Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-05-19
FORMING PLANS
FOR COMMUNITY
BODY FOR CITY
Committee of Five VIII Arrange for
Meeting of Delegates From
Local Organizations.
ALBERT SPEAKS AT TEMPLE
National Council Worker Urges
Working Together Of All
Civil Associations.

Fl II. Cleavelend, president of
the Chamber of Commerce, today
gave consideration to the selection
of committee of five which Will
make arrangements for meeting OF
delegates from civic organizations to
establish a community council in
Rock Island.
Decision to proceed with a COM
1nunity council here was reached at
the public meeting held at the
Masonic temple Saturday night at
which time Allen d. Albert, national
community council worker, made
an address in which he pointed out
that the necessity of such an asso-
citation as a permanent body was in
dictated through the manner In
which all organizations co-operated
| through the war.
Mr.. Cleavelend was authorized TO
name committee OF five to be COM
posed of two women and three men
as a committee on arrangements.
This committee will meet and plan
for the session to be held in which
q community council for the city
will be organized.
Mr.. AIbert's Speech.
Mr.. Albert proved to be a most
convincing orator. He said in part:
1.-THE towns of Illinois learned
more of cooperation during the
great war than in all their life be-
fore.
1'This was true Of all the towns Of
the nation. But it was conspicuous
- - -, L.
1.-THE council of national defense,
looking on at this gain and seeing
It register itself in every American
cause while the war lasted, has sent
out call to the people of American
towns that they keep this gain as
one of the finer things of the war.
sOur state council of defense
ceased its labors shortly after the
armistice was signed. Soon after
that the representatives of the
woman's committee of the state
council, many men who had acted
as county executive chairmen under
the state council, and representative
citizens of both sexes, met in Chi
cago for a two day conference.
1.-THE outcome of that conference
was a decision that Illinois should
organize community councils The
woman's committee offered to bear
the expense of explaining the cause,
the printing of outlines, the cor
dependence with leading men and
women in each town, ard the fur
nishing of speakers, out of its funds
through the period of bringing
councils into existence, that is to
say for about four months.
1.-THE object is a council of the
community. We cannot have thou
sands of citizens councilling togeth-
er insopen meeting. We should never
get anything done. So we do the
next best thing. We try to get the
representatives of all their organi-
cations to meet and council togeth-
er for the good of the town.
'"They vote, of course, an organi
cation. They can be represented by
one delegate, or three, or five. They
carry back to their membership the
decisions of the council The mem
bership then decides on its own
hook, whether it will support this
particular object or not.
Nobody is bound by the vote of
its delegates. Though, of course, we
all know any cause which can OBJ
tain the practically unanimous sup
port of a delegate group so repre-
sentative is more than likely to OBJ
tain the support of the institutions
that named the delegates.
Object of Council.
NOW for the second question:
"'What does such a body do?
What good is it? What it's its prac-
teal value?'
''The best answer is this:
at gives the people the machin-
cry for getting together behind
good causes, without regard to po-
nticaI party, or religion. or social
position, or any other of the cleaV-