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AMERICAN CHAMBERS 
 OF COMMERCE 
 
COIttltamjs College 
 
 DAVm A. WELLS PEIZE ESSAYS 
 
 #utn&ec4 
 
 AMERICAN CHAMBERS 
 OF COMMERCE 
 
 BY 
 
 KENNETH STURGES, M.A. 
 
 PRINTED FOR THE 
 
 DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE 
 
 OF WILLIAMS COLLEGE 
 
 ^p iHoffat, parH anli €ompanp» Bm |9odi 
 
 1915 
 

 
 W. F. BRAINARO 
 
 BOOK MANUFACTURER 
 NEW YORK 
 
TO MY MOTHER 
 
 298906 
 
PREFACE 
 
 This is the fourth essay published by the 
 Department of Political Science of Williams 
 College in accordance with the will of David 
 Ames Wells of the class of 1847. Under the 
 terms of the bequest, a prize of $500 "in gold 
 coin of standard weight and fineness, or in the 
 form of a medal of gold suitably inscribed, at 
 the option of the recipient," is offered annually 
 for the best essay upon a subject in any one of 
 a number of branches of political science. 
 The will provides that, if no essay deemed 
 worthy of the prize be presented in any year, 
 the award shall be withheld for that year. 
 The competition is limited to Senior under- 
 graduates and to graduates of Williams Col- 
 lege of not more than three years' standing. 
 
 The prize was first awarded in 1905, the 
 successful essay, "The Contributions of the 
 Landed Man to Civil Liberty," by Elwin 
 Lawrence Page, being published in that year. 
 
viii PREFACE 
 
 The second award was to Shepard Ashman 
 Morgan, whose essay, "The History of Parh- 
 amentary Taxation in England," was pub- 
 lished in 1911. The third was to William 
 Smith McClellan. His essay, "Smuggling 
 in the American Colonies," was pubhshed in 
 1912. 
 
 The subject of the present essay was an- 
 nounced in June, 1913. The competition was 
 open to the classes of 1911 to 1914 inclusive, 
 and the prize was awarded to Kenneth Mon- 
 tague Sturges of the class of 1911. 
 
 The following provision of the will of the 
 founder of the competition governs the selec- 
 tion and treatment of the subjects of the es- 
 says : 
 
 "No subjects shall be selected for competi- 
 tive writing or investigation and no essay shall 
 be considered which in any way advocates or 
 defends the spoliation of property under form 
 or process of law; or the restriction of com- 
 merce in times of peace by legislation, except 
 for moral or sanitary purposes; or the enact- 
 ment of usury laws ; or the impairment of con- 
 tracts by the debasement of coin; or the issue 
 and use by Government of irredeemable notes 
 
PREFACE ix 
 
 or promises to pay intended to be used as cur- 
 rency and as a substitute for money; or which 
 defends the endowment of such *paper,' 'notes,' 
 and 'promises to pay' with the legal tender 
 quality." 
 
 Mr. Sturges and his competitors were noti- 
 fied that, while the form of the essay and the 
 treatment of the subject were left to the dis- 
 cretion of the writer in each case, it was de- 
 sired that the following be included in the 
 essays : 
 
 (a) The origin and early history of boards 
 of trade, chambers of commerce and kindred 
 organizations in the United States; 
 
 (b) A survey of the functions of these 
 bodies, contrasting those of the early period 
 with those of the present; 
 
 (c) A study of some one organization based 
 on its publications and activities. 
 
 H. A. Garfield, 
 
 President. 
 Williams College, 
 
 WiLLIAMSTOWN, MaSS., DeC. 1, 1914. 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 In recent years chambers of commerce have 
 been recognized as important factors in the 
 growth and welfare of our cities. The aim of 
 the present study is to show the development 
 of these bodies in the United States, with par- 
 ticular reference to their modern functions as 
 civic organizations. In this country the terms 
 "board of trade," "commercial club," and 
 ''chamber of commerce" are synonymous, rep- 
 resenting the common type of association com- 
 posed of business men. They are, therefore, 
 used interchangeably in the following pages. 
 
 The scope of this book and the arrangement 
 of material require some words of explanation. 
 As indicated by frequent notes, the volume is 
 not an original treatise, but in many respects 
 a compilation of facts and ideas from a va- 
 riety of sources. The newness of the subject 
 and the resultant lack of available literature 
 combine to lend value to this attempt to collect 
 the material scattered through periodicals, or- 
 
xii INTRODUCTION 
 
 ganization reports, and pamphlets. While it 
 does not pretend to cover all phases of the sub- 
 ject, the book aims to point out the main lines 
 of the evolution of the chamber of commerce 
 from a business organization to a civic agency, 
 and to suggest where a fuller treatment of any 
 particular point may be found. For this rea- 
 son and in order to provide a means of tracing 
 facts to their original sources, the notes have 
 been made as complete as possible. 
 
