Daily Kennebec journal., 1914-01-27

The annual meeting of the Gardiner
Board of Trade was held Monday eve
ming at 7.30 o'clock at the City build
ing, President E. w. Ellis presiding.
After the readings of the records of
the last meeting, President Ellis read
his annual address.
Annual Report of President E. w.
Ellis.
To the officers and Members of the
Board of Trade
| feel that while we have not ac-
complished all we would like. that the
past year can be called very success
full. The year started most auspi-
ciously with the biggest banquet which
we ever held, and which you will recall
was held In the splendid new addition
to our biggest industry, the R. P. Haz-
zard factory.
Your president and the officers felt
that the board was not getting a SUI
ficient revenue out of the food privi-
leges in our two factories. Through
their efforts and the cooperation or
the management of the two factories,
we have been able to increase the
rentals Of these two privileges from
1920 to sI154.40 annually. This is the
first annual revenue of any consider
able amount which the board has
ever been able to secure, apart from
the annual dues and. as you will see,
gives us a revenue of approximately
800 a month.
1t is needless, perhaps, to suggest,
but l cannot help pointing with feel
ing of pride to the fact that the new
addition to the Hazard factory,
which was in process of completion
year ago. has fulfilled every expecta-
ton The factory has been run, and
is running, | understand. approx
mately to its capacity. 1t shows that
Mr.. Hazards belief in his ability to
employ additional space was amply
justified.
Your executive committee, learning
that there was a possibility of doing
in Gardiner, the work which the
Commonwealth people had done in
Skowhegan, appointed a committee
which took up the matter with Mr..
Reed. After sundry negotiations, the
Commonwealth Shoe & Leather Co
agreed to furnish the money to build
a store house, taking the unendorsed,
unsecured note of the Board of Trade
for the amount of the cost, the note to
be without interest and to be payable
in annual payments equivalent to the
amount the Board of Trade received
er Co. privilege. The building has
I. 1E "a
given and the contract for the privi
lege let to Captain Bird for s554.40
year. So that in eight years the
building will be paid for without call
ing on the board or citizens for any
assessment. Mr.. Reed has assured us
that just as soon as the machines can
be installed without unduly interfer-
ing with their other business, they
will manufacture about 40 dozen ad-
ditional pairs daily which will mean
the employment of approximately $50
additional hands. The machines will
be installed and the new hands en-
ployed in the space formerly used for
storehouse. The board feels that
this is an achievement of which we
should be proud
The only regrettable feature about
this increase of hands which We ex-
pect, is the present inability of the
city to furnish homes for them. This
topic has been discussed before and l
don't know that I have any remedy to
offer, I believe what we need today,
however, more than any other one
thing, is new tenements which can be
rented at a moderate price. If we could
find homes for all of the people en-
ployed in our factories and keep them
here, it would add very materially to
the city's prosperity. Gardiner has
never been backward yet in support
ing what was essential for the city's
welfare and / would suggest that this
is a matter which should receive our
most serious consideration the coming
year. Houses are built in other cities
and towns and rented on terms which
profitable for the owners. I cannot
see any reason why the same should
not be true of Gardiner.
l want again to urge the important
matter of increase of membership. /
called attention to this in recent let
ter and we have secured a few addi-
tional members, but it seems difficult
to get the membership much over 100;
the present membership being ap-
proximately 125. Our secretary, Mr.
Boston, has, with his usual prompt
ness and energy, collected all of the
dues without expense to the board,
saving us from s25 to $40, which we
have paid in previous years. He has
III