Arizona republican., 1920-04-03
BATTERED OLD
 BOOK RECALLS
 DAYSLONC PAST


 A battered old veteran turned up at the Phoenix chamber of commerce yes, terday. It is a book containing the first minutes Of the chamber. 24 years old, dating from Nov. 15, 1896, to Nov. 13, 1897. Its back appears weak with age, but on the whole it's appearance resembles that of the wonderful One floss Shay" and when it goes it will go all at once.
 This relic is the acorn from which a mighty oak has grown It is the record of little things which have become bull warks. It records dreams which have become realities It speaks of resolu- tions on water timber. transportation written here as coming from the mouths of prophets who saw ahead for the people and pointed the way onward.
 Some of its notations, minutes con taining not over two lines. have eX banded these A years into million dollar crops about which volumes may be written. Some of the minutes fore told the coming of the Salt River pro- Ject, some of the coming of people from all parts of the world. Some of the minutes ordered the valley described in print that the world might know of it's possibilities. Some of the minutes ap- pear humorous now. because of the great change. although written on grave subjects of the day
 What apparently was one of the first pieces of promotion literature on the valley presented to the world by the Phoenix chamber of commerce is pasted on the first page of the book. l IL says Visit Phoenix in the Salt River valley C. Arizona. The land of perpetual sunshine extends cordial 1 invitation"
 The old book says ,wondrous things, | which, it is to be presumed. in accord 1 ance with al sistory, must have been considered rot by the people in com mon 24 years ago. Tn it's day of record | IT have hPRn laughed 3 girls for being so foolish.
 In the middle ot the first minutes is ! a large spot, as if the secretary had | dropped his clgar and gone to sleep. | The second meeting shows the election ! of officers. The old book says: Pres | ent, Directors A. j. Sampson, w. A | Davis. Ancil Martin. H. A. Diehl. H. w | Ryder Joseph ThaIheimer. J. w. Dor ! ris." General Sampson was elected | president on motion Of Doris. seconded | by Ryder. Bruce Perley was appointed secretary.
 At another meeting bill of 50 cents for taczs" was approved and ordered paid. General Sampson was unan- imously elected q delegate to the irri- gation congress and a vote of thanks was extended 10 Whitelaw Reid for | fifty New Yorl- Tribunes. which appar- ently contained something of much T commercial interest to Phoenix.
 4 bookcase was ordered bought but ' later the "order was cancelled as not N necessary X resolution to the inter state commerce commission about the II long and short haul still famous in Il Arizona. was passed. Two thousand copies of special irrigation edition of the Gazette were ordered purchased at another meeting
 Farther along the chamber of com meTce started a fighting campaign against having parts Of Arizona an nexed to Utah. ''Resolved.' the book says. '.that we are opposed to the bill before congress providing for the an nexation of a part of Arizona to Utah and heartily approve the acton or our delegate to congress Honorapie N' o' Murphy.
 The bankruptcy bill was approved at another meeting. A warrant for szo to apply on the secretarys salary Was ordered drawn On the resignation or Perlev ! G. Spangler was appointed secretary Jan [. 1897. At that meet ing the secretary was instructed to pre- pare resolution "embodying the pro- lection of our timber lands yet remain iue. in our territory. Later the reSo- I,,tior was adopted It called upon the government to protect the timber Tn .our watersheds. supplying the streams of the territory with water TOT lrrlsd- ton purposes. because the destructlon of the timber lessens the water supPiS'
 on goes the book of minutes, record ing actions taken in the promotion ol Phoenix and the protection or It's re-
  The minutes show that every act ar facting the territory was carefnlly ,,-afched and that nothing attempted ,,-itb . motive to inture or retard pro- aress in the territory went without Dlt- fer protest and vigorous opposition through the most effective channels Water land and forest affairs were annarently the chief issues of the day
 Twenty-four years have passed ana here is the old book that saw the pc efr,in1 of a great organization. It would appear as if the book had come forth from it's retirement as sort ol nronhet on the eve of the chamber frfendship excursion to the sister clties of the state. It would appear as II lt bore q message for the builders of the state the county and the city today The great crops. the great growth; the 1nIimited possibilities hark back Z4 wears when this book recorded VlSiohs and nrotests mistakes and accomplish n,ents It's message seems to De;
 .BuiId even a greater organization mon my dreams
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