 The libraries visited in the search for data 
 include the New York Public Library, the 
 New York Municipal Reference Library, the 
 Brooklyn Public Library, Montague Street 
 Branch, — formerly the Mercantile Library of 
 Brooklyn, — and the Library of the School of 
 Commerce, Accounts, and Finance, New York 
 University. The author is indebted to Secre- 
 tary Sereno S. Pratt of the New York Cham- 
 ber of Commerce for valuable information 
 concerning the New York Chamber as well as 
 for the opportunity to secure historical data 
 in the Chamber of Commerce Library. 
 
 Approximately half a hundred letters have 
 been received from commercial secretaries and 
 others active in organization work in response 
 
INTRODUCTION xiii 
 
 to inquiries. By this means the author has 
 supplemented and revised to the present time 
 the statements found in reports and articles 
 under various dates. Thanks are especially 
 due to Secretary Munson Havens of the Cleve- 
 land Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Ryerson 
 Ritchie, Ex-President of that body, and Pres- 
 ident Garfield of Williams College for their 
 generous assistance in the preparation of this 
 volume. Assistant-Professor Cherington of 
 the Harvard University Graduate School of 
 Business Administration kindly acted as critic 
 of Chapter IV, The Federation Movement, 
 while Mr. Edwin Baxter, Former Industrial 
 Commissioner of the Cleveland Chamber, un- 
 dertook a similar task in the revision of Chap- 
 ter VII, The Cleveland Chamber of Com- 
 merce. 
 
 Kenneth Sturges. 
 New York, Dec. 1, 1914. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I Origins ^ ^ 
 
 II Eaely History in the United States . 11 ^ 
 
 III A Century of Development . . . 41 \ 
 
 IV The Federation Movement . . . 55^ 
 
 V Modern Structural, Principles . . 81 - 
 
 VI The Training aijtd Work of the Com- 
 mercial Secretary 117 
 
 VII The Cleveland Chamber of Commerce 137 
 
 VIII City Government Reform . . . .169 
 
 IX Co-operation with Municipal Author- 
 ities 193 "^ 
 
 X Civic Improvement 215 "^^ 
 
 XI Competition Between Cities . . . 231 
 
 Appendix 257 
 
 Bibliography 265 
 
 Index 269 
 
ORIGINS 
 
AMERICAN CHAMBERS 
 OF COMMERCE 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 ORIGINS 
 
 Commercial organizations developed from 
 the primitive methods that brought together 
 buyer and seller, facilitating the distribution 
 of products and manufactures. The fairs and 
 merchant guilds of mediaeval Europe were, 
 however, the actual prototypes of the modern 
 board of trade. Since the time when these or- 
 ganizations flourished, the essential character- 
 istics of trade and commerce have not changed. 
 
 The fairs of the twelfth century were a re- Mediaeval 
 
 Fairs 
 
 suit of the church festivals, which periodically 
 drew crowds of people to the towns and thus 
 enabled them to meet for the exchange of com- 
 modities. Growing in importance until the 
 fifteenth century, the fairs then began to de- 
 cline. This fact was due to the establishment 
 
 3 
 
4 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 of markets in the principal cities, which ren- 
 dered it unnecessary to wait until fair-time in 
 order to purchase supplies. Having lost their 
 original function, fairs developed into places 
 of amusement and have ever since retained 
 this character. 
 
 The merchant guilds arose in feudal times 
 
 and were at first private institutions, formed 
 
 Merchant to protect the interests of their members, 
 
 Ouilds 
 
 wealthy traders who found themselves excluded 
 from aristocratic society by virtue of their 
 plebeian occupation. With the breaking up 
 of the feudal system the guilds grew in power 
 and in the twelfth century became semi-public 
 bodies in England as well as in some conti- 
 nental cities, holding charters which entitled 
 them to a monopoly of the local trade. As it 
 provides a meeting-place for traders, the mod- 
 ern commercial association to this extent re- 
 sembles the mediaeval fair, and in protecting 
 the interests of its members it is like the mer- 
 chant guild. 
 
 In the fifteenth century the guild system 
 gradually disintegrated and this fact accounts 
 for the founding of chambers of commerce to 
 supply the needs of the traders. The name. 
 
/ 
 
 ORIGINS 
 
 "chamber of commerce," was first applied to pirgt 
 an association formed by merchants of Mar- co^erce*' 
 seilles early in the fifteenth century, though 
 not definitely organized until 1650. In addi- 
 tion to dealing with trade matters this body 
 exercised limited administrative authority. 
 
