Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-04-30
What of Your Commu-
nifty Organization?
BY Frederic j. Haskin


fectiveness as the most efficient business
men in its employ in the conduct of their
private or corporate affairs!
Is your community. as an industrial
plant, fumctioning to the maximumg Is
production up to the top notch? Is every
body at work? Is every acre tlliedy Are
labor problems, transportation problems,
housing problems, being competent, metz
If not YOU are stubbing your municipal
toe. Your community has within 1T all
that is needed TO make it n success II is
only necessary TO marshal your forces.
IL is a development Of the last half decade
In the national life that all the information
necessary to the niarshaling Is complied,
annotated and ready for use. The plans
are ready under which an ineffective
chamber of commerce may be brought up
10 standard or the proper agency may be
established where none exists.
The Chamber of Commerce of the
United States has department OF civic
development. Its business is to set any
community in the way of living such a
wholesome and intelligent life that it will
grow and thrive like as%Aaated plant brought
out into the May sunshine. Colvin Is:
Brown, said TO have wider personal
acquaintance in the United States than
any other man. Is the head of this de
partment. On map Of the nation on his
wall in Washington, a heavy black llne is
In Washington, a heavy black line Is
drawn under each city to which he has
personally carried his plan of community
organization. He calls these his footprints
and the whole country is all tracked up.
COMMUNITY SPECIALIST.
Mr.. Brown has studied this problem
for ten wears through the organization
that reaches into most communities. Tie
has learned lessons from successful cham
bers of commerce everywhere. He is the
national clearing house for chamber of
commerce information. He has esiab-
lished general principles, planted them.
seen them proved. Now he lays down the
formula that will work successfully any
where.
Go into any community. he says, and
find out who are the solid men OF that
community. Call them together and YOU
have as efficient group as are the direc-
tors of any big bank. Ask these men what
are the needs of the community and they
will know. There will be little disagree
nlent among them. Faced with q COM
rnunity need ask these men how they
would meet the situation should IT exist
in their own business They will be equal
to the emergency. Show such men the
need, give them a concrete task. and you
have introduced an incentive that will
give a chamber of commerce new life.
The formula of organization is q mere
detail.
II is remarkable. Mr. Brown SAYS, how
similar the needs OF q community arc to
the needs of the nation. The nation is,
of course, but collection of these COM
E .
most people have of late been admitting,
is production. This is likewise the first
community need.
If half the agricultural land in COM
nunity is lying idle, that community is
failing TO enjoy the wealth that would
come to it If that land were titled. Ii is
in the interest OF the banker, the mer-
chant. the housewife, that every quarter
section be planted into crops. So tn" food
supply, the wealth Of the community, may
De increased.
There should be maximum production.
Ii is to the community interest that there
be diversification of crops, for if only
whaet is raised and the crop fails. there is
nothing upon which to fall back. The
community should take thought of the
product of its land.
LOCAL LABOR PROBLEM.
The labor problem is important locally
as it is nationally If there is not labor at
harvest time the farmer is discouraged
from planting crops. The community or
SANITATION should solve the problem OF
seasonal labor. It has done so in many
communities. There are towns in the west
where stores, banks, all municipal activi-
ties, are suspended during the harvest
season and all hands go into the fields.
So production Is kept up. The best
thought of any community should be able
to solve whatever labor difficulties arise.
Any group OF prominent citizens can
put their fingers on the transportation
difficulties OF community. All reasoning
men know that materials should flow
smoothly from the point of production to
the market AS rain water flows to the
sea. Ii they do not, it is because of OBJ
structions. The obstruction may be
bad road between the farm and the town.
1t may be a sandbar In stream. 1t may
be ferry where bridge is required. 1t
may be railroad terminals, wharfage.
Many chambers of commerce languish
and die because no useful work is assigned
them. No worth while man will maintain
interest where nothing is being accom-
plished. They want to overcome obstacles
They want work to do. Put these men TO
building bridges and paving streets and
they are happy. They will work their
fingers off In the establishment of NUM-
cipal Fairgrounds. There are scores of
communities throughout the United States
IN which the chambers of commerce have
tackled the problem of properly housing
the people who work. There are few COM
munities In which properly organized
housing corporation may not be success
tully worked out-a corporation which
gives workers ideal homes at cost plus no
other profit than the market rate OF inter-
est on the investment. By paying the
equivalent OF one per cent month on the
cost OF building one OF those model homes.
an amount not greater than rent, the
worker, in Il years viii own bis property
WISE TOWN wins
Many communities are asking their
business people TO realize that properly
conducted store or bank or school or
motion picture show is q municipal asset.
Different towns bid for certain trade. for
certain industries, for certain investors.
certain settlers. Those towns that make
the best impression have the advantage.
win out. Towns do not always become
cities because of natural advantages.
There are many examples of cities that
have developed in the face of natural dis
advantages merely because thew put the
best foot forward. Akron, Ohio. multiplied
MS population by three between 1910 and
M IL w. a.