The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1924-04-24
Chamber of Commerce

years, having been at Bozeman and
Payette In recent years. He was
asked to speak, and he said this was
a get-acquainted trip with him. He
had for a long time wanted to grow
up with the Snake river valley, be-
cause he sees such fine possibilities
for it thru cooperation of its people,
its cities and towns. He said he
wanted to be of service to other
towns and Localities as we'll as Poca-
tello. He said he carried with him
the greetings of the Pocatello men
to that effect, and they want to be
neighborly and really cooperate. He
said some people look upon coopera-
ton as something in which they
themselves Co." and the others
Operate" The Pocatello Chamber
of Commerce has resolved to act on
the meaning of the whole word. He
told story or two that ran like this:
Cooperation means working to a
purpose and with plans and inten-
tions, not merely accidental or
spasmodic activities. The story is
told of life insurance man who also
wrote accident policies, and one day
he approached a couple of cowboys
in a restaurant and began talking
accident insurance to them. They
were on the defensive-didn't need
anv accident Insurance.:
No. don't have no accidents
What? Don't you ever have an
accident?'
No.
Haven't you ever had an acct
dent of any kind?'
ooh, l got bit on the thumb by
a rattlesnake.'
Well, wasn't that an accident?'
He'll no; he bit me on purpose
Now that's the way with our
Chamber of Commerce. When we
do thing, we do it on purpose. We
meant to do it; it was part of our
plans.
This country is re-enacting the
experiences of the settlement of the
older states. First there is the set
tier, then other settlers, then set
Element and later town. The town
seeks to grow, and in such seeking
it fosters the building of the avenues
of commerce. roads, bridges and the
means to make it easy for people to
exchange their products. 1t makes
lots of difference whether our efforts
are we'll directed or done without
study and forethought. l have in
mind an incident told by Scotch
man, who had grown up with such
a community and in reviewing his
career and he ran along in his re-
marks like, this:
Eyes, l was here when we were
only a few of us. But we got other
settlers and then we got a cross
roads and a store and then a black
smith shop and other things. 1t got
SO we had to have some place to cash
checks and so finally was running
the bank. There wasn't many checks
to cash and it didn't take much
money, but we had to have some. III
there was a day when q good many
checks come to town to be cashed we
had to scurry around and get what |
money we could in the stores to cash |
the checks. We had to find some |
way for folks to get across the river
or they couldn't come over to our
town to trade with us, so we finally
got a bridge built. After while 1T
washed away and we had to do some
thing or lose the trade from over
the river, so we put in ferry to use
till we could afford bridge. l was
over there helping to get the ferry
to working and seeing how things
went, and a young fellow come up to
me and said. Mister, could you loan
me 10 cents?'
4 looked at him and asst him if
he didn't have any money at all and
he said no, he didn't. And he looked
as if he didn't have any money. Then
asst him if he didn't have any job
and he said no, he didn't. l looked
at him and he looked as if he didn't
Than oct hin, ho didn't have INV
friends, and he said no, he didn't {
have no friends. l looked at him
and he looked like he didn't have
any friends. | asst him what he was
going to do with the 10 cents If
loaned it to him and he said he would
give it to the ferryman to take him
across the river. l looked at him
and l said, Well, if you amt got any
and you amt got any friends.
and you amt got any job, it don't
make a Ii 4 of lot of difference
which side of the river you are on
ut is a. part of the duties of our
chambers of commerce to make
some definite plans; so that when we
spend some money we shall know
Just what good it is going to do us.
If there is no advantage In being on
the other side of the river we will
stay where we are and make the best
OF what we have. If one set of men
are better to deal with than another
set, we want to find it out and deal
We will be like Pat
when he was in the trenches and had
a chance to go to Paris on fur
Tough.
when he was told he could have
two weeks off it was such surprise $
to him he didn't think he could do !
It. He told his captain he didn't s
have any money for expenses. but :
after he got back to his dugout and {
thought it over he wanted to go {
awfully bad. He wanted to see Paris. !
He now recalled what his mother had {
told him before leaving home, that /
II he got. into trouble and needed ,
help. to ask God for it. Some OF the
bows had been sending home for ,
money for uniforms and other things t
L. Inff - l.