Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-12-14
Creation Of Extra Salaries
and New Rents to Be
Reviewed
SECRETARY CONTEST INVOLVED
Coming Annual Meeting of Travelling
Men Will Investigate Action of
Board in Creating New Jobs and
Moving Offices to the Fleming Build
ing at Higher Rent.

The coming annual meeting OF mem
bers of the l. S. T. NJ. A. will have to
review controversy which has been
going on within the board of directors
for some time and which is believed
to be the outgrowth of the rival cam
didacies of Concannon and Deets for
secretary. 1 have previously referred
to the complaints heard at the action
Of the majority of the board in moving
the associations offices to the Elem
ing building at a higher rental and
have secured for publication a letter
from Mr.. Gum, one of the minority
faction on the board, setting out the
controversy as to the creation of two
new salaries for employees whom Sec
rotary Deets had discharged from his
office.
The letter is as follows:
H. w. Shove, Esq:
In your article appearing in the
Times Republican of a recent date, the
inference is that the members of the
i. S. L. NJ A. were not taking kindly
to the idea of paying twice the rental
for accommodations in the Fleming
building that are not as ample, and at
least no better, than were those for
merly occupied in the Croker build
ing; and that some action may be
taken by the members of the associa-
ton at the next annual meeting in jan
uary, calling the Board" to account
for the lack Of business judgment in
making the change of headquarters.
1t is to regretted that this change of
location is probably only one of the
minor items for (Which the board will
be called to account at the meeting in
January, and while this act stands out
before the public probably more clear
ly than some of the others, yet it is
only one of the sins Of commission
that will be laid at the door of the
board Of the Iowa State Travelling
Mems association, and against which
l am now contending.
Publicity is regarded today as one of
the proper ways to conduct the affairs
of corporation, and as I'VE have scat
tered over the United States and Can
ada, thousands of travelling men who
do not come into Contact. with any
member of the board, and whose only
acquaintance with the association is
thru notices of assessments, nit is but.
justice to them that they know into
whose hands they have committed
their trust during the year 1908. Pub
licity may be the cause of bitterness
of feeling and of criticism that Will
fall heavily upon some but in writing
to you do so, believing that it is in
the interest of the Iowa State Travelling
Mems association, and to the splendid
membership whose interests ought to
be first in the minds of every member
of the board.
The writer stands ready to agree
that the board of directors. of any cor
poration should be at least criticized,
if not censured for poor business
judgment The writer also believes that
in minor affairs, at least, when mem
bers of a directory board cannot agree,
and there is a majority and minority
vote on a proposition, the minority
should bow to the will of the majorl-
ty, and thereby secure harmony in the
management; but when a majority, ar
rogates to itself to vote as a unit on
business propositions involving hun
dredss Of dollars expense to the associa-
ton, and deliberately, and I think de-
signedly, ignores the minority, Is as a
member of the minority, shall claim the
right to defend my own actions, even
at the expense of the majority. In pur-
suance of this claimed right, there
FORE ask you to read the following de-
tails in all of which there has been a
majority and minority vote of record.
l have spoken of the change of loca-
ton as a minor matter of business
acumen. Permit me to cite other cases
involving, as 1 believe, hundreds Of
dollars of needless expense to the as
sociation.
The 1. S. T. M. A. pays fifty cents per
member to its secretary, to perform
the clerical work of the association,
and yet the majority of the board of
directors, by a vote of to 4. on April
4, 1905 passed resolution creating an
office known as inspector Of risks, and
appointed George N. Sholelnberger to
this office at a salary of $1,000 per
year, to be paid out of the general
funds Of the association, and gave him
further authority td employ a stem
ographer, salary not named in the res
;ol, a 1,o ont.