New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1923-08-03
ASKS c. OF c. HEADS
TO MEET HERE
Miss Curtin Invited State Cham
ber Secretaries to New Britain

The annual convention of Connec'
tieut Commercial secretaries In SEES
sion in Bridgeport today, may be heio
an New Britain next year. Miss Mary
n Curtin, secretary of the local cham
Der extended an invitation 10 the con
yention this morning and 1t Is expect
ed the invitation will be accepted.
The invitation asks the Chamber OF
comm cree secretaries of the state TO
convene in the Elihu Burritt hotel
next August.
Miss Curtin is the first secretary OF
the New Britain Chamber OF Com
merce to be invited to speok. She is
the only woman secretary IN New
England and her address was hearo
today with considerable interest.
She spoke as follows:
you secretaries all know that
there are times when a man is at
loss for words Speech fails him and
he searches the inner recesses Of his
mind for syllables to give utterance to
his thoughts but he Is so overcome
that he is practically speechless. You
know, that although man Is sup
posed to be at a loss for words-some-
tnnes,--a woman should never have
to find herself in that predicament.
However, you may rest assured that
the mental peace of the speaker was
highly disturbed all the way from
New Britain to Bridgeport, and her
attempts at maintaining complacent
composure are very nearly In the
state of collapse: so 1t is with con-
siderable trepidation that I attempt
to speak on one or two problems that
have confronted New Britain and
how they have been overcome.
Most of you have been to New
Britain, but to those who haven't, l
Just want to tell you that it's the fin
est town in this fine state of Connecti-
cut Never mind, you don't all have
to agree with me. but New Britain al
ways comes across and goes over the
top in anything she undertakes.
What's more. 1t lives up to its reputa-
ton and title of the Hardware City
Of the World every day of the year.
VERY often city is measured and
judged entirely by the visitors who in
spect 1t. Often, the visit is a short
one and the examination merely sup
CRITICAL, but even so, that city should
be made to appeal to the visitor in
every sense of the word
witness Hartford, for instance.
that fine suburb of New Britain.
Everybody admires the town. It's
a nice town; It's a rich town; it has
lots OF nice stores; nice shopping
places, but the only trouble with 1t is.
that it attracts too many shoppers
from New Britain. outside of that
fault, we have no other to find with |
It. But--things are changing and |
conditions are going to be differenr,
and before long, we'll have them COM
ing TO New Britain from Hartford.
Hotel Problem
"As I said before, community prob
ems are very much alike. For Is
years, New Britain has been troubled
with the problem of inadequate hotel
The growth of New
Britain in manufacturing and retail
BUSINESS has attracted hundreds of
prospective hotel parties and sales
men every year. For the past several
,ears they have been compiled to go
elsewhere to seek accommo dations
md though their business. was of sew
sral days duration, yet the neighbor-
ng cities received the profitable bust
less of entertaining them.
"A study of the local hotel situation
~ the Chamber Of Commerce con-
inced the merchants manufacturers
Ind other citizens of New Britain, that
he greatest civic need of our city was
! new modern hotel. Although nine
tut Of every 10 persons in the city
called the need for hotel and were
expressing a desire for
me, when the chambers committee
,ot to work on the project there was
objection and a. great
many obstacles to overcome. Some
bjected to costs, others to commun-
ty ownership, and a possible stock