The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1913-02-20
EDUCATING THE TOWN OFF.
GALS.
BY Frank Parker stockbridge.

Copyright, 1912, by Town Develop
ment Company.)
How much do the public officials Of
your town know about your town?
don't mean to insinuate that they
dent know about a lot of things that
Gene within the lines of what are
usually termed official duties, but arc
they Give wires?" Are they in touch
with every corner of your town and
with all theSpeople and the, interests
of your town?
Especially Sare they familiar with
the Industrial Cgaditions in your town,
and the. needs: Of the manufacturers
and merchants?
Lots Of perfectly good and well.
meaning aldermen and mayors and
commissioners never really learn what
their town needs. And sometimes the
organized business men of a town
take, their city officials in hand and
give them sort OF a university extern
sion course that make them over so
much better city officials and benefits
business and industry tremendously.
Take the Chicago Association OF
Commerce, for instance. Here's the
biggest city in the United States, OK.
cept New York, practically being run
by its original business men. AS some
one said while ago, the Association
OF Commerce has taken out guardian
ship papers for the city. And one Of
the ways they have made their influ-
ence felt is by taking the city officials
in hand and educating them.
The question Of vocational educa'
ton, for instance, is a live on in Chi.
cago. The manufacturers and bust.
ness men know, better than anyone
else, what It means for town to be
turning out lot OF clerks from its
public schools and compelling the i'm.
portation of skilled labor from dis
lance. They felt that the schools Of
Chicago were spelling a lot of good
mechanics to make them into a lot. Of
poor clerks. So they went to the
Board of Education with their proDos-
al based OIL Investigations which the
association he'd spent two years OF
time and thousands of dollars in max
ing, and the Board and the Association
are now working out together a plan
of vocational education that is going
to give Chicago a steady supply of eX-
rert workers, who will earn high
wages in its mills and factories.
They needed other things, these Chi
cago business men, which the city
ought TO provide for tile encourage;
ment of industries. They needed ordi.
nances permitting railroad tracks to
run to new Industrial districts, they
needed better police and fire protec,'
ton in growing sections where their
factories were located-in a city the
size of Chicago there is never an end
TO the things the city needs to do to
protect it's industries. So instead Of
waiting until the emergency arose in
each case, the Association of Com.
merce adopted the policy Of keeping
the board of aldermen and the city of.
fjcials constantly educated.
Several times q year the Associa'
ton of Commerce committee on indus
tries runs a special industrial excur;
sion through the manufacturing sec.
tIon Of Chicago with ths city officials
as its guests, "A whole dry is spent
on each Of these excursions. The con;
Idttiels of ion visited and 4 its
needs are explained Then when the
ISestion 81 Ptoyiding Tor these needs.
Icelne hp officially 4 oilcisis know