The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1917-06-02
WHAT IS THE MATTERe
4 NV Plain Statements Concerning
<hc STATUS Of The chamber OF Com.
Ed,tor Daily Item.


In q, capital article few days since
y& said that II was sometimes whole
s9!hs to tell the unvarnished truth,
efa though II might hurt local pride.
Ipn proceeded then to tell how an
uHdertaking was not howllng sue
o. and ! felt as a read your report
tl1t you had handled the matter ex-
A&ly right, and that you had done the
cw{ much more good than you would
heSe. had you w ltten what is COM
utAniy known as boosting article.
td)ling how fine everything was-when
~ wasn't.
~ Here goes for another piece of truth.
Ie Chamber OF Commerce is mighty
MAR the point OF dissolution.
1The whole subscription list OF the
Chamber totals s2.O2s.OO for the year.
S6me OF this is subscribed with the
understanding that II be taken out In
tyede; some OF every subscription list
ia auncoilectable. 80 the real. footing
s4ould be not more than $1,000 or
500. The bare necessities of the
Chamber. salaries. rent. and postage
comes to $500 n month. Anyone can
make the rest Of the calculation
There is not an extravagant item In
the makeup of these expenditures: In
tact ht 10 a marvel that the chamber.
doing the work II does. can be conduct
ed on the economical basis maintain
ed.
A few days since the president pub
hsbed a splendid open letter to the
business men of Sumter making a
forceful appeal In behalf Of the cham
ber. This letter was mailed to scores
OF non-subscribers. There has been
two responses. a $40 membership from
Sunterman and s25 contribution
from.a nonresident who has for sew
erals years. maintained his affiliation
with, the Sumter Chamber of Com
merce For the rest of the appeals
the ground was barren.
Perhaps, Mr. Editor. the Chamber
h so poorly supported because II does
not deserve better support. Perhaps
the plan on which the Chamber Is
run sis altogether wrong. or perhaps
those In charge are altogether incom-
petent. III others can do better I am
sure the whole directorate will be will.
ling TO let others take hold, and more
over will cheerfully cooperate. III
tho system OF work In wrong, the di-
rectors Will, be obliged for all sug-
gestions looking toward betterment. |
The meetings are held each second
and fourth Tuesday afternoon and are
public; the membership and the citi-
xenry'at large have frequently been
urged to attend.
Is there any need for the Chamber
OF Commerce? Perhaps the reason
for the poor support 1t gets Is that
there Is no real reason why II should
exist. do not know. We who are
giving our time to the Chamber and
sec what passes through our chan
nels think there Is a demand and a
necessity for IT, but perhaps we arc
blinded by our zeal. know only that
vast deal OF matter OF every nature
passes through the machinery OF the
Chamber. Before the Atlanta meeting
was called to set on foot for the whole
South the movement that IL known
an the food growing movement; be-
fore the South Carolina State commit
tee OF civic preparedness had been
appointed. the Sumter Chamber of
Commerce had already gathered to-
eether the mon of. this county and
Sumter county was already organized
ard et work. The officials, clerical
force and equipment of the Chamber
" now being used to build up the
chapter of the Red Cross. an organ
izafion that the public is Just learning.
All OF the work OF the committee
OF safety passes through the channels
OF the Chamber Of Commerce. The
Chamber this week has handled the
clerical end OF the work of putting the
local sale OF Liberty bonds before the
public. II Sunday school convention
was TO come to town. IL a wood man.
ufactper In Utica New York. wants
10 know what variety OF gum grows
In our swamps. II the little girls OF
the country canning clubs are to lie
entertained In the city. or II II In deem.
ed advisable to try for a new railroad,
tho services Of the Chamber of Com.
merte arc sought. and they have ner,
~t yet been sought In vain.
just what are tho actiities and ser.