The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1909-12-03
DEAD ORGANIZATIONS IN LIVE TOWNS

DEAD ORGANIZATIONS IN LIVE TOWNS
A commercial club, business mems
association or whatever the name of
the development organization, plays
an important part in the growth and
development of city. Town develop
ment, a magazine published at Chi
cago, in its December number, prints
an interesting article on near organ
izations, meaning those organizations
which exist on paper only. The ar
ticle which we reproduce below. is well
worth the careful consideration of ev-
cry citizen or taxpayer in our city:
From time to time Town Develop
ment makes conspicuous mention of
those towns and cities which have
commercial organizations in name only"
The commercial club, business mems
association, chamber of commerce, or
like organization which is an organiza-
ton in name only, is a greater detri
ment to the town or city, in which it
pretends to exist, than any citizen in
the town can understand In the ma
ture of things, the citizen is not the
man who understands. He has little
or no direct opportunity to know the
shortcomings of such an organization,
compared to the manufacturer or bus
mess man who visits the town with q
business object, and after being refer
red by three or four different men on
whom he calls, to as many other men
with even less interest or knowledge of
how to help the inquirer, takes the
next train out of town with the almost
ineffacable impression that the town is
: a dead one. A live, active organiza-
ton would have given the inquirer
just the opposite impression.
Inactive organizations hurt a town
in other directions, and in the inter-
est of all concerned they should be
put out of existence so as not longer
to mislead really sincere and interest
ed parties.
There are scores of these disintregat-
ing skeletons existing in splendid towns
which deserve live, wide awake, effec-
tive organizations which will answer
correspondence promptly and give the
right kind of reception to interested
{ visitors.
Many manufacturer has had the
3 disappointing experience of writing to
towns and getting no response; but
this is not as bad as the experience of
the manufacturer who personally visits
, the town at his own expense and when
he gets there can find no organization
to tell him about unoccupied factory
buildings or factory sites or railroad
, freight rates or labor conditions or, any
one of the several questions which ev-
cry town with ambition to grow can
afford to have a paid secretary to
handle for the interest of the town
, and for the information of all inter
ested inquirers.
, T There is no compromise with mac
!, tive organizations. They are worse
than no organization at all.
''Near Organizations" is good name
for the type of shadows to which we
allude Their detriment to town is
as certain as fate and the ways in
which such near organizations hurt
are even more numerous than the ways
, in which an active, live effective or
ganization helps a town or city.
9 In the first place, such near organi-
cations, by their shadows and man-of-
straw appearance, prevent the organi-
! zation of a new club or association.
Many a good man in a community
. sees the need of live active organi-
zation in the town but he hesitates to
agitate the subject for fear of hurt
. inc the feelings of the two or three
really good, but needless, men who are
officers of the old near organization
. yet in existence.
Not only does the appearance of
the near-organization deter efforts
at starting a new one, but the carp
: ing, faint hearted fellow who has no
faith in community boosting imme-
diately begins hostilities when he hears
that an organization-in-f fact is attempt
ed. He breaches long sermons and dis
sertations on community boosting and
/, takes as his text that the old near
organization never did nuthin' no how
to add, perhaps, "and 1 am
glad of it."
If there is one thing more than an
> other which good workers in town de-
velopment pray for, it is some effec-
thive means of killing off the carper,
the pessimist and the community
Il tight-wad, three boon companions who
thrive on the misfortunes of their
neighbors. These community Affections
look for the worst. They never pre-
dict anything good. Talk of town de-
velopment makes them heart-sick and
causes severe tightening of their purse
> strings. Enough good strong commu-
nifty boosting will cause those purse
strings to tighten until they break
and then perhaps the whole community
5 will be benefited.
Now they are talking of bouncing
S Coacb Williams bpcaI1Sa 4ha Mime ia