The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-01-14
PRAISES BIRMINGHAM SPIRIT Says He Has Never Seen It's
 Equal Elsewhere MAKES SUGGESTIONS Thinks Election of President Every Year Is Bad Idea-Suggests Trans- portation Comuany to Haul Pro-
 duce from Country
MAKES SUGGESTIONS

oiltil1B pUlilteu tTltiClstiis BiNihS Shtiiu-
 siastic praise and making exceedingly in
 teresting recommendations, in a short chat with an Age-Herald reporter yester- day afternoon Mark O. Prentiss, repre-
 sentative of the United States Chamber of Commerce. discussed the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce.
 Mir. Prentiss criticised the plan, or dent each year.
 He highly praised the spirit of work and cooperation which he said was ap- parent in every department, and by every official and member of the local chamber.
 He made remarkable and very inter- esting recommendation when he outlined a plan for the establishment of a mu- nicipal market under the auspices of the chamber, a transportation company to
 haul produce to the city and a grading system of farm products which event. ually, he said, might include In it's scope practically the entire agricultural product of Alabama.
 Your custom of electing a new presi- dent every year is very badly It takes a new man two months to get used 70 the Job, the last two months of his year he does not wish to start anything new in order not to compromise his successor. there are at least two months in the sum- mer when there Is nothing going on thus six months of the year gone and the efficiency of the president cut just in half.
 Unrivaled Spirit of Work
 You have spirit of work and eo-op- eration here, however, l have never seen before. The other day l was in attend ance at meeting when a couple of your offlcials were appointing committees to uo certain work They just called off the names or men and put them down. I was amazed. l asked what they meant They said every man put on the commit- tee would go to work. In other cities. to get q chamber of commerce man on a committee you have to go around to his orice and chloroform him and then when ne comes to he probably will never attend the committee meeting
 The largest movement your chamber however, has ever undertaken probably at least Tn generation, Is the present crop diversification campaign. It means untold things for Birmingham and Ala pama, and 1t is but another expression or that remarkable spirit of cooperation existing Tn this civic organization. I be- heVe IL IS the most remarkable example or unselfsh devotion to the public veal that I have ever seen. Thinl. os if Here are these busy Birmingham business men giving their time and their energy ana thelr money in assisting the farmers or Alabama merely through civic prida and unselhshness!
 Ihis Is work. however, which may last Tor years and years for vour chamber and probably forever. It seems so me It cannot be success without hrst some plan for marketing the al versified crops of the farmer The marketing plan must be worked out iirst, Tor If 1t comes too late liver sification will have failed.
 Municipal Market Plans
 q am told that the plan for 4 mu- iiclpai market here has failed, but mere Is no reason why it should if properly conducted and planned It is successful in other cities and 1t would De here If gone at in the right angle. 1 believe the Chamber of Commerce should acquire a municipal market building and employ market comnis- sioner That commissioner should be a man who is an expert. His duties would te to have general supervision Of the market and every article that went into the market should receive his stamp as first second, or whatever grade it might be. That would guide the pur- chaser and be guarantee of the goods.
 Then there should be organized a l transportation company to be oper- ated with automobile trucks. There would be no need for more than three | or four to start with. Those trucks | should have regular routes through the | q pn ,F of Birmingham and go on regular | schedules. They would secure the pro- duct of the farmer. The next day they | could take back to him the price | brought by his product less tho nom- inal cost of transportation and at the | same time gather up another load.
 That system would expand, soon 1t | would take in territory until finally | the entire state of Alabama would be | sending It's agricultural products to and the stamp of the Chamber of Commerce would go onto everything. Of course stage would be reached where there would be much lurplus over that consumed by this ,ity. Every car that would be shipped to other markets would bear the stamp If the Birmingham chamber as a guar 'rtee of it's grade and quality. Dir- ningham would control and reru1ate Inc price of Alabama-raised products ust as Chicago now controls the price ,f wheat. The scheme has unlimited if allowed to expand along
 atura1 lines"
 MT. Prentiss stated that he emphat- cal1y recommended the reelection of President Paschal GA Shook, although ne did not know MT. Shook personal y and had only met him once. "Witl.- put casting reflections on MT. Shook pr any other man and merely for the .ake of argument" he stated. "lot us assume that Mir. Shocks efficiency was nut one-fifth that of any new man who might be elected and then he would be more efficient president if given a second term than if the other man was elected"