Henderson gold leaf., 1911-09-28
WORKING FOR YOUR TOWN.
Wilmington STAR

Wilmington STAR
The Raleigh Times is calling upon
the men of Raleigh to do their duty
by their Chamber OF Commerce and
their city. Our contemporary states
that when the Chamber of Commerce
of that city was organized on the first
day of last June somewhat more than
500 men gave their names as men,
bers. Certainly that should consti-
tute powerful working body, but OF
that army OF embryo boosters, com
paratively few have come across with
the 80 cents a month dues which en-
titles them to membership.
The Times rightly complains about
this dereliction on the part OF ll" RI
leigh men and urges that if they would
make the Chamber of Commerce what
it ought to be it could do a great
work for Raleigh. So it could, but
there is a bare probability that the
fault lies in an inactive Chamber Of
Commerce that has not gotten be-
hind these members and collected
those dues. Whenever our CONNER
cial bodies get the inspiration that
they are business institutions and
require every member to do his duty
as a matter of business we will hear
less complaint of the slack support
of these institutions. Let the man.
agement of these organizations get
more aggressive, determined, and
buSiness-like and we won't hear OF
delinquents on the part their mem
bers.
Let it be understood that the
Chamber of Commerce is out for bus
mess and is under no obligations to
any citizen but that he owes it to his
chamber and to his city and to him
self to do his part. When the Ra
leigh Chamber reorganiZed and got
that big list of 500 members, it look
ed like business. With dues of so
cents a month it was anticipated
that the fund so raised would be real
lied in advertising Raleigh, but now
comes the complaint that those Ra-
leigh men who Joined the movement
have defaulted or turned up delin-
quent. Anyhow, wasn't June a bad
month to reOrganize? Don't we
wilt at the collar and lose our game
ness during the summer? Isn't there
too much of a disposition to lay off
and cease activities during the sum-
mer? Well, we have simply got to
get rid of the summer habit. There
isn't any use for us to be winter
ducks. The fac0 of the business is,
summer is the best time for US to
take time off and boost, for when
the fall and winter comes that is our
busy season and we are too much
absorbed with our own business to
get out and hustle for the town.
Pushing a city forward as side
line or spasmodically, is a negligible
factor in making progress. An ex-
perienced man ought to be on the Job
as speciality, where he can have a
staff OF live Iieutenants upon whom
he can depend at all times. How
ever, the best man on earth for the
work, might as we'll have his hands
tied behind him if he hasn't got the
backing Of the people of his city.
Roasting without any backing is
like having o river to cross and no
boat to reach the other side
If the people in the cities of the
eastern states want to get down to
business they will have to get to-
gether and pull together-not at one
enthusiastic meeting, but all the
time. Men must "know their town"
if they are to believe in it, because if
they do not know it and believe in it,
they will have a hard row of stumps
to hoe in making somebody else be-
lieve III it in a way that they will
hasten to it to establish an industry
or some kind of business.
There is disposition in the older
cities of the eastern states to raise
the dickens about once year in or
ganiZing a movement to build their
cities, but after one or two tremen-
dously enthusiastic meetings and a
volcanic eruption of hot air they sim
mer down and it's all over. This is q
fact. Why is it thus? 1t is because
what is mistaken for enthusiasm is
only a fiuttering of "dead ducks" 1t
is because they don't know their
town and, therefore, do not really be-
lieve in it. If they did believe in it,
those who have themoney, and natu-
rally and logically should be city
builders, wouldn't fall dead when it
comes to raising funds to boost their
city and proclaim its advantages. 1t
is more or less ridiculous to see
Chambers of Commerce, Boards of
Trade, Commercial Clubs and such
organizations reorganizing with a
flourish OF Oftrumpets and then collapse
and peter out. 1t is because of lack
of earnestness and genuine spirit.
Men who join an organization for
progress and then fall down on so
cents a month constitute q class who
simply want" to see their town go
forward without being inspired with
the determination that they are 60
ing to make it what it ought to be.
The whole truth is that q man who
knows his town and believes in it
has stock of enthusiasm that will
last.
The Westerners say ''the cities of
the old states are effete," and they
laugh when we ''rear up, come dow n
and stand hitched." The fact is, we
ought to take something for the "dry
t rot.