Imperial Valley press., 1923-03-22
Past Work and
Ambitious Plans
of Chamber Told
(Continued from page II


dinner served in the main dining
room of the hotel, President c. X.
Cooper opened the meeting by wei
coming all those present and giving
planned that the expenditure of the
of the chamber in the past year,
after which he turned the meeting
over TO George T.. Bowles, chairman
of the special committee of 10 in
charge OF the get-together dinner.
q short outline of the general work
Bayer, manager o. the service de-
Mr.. Bowles introduced Charles L.
bcr of Commerce, who had TO take
the night train back TO that city
and was therefore forced to limit
his remarks TO message of greet
partment of the Los Angeles Cham
ber of Commerce and assurance that
that body is anxious TO cooperate
with every chamber Of commerce in
Southern California, to the end that
the entire section of the state might
continue in prosperity and progress.
He explained the department of
which he is the head is dedicated to
the service of other chambers of
commerce and communities in the
state, and that it is subject to the
call of assistance from any of these
organizations. Mr.. Bayer promised
ito answer the call of the FL Centre
chamber any time his department
was informed it could be of assist.
ance to this community, and pledg
ed himself to remain here az long
as he COULD be of service in building
up and Strengthening the local or
ganization.
Banker Speaks
MIR. Bayer was followed by Win
field Barkley, development manag-
er of the Southern Trust and Com
merce Bank Of San Diego, whose
address is delivered in full else
where in these columns.
AS the first committee chairman
to be called upon for a five minute
talk, Ross 7. Iickcox, chairman of
the committee in charge of the
courthouse bond election last spring.
told Of the work done by the FL
Centro Chamber of Commerce in
conducting an active campaign for
the success of the bonds, and stated
the activity and cooperation shown
by the people of FL Centre at that
time demonstrated that things can
be done here if all will get together
and do their individual bit in put
ting over any particular project.
The success Of dairy day, held in
January under the auspices of the
chamber of commerce, was describ-
ed by r. II. Cary, chairman of the
committee in charge of the celebra-
tion, when prominent dairy men
from all parts of the state were
brought here, and local interest in
dairying and its various branches
greatly stimulated.
james T. Coyle, secretary of the
chamber, reviewed the various con
ventions and meetings of impor
tance which the chamber had been
successful in bringing to Ell Centre
in the past year, and meetings out
side the valley at which the local
organization was represented. He
enumerated the various local acti.
tities OF. the chamber, gave some in
teresting statistics as to the amount
Of printed matter and publicity dis
tributed by the chamber in the past
year, and the various places
throughout the country in which
the city is advertised by pamphlets
and literature. r.
- Lettuce Market Reports
4. II. Keller, chairman Of the bu-
reau Of markets committee, review
ed the work which was necessary in
getting the Department Of Agricul
ture to establish a bureau here to
supervise the marketing of the
enormous lettuce crop and the pres
tige which III Centre derives from
becoming nationally known as the
center of the lettuce industry. He
told Of the generosity of public
spirited citizens who provided the
funds necessary TO defray the ex-
penses of the bureau, which had to
be guaranteed to the government
before a man could be sent here.
Mr.. Keller also told briefly of the
work of the County Development
Board, which at present is conduct
ing a colonization campaign, first
obtaining options ON land which is
not being farmed, and which hopes
eventually TO place /. real farmer on
every 40 acres of tillable land in
Imperial Valley, the realization Of
which he termed the greatest piece
of Anstructive progress ever ac-
eomplished in the valley.
Road Work
George i. Bowles, chairman of
the chamber s road committee, out
lined the active part the chamber of
commerce took in obtaining the
necessary appropriations for the
paving between Holtyille and Yuma,
on the Westmorland extension Of
the state highway, the paving be-
tween this city and Imperial, and
the recent achievement of inducing
the state highway commission to
appropriate the necessary funds for
the continuation of the grading
work on Mountain Springs grade.
He told Of the chamber g affiliation
with the Lee Highway Association,
the Bankhead Highway ssoeiation,
and the Old Spanish Trails Associ-
alton, three transeontinental high
ways whose routes ptss through FL
Centro and which eventually will
be the means of inducing thousands