Evening star., 1912-07-04
ACTION IS DELAYED
Chamber of Commerce Divided
on Retailers Question.
RIGHT TO JOIN ASSOCIATION
Some Hold Merchants Should Be.
long to Parent Body Before Ad-
mittance Into Auxiliary.

F1nai action on the proposition to admit
to membership in the Retail Merchants
Association non-members OF the Chamber
of Commerce has been deferred, so far
as the Chamber OF Commerce Is concern
ed until next fall. The matter was
threshed out at length at a meeting of
the board of directors of the chamber
last night
The Retail Merchants Association is an
auxiliary body of the chamber, and un-
der the constitution of the parent organ
ization no one may be admitted to men,
bership in any Of it's auxiliary bodies
who is not first a member of the cham
Der. But the retail merchants feel that a
large number of merchants would join
the Retail Merchants Association if they
were not compelled to pay the annual
dues to the chamber as we'll as those of
the association.
When the matter was first laid before
the board of directors of the chamber a
committee. headed by Isaac Cans was
appointed TO make aSreport to the board
Mr.. Cans was not present last night but
it was reported by the secretary that the
committee was opposed to the proposition
of admitting to membership in the Re-
tail Merchants Association men who
were not members of the chamber.
Amendment Under Consideration.
A proposed amendment to the consti-
tuition of the chamber, drawn up by Cha
pin Brown. general counsel, which would
admit to membership in the Retail Mer-
chants Association as many non-mem-
bers of the association as the number of
memberships of the association now be-
longing TO the chamber, was brought be-
fore the board for consideration.
Chaplin Brown supported the amend
ment, saying that many retail merchants
in Washington were interested in the
Retail Merchants Association and not
in the rest of the activities of the parent
body. He said that he thought 1t unfair
to the association to compel these men
to join the chamber in order to become
members of the association.
George Y. Worthngton took the oppo-
site view Of the matter. He declared
that the retailers lost sight of the real
object of the Chamber of Commerce.
which is to benefit all the residents OF
Washington and not any one particular
class of business men. He suggested that
if the retailers desired to form an asSo-
citation all their own they form it outside
the Chamber of Commerce, and thus have
two distinct organizations.
Argument of Mr.. Leese.
NJ. A. Leese, on the other hand, took
the stand that the Retail Merchants AS
sociation should remain a part Of the
Chamber of Commerce, and that the
chamber should grant the association the
right to take in members who had not
joined the chamber.
The International Association Of Police
Chiefs, which meets in Toronto next
week. will be invited to hold its next
convention in Washington. Maj. Richard
Sylvester, superintendent of the metro
politan police, will extend the invitation
in the name of the Chamber of Com
meTce. The board suggested that the
chamber should give the police chiefs a
trip down the river, an automobile ride
and other entertainments while they are
in this city.