El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-01-27
COMMERCE CHAMBER GETSBIG
RESULTSFROM YEARS EFFORTS
Assisted By Military Encampment e. Paso Made House
hold Word in North and East; Entertans Conventions
That Leave Great Profit; Proposes to 60 After
Manufacturers and Settlers in Earnest
ny GEORGE II. CLEMENTS
ecTrtary. II PaSO Chamber of Com m'


~HE twelve months just closed
have been the busiest twelve
i months ever experienced by the
Il Paso chamber of commerce and no
twelve months II The past history of
the organization mas been so produc-
tive OF big results.
The year 1916 was tie most pros
porous year ever experienced by the
city OF FL Paso. judged from every an
'gle-from clearing house reports. re-
ports of the postOffce. from reports
made by the building commissioner of
the city and from the newspaper ac-
counts OF the big happenings which
brought the city into the limelisht and
added 10 its prestige and wealth.
Widely and FavorabIy Advertised.
Not in her history has Il Paso been
so widely and 50 favOr2bly advertised.
as she has been during tile year end
ing Dec 81. 1916. This city has been
very much in the iimelignT since the
setting in Of the revolutionary era in
Mexico now nearly SIX Years ago and
has figured largely In the headlines OF
the newspapers throughout the civil
lied world During 1916. however.
while the matter published under FL
Paso date lines dealt largely with The
Mexican situation, ID did not picture
the city as the hotbed Of intrigue and
did in the past
Did Little Harm
The attack upon Columbus. by armed
MeXic2ns. gave the city temporary
setback and caused "a violent disloca-
ton of lhe plans OF the publicity COM
mittee o. the chamber OF commerce.
but the setback was only temporary
Within a few months after general
PershinEs punitive expedition crossed
the international line. thousands OF
militiamen. from the eastern and north
ern states Of the American uniOE. be
Hsh themselves III camp on its out
skirts
Correspondents Helped.
The various organizations 10 which
these militiamen belonged We're. as a
rule. accompanied by CORES ondenTs !
of the leading newspapers OF the states +
from whence they came and. after the /
first furry Of excitement was over. the !
newspapers represented by these cor /
respondents began 10 carry stories Gov I
ering every phase of life IN the city :
and in lis environS-
The officers and men OF these militia /
organiza tions added TO the great vol I
ume Of publicity by means OF their (
letters to the folks al home. Thou /
sands of these letters were published !
and thus was the volume and charac-
ter OF a publicity given 10 the city !
greatly enhanced
u
many officers and many enlisted men .
visited the chamber of commerce and {
we're furnished with tens OF thousands /
Of booklets and folders. filled with /
matter descriptive OF The city and the /
surrounding country and with Stats Z
tics covering the city's resources. Z
which were sent TO friends in the east e
and widely read
Conventions Played n Part.
Early in the year two conventions .
held in Fl pasO did much TO spread the Z
city's fame throughout the state Of I
Texas one Of these was the annual !
gathering of the Associated Adclubs Of I
the state and the other the cOnven- !
ton Of the Texas Press association. /
Both were well attended, the attend I
ance Of the Texas Press association be- /
ing the largest in the history Of that
organization
hold in this city in October the an /
nual convention OF the International ]
Irrigation congress and the Interna-
tiOnal Farm congress and in cOnjunc-
ton with the latter. the International
Soil Products exposition
Adverse Publicity COunteraeted.
Each Of those organizations estab-
Eshed offices in the chamber of com
merce shortly after II was decided 70
hold the events in this city and each i
Immediately began publicity campaigns
which did much to counterfeit the ad-
verse publicity caused by the Mexican D
raid upon the border at Columbus. Z
y n
As the time for holding the conven-
tions and the exposition approached.
nationwide publicity campaign were
organized which resulted in the pub
lication of thousands of columns of
matter regarding FL Paso's resources
in the papers and magazines. not only !
Of the United States but Of Canada /
and Mexico and even as far away as /
the Argentine Republic. in South