The Dickinson press. (Dickinson, Stark County, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1883-1927, 1911-05-13

To the members of the Dickinson COM
mercial Club and others that should be
members:
The following is story of the success
full Commercial Club of Oklahoma City.
Better read it.
The question asking us for reason
why Oklahoma City is the best adver-
tised city in the country is one that
comes to us from every state in the
Union. It is put up to US in good
many different ways, but we feel that
justice is not done The subject if we
don't get down to the one fundamental
reason. For instance. people may ask
how do we handle our advertising
feature. Candidly, we really never
divorced the idea of advertising from
the operation of our Chamber of Com
merce or town building organization.
In fact, we consider that the Chamber !
of Commerce considered as whole is
the advertising department of a modern
unusual advertising success achieved in
Oklahoma City is the fact that we have
such a highly organized commercial
organization. To tell the story Of the
development of this Chamber of CON-
merce is to answer the question, why
is Oklahoma City7''
1t is not that our Chamber of Com
merce wishes to take the credit for the
whole thing; it is simply that the
organization is SO planned and operated
that it includes practically the whole
town. That is to say, in the Chamber
of Commerce will be found strong repre-
sentation from all of the professions,
and practically every business house
from the smallest to the biggest concern
belongs. In this way we are enabled to
generate the maximum amount of
town building power. In this way we
are enabled to have in our treasury the
largest possible amount Of financial
means, and even more important than
that. by this plan we have at command
the LARGEST capital in man-power. 1t is
this latter item which has made Okla
homa City famous for its boosting spirit,
Back of all of our results and back of
all Of our successful advertising is the
right principle of organizing Chamber
of Commerce.
It was only the first Of last year that
Oklahoma City had commercial organi-
zation Of about 800 members. There is
no depreciating the splendid work that
had been done by that aumber OF boost
ers during the preceding year OF two.
but the fruition of their efforts has come
in the past year and q half First, the
organization was raised to a member
ship Of 500 strong. as an anniversary
celebration on April u. 1909. the
twentieth anniversary Of the opening
of Oklahoma. Then by various forms
of rallies the roll was swelled to twice
that number, or one thousand strong.
In the meantime, of course, the Morris
& Co. packing plant had been located
aud a number of other victories won for
Oklahoma City. But the motto was to
keep building the Chamber of Commerce
so that it would be at all times abreast
with the times and progress of our city.
This made the landing of the second
big packing industry, the S. & S. pack
ing plant, much more definitely pos
sible. It is the presence of an effective
Chamber of Commerce and the conse-
quent results which it has been enabled
to produce which gives lis such wide
publicity.
Oklahoma City never has had a
special fund devoted to advertising pur-
poses directly, that is to say. fund
to be spent through an advertising
agency placing advertisements for Okla
homa City in given series of publica-
tions. We would not depreciate the
value of such advertising and possibly
We would have been even still better
off had we done some Of it, but we
figured our finances were better placed
BY the building up Of our organization,
delivering results to the folks here at
home and then through the power Of
their united efforts we felt that we
could achieve the net results, which, as
we have stated. advertise us 10 widely.
Perhaps this city has been honored
with 9 greater amount Of gratis adver-