 From early times chambers of commerce in 
 France have been closely affiliated with the 
 government and this is also true of these or- 
 ganizations in several European countries. 
 Thus German chambers of commerce, about 
 150 in number, are regulated by laws of the 
 various German states, while having the char- 
 acter of official institutions. Their functions 
 are to promote and to represent the interests 
 of commerce and industry. In Germany, 
 moreover, the chamber of commerce proper 
 corresponds to the board of directors in an 
 American body. While a German chamber 
 of commerce, as an organization, includes all 
 the registered business men of the locality who 
 pay a certain tax and thus have the right to 
 participate in the chamber's elections, the ex- 
 pression, "chamber of commerce," in a stricter 
 sense means only the council chosen by the 
 voters. 
 
AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 First 
 Board of 
 Trade 
 
 History 
 
 The first board of trade was formed in 1636 
 by Charles I of England. At that time regu- 
 lation of commerce was a royal prerogative and 
 the board acted as an advisory committee. In 
 1655 Cromwell re-established this council. It 
 is still an important part of the English gov- 
 ernmental system, having existed with the ex- 
 ception of a few years continuously since 
 Cromwell's time. "Board of trade" is clearly 
 an Anglo-Saxon term, meaning in general a 
 local body formed in the interests of commerce. 
 On the European continent, however, this term 
 or its equivalent is frequently applied to 
 bourses or stock exchanges. 
 
 For further details of the history of commer- 
 cial organizations in England and European 
 countries the following authorities are avail- 
 able: C. A. Legg, The Law of Commercial 
 Exchanges, 1913. L. H. Bisbee and J. C. 
 Simonds, The Board of Trade and the Produce 
 Exchfinge, 1884. Lorenzo Sabine, "The Ori- 
 gin of Boards of Trade," contained in 1859 
 Annual Report of the Boston Board of Trade, 
 and reprinted in Bankers' Magazine, Vol. 
 XIII, pages 678-692. Frederick Fraley, 
 "Origin and History of Boards of Trade, 
 
ORIGINS 7 
 
 Chambers of Commerce, Etc.," contained in 
 1889 Annual Report of the Philadelphia 
 Board of Trade. J. H. Ricketson, Boards of 
 Trade, Their Origins, History, Etc, pamphlet 
 issued by the Pittsburgh Chamber of Com- 
 merce, 1878. Wilfred H. Schoff, American 
 Commercial Institutions: Fourth of a Series of 
 Monographs on American Social Economics, 
 1900. Special Agents Series, No. 78, Ger- 
 man Commercial Organizations, published by 
 the Department of Commerce, Bureau of For- 
 eign and Domestic Commerce, Washington, 
 D. C, 1914. 
 
 The English board of trade and the conti- 
 nental chamber of commerce have at the pres- 
 ent time little in common with American or- 
 ganizations similarly named. The most im- 
 portant distinction arises from the fact that 
 our commercial bodies have not yet acquired 
 an official status. The attempts of chambers 
 of commerce to secure governmental recogni- 
 tion in this country are described in Chapter 
 IV, The Federation Movement. American 
 boards of trade and chambers of commerce may 
 be defined as bodies of local business and pro- 
 fessional men, engaged in improving trade con- 
 
8 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 ditions, urging legislation beneficial to com- 
 merce and the social welfare, and, most impor- 
 tant, encouraging the growth and prosperity 
 of their several communities. 
 
EARLY HISTORY IN THE 
 UNITED STATES 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 EARLY HISTORY IN THE UNITED STATES 
 
 The oldest commercial organization in this 
 country is the Chamber of Commerce of the New York 
 State of New York, fomided 1768 in New commerce^ 
 York City. The period in which this associa- 
 tion was formed was one of great historic in- 
 terest. For several years the American col- 
 onists had resented the imposition of taxes by 
 the English government. The Stamp Act of 
 1765, prescribing an additional tax, excited the 
 spirit of a people that had failed to obtain the 
 right of representation. 
 
