Ottumwa tri-weekly courier., 1908-04-21
COMMERCIAL
ASSOC|AT|ON|N
BIG BANQUET
NEARLY 200 LEADING CITIZENS
OF oTTUMWA GATHERED
ROUND BANQUET BOARD AT AR.
MoRY HALL LAST NIGHT.
! PUSH AND BOOST
is THE SLOGAN

LONG LIST OF sPEAkERS-cHi.
cAGo AND ST. LOUIS REPRE-.
sENTED - COOPERATION is
ASKED FOR.
From Saturdays Daily
When 200 men sat down to the ban
quet board and listened to the speak
Ing at the annual spread Of the OF
tumwa Commercial association last
night, it meant much 70 rthe future
growth and prosperity Of Ottumwa.
Thest banqueters are men that do
things. They are the men that make
the wheels of progress turn around
and, as one of the speakers said, ''By
their cooperation mighty and heavy
weight can be raised with no incon-
venience to the individual when the
whole number is working together"
1t was the universal opinion among
these leaders Of the commercial and
Industrial world Of Ottumwa that
prosperous year has passed. although
the ghost of panic went stalking
about with more than ghostly possibil-
tiles, as was said by T. D. Foster.
The united resolve was to "Put your
shoulder to the wheel and all push to-
gether for the upbuilding of Ottum-
wa"
Boost for ottumwa.
The dining room of the new Armory
hall was we'll filed with banqueters.
The Ottumwa Harp orchestra furnish
ed music. At the head table sat the
speakers and in front and to each
side were the tables of the banquet
ers. At each plate was white or
pink carnation for the buttonhole. A
"dangler" for the coat lapel, neatly
gotten up, elliptical in shape, was
waiting for each one The card bore
this inscription:
sss = =
If 1T COMES FROM
t,TTUMWA.
IT'S ALL RIGHT.
sfss ~ . 8 II y y
Mr.. Ellis Speaks.
Joseph Dain, president of the Com.
mercial association, presided. Follow
ing the invocation by Rev. Robert j..
Locke, Mr.. Dain introduced the chief
speaker of the evening, William Ellis
OF Chicago, commerce counsel for the
Chicago. Milwaukee & st. Paul rail-
way company Mr.. Ellis spoke on the
subject Relations of the Railways to
the Public -
During the course of his remarks
Mr. Ellis said that 100000 freight
cars stood idle at the present time in
the yards of the various railroads Of
the country in consequence of this
350,000 men are out of work. "Some-
body isn't shipping. AS result both
shippers and the railroads are suffer
ing from the same cause. believe
there should be more of frienlly
feeling between the railroads and the
people. The last few years relations
have been somewhat strained. This
should be corrected. The railroads are
doing better. 1t may have been be-
cause they were under the lash"
Compares Rates.
Mr.. Ellis compared the effects of
the rates in Iowa, Wisconsin and
,isexas in regard to shipping and the
costs to the shipper. 1t was shown
that rigid tariff law in Texas had
driven many of the smaller Touring
mills out of the state, although the
production of grain was greatly in
creased In Iowa where the same law
is in effect 1t means an advanced
freight rate over the Wisconsin
charge as regards long distance hauls,
although Wisconsin has a sliding rate
law"
Mr.. Ellis remained at the banquet
board until after II o'clock, when it
was necessary for him to leave to
catch his train, Burlington No. 1.
T. D. Foster.
T. D. Foster was the next speaker.
He talked earnestly and authoritively
on the Currency Issue of the United
States"
AS a prelude he spoke of the com
mercial association and the many
propositions that had come before the
body but because Of the unforeseen re-
suits of the financial depression the
association had not succeeded in land
ing any factories the past year.
1t was an off year." said Mr.. Foster.
An off year for new enterprises and
an off year for interurbans. But l be-
lieve We will get all these within a
4very short time"
:sosr Financial System.
E, IN reviewing the financial situation
y the speaker told fthe panics of 1887,
1873, 1898, and 1907. This he at.
tributed to the poor financial system
of the country.
1T seems said the speaker that the
ghost of the panic of 1887 was stalking
around with more than ghostly appear.
ances. We were only saved from utter
ruin by the acceptance in trade of the
clearing house certificates. And that
Is a sample Of more elastic currency
why has the United States passed
through three big panics in the last