Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1917-03-07
man once got home his easy chair
and slippers proved better induce
ment than our booster meeting but
Mn found that they WOULD nnnna IL

HSAAJ IAuA Jul UOOoIOL AlCCIlU6 III
we found that they would come di
rect from their desks at 6 o'clocl
seldom later. Before the real nois
of the evening commenced we al
ways had q few booster talks as t,
why everyone should Join the club
Each member was privileged to brinl
guest so we never lacked for mat
erial to work on, Every member O
,h's kind got big results--not only dit
the members feel as though they wer'
a part and parcel of live organiza
ton but the new memberships cam,
In at a rapid rate. We had minstre
shows, burlesque meeting of the cit!
council, entertainments where the fel
lows all dressed as girls and so on
All Of the gags were of a local nature
and it got so the Commercial clul
rooms were not large enough whenev
er one Of the entertainment commit
tee night swas pulled off. We hat
about forty or fifty young business
mem on the entertainment COMMITTEES
Ia fast as one or two dropped out {
couple of new ones would be put in
We proved effectively that the vau
deville or show stuff was what got thu
crowds but some of the directors
decided that club was getting a tri
file too frivolous and insisted on hav
ing serious program. Consequently
they sent to Davenport and Chicago
an invited couple of high class fl
nanicial men to elucidate on the cur
rency bill which was very much IL
the limelight few years ago. The
meeting was we'll advertised and
everyone was urged to turn out and
learn all about our monetary system
If / remember correctly something
like nineteen people responded, in.
Guiding the janitor of the building and
the elevator boy. After that, the en-.
tertainment committe had no compe.
'tition.
TnA success OF the Cedar Rapids
Commercial club has been due In 9
large measure to the fact that prac.
tically every member of the club has
been put on committe of some kind
AS former Secretary Wunderlich of.
ten said: I'VE have 800 men on our
membership list who pay $50 year
for the privilege of neglecting their
own business.
realize of course, there is vast
difference between cities such as Ce.
dar Rapids and Manchester so far as
population, ETC., Is concerned but in
general way the same things car
be accomplished. You have natural
advantages here that hundreds OF
other cities have not-and right here
here / am going to be bit critical
and scold you a little for not knowing
your own town better. asked q
dozen different basines men here to.
day what the population of Manches.
ter was now and get. dozen diff.
ferent answers; none of them correct
Let me tell you little about how
Manchester has been taking on new
lifa far R.--sras
being about TsBat DecauEe Trey can.t
from the last state census report
In 1910 Manchester had a population
OF. 2,75S. Between 1905 and 1911
there was decrease of 220 or 7.3 pei
cent. That was when Joe Strickland
and Henry Goodhile were shipping
'em out to Nebraska and South Oak
ota. Then Cloud appeared on thu
horizon and began pulling 'em II
from Indiana and Illinois. The pop
ulation here in 1915-the time Of thu
last state census was 3,102, an increase
between 1910 and 1915 of 344 or 81
per cent. That may not seem to bt
anything to brag about but Indepen
dence for instance for the same periOt
increased only 166 or A. per cent ant
I understand they always include IL
their census figures the inhabitants o
the state institution for which YOU
sister town laws its chief claim tt
fame since the erstwhile kite tract
has been converted into cornffeld
Many towns larger than Manchestel
showed much less Of an increase. Grin
nell, with population of 5,061 showed
an increase of but 25. If lived there
with the opportunity the census take
has with that big college, I'd start
movement to hire an enumerator wit
wouldn't be SO blamed honest. By th
way there are only 35 towns in low;
with population of from $500 t.
1000.
Between 1910 and 1915 Cedar Rap
ids gained In population 1856 or 3D.
cent. Dubuque increased but $50
or S.6 per cent; Davenport only r.
per cent. Dubuque increased but $50
cent. Burlington only showed an in
crease of 63 inhabitants from 1910 t
1915 which leads me to believe tina
the birth control propagandists mus
have been spreading their gospel ther
before starting the present agitation
alcng the line. Muscatine decrease
s93 and so on. / simply cite thes
figures because they are significan
so far as Cedar Rapids Is concerned
During the five year period when ou
population Increased at the rate of ov
er 1900 a year was the time Of tn
i1iveliest activity OF our Commercial
club. We got the town talked abou
and every time Cedar Rapids enter
tanned convention the delegates wen
away shouting our praises. Conse
quently we got results. Travelin
men began to have their headquarter
changed and the demand for goo
houses was no where equal to tn
supply. It was community boostin
backed up by the goods that mad
everybody speak OF Cedar Rapids a
mighty good town. We started
Courtesy movement-got the manae
ers of the big stores to preach tn
value of being courteous to the Gus
TONERS. sermons on courtesy wer
preached from all pulpits, the news
papers urged everyone to be careful
in directing strangers who asked IN
formation on the street, the street ca
conductors caught the spirit and be
fore long every one in town even tn
newsboys were doing the Alphonse
CASTOR stunt.
| There is no copyright or paten
| on any of these things and the ex
pertinent is worth trying here in Man
| ohoa&ar Whiln the town has haa