The Monroe journal., 1922-02-03
MONROE TO HAVE
A ROTARY CLUB
The Preliminary Organization
Perfected Last Night at
the Hotel J0ffre
HAS 10 CHARTER MEMBERS
Charter Applied For and Monroe
Definitely Placed in the Inter-
national Association

Pledged in a spirit of practical SER
vice to the community, the individual
and their craft, a group of prominent
business and professional men placed
this city definitely in the famous in
ternational association of Rotary Clubs
last night by taking the preliminary
steps for the organization of club
here.
The meeting was held in the Hotel
Joffre at 6:30 o'clock and l9 business
and professional men signed the
pledge as charter members. The
charter will be received within few
days and other members will then be
received, at which time the officers
will be elected.
The preliminary organization was
assisted by six members of the Char
lotte club, by Mr.. John Fox of the
Southern Power Company.
The meeting last evening was the
elimination of a series of conferences
that have been held between the local
people interested in forming the or
ganization and representatives Of the
national office, the local district and
the clubs of nearby cities where Ro-
tary has been established for some
time.
Through reformation of the new
club, with its unique features of fell
lowship and conduct of business, this
city becomes part of world en-
circling body Of representative men
dedicated to the spirit of service en-
-oiv
communities in twenty-five countries.
Origin of Rotary
Rotary came into being in Chicago,
February 23, 1905, with a group of
four men-one a coal dealer, one a
mining operator, one q merchant
tailor, and the fourth an attorney.
The attorney, Paul p. Harris, first ad-
yanced the idea of forming a club
different from any club then known,
and to him belongs the credit for
starting the great Rotary movement.
At this meeting of the four, when
decision was made to organize club,
it was also decided to invite to men,
bership just one man from each diff
ferent business or professional call
ing. A printer, real estate man, an
insurance man, and a banker, were
the next four admitted.
Rotary" was chosen as the name
of the new club because the members
met in rotation" 1T their places Of
business. Rotation Club" seemed
somewhat inapt so thev adopted the
shorter form Rotary Club"
The Chicago club continued to in
crease in membership. In 1903
three years after the first meeting
the second Rotary club was organized
in San Francisco. Other clubs fol-
lowed on the Pacific coast and then
the movement spread to the east and
then to the south until sixteen clubs
had been organized by the end Of 1910.
1t was in 1910 that the first conven-
ton was held in Chicago and the ma
tional association formed. At this
convention Chesley r. Perry was
elected secretary and he continues to
hold this Office at the resent time.
Rotary emerged from q national or
ganiZation to an international organ
ization two years later at the Duluth
convention. A short time previous to
this convention a club had been or~an-
lied at Winnipeg, Canada, and dur
ing the convention a cablepram was
received from the Rotary Club of
London, England, asking for a char
ter. Rotary had thus quickly evolv-
ed from one club in 1905 to an inter-
national organization in 1912.
Since 1912 the organization has
grown even more rapidly than during
the first seven years. Today there
are more than one thousand Rotary
Clubs in the world. Although the
greater number are in the United
States, where the movement origina-
ted, there are now Rotary Clubs in
Canada, Newfoundland, Great Brit
ain and Ireland, Cuba, South Amer
ice the Republic of Panama, China,
India, Australia, and New Zealand.
The growth seems all the more re-
when we realize that the
has never at any time
paid organizers. And in
addition, extreme care has always
been exercised in surveying cities and
towns applying for membership to
make sure that such communities are
ready for a Rotary Club and are of
sufficient size from which to secure
membership of representative men
md still have the membership re-
stricted to one man from each bust
ness or profession.