Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1922-10-20

Inllk Oh II, IO SEl DdCh " H. " 0QPpO1 I
it in every possible way. Then nothing
can hinder it becoming second
Brooklyn, if not better, for Camden is
at the gateway of the great Jersey
coast line which will become more i'm
portant as the country grows. That is
succinctly the message conveyed by
Thomas n Armstrong, director of pur-
chases in Philadelphia, native Jer-
seyman and booster from the
word "go," before the forum of the
Chamber of Commerce held at the
Elks' auditorium.
This forum was not only distinct
lively elevating affair so far as inspir-
ational impression to its native sons
and daughters is concerned, it was like
wise exceedingly interesting since
Electrical Chief John w. Kelly pre-
sided and in connection with fire pre-
vention week" had in attendance Fire
Chief Peter B. Carter, Is of his men,
who do inspection work among the in
dustries, and bevy OF Junior High
School students who sang and recited
along lines suggestive of fire preven-
ton.
Americans, said Mr.. Armstrong, who
was introduced by Clarence Dubois,
are inclined to boast somewhat, but
they are never optimistic enough. Up
in New York for instance, they have
City Hall, three sides of which are
marble, the fourth side being brown
stone because it is not considered
necessary to use marble there since it
will not be seen as much as the other
three sides.
Up on 8th street in the metropolis,
there was an old farm which years ago
was not regarded as very much by
legatees of a will, but John Wana-
maker saw fit to spend $S,000,000 for it
as a site for his store. And when
Vanderbilt built the first New York
Central Station he said it was going
to be the greatest and sufficient for all
time, but since then it has been in
creased at least 20 times and is not
large enough.
So with respect to Camden, the big
gest optimist the city has does not
know of the possibilities Of the city.
The time is coming when We'll see
ships coming through a great canal
at Burlington and all between and
down through Jersey there are to be
great cities and industries. Glasgow
made the Clyde and then the Clyde
turned about and made Glasgow, and
the same applies to Hamburg and
other similar communities. The Della
ware is now being dug, just an indica-
ton of what is coming, and Camden is
going to be part and parcel of it all. |
Another thing, Mr.. Armstrong said,
involes Jerseys coast line. The popu-
lation of the country is over hundred
million Some day it will be twice
that; but the coast line cannot be
added to OF taken away; it will grow
in value and Camden is right at the
gateway. AS was Brooklyn when the
bridge came, so is Camden going to be
with the span over the Delaware.
And when one considers all these
things and what is going to happen,
Mr. Armstrong said that when it comes
to city planning, it is serious matter.
Philadelphia has been hapdicapped by
it's square streets and lack of dag
onals, but he did not think Camden
had gone so far in growth as to permit
that to seriously affect it when the ex-
pansion comes. But it will soon be too
late to change, unless at great ex-
pense.
One of the essentials is for the peo-
pie to advertise the city, to be for it
first, last and all the time. Camden is
a real town, a no mean city and none
can put it before the world more than
its own people. And Mr. Armstrong
spoke of what citizenship means, re-
calling the little boy who was later
Paul of Tarsus, who emphasized what
Roman citizenship meant to him. And
a city can be no greater than it's citi-
zenship.
Since there is spiritual side to
everything, so is there with respect to
the Chamber of Commerce, or should
be. The trouble with the Chamber, he
said, is that it looks to the business
side and sticks to material things and
lets Rotary, the Lions, Kiwanis or
some other organization steal away its
real work, it's power, and he said he is
a Rotarian himself He said he was
not talking church stuff when he al
luded to the spiritual side, but funda-
mentally the necessity for seeing
things on a different basis than such
as may be built upon mere CONNER
cialism or business. The Chamber
should be the pivot about which every
thing should radiate.
Camden citizens should be for Cam
den, and against anybody or every
thing that opposes Camden. 1t won't
be stopped in it's great progress if its
citizens get the fundamentals and a
conception SO big that nothing can be
too great for Camden.
Mr.. Armstrong was given liberal ap-