Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1911-01-20
WHAT BOOSTING HAS DONE FOR
RICHMOND.

- t.-- s
WHAT BOOSTING HAS DONE FOR
RICHMOND.
Apropos the movement to organize
Chamber of Commerce in Ssaunton
it may not be amiss to point ont what
such an institution has done for
Richmond.
As everybody Knows the capital Of
Virginia has had splendid develop
nent in the past decade. Ten years
ago it was q sleepy sort of place,
without much energy. or ambition.
lacking in-get-up. In fact it was
often referred to, even by native Viz
ginians, as an oyergrown country
village, and in those days it well
deserved the slur. Today it is q
hustling city center Of great indus
trial activity. a mecca for capitalists
and business men, one of the great
towns of the country. From Q
p 'ovincial southern municipality Rich
mond has come to be one of the
leading cities in the United States.
Go to Richmond, ask any business
or professional imam you meet to
account for this remarkable change,
and if he be like ninety.ni other
men he will tell yon that to the
Chamber of Commerce is due the
main credit for Richmond's upbuild-
ing.
Richmond's experience has been
duplicated all over the country, by
towns and cities with a live COM
mercial body composed of wide
awake citizens with fair amount of
civic patriotism and willingness to
get together.
The Richmond Chamber of Com
MERGE numbers among its members
practically every business and pro.
fessional man in the city, including
merchants. heads of manufacturing
enterprises. bankers, brokers, doctors,
lawyers, newspaper men, railroad
officials and SO on down the line, every
field Of activity being represented.
1t would take volume to tell what
these men acting together have been
able to accomplish for their city.
Working on the theory that the best
way to help the individual 10 to help
the people as a whole The Richmond
chamber has cone things -big things
for it's members as we'll a. for the
community at large.
1t has helped the community b. a.
vertising it and in this way furnish,
ing the city with new people. new
capital, new enterprises, more ousi.
ness. Mainly through it's effort Rich.
mond was able to show phenomenal
increase in population at the last
census with an accompanying in
crease of more than $40, 600, 600 in
properly values with an attendant re-
duction in general taxation. It has
accomplished lasting results and its
influence is growing more powerful
every day.
The Richmond body has helped its
Individual member in more ways
than one. It has helped him by CIV
ing him better place in which to
live and in which to do business and
t has also helped him by looking
after his personal interests in better
way than he could do it himself.
While there are hundreds OF instances
where this has been the case q single
incident will suffice for the purpose
of illus tration:
A merchant goes to the Chamber of
Commerce with a complaint against q
r .ilroad company. Perhaps it is
matter which concerns excessive
freight charges or maybe it has to do
with goods delayed in shipment.
Whatever the nature of the complaint
nay be the. merchant gets action
auu k0tS IL QOAShs SOMluk 1IOM
lone individual the kick of the merch-
AZ t would receive at best only delay
ed consideration at the hands Of the
railroad. Coming from an organiza-
ton which represents every merchant
in that particular town it gets i'm
mediate attention.
Like all similar organizati ons tine
Richmond Chamber of Commerce is
simply the old maxim ''In union there
is strength" rut into practice. There
is n othing uncommon in Rich u oau's
case. AS was sail in the beginning
towns all over the country with live
boosting clubs haveEexpsrienced SINH
ar development. Richmond is point.
ed out particularly because it is right
here at home where everybody knows
all about it and for this reason it's
experience furnishes all the more con-
vincing argument that Stanton
needs some such body of hustlers.
EnIrnnIAu lnrPaMnc