The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1921-02-23
Rotary is Sixteen Years Old

A celebration planned by the local Rotary club. marking the
sixteenth birthday OF the organization. will naturally cause many
people to ask. what is the Rotary club, anyway, and what does it
all meani
To get a clear understanding OF the movemcnt-for that's
what it really is-it may be well to start at the beginning and see
what brought Rotary into being. Sixteen years ago, a lonesome
man-Paul I. Harris, a Chicago lawycr-invtcd a coal dealer a
coal operator and a merchant tailor to meet with him TO form a
little group of friends who could gather together once a week in
each others Offices and enjoy that close mountaineering which
comes only through such frequent meetings. From the begin
ming, each man represented a different business or profession
Strict adherence to this plan as each new man was added ITO the
the Rotary club which came out of this small beginning. AS the
members grew, slowly. of course, a name for the club was sought
lnasmuct as the men had been rotating" in their meetings in the
Offices OF the members, someone suggested that 1t be called the
Rotation club, and this was soon changed to Rotary.
For three years this club was lost" in the commercial and So
cml turmoil of the big city, just as its founder. Paul Harris, con
sdercd himself lost" without congenial. dependable friends. Then
one of the Chicago men made a business trip to California and a
second club was formed in San Francisco. This was the beginning
of the movement which has spread to all quarters OF the globe.
And yet this doesn't answer the question, what is Rotary?
The Rotary platform is based upon human service. 1t doesn't
consider a man a success unless he is OF the fullest possible value
TO his felowmen in helping them to greater happiness, no matter
whether he is a money maker or not THE Rotary club demands
fair dealings. honest methods. and high standards in business is
the theme Of the Rotary platform. and its last clause, "Hc profits
most who serves best" has been adopted as the latter part of the
official slogan: Service Above SETTLE Profits Most Who
Serves Best" This thought implanted in tie life Of one man
spreads to Others, and a small group possessing the thought OF
unsel6sh service soon creates the desire in other men to do like
wise. Hence the rapid spread Of the Rotary idea.
Rotary, it seems, is a school for service" in which men Of
hundreds Of cities, big and little. gather once a week, in the middle
of the day, have a good time, become well acquainted, open their
minds and hearts to learn, and then seek to apply their lessons
so thoroughly that the world everywhere is learning to look upon
Rotarians as men who do things and do them willingly and unset
fshly. BY improving the individual member Of the club, each mans
business must be conducted on a higher plane; this means a finer
influence upon all other men of the community engaged in the same
line. Turning again to the individual, we find that he becomes a
better mar in his home life while his attitude and activities in
connection with his town, state and nation are ever keener and
broader; that is, if he is a true Rotarian, and such, it is believed,
all men connected with the organization are striving to be.
The world, therefore, welcomes Rotary. For sixteen years it
has been doing its good work. 1t seeks not to do big public things
itself except in emergency instances, but rather to train its mem
bers to be truly helpful every day and i'll every way.