The Cordele dispatch. (Cordele, Ga.) 19??-1971, 1916-06-14
.CORDELE Needs
COMMERCIAL CLUB
MAYOR j. GORDON JONES WRITES
INTERESTING NOTE ON AN I'M
PORTANT SUBJECT.

| The city OF COrdGlG needs real,
live, active Commercial Club, compos-
ed of it's real, live, and active bankers,
merchants, manufacturers and profess
sional men. A city with many advan-
tages to do business, and Cordele has
many, without a commercial club, is
like a departmentaliZed business with
no general head. The mayor and city
council are merely department heads
and may make the different depart
ments of the city successful to GER
tain degree, but the general success
will fall far short of it's possibilities.
A commercial club can do anything
within reason it sets out to do. There
is almost no limit to what such club
can accomplish. 1t can achieve the
seemingly impossible if it sets high
mark a commercial club will make
any town d better place to live. It's
work is to uplift work. 1t moves for
personal and civic betteTment. 1t is
the business of the commercial club
to keep its hand on the public purse,
keeping informed as to what the peo-
pie need and help them to get it. This
does not mean catering to passing
popular fancies, but ministering to the
deeper and more significant re-
quirements of life.
| 1t is one of the important functions
of the commercial club to promote in
telligence and develop higher ideals
among the citizens A commercial club
which devotes its entire energies to
producing direct dollars and cents re-
turns for it's members may for a time
make business better in the stores, but
| it will not prove the permanent gain
| it should and it will not elevate the
standard of the city. To promote a
lecture or chautauqua course in the
city, or to establish library, may
seem an activity outside of the appro-
PIRATE work Of commercial club; but
just this kind of work will accomplish
more for the general betterment of the
city than q dozen of purely dollars and
cents methods, but it is worth while
for ali of us to get away from money
idea now and then.
Mix a little. 1t will pay to adopt
as motto that of Trenton, Missouri:
Get acquainted with your neighbor,
you might like him" The industries
that support the city ought to receive
consideration from the commercial
club. If thcre is any appreciate To-
cal production of goods of general
utility, it is often desirable to boost
these home products. A Made in Cor
dele" week, when home products are
put on sale by the merchants will be
found to be profitable. --,-i.
The work of the mayor and city coun
Gil of the city is properly part of
the care Of the commercial club
Where special legislation is wanted
for any local purpose, the club can
promote it much better than individ-
ttiiSb cliu WITCH IlIC illlluCllCC VI lilC
business men is wanted 10 help secure
proper legislation or to defeat any
measure, a communication from the
commercial club, representing the en-
tire business Interest," OF the city will
have a great deal more weight than
the separate individual communica-
hat l,,0 IN
"In union there is strength" and
particularly where political interests
are involved. N the matter of secur-
ing better service from public utili-
ties or public service companies, the
commercial club is usually most effec-
tive. In dividuals can do very lit
tie with a lighting company, a railroad
or water supply company. One man
is usually almost helpless to secure
better service but when a united body
Of BUSINESS men start out to secure it,
something is likely to result. NUM-
cipal authorities arc often slow to i'm
prove service when there is no politi-
Cal advantage Ill UOlHS SO. III the
matter of lighting the city, the COM
mercial club often goes in advance of
the authorities
The municipality owned system Of
electric light and power plants which
is growing in favor, is usually INSTALL
ed as the result of q business mems ag-
itation. There. is no better policing
system for a city than bright streets.
Where the streets are light crime and
immoraliy will not thrive There is
no better advertisement for city in
the minds Of the transient public than
streets cOnspiciously bright 1t is the
common idea that it is the business
streets that need to be light and that
he back streets may be dark without
any loss so long as one can see to
grope his way through them without
running into the telephone poles.
Money spent for lights is money well
and probably spent. whether in the
individual store or throughout the
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