Arizona republican., 1922-01-01


as body, subservient to no polit-
tcal or religious influence, and rec
ognizes no factions or cliques. Its
interests are Enselfish, its aim for
the good of many, advancement of
education, Improvement of living
conditions, 5nd the betterment of
. government. Always there will be
few men in every town and city who
realize better than others the needs
of that particular locality and these
are the men who, sooner Of later and
out of very necessity, find their way
into the chamber OF commerce.
Such We're the men who more than
80 wears ago met. in the office of one
of their iatlmber and formed the
chamber of commerce for the little
village of Phoenix, then struggling
group Of adobe houses harooring
some 5000 souls. And the first char
acteristic act OF this body was 70
issue a booklet, setting forth the ad-
vantages of the Salt River valley
and inviting people to come and 1--we
there
stands for the Valley
In the years OF It's strenuous ex-
istence this chamber has stood Tor
all things most necessary for the
valley. Itssefforts were put forth to
bring about the building OF the
Roosevelt dam. which is perhaps the
biggest single thing of its kind wnlcn
could ever come to a community But
after this was accomplished the val
ley must have good roads IN order
10 make living on the land attrac-
tive SO the chamber Of commerce
turned ITS attention to this phase OF
the situation and did not rest until
the seemingly impossible was ac-
complished. In a few years more
this city viii not only have one OF 4
the best systems of paved roadways
in the country, but will be connected
by the state and national roads with
both the eastern and western coasts,
Next in Importance seemed the
marketing Of the crops of those who
had been coaxed to the valley by the
chamber of commerce literature. A
market survey was made in coop
GRAFTON with the United States De-
partment Of Agriculture and the first
definite data given out regarding the
marketing OF certain crops. A rep
resentative Of the UnitGd States Bu-
reau of NJ MSrkets has bSen located In
the valles Zach year during the can
taloupe sagpping season, giving serv-
ice Of inestimable value to the SNIP
pers.
civic improvements in the mean
time were not overlooked. The build
ing Of schools for the youngsters. a
water system Of adequate size, fire
fighting facilities in accord with the
needs of the city, and the paving OF
streets all these were carried along ,
with the other work Of the cham
ber.
Co-operation with other parts of
the state is most necessary for a
.s4. nsntlN rf
chamber has tried to cement the state
friendship by consistently malntat-
ing the rights Of landowners in the
Florence and Casa Grande valleys 10
The construction of irrigation works,
storage and diversion dams, and at
this time 1t seems that this viii have
its beginning in the building or the
FIoraflce div erSiun, dam which VIII
be completed shortly. This friendship
has been maintained also by the in
auguration of excursions from Fhoe-
mix to other towns of the state.
The chamber of commerce also has
worked assiduously on that eyesore
to visitors who first enter PhoenlN-
the depot-and plans are now under
way which assure the building of a
union station within the near fu-
ture. II
During the war the chamber OF
commerce turned its efforts toward
winning the war, as did all people.
The Liberty bond drives of Phoenix
were always over subscribed; the
Red Cross was rendered all assist
ance possible and. every worthy In
stitution Of that time was given the |
maximum of help.
ORGANIZATION of a deposltors COM
pany br the chamber Of commerce
several years ago saved one OF the
largest banks in the city and COM
ing down to more recent times, When
run was started by rumor on one
OF the strongest banks of Phoenix, 1t
was the chamber which called out
its members at an emergency meet
ing and by it's example created a SEN
timent which turned the minds of the |
frightened depositors to nobler |
things and resulted in the final open
ing of other banks which had been
forced to close.
Other Successful Projects
Through the chamber of commerce |
has been established a 100 acre ex-
detrimental and demonstration farm, |
and an agricultural and dairy COM
mittee to look after these important |
interests Newcomers to Phoenix and |
the Salt River valley are given in |
formation about farming conditions |
and a library is maintained at the |
chamber of commerce for their ref
erence.
The value of poultry as busi- |
ness became apparent and the cham
Der OF commerce began to urge the |
establishment of a poultry expert |
ment station in the valley. This is |
now running smoothly near the city |
Of Glendale and it is source of |
information to those interested IN
poultry raising and is also attract
ing many people to settle in the val |
ley.
During the past decade the cham
ber has. with the limited funds avail |
able, carried on an increase in pop
ulation'' campaign, publishing book |
lets and folders about the valley, and |
answering every month from three |
10 seven hundred letters of inquiry |
from all parts of the country. Many |
peopIe who are now a substantial |
part Of the valley were attracted |
here through these efforts.
The traffic bureau of the cham |
ber of commerce. which began TO |
function in January, 1920, worked
tirelessly to bring about a reduction
in freight on cement and asphalt. The |
complaints were heard now more
than a year ago. though no decision |
has been handed down, despite the
tfact that the examiner for the COM
mission recommended in his tenta-
tive opinion that lower rates should
be charged by carriers. If the COM
mission sustains his opinion, the
Southern Pacific and Santa Fe rail-
roads must pay, by way of repara-
ton 81 a ton on all cement used in
the construction of the Marlcopa
county highways.