The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1909-01-15
ANNUAL REPORT TO THE
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

la monthly payments on the first OF
next month, the board will have a
revenue, as stated above, of 1882. 30
a month.
The sum of s47.O5 paid out of petty
! cash in various small sums for &C
count of the special committee in pro-
noting the hotel project, and refund
ed by the hotel company after organ
iZatiOn, enters twice into the gross re-
/ ceipts SHOWN on the books, and to
J gether with the subscriptions for the
/ banquet last March should be deduct
ed from gross receipts to show the
actual receipts of the old board avail
/ able for current expenses This con-
sisted of balance on Feb J. and COlIec-
lions Feb. l TO Dec. 81. total s27S9-25.
/ Less S41S.33 of inherited past due
/ debts, left your retiring board a net
/ sum of S2375.92 for operating ex-
| Penses, or an average Of s2l5-99 a
month.
/ From its predecessors. your retir-
ing board received d balance OF $11.50,
and collected In advance $3.50 not
payable until the first of next month
! total $4,000. Against this, the re-
firing board retired S413.33 of old
debts and turns over to its successors
| balance of $3.50, total s471.23, so
tl.at the financial operations of your
retiring board figure out s167.23 better
than a cash basis.
The New Hotel.
While it would be utter folly TO i'm
ply That the new hotel was more than
mere probability when the Chamber
OF Commerce special committee ceas-
ed work on accomplishing the part of
! the task assigned it. the Chamber OF
Commerce nevertheless deserves the
credit for the initial steps and also
for the hard, heavily hampered Tut
persistent first steps that overcame
serious obstacles The hotel company
/ through its directors is creating the
hotel, but it was the Chamber of
Commerce through its members that
created the hotel company by secur-
ing more than the $4,000 stock sub
ScTiptiOnS essential either to bind the
Heryey Hotel company in its offer TO
lease or the subscribers themselves to
their signatures.
Individual members of the Cham
Der of Commerce, connected with its
administration, took up with Charles
B. Hervey the matter of his coming
here to look into the hotel opportuni-
ties of Pensacola. The Chamber of
Commerce banquet last March furnish
ed the special occasion for Mr.. Her
yey's visit as the guest of a member
o. the Chamber of Commerce. At the
banquet, Mr. Hervey announced that
he would make a proposition to the
people of Pensacola through the
Chamber of Commerce 20 assist in
the building of, and to lease, a strict
" modern hotel, and operate it on
the standards Of the Cawthon hotel at
Mobile. The offer came in a day or
two through ex-PTesident StiIlman.
A committee of seven formulated
plar Of raising subscriptions, and also
plan of organization, which was,
roughly, that not less than $150,0OO
should be. raised by subscription to
stock, and not more than 100000 by
bend issue, Mr.. Hervey's offer being
to lease for 10 years at 6 per cent on
the cost Of building and site, and also
to pay taxes and insurance
The Arst twenty thousand dollars
vas not hard for the special commit
tee of % members to raise. Then
came the street car strike, and be-
tween its unsettling influence and the
financial stress il was a long hard
campaign 10 secure an aggregate of
S15O,OO0 subscription to the stock of
the company. At times. the task
seemed hopeless, but the financially
small men of Pensacola rallied SPLEEN
didly TO the leadership of a few (aII
OF them members of the Chamber of
CCmmerceD who signed for large
amounts of stock, and, suppIementing
normal subscriptions by many bust |
ness men, completed the S15O.0OO |
needed. with a few thousands to spare. !
Financially, the credit may justly /
De given to few men who were will |
iEs. as we'll as able, TO invest heavily |
in a stock which does not promise |
revenue until the bonds are retired. |
Without these men. all Of whom are |
mr mbeTs of the Chamber of Com
nerce, the money would not have
been raised. With equal justice. it 1
may be said that but for the large
number of men who could not afford .
ID subscribe more than 800 or 5000, !
the needed sum would not have been
subscribed. But with equal Justice
and | believe incOnteStably. il should /
be said that but for the Chamber of /
Commerce and its persistent special !
committee, there is no surety that the .
would ever have advanced /
to the crucial point al which civic
pride and pecuniary interest realized /
tI8t they could not afford to let the
project fail. If the Chamber of Com
merce had done nothing whatsoever /
except its share of the work in the
hotel matter. Pensacola as a cOmmun-
ity would be more than repaid for
the entire revenues of the Chamber
Of Commerce, whose revenues of I
$4,000 a wear on the present member
ship would be a small fee to paw a
promoter for establishing hotel
which means, with its equipment,
more than s45O,000 added to the tax
able wealth of the community to saw
of the manifold advantages
that the new hotel will be TO every
nd DIR Hv- hn