Perth Amboy evening news., 1913-01-14
AT ENTHUSIASTIC GATH
ERINC OF BUSINESS men


years G by Mr.. George F. Reynolds
as It's first president. Mr.. d. p. Ohm
stead was its second president and
have held the office for n year.
We started the calendar year of
1912 free from debt, but to do this
s11O in dues for the new year OF
1912 was collected in advance leav-
ing in the treasury $500 and a list
of membership dues amounting to
about $1,000 of which only one half
had been paid. .
Now you well know, no great
work can be accomplished If you
have to collect the next years dues
to pay the previous years debts.
Rather than to do this again this
year, we decided to cut down expen-
ses and run along in a small way un-
til the beginning of q new year and
as you now have been without a sec
rotary for several months. In he
meantime l got into communication
with Mr.. l.. D. Sampson, president OF
the Town Development Company.
81 wrote him in detail the situa-
ton of our board and the city. He
replied. your people are no
different from those of other COM
munities in which there has never
been a true civic awakening" and
conferred ne to Mr.. Charles McCor-
mick. president of the New Bruins
wick Board of Trade, where they had
conducted a very successful cam
paign last April.
81 will say here that MIR. McCor-
mick speaks very highly Of these PEG
ple and says they did to the letter
.ror,4b;p, tbav oprap6 tO do then
took the matter up with our board
.of directors and had Mr.. Sampson
here who took the matter up with US,
which eliminated eventually In this
campaign now on.
at was Il hope and Intention TO
start this campaign early in the fall
for a bigger and greater Board of
Trade with necessary sinews OF war
10 do bigger and greater things than
Is possible for US to do under present
conditions. We we're unable to OBJ
tain the services of these people at
that time, on account of their Work
for the Merchants Association Of New
York City.
I'm the interval, Mayor Garretson
with his customary alertness to aid
any cause which would further the
lHltItSlS VI Iti III AhlpSJt ahN "a
aware that such a movement was on
foot, started a movement for a re-
organization of the Board OF Trade.
His cooperation was heartily well
coined by the officers and directors
of the Board, and has been of great
assistance to us.
During the short term of Its ex-
istepce. the Board of Trade has es-
A-rt.-lzi nNoo-I 80 nphiah ttrn nrn
by no means ashamed, but we're not
satisfied with the amount of interest
that has been taken in the board by
the city as a whole,
Perth Amboy is said to be n
day older than New York, and is now
q city of $4,000 inhabitants with ma
tural resources for the making OF a
truly great city. We have o~ut-grown
the country town stage and have
reached a point where big things can
be accomplished if gone about In a
big way.
"a few men can get together and
call themselves a Board of Trade and
no doubt a do ~commendable work
along the line of civic betterment,
but for a board of trade to be really
ii should represent the busf-
ness interests of the whole city.
when the Board of Trade makes an
appeal to a public utilities corpora
ton or goes before the Public Util-
titles Commission its influence Is
measured to a large extent by the
size Of the interests which 1t repre-
sents. If we can say that we repre-
SEN a few of the more progressive
and public spirited citizens Of Perth
Amboy, we will receive a respectful
hearing but If W. can t~ruthfully say
that we represent the public opinion
of the whole city. that we voice the