The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1921-09-29
THE COMMERCIAL
CLUB AND YOU

The following is an address, pre-
pared by S. j. Moore for the CONNER
cial Club banquet in honor of Upper
Valley residents. In the absence of
Mr.. Moore the paper was read by 7. S.
Davidson.
am at loss to know why | have
been asked to address you. But as |
look over the program find there are
other nOvices here like myself who are
commissioned with the responsibility
of entertaining you. | cannot conceive
what is in the mind of the president of
the Commercial Club. Does he think
this is so slight an occasion that he
need not wheel out his 60 centimeter
guns. | see they are here. Mr.. Blan-
char and Mr.. Butler never refuse an
opportunity to speak and they will
fear be hurt at not being asked to
demonstrate their forensic ability to-
night. Even Mr. Fredricy has been
known to consent reluctantly if suffi-
ciently urged.
| heard of native of Dublin who
was found very sick in a New York
lodging house. A physician was called |
who diagnosed the case as malignant |
smallpox. "ls there anything we can |
do or any one YOU would like to seer" |
they asked the Irishman. "Call a |
Jewish rabbi" he said. "What do YOU |
mean. Pat?" asked his friends. "You |
are an Irishman and you don't want a
Jewish rabbi. Sure, said Pat. eff
am going to die | want someone to
say bit of prayer and far be it from
me to expose to smallpox one Of nv
own thru faith. Perhaps someone
had this in mind when they asked me
to address you about your duty toward
the Commercial Club.
| remember a very earnest minister
who was preaching on "The Sheep and
the Goats. After he had described
the good characteristics of the sheep,
he pointed to his flock and cried dra-
matically, Here are the sheep. but
where are the goats? o " here are the
goats? Brethren, where are the goatsY"
A fellow who was sleeping in the back r
got up and said thickly, "Parson. I
rather n see this show stop, I'll be the !
goat. So here | am.
Ina very real sense the Commercial [
Club has come to mean the home Of
the community. Its narrower signifi- 4
canoe is all gone. 1t is no longer
merely an aggregation Of business
men. 1t has come TO mean the group
ing together Of all the agencies Of
,ivic life. Nothing that is human is
alien TO the Commercial Club. 1t is, Of
course. interested in bringing the larg- 81,
est need Of financial prosperity to the y
But in so doing it is pri- =
narily Interested in building a stable :
community Of fine homes filed with =
lappy people. !.
The Commercial Club Is the agency Z
hough which community opinion may .
itself. 1t is a clearing house :,
or ideas. What does Hood River think p
4 a bond issue for the loop road?
What course does the county want the q.
ourt to follow in adopting a road pro- :,
raml How shall we take care Of the !,
ourists who are coming to Hood River? ~
!hat shall we do 10 make them feel =,
ur hospitality and human spirit? y
Now somewhere in every progressive H.
there must be some organ h.
-ation through which an entire com h,
lunity can express itself in action. y,
here are other organizations doing -
ne work but they belong 10 a special Il.
roup and rightly so. The game asso- r.
alton IS for spOrtsmen. the grange
1ecial zes in rural problems. the mer-
lants' association in problems Of mer- Cl
landising, but the Commercial Club
seks to gather farmer, merchant. pix
clan, minister. business man all to co
ether in community Of fine civic and 10