The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1914-09-05
CITY AND COUNTRY.

Mutual Benefits of Cooperation DEM
onstrated-New Orleans Helps
Herself by Aiding the South Lou
isiana Fair Association.
The New Orleans Daily States of
Aug. 20 published the following letter
from R. S. Vickers, secretary-man-
ager Of the South Louisiana Fair
Association, and commented on the
communication in c leading editorial
entitled CITY and Country" which
iS reproduced below The Chief cor
daily approves and shares the de-
sire and purpose OF Mr.. Vickers and
the Daily States to promote the un-
stinted measure CT good feeling and
cooperation between New Orleans
and the country parishes which is
essential to their common welfare
and prosperity, AS to city and coun-
try, what helps one helps both, as
the newspaper says, and by the same
token what is hurtfIl to one can
not fail to be in some degree harm
full to the other.
Donaldsonyilie, La, Aug. "a, 1914.
Col. Robt. Ewing, New Orleans, La:
Dear Sir:-Permit me in the name
of our association to thank you for
your cooperation and the very val
liable aid you extended our COM
mittee when we appeared before
Mayor Behrman the past Thursday in
the interest of the South Louisiana
Fair Association.
However, l trust you will not
take it amiss if l call attention to
the fact that it was not contribu-
tion from the city of New Orleans
which was solicited by US as reported
in the States, but an appropriation
that would qualify the parish of Or
leans to become a member of our
fair association in the same sense
that Jefferson, Ascension, Iberville,
Assumption, st. James, st. Charles
and st. John are members by virtue
Of appropriations made by the police
iuries Of said parishes.
Our proposition to New Orleans
was presented with the same conf
dence with which we approached the
other parishes, that its acceptance
would result in the mutual benefit
Of all concerned.
Both the direct and indirect results
Of our first fair last year have been
almost incalculable. With only four
parishes in the association at that
time, the immediate results can be
seen on all sides in the greater di-
versification practised by our plant
ers, in the greatly improved grade
of all classes Of live stock, and the
increased productivity OF our lands.
Indirectly the benefits flowing from
the movement have been no less
pronounced or important.
A splendid spirit of cooperation
between the people of these neigh
boring parishes has been engendered
and fostered, Towering in such i'm
by our planters and business men of
the South Louisiana Immigration As
sociation which has for its purpose
the subdivision Of the large planta-
tions into small farms and their sale
to desirable small farmers OF this and
other sections.
The fact that the progressive
mayor of New Orleans grasped at
once the advantages that would ac-
crue to his city by joining the South
Louisiana Fair Association, argues a i
new era of cooperation between the
country and the city. Cooperation
has been preached by New Orleans
for many years, but it has always ap-
peared to the man from the country
that it was rather a one-sided bar
gain with the lions share of the
benefits going to the city. However,
%l,s
part of New Orleans Of her desire
to be a real factor in the develop
ment of the country section is more
significant and will have more far
reaching results than at first ap-
pears.
Your friendly criticism that the an
cards of our fair in |
which we were inviting you to join |
had been printed in Cincinnati when
there were New Orleans firms adver-
tising in the Daily States which |
could do the work as well and as |
cheaply, will serve to illustrate my |
point.
Admitting that there be such a |
firm in New Orleans, it proves there
is something radically wrong in the
relations existing between the metrop- |
oils and the country section when |
neither we knew such firm existed, |
nor did this firm know that large |
fair association had been formed
more than year ago only sixty-five
miles from New Orleans, or if it did
know such fact, it is even more
strange that it did not go after our
business. Both last year and this
year we have been showered with |
letters and samples from Autograph
ers, printers, ct cetera, from Gin
cinnati, st. Louis, Chicago and various
other points in the north, firms of |
whose very names we were ignorant, |
all anxious to get our business.
What is true of the above I doubt |
not is true of many other lines, and
I feel sure that New Orleans partici- |
patton in our fair and the exhibit Of
her manufactures and products at
this annual event will do more to-
ward removing the mutual ignorance
and distrust existing between the
city and the country. and go further
toward creating a real bond of busi-
ness sympathy and friendship than
all the booster trips and industrial
expositions of a lifetime.
Yours very truly,
r. S. VICKERs,
Secretary Manager.
City and Country.
Elsewhere We print a letter from
Mr.. r. S. Vickers, secretary Of the
Co1,tl To,7iciono Fair 4 AScoaiati0n at |