Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1922-02-08
THE TORCH BEARERS OF SERVICE
BY Frederic >. Haskin

Washington, Feb. s. Seventeen
years ago. a Chicago lawyer, Mr.. Pau
Harris. conceived the idea OF bringing
together the business and professional
mon OF community in way which
would eliminate any question OF RI
valry in business or profession and
that would permit these men to get
at the very foundation OF all matters
Pof Importance 10 the community. The
idea was 10 help society as g. whole,
with view 10 making tho members
OF the proposed club better members
OF sock,ty by giving them wider
vision OF opportunities TO serye SO
cjety, and 10 make them better rep
resentatives OF their own profession
ar busincss to the end that they might
carry the message and example OF
service to the members OF their pro-
soasions and men in their lines OF busi-
ness who were not members OF the
club.
ON February %. 1905, Mr. Harris and
three friends formed the chicago ho-
tary Club with this foundnuon:
| That each member should pleoBe
himself TO the service OF society "
N
or profession. and his home.
4 No THAT each member should pledge
himself 10 the service OF business oi
each profession admitted TO the ciun
3. That each member shouih y
addressed always by his first name
or n nickname
4 4. That any member falling to atten'
four successive meetings, saving oniS
lin case Of illness or absence from IN
city should automatically forfeit MI
!. membership.
These are prescribed az the big prin
!. ciples of Rotary, and the clubs nav
spread toes counties. There are nov
: 1 .O54 clubs throughout the world, VIII
memberships aggregatins 10000.
Growth Of an Idea.
ri More than three years elapsed befor
i the second Rotary Club was formed
r In November, 1908, San Franciscans
> after a study Of the Chicago plan, fol
e lowed the example set by Mr.. Harri
!. and his friends. Three months late
Oakland, California, followed suit an
T. In June Of the same year Seattle an
Los Angeles organized clubs. Ne'
York City followed in, August an
Boston in December, 1909. Then a
short intervals clubs were organize
in Tacoma Warrington; Minneapolis
? st. Paul. st. Louis, New Orleans, Kan
r sas City, Lincoln, Neb.; Portland, Ore
: Detroit. Cincinnati, Cleveland, Phila
i delphia, and Pittsburg. The idea wa
q spreading like wildfre It reached out
70 side Of the United States and has tai
te en- in Canada, Cuba, Uruguay. Pans
,e ma, England, Scotland. Ireland. II
II dia. China. Japan, the Philippine L
lands, and other counties and coll
nies.
- The first convention OF Rotary Clul
~ was held in Chicago in 1910, With Il
n idea OF forming national organic
~ ton out OF this meeting grew q
- National Association OF Rotary Ciui
u The second convention was held
4e Portland, Oregon, the following ye;
D. and the third. In 1912, in DuluI
-, MINI. II was at the Duluth conventi
% that applications for membership we
=" received from Winnepeg, Canada, a
q London. This led 10 changing {
% name Of the organization 10 The
" ternational Association Of Rota
~. Clubs.
- In the foreign extension OF the r
- tary idea one principle has been g
hered 10 rigidly. This Is that clr
- shall have as members natives Of
g country in which Il is formed. I
=. Rotary Club of Tokyo has a pur
T. Japanese membership. and the Roti
100 Club of London is made up entir
- of Englishmen.
49, kTeE1rsrrt, h. mi ~ 1tf