Perth Amboy evening news., 1919-08-20
SUGGESTIONS FORFINANC|NGT THE
ERECTION Of MEMORIAL BUILDING
SUCHAS SOME FAVOR IN TH|SCIT
Interesting Article Published in Current Issue of The American
City, Setting Forth in Detail How Money for Elaborate
Structure May Be Raised Presented By Harrison G. Otis
Of the War Camp Community Service Once Financial Prob
lem is Solved Important Project Could Be Started Here.
Stimulating Building Trades to Large Extent.

Perth Amboy must consider in tn
not distant future is that of som
form of a memorial for the soldiers
The fact that the problem of finan
cling the project is the most serious
to be considered at this time makes
the following article IN THE Finan'
cling of Memorial Buildings by Har
rison G. Otis, published in the Au
gust number of THE American City
Is of particular interest here:
The problem of financing memoir.
Hal community buildings is three
fold. First must come the securing
of funds for the erection of the build
ing; secondly, the providing of prop
er equipment: and, thirdly, some plan
for mean of a maintenance. LocaI
conditions will largely determine the
methods to be employed in each city
or town, but there are certain princi-
pies which will apply very generally.
CONSTRUCTION
Funds for the erection of memoir
ial community buildings may be Sc
cured by any one of three general
methods:
1. Voluntary contributions by popu-
lar subscription
2. Public funds secured by bond is
sue n taxation.
8 A combination Of popular SUBJ
scription and public funds.
Popular Subscription.-A strong
feeling exists in many communities
that funds for memorial buildings
should be raised solely by voluntary
contributions. The arguments pre-
sented are: that such tributes should
be the free-will offering of the people
as expression of gratitude and
thanksgiving to the living and of rev.
erence to the fallen; also, hat by
taxation soldiers and sailors are made
to help pay for their own memorials.
The popular method of securing con-
tributions is by a short campaign
similar to the drives" utilized for
the collecting of war funds. Every
community has had sufficient exper-
fence in the conduct of these drives
to make a detailed outline of cam
paign unnecessary. Inasmuch as the
memorial building movements are To-
cal rather than national, the neces-
sary preliminary publicity will call
for more effort, and those in charge
of the campaign must develop a
strong local program of publicity.
1t is usually advisable to have the
memorial project sufficiently we'll
worked out so that those in charge
OF the campaign may have a definite
mount of money as the goal of the
drive. The details may be postponed
but-it>is much easier to sell con-
crete plans than general ideas. BY
~ Lit0ho iC dCludl uIlNG LOT lullQS
should be thoroughly organized, SO
as to reach every sourc of contri-
button. 1t should be well timed. and
limited to. a short, intensive cam
paign. All possible help in the way
of speakers, exhibits and special pub
licity features should be made use of.
Among the devices employed in such
drives are:
(a) The sale of stock,
able and non-dividend paying. Such
stock should be issued in certificates
of small denomination, and the
amount purchasable by a single bay
err so limited as not to give the con-
troll of the project to a small group
Of people. This danger may be avoid
ed, however, by providing hat al
holders of stock shall have equal
voice in the election of the memoir
ial building trustees, regardless of tn,
amount of stock held by the indivi,
dual.
(b) Subscriptions for bricks at S.
each enter into the campaign plan
at Philadelphia and Cincinnati.
(c) Under certain types OF or
ganization. memberships of variou.
classes may be sold; or, better yet, al
memberships may be of uniform size
h amount being low enough to pro
hibit no one, and the larger contri
butors being encouraged to purchas
plural" memberships. Should tn,
membership method be adopted, 1t 1
: quite essential that the privileges o
membership be clearly defined an,
~announced to avoid future misun
derstandings. In the majority of case
such membership will carry with
no special privilege other than a vot
. as to the trustees or directors of tn
memorial building association.
I'D Many communities are usin
rs the Simnla differentiation nnnth4I n,
employed for raising funds durin
the Red Cross and United War Wor,
drives.
In all cases pledges should be mad
payable on the installment plan, an
the amount to be raised should b
increased sufficiently to allow for tn
shrinkage inevitable with the pledg
method.
The donation of liberty bonds an,
war saving stamps should be stresse,
and they should be accepted at par.
True democracy is the essence O
the community house movement
hence no would-be contributor shoul
be barred because of limited mean
Whatever method is used, some pre-
vision must be made for small SUI
scriptions. Memorial building stamp
similar to war saving stamps and e1
changeable for stock, bricks, men
bership or other larger units may b
utilized. Again, q pledge card wit
dates and amounts in sums of tie
cents, twenty-five cents and fit
cents printed around the edges, to /
punched upon payment, a la 'sugs
card" is another workable sugge:
ton.
Public Funds.-Many communitit
are viewing war memorials as publ
obligations to be paid for by publ
funds. Where these memorials al
to take the form of buildings to /
used by the public and open to a
on an equal footing, the argumeI
seems we'll sustained. This view
particularly defendable when I'll
building is to serve other purpos,
than those of a community cente
Several state legislatures have recen
ly passed avs definitely authorizir
the Issuance of bonds for the col
struction of memorial buildings, an
providing for taxation as a means
maintenance. Many communities al
planning to erect memorial building
which shall provide space for mum
cipal offices, auditoriums. librarie
art galleries, and other public pui
poses, in addition to the social ar
recreational features usually found
community houses. 1t is, of our
highly proper that all or a large pa
Of the funds for such buildings be 81
cured by bond issue to be funded
taxation.
Combination Of Subscription an