The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-02-13

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 With a rousing speech from Crawford Johnson. the new president. and com plete review of the 1914 work of the or ganization, as given by the reports of committee chairmen, the annual meeting of the Chamber of Commerce was held last night in the auditorium.
 Pleading for cooperation, elimination of factions, utilization of different civic organizations and more members, Presi- dent Johnson made one of the best speeches heard in Birmingham in some time In his swan song" as retiring President P. G. Shook termed his fare well talk, MT. Shook stated that the year he had spent as president of the organ zation would always be remembered by him as one of the most pleasant and prof. itabe years in his life
 The committee reports showed a stu pendous amount of work undertaken dur ing the past P months. Some of these reports are given in part in this issue of The Age-Herald and can speak for themselves.
 Singing by Arion Club
 A highly appreciated feature of the meeting last night was the singing of the Arion club chorus. composed of 40 male voices. The singers were enthusi- astically applauded and were compelled to sing encores.
 Reports were made by the following committees Taxation, H. U. Sims, chair man; wholesale trade. Murray Brown, chairman: railroads and transportation, R. A. Porter. chairman; public library, J. W. Donnelly, chairman: membership, J. D. Rosenberger, chairman; farm move- ment William P. Redd, chairman: en- tertainment, F. B. Fowkes. chairman conventions, Henry Hiden. chairman, read by H. r. Latimer; foreign trade, Paul Ivey, chairman; acquaintance Alvin M. Douglass, chairman; advertising John Sparrow. chairman; auditorium 1T. K. NIilner, chairman. read by Secretary Rad c,iffe; board of trade division, R. W. Ewing. chairman.
 At the conclusion of the committee re- ports MT. Johnson the new president, was formally escorted to the chair. The retiring president grasped the hand of the incoming executive, who stepped up on the platform as MT. Shook stepped down and the chamber had new pres ident After the address of the presi- dent resolution on the administration of President Shook was introduced and unanimously adopted, whereupon the members were apprised of the fact that sandwiches and coffee were waiting for them at the rear of the room and the meeting broke up.
 President JOhnsOn's Address
 President Johnson's address in full was as follows:
 ''The honor you have bestowed upon me in electng me president of this or ganizaton is one of which any man may justly be proud. I thank you sincerely for it and for the confidence which prompted you in your selection. I hope by my efforts and energy to convince you most thoroughly of my appreciation. However, in this connection, I wish to caution you, as doubtless some of my predecessors have done, that success in this position requires not only the time. thought and work of your president but also the counsel, advice and cooperation of every member and officer of the or ganization, and these aids I most earn estly seek.
 q feel sure that at this time few re- marks regarding my predecessor, MT. Shook will be entirely in order I am following him with fear and trembling. During large part of his term of office the whole country has been in the throes of great financial depression, and in spite of the most adverse conditions he has given us an administration that is eminently satisfactory and successful. One would wish for himself nothing bet ter than to leave the office with the same degree of kindly feeling, appreciation and admiration on the part of the members that know they entertain for MT. Shook.
 'sIt is customary, I believe, for the president to name the standing and spe- cial committees, subject to the Confirma- tion of the directors. The work of these committees is so important that the care of their selection cannot be emphasized too strongly. I wish the assistance and advice of the other officers in this mat ter. and, therefore, will name no commit tees tonight, but will ask that the present committees continue until new ones are announced.
 Should Have More Members
 Our membership is neither as large nor as enthusiastic as it should be In city like this, noted for it's area and enthusiasm. Some idea can be secured of the lack of size of the membership from the statement that the membership of any one of the many large churches of Birmingham is greater than the mem- bership of this institution. do not advo- cate whirl-wind campaign for mem- bers, but a quiet, steady effort on the part of each present member to secure new members from his friends and to bring back to membership f1me of his friends who have withdrawn Many man would join this organization if he felt that it was his duty to do so. and the lest person to make man realize his duty Is his close friend. For various reasons some of our best citizens have
 (COntinuod on Pare Ten.l