vacant factory building for rent, or for sale. How many towns in the southwest have had this experience?
 Even had the enterprise been a suc- cess, it remains that there is field more productive of good for the town that the "club" overlooked. Say that factory be started in a small town. It may give employment to a dozen men. The pay roll amounts to $50 day. The |Autput of the concern may reach a ktal of from $25,000 to s35,000 year. NEvery little helps," and all other things in harmony this adds to the importance of the place. But let us do little estimating" Suppose that there is about the town territory of Ilb0 square miles Suppose that each square mile represents four families farmers families. This would make 600 families who should do their trad ing in 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- penditure of the farmer each year for all the supplies he requires in the way of agricultural machinery, carriages, wagons, clothing, and food, is $627. Careful estimates of the amount of the farmers trade that goes to the mail order house and is in other ways dl- verted from his home town, shows that t is more than 25 per cent. of all he spends. Thus we find that from the yNitory of the town there is annually Mverted in trade the nice sum of more than $79,000. This amount goes from the town, ceases to be factor in it's upbuiiding. It means that every day the town loses about $132 in trade.
 Now would it not be much better if he commercial club took up the mat ter of devising means of protecting the business interests of the enterprises in fhe mercantile lines already estab- llshed, than to bring in new enter erise of uncertain success? Is not the trade eff the farmers and the people Of the town equally as beneficial as the |Nages paid to the few men that the factory might employ? Does not $79,- eOO in trade more than equal the out put and the general accruing to the Wealth of the town by the factory? It is evident that there is a wide lneld fer commercial club effort in the Keeping in the town the dollars that
 Re earned and devising means of pro 'ecting trade.