The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-08-07
BIG BUSINESS GETS. CLOSER TOGETHER. TOSOLVE PROBLEMS.
Club Meets at National Capi- tai Once a Week, Where Weighty Help and Sug-
 gestions Take Place
By HARDEN COLFAX Special Correspondent of The Age Herald Copyright, 1891, by The Age Herald)

sociation of all the big business in- terests of the country-producer manufacturers, distributors and re- tailers-is in prospect here in the nations capital, The whole trend of the readjustment period is toward such an organization loose and in- formal, almost certainly. at first, and evidences of its coming appear un- lmistakable
 1 In fact the ground work for such a structure already has been built, | and there exists in Washington to- day an informal luncheon club whose members represent large portion of the country's major industries. This club meets onc2 a week to discuss | lhelpfully, informally and-Where possible -sympathetically problems of production. distr.tutIor and legis- lation which affeci lus.ness as a. whole.
 The club, as it exists at present, could hariy be termed an organiza- tion. It's members call it the Monday Luncheon club. Every Monday at 1 o'clock covers are laid for ts meet ing in privaate dining room of the Hotel Washington. Nathan B. Will
 hams. associate counsel of the Ma tional Association of Manufacturers presides Over the meetings Pres ent usually are the Washington repre- sentatives of national associa ions whose members, in many instan .es, are scattered throughout the county, united by the common bond of com mon business problems.
 | No Dues Paid
 There are no dues to this club It's | Q 10 l1 in, pa1. 1 to the Washington representatives, or officers of the many national in- dustrial and commercial trade organ izations here. The club members come as they please, do as they 1 please, say what they think. No publicity attaches to this discussion. no resolutions are ever adopted. hut out of the meeting has grown more or less intimate knowledge to each man of the other fellows problems. the other industry's problems and the views of other industries than his own toward common problems affect ing all industries
 l Some of the organizations whose officials or representatives hold membership in the Monday Luncheon tclup are the grain dealers the American Mining Congress, the lum- Der manufacturers, sthe petrolaun producers, the meat packers, inc soft coal producers and coal wholesalers the automobile manufacturers. inc building trade, the public utilities, the National Grange the American bahkers' association, the cotton man. ulaeturers' the credit men, the short line railroads, the drug manufactur CTS, the engineering societies the manufacturing chemists, the eane growers and the Retail Dry Goods association. There are many oth.,rs as well. An outsider looking in
 could obtain from the gathering rate view of cross Section of American industry and commerce, Many Dealings
 Ihese men have many dealings wltn government officials concernin.; inuustrlal and commercial affairs. | when they want to get a good idea or how government bureau or dn. | partment functions, what it has in
 mlnd or is doing with respect to in- | dustry the head of the bureau or de-
 partment is invited to luncheon. Thus | far the club has been addressed in : formally by Secretary Hoover. Wal
 lace and Weeks8 Dr. Julius Klein.
 head of the bureau of foreign and do-
 nestle commerce. also has given them
 an insight into the projected idess of his bureau and other bureau chiefs
 have addressed them
 Such discussions and frequent
 meetings have led to closer under. standing among the industries anG more efficient CO cooperation in their work The organizations thus rep~e-
 sented obtain first hand Information
 concerning government where gov
 ernment touches them and are en- I abled to guide their actions more in | tellgently than without it.
 Luncheon Club
 1 That is the Monday Luncheon club
 as it exists today. What it may be 1 tomorrow is thus visualized by a member:
 "A closer association of national
 industrial and commercial organiza tions dealing with the four funda =
 mentals of production. distribution | transportation and finance" Those four problems are common
 to all industries. They form a foun- l dation upon which is building. ap- parently, an association of assoc.a- | tions. The organization probably will come slowly. Before it's organ ization in formal fashion there will
 doubtless be linked together hume
 rous associations in the same line. | Coal affords an example of what
 might be done, in the formation re | Ctntly lOl q toHlflilttt OIl-. Icptt
 senting the four major associations in that industry-hard and soft coal producers, wholesalers and retailers to present united front against
 the Frelinghuysen bills.
 | Seek Views
 1 Government officials seeking the views of leaders in any line of in
 dustry today are turning to the trade associations representing that indus | try. They find not one, association.
 but many If Secretary Hoover wants to consult the textile industry, | for instance, he finds a long list of national textile trade associations. He couldn't possibly talk to all tn UT representatives and then duplicate the task with other industries. 1 There appears to be a need, both | in the eyes of some government ot- | ficials and of the trade association
 heads themselves. for uniting the | links now scattered There should | be one man who could talk textiles and cover the field, it is thought, m | stead of l2 or more.
 l The first step in the scheme of major amalgamation probably will be 1 the formation of trade councils rep- resenting all the trade associations l in any particular line Several small | organizations thus will form one 1 large one and these In turu. through l the medium of some such organiza- 1 tion as the Monday Luncheon club perhaps. will find common meeting ground and eventually, it seems cer- 1 tain common organization--the United Industries of the United | States.
 TO ENTERTAIN VISITORS
 Meridian, Miss. August G. = tspe- l cial (-All arrangements have been