The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-01-29
RADICAL CHANGES . IN CIVIC CHAMBER
 PLANNED FOR 1915 .s
Prentiss Here to Study Con- ditions and Make Criti- cisms-TOO Many Civic
 Organizations, He Says

Some radical changes are to be made in the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce during 1915, according to a statement made yesterday by Mark O. Prentiss of the United States Chamber of Commerce. a civic organization expert who has been spending the past four weeks in Birming- . ham studying the work of the local cham Der with an eye to criticism and improve ment.
 The biggest trouble here is lost eff ciency through your several civic organi- zations," he said yesterday, land the sec ond biggest trouble is the tendency of the Chamber of Commerce to be controlled by 6 small coterie of men.
 There is not enough personal touch between the organization, the office force, and the members. That is going to be corrected this year, l am informed, by Mr. Johnson, your new president. There will be formulated a mail referendum plan by which blanks will be furnished every member of the chamber and so ar ranged that his opinion will be asked by mail if not in person through a vote on every single matter of importance that comes before the organization.
 
 a plan by which some member of the of- ficial family of the chamber will call upon every member not less than once a month and talk things over with him, make him feel that he is a part of the organza- tion and his ideas and active work is wanted and needed.
 Close Touch With Members
 "The new president, I am informed, also will install an assistant secretary at the Tutwiler hotel to inform all strangers who enter the city about interesting places to see and investigate.
 '"The most striking thing about your town which has appealed to me, after be- ing here four weeks. is your residential districts. It is a genuine surprise. 1 was amazed. A man who is more or less well informed comes to Birmingham with the expectation of finding an industrial mir acle, and that's what he does find, but 1 at least ana I imagine the majority of others do not come here prepared to see the homes and the home conditions you have in Birmingham. Industrially of course, this city is the wonder of the world. l am uaable to speak of it's nat ural resources from my own knowledge, but if what I hear and read is true, it's future is perhaps beyond even imagina- ton.
 In discussing the plans of your new president for the year, however, he tells me that he has determined to make the feature of his administration an effort to consolidate all of the civic bodies in this city. That's what you need and what you must have before your true civic mission can be fulfilled. I have never been in a city of any size in any place where there is the spirit of devotion to the public veal, the civic pride, that there is among the business men of Birmingham.
 Losing Efficiency
 "But with that asset on one hand, you are losing on the other hand probably 75 per cent of the efficiency you should, get because of your duplicate organizations. Such conditions are not found in other really progressive towns or in other new towns. There is no excuse for it here. It's injurious results are manifold. It arouses jealousies, and its duplication of effort that otherwise could forge ahead in some other line is a civic sin You should have no Board of Trade, no Busi- ness Mems league. no Hotel Mems asso- citation, no Travelling Mems association, and so on; they should all unite and be one organization, although, of course, all may maintain separate branch for the use of men of a particular business or trade and so forth.
 If you had had one such organization in this city with the city commissioners ex-offcio members of the board of di- rectors. the office. I mean, so that vho- ever holds it would be member of the chamber board of directors, Birmingham never would have been in it's present financial trouble. Your city government and your citizens then would have worked together and prevented years ago what they are now trying to cure