Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1920-02-13
VIII NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
Community TO
DISCUSSION TO
MEET PROBLEMS
Meeting Set For Tonight
What Others Have
Done

The big get-to-gether meeting to
be held in the Carnegie Library au-
ditorium at 1880 o'clock tonight in
connection with the Chamber Of Com
merce campaign will be just what it's
name indicates, community confer
ence. There will be a discussion by
various persons of the reasons why
the community should be organized
to meet the problems of the future.
1t promises to be very interesting
meeting with it's discussion of the
needs of Americas and Sumter coun-
| ty. There is to be community sing
ing led by Miss Ella Polk and ladies
as well as men will attend. Frank
Lanier, general chairman of the cam
paign, Will preside.
! One OF the question most often
asked u.s." said General Foster, of
the expansion campaign of the Cham
! ber of Commerce, this morning. sis
What Will the Chamber Do For Am
ericus?' This is not a question which
should answer directly. 1t would
be impertinent for me to do so. We
AASNf y NV NOlllN ICLC W LNlL blG DGO-
pie of Sumter county what they
should have or do. We have come
for the purpose of helping the peo-
pie of the county to set up piece
of machinery which will enable them
to do whatever they want done, and
to help them frame a program of ac-
! tivities.
/ What Others Have Done.
'1t is possible, however, to say
something about what other com
munities have done after they have
been organized as Americas and
Sumter county will be following this
campaign. In Fall River, Mass. for
instance, the Chamber of Commerce
attacked the question Of infant NOR
tality,s and through the organization
( of farmers association, the equip
ment of modern dairy plant, and
enforcement of the requirements of
a pure milk supply, obtained strik-
ing results. The Committee in
charge of this work conducted a
campaign of education on care and
feeding of babies and secured an in
crease Ill The consumption If milk.
"In Adrian, Mich, the Chamber
organized a widely known community
market. T was capitalized al $10,-
/ 600, the stock being taken by pro-
ducer5 and people in he city through
a public campaign. The market
adopted the policy of buying for cash
anything suitable for food that
farmer brought to Adrian. If it
was not wanted in Adrian, it was
shipped to other markets, with which
the community market kept in close
contact and where there was de-
mand. In the course of eighteen
months it handled on a cash basis
more than 100000 worth of farm
products. The chamber also organz-
Cd The Adrian Homes Company to
carry on building program of 100
houses year, and as a result re-
tanned industries which were threat
ening to leave the city.
Must Be Read.
may interpolate right here,
C~leral Foster continued, ''that a
community ought to have it's house
in order before it invites visitors
By that, l mean, that if you want
industries, it is very important that
a community be ready to take care
of them when they come. Other.
wise neither the industries nor the
community will prosper as they
should, and in fact, the industry will
be unlikely to come. No one enioys
being in home that does not re-
spect itself enough to make itself as
hospitable as possible.
Let me add one more illustration
of what an organized community can
do. Olean, N. Y, a city of some.
thing over 10000 population has a
Chamber of Commerce established
on the same line as the one
destined for Americus. The
old chamber was econtinually
handicapped by lack of adequate
funds. 1t had been able to do little
outside of convention and industrial
work. Nothing could be done with
out passing the hat and that was
going around most of the time.
"A small group of men saw a
number of things that needed very
badly to be done. Shey were conf.
dent these could be obtained through
strongly organized effort. They were
justified in their opinion. The new
d spirit which followed produced re.
suits that seemed too good to be true
Here are some of the things that hap
pened:
Did Big Things.
"The income rose to more thar
$4,000. Men who had been unwill.
ing to pay the low dues of the old or.
ganization cheerfully contributed
more than six times as much to the
new one. That was three and one.
half years ago. One of the achieve.
ments was the regulation of the
flood waters of the Allegheny River
and Clear Creek. The city had suf.
fered severely on more than one oc.
casion from disastrous floods
! Continued on Page Eight)