The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1920-04-29
M. L. TouIme Of Ottumwa
Discusses Ideas of Com
mercial Organization.
COOPERATION FIRST
Suggested Secretary for Cham
Der of Commerce Makes
Good Impression.

Marked as "Exhibit A" Of the
special committee of the Chamber of
Commerce in charge of securing a
secretary for the organization, M. L.
Toulme, twenty-nine years of age and
secretary of the Commercial club of
Ottumwa, Iowa, appeared before a
group of thirty members of the Keno
sha organization at the Chamber of
Commerce rooms on Tuesday evening
to show his qualifications for the
Kenosha position. Mr.. Toulme made
~ excellent impression upon the men
present. The company included prom
inent manufacturers, retailers, few
professional men and several repre-
sentatives Of labor.
To this company Mr.! Toulme gave
his views in regard to community and
commercial organization and pointed
out some of the things which had
been done in the work of the CONNER
cial club at Ottumwa during the period
he had served as executive secretary.
While placed in a most peculiar posi-
tion, Secretary Toulme was much at
ease. He accepted the meeting as a
chance for him to look over the Keno
sha men as we'll as one for them to
make an inventory Of him and his ideas.
Is Michigan Graduate.
Mr.. Toulme is native of Mis-
sissippi He was educated at the
University of Michigan, graduating
from the literary school in 1912 and
two years later he took his degree
from the law school. He laid basis
for his work as a commercial secre-
tary by serving three years in the
editorial department of the Chicago
Tribune. He served as reporter, fnan-
cial writer and finally in the editorial
room. He was called to Ottumwa
to take the position of secretary in
January of 1917 and he has been in
that position since.
Not much given to the use Of the
personal pronoun, Mr.. Toulme gave up
much of his time to telling what had
been done at Ottumwa and he declared
that the success there was as much
the result of intelligent cooperation
on the part of the members as it was
of any special training on the part
of executive officer, He told the mem
bers of the Kenosha Chamber of Com
merce, rather frankly, that community
organization and commercial organiza-
ton could not be made successful I'M
less there was some one to organize
and that the activities of the members
of these organizations was just as inn
portant as the training of the secretary.
Strong for Bureau System.
In outlining the work which had
been done at 0ttumwa under his super
vision. Mr.. Toulme spoke especially of
the organization of the bureau sys-
TEN. He declared that this system
has worked we'll with Ottumwa and
that the Commercial club there now
had some eight or nine bureaus, the
heads of which had definite response
bilities and the success of which
brought definite returns. These in
clude the Farmers Bureau, Women's
Bureua, Travelling Salesmen's Bureau.
Labor Bureau, Children's Bureau, and
the Civic Bureau.
People who look to commercial or
CARNATIONS for results must be. salts
fed" declared Mr.. Toulme. "They
are not wholly satisfied with the or
ganization of the community spirit
although this must be the greatest
work of any organization of this kind.
They want to see material results as
we'll. Out in Ottumwa we listed for
the year material results by the secur-
ing Of the completion of a new hotel
for the city, by backing the good roads
movement and by securing the opening
Of new parks for the city. Our or
ganization Of the farms and farmers
was of great value in battling the
radical movement sweeping over the
agricultural districts. We convinced
these men from the farms that we
were more interested in them than the
radical agitators. We have tried
to show this same side Of the or
ganization to the laboring men of
ottumwa and many of them have
been enlisted in the organization"
Must Have Back Bone"
Mr.. Toulme told the members Of
the Chamber of Commerce that an
organization must have back bone
and he declared that the back bone Of
any commercial organization was its
board of directors. "If you haven't
good board of directors you might
just as well quit" he declared
After Mr.. Toulne had, explained his
ideas he was quizzed by the members
of the organization including C. w
Nash, z. G.. Simmons, w. H. Afford
GCOntinhed on page s.