Evening journal., 1913-06-28
WILMINGTON ALIVE.

from The Dover Index.
We take off our hat to the men that
can do things. The most extrava-
CANT adjectives used in the superla-
tive degree will hardly do justice to
the Wilmington Chamber of Com
merce dinner on Monday evening.
The question has been asked occa-
sionally by those not in touch with
the progressive life of today: "Of
what use is a Board of Trade or a
Chamber of Commerce?" If the Will
mington Chamber of Commerce ter
mates its existence today, the fact
that it brough together the Peninsula
Editors will be a sufficient vindioa-
tion of its existence. For ages a peo-
pie will grope along, putting up with
Inconvenience and getting only a
fractional part of the good and use
ful out Of life, until a genius With
a power to conceive and to construct
does something, and then everyone
wonders why this labor saving piece
Of machinery or indispensable con-
venience had not been thought of CEN
turies ago.
The bringing together of the news
paper men of the IA counties COM
prising the Delaware, Maryland and
Virginia Peninsula seems to us, look
ing backward, such a simple PROPOSE
tion that the wonder is that il was
not accomplished years ago. It sim
ply required brain to conceive the
idea that il would be beneficial for
the representative men from these IA
counties to touch elbows and TO be-
come acquainted with each other. The
exchange of civilities is certain TO re-
suit in the exchange of ideas and Of
commodities, if the parties concerned
are efficient and worthy There was
needed not only the brain to conceive
the advantages of the gathering to-
| gether of the representative men, but
also the ability to make the idea a
! reality. The idea might have exist
ed previously in the minds of a num-
her of the men, but it required a con-
| structive genius to make IL an ac-
\ complished fact, and the Chamber of
| Commerce has in it such a genius.
To bring together representatives of
| every newspaper published in these
/ IA counties was no small feat, and
provide them for two days with every
/ thing that appetite and heart could
wish means no small expense and the
! Chamber of Commerce did this and
! paid the bill, asked no questions and
| expressed the desire to do even more.
Previous TO this dinner many of
the down-state and down-peninsula
| newspaper men knew that Whining
/ ton xisted somewhere upon the map.
| that 1t had reputation for manufac-
| lures, industries and beautiful homes
as well as excellent newspapers and
small politicians. but the knowledge
was general when not vague, and
there was nothing about it that Gre
ated that real neighborly feeling
which we believe now exists. On the
other hand, Wilmingtonians, to a
| large degree, we believe looked upon
the inhabitants of the counties as
bing largely a prehistoric people. at
least waddling along in the seven
teenth or eighteenth century. A ter
ritory into which an invasion of q
day could be tolerated, but a contin.
ued residence could not be considered
for a moment.
The dinner has revealed to our cit,
friends a people who are bone o
their bone and sinew of their sinew
A people willing, yea eager, to dc
their part in the worlds activities
and only looking for opportunity and
| encouragement We predict great re-
suits along many lines for the mu-
tual benefit and advancement of the
business interests and civic endeavor
OF our great metropolis, and of their
real neighbors. because in this age OF
rapid travel and instantaneous COM
munication, what is so or $50 miles
The Chamber of Commerce dinner
the entertainment at the Hotel Du-
Pont, the sightseeing trips on Tues
day and everything was attended tc
with the most painstaking care. FIRE.
quently great men are short on de-
tails, but the Chamber of Commerce
like General Grant, saw to the min
utest detail Every wish was anti.
cipated and in a manner that left nc
question as to the sincerity of the
welcome.