Milford chronicle., 1927-02-25
By F. Stuart Fitzpatrick
ORGANIZATION Service

Chamber of Commerce Oh the u D
(Reprinted permission Wicomico
Chamber of COmmerce.)
For many years the National
Chamber has been following very
carefully the industrial develop
ment work of local chambers OF
commerce. 1t has seen this work de-
velop. as far as the locating of new
industries is concerned, from spas
modic and uniformed efforts to get
factories to locate in the community
10 a continuous and informed effort
to stimulate the industrial growth
of the country on the basis of an
honest and scientific appraisal OF the
cOmmunity's resources and 1aclhtles
and on the basis of giving industrial
nrospects a confidential, authorlta-
tive and technical information SER
vice which will enable them to make
sound decisions as to whether or not
tbev may locate a profitable enter
nrise in the community in question.
This has been a long road 1or
chambers of commerce to traVeI.
Many, OF course, are still traVellhs
if Some have not yet started the
Journey The National Chamber has
s1so seen the industrial develop
wont work of chambers OF COM
nerce reach out to assist the estaD-
iisbed industry and to encourage
and foster industries initiated by
local men and local capital. Cham
hers of commerce are awakening 10
the fact that a very large percen-
taoe of the industrial growth OF
communities is traceable to the
Growth of industries which nau
their beginnings in the community
While only a comparatively small
percentage of this growth is trace
able TO going industries which nave
moved themselves bodily, so 10
sneak. into the community. A real
i1ation of this fact is leading cham
hers of commerce to give more at
tention to the youthful industries IN
their communities, which are golnS
through those periods of struggle
which all new enterprises must 80
through. with the knowledge lhaG
many of them if they succeed VIII
he the big industries Of tomorrow
LET me take an example to make
This nOint of the importance OF the
growth from within more concrete.
There are some people (none OF my
readers of course) who, when they
think of the development of the tex
file industry in the South think OF
fiat cars in long freight trains NOV
ing textile mills from New England
sonthward. Such a naive picture
does little justice either to the en-
terprise of southern business men
or to the facts.
Take the city of Gastonia, N. c.,
and its County CASTOR. Together
they have over 100 cotton mills.
Very few, if any, of these mills were
moved into this city and county
from the outside, or even were start
ed in the city and county by outside
interests. These mills were started
locally. by local people, with local
capital. The manufacturing growth
of Gastonia and CASTOR has been
from the inside. 1t is typical OF
much of the industrial growth OF
urban America. A clean-cut grasp OF
this fact will introduce sanity into
the efforts which any chamber Oh
commerce may be making to locate
new factories in its community.
What are the new industries
which chambers of commerce are
seeking to locate in their commun-
tiles? They are the industries when
at the present time are suffering
from unecOnomical locations and are
seeking profit-making locations.
They are the industries which are
seeking to expand and reach new
markets through the establishment
of branch points. They are the IN
dustries or commercial concerns
which are seeking distributing
noints for their agents or ware
houses. or assembling plants. Ihey
are the new enterprises which men
with inventions, with skill, WIN
capitaI. are seeking to start from
the ground up. -,
Into this great fluX which we call
the industrial growth OF America
the local chamber of commerce en-
ters seeking new industries for lts
community. What is the local cham
ber's function in obtaining new III
dustries? How shall it proceed!
There is a considerable mlscon-
ception on the part of some mem
hers of local chambers of COM
merce as to the function of a cham
her in obtaining new industries
They nave the feeling that the
chamber can in some way get out
side industries to move into the
citv. The fact of the matter IS that
industries are located in commuhl-
ties bv the business men VINO are
resnOnsible for their operation on
tbe basis of a business judgment ar
rived at by these men from lacIs
which determine whether or not
given community will enable tnem
to carry on a profit-maklng enter
nrise THESE men investigate the |
Communities in a certain section |
which. as a result of their expert
ence and their knowledge OF LABOR |
mower. Transportation, raw MATERIAL !
markets. and other factors, leau |
them to believe would be sultaple
for the location of new plant OF
for the relocation of a going piant'
Thev finally determine upon a given
coTo ono1nitv as a suitable location Tor
the plant in question. They Iocate II
there. There is no reason " 1e
liexe that they would not nave ~
Gated il there even if there hau nOC
heen a chamber of commerce 10
believe so is to discredit the lhtel-
lioence of the business men ano the
engineers they employ in determin-
ing profitable locations for the Iol4 IN
dustries in which the yare interest,"
ed. ,, o,,or,bor
of commerce a in this matter of To-
eating industrial plants is to 1ur-