 New York led the opposition to this tax, 
 which was to take effect November first, 1765. 
 Before that date the stamps arrived in New 
 York harbor, on board a merchant vessel. As 
 a precautionary measure the English governor 
 promptly ordered them transferred to one of 
 the ships of war and, later, to his own quarters 
 inside the fort. The day before the tax was to 
 
 become effective, representative New York 
 
 11 
 
12 AMERICAN CHAMBEES OF COMMERCE 
 
 traders met and resolved not to import any 
 goods from England. Street riots and dem- 
 onstrations followed; and, the demand for the 
 surrender of the obnoxious stamps becoming 
 insistent, the governor caused them to be placed 
 in the hands of Mayor John Cruger on behalf 
 of the citizens. Early in the following year 
 the tax was repealed and in 1770 the grateful 
 colonists erected a statue to William Pitt, the 
 English statesman and champion of their 
 cause.^ 
 
 In the midst of these stirring times twenty 
 New York merchants met at Bolton and Sigel's 
 Tavern^ and founded the Chamber of Com- 
 merce, stating the purpose of their organiza- 
 tion in these words : 
 
 *' Whereas, mercantile societies have been 
 found very usefull in tradeing cities for pro- 
 moting and encouraging commerce, support- 
 ing industry, adjusting disputes relative to 
 
 1 Charles King, Charter and By-laws with a History of the 
 Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York. Published 
 1855 by the New York Chamber. Reference is to pages 43-46. 
 Another edition of this work is: Chamber of Commerce of 
 the State of New York, 1848. 
 
 2 Later known as Fraunces' Tavern (often written Fraunce's, 
 in error), where Washington bid farewell to his officers, 
 December 4, 1783. The building still stands on the south- 
 east corner of Broad and Pearl Streets. 
 
EARLY HISTORY IN THE UNITED STATES 13 
 
 trade and navigation, and procuring such laws 
 and regulations as may be found necessary for 
 the benefit of trade in general. . . . For which 
 purpose and to establish such a society in the 
 City of New York the following persons con- 
 vened on the first Tuesday in, and being the 
 5th day of, April, 1768. . . ." ^ 
 
 Here in the records follows the list of twenty 
 founders. Among them are to be noted John i^^ 
 Cruger, Mayor of New York and first presi- 
 dent of the Chamber; and Isaac Low, the so- 
 ciety's seventh president. The latter is an ex- 
 ceptionally notable figure in the history of the 
 Chamber of Commerce. At the beginning of 
 the disputes with England he sympathized 
 with the colonists, but later changed his views 
 and became "the victim of steadfast loyalty." * 
 This fact caused him to lose his American es- 
 tates in 1779 through confiscation by the new 
 government; and at the end of the war he left 
 the country and took up his residence in Eng- 
 land. 
 
 In 1769 the members of the Chamber of 
 Commerce moved their headquarters and be- 
 
 a J. A. Stevens, Colonial Records of the New York Chamber 
 of Commerce, 1768-1784, page 5. King, op. cit., page 46, gives 
 date as 1758, evidently a typographical error. 
 
 * King, op. cit., page 63. 
 
14 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 gan to hold meetings, by permission of the 
 Mayor and Corporation, in a room over the 
 Merchants Exchange.^ In the course of this 
 year the Enghsh Parliament passed an act im- 
 posing duties on tea, paper, and other articles, 
 professedly for revenue and not with a view 
 to regulate commerce. This explanation, it 
 seems, did not please the colonists and almost 
 immediately associations were formed by mer- 
 chants in Boston, New York, and Philadel- 
 phia, for the non-importation of English 
 goods. This movement spread over all the 
 Colonies:^ The New York Chamber included 
 among its members, however, many who con- 
 tinued throughout to be loyal British subjects; 
 and in the taxation disputes its attitude was not 
 hostile to England. In 1770 President John 
 
 8 A building constructed on arches across the foot of Broad 
 Street on a line with Water Street. Under these arches 
 itinerant preachers occasionally held forth. After the Revo- 
 lution the building was destroyed. King, o'p. cit., page 51. 
 
 6 The Assembly of the Colony of New York approved the 
 popular feeling and in the minutes of the Chamber, May 2, 
 1769, is the following: "The President reported that the Hon- 
 ourable the House of Assembly had directed him to signify 
 their thanks to the Merchants of this City and Colony, for 
 their patriotic conduct in declining the importation of goods 
 from Great Britain at this juncture — and until the acts of 
 Parliament, which the Assembly had declared unconstitutional 
 and subversive to the rights and liberties of the people of this 
 Colony, should be repealed." 
 
EARLY HISTORY IN THE UNITED STATES 15 
 
 Cruger petitioned Lieutenant Governor Col- 
 den of the Province of New York for a royal 
 charter, so that the society might be incorpo- 
 rated as a body politic. The petition was duly 
 granted^ 
 
 The first period of the early history of the First 
 Chamber of Commerce covers seven years, — Period 
 from its origin to 1775. In the first six years 
 the activity of this organization was well sus- 
 tained. Particularly efficient work was done 
 by the Arbitration Committee, appointed 
 every month for the hearing and adjustment 
 of commercial disputes.^ A source of great 
 trouble at that time was a depreciated and ir- 
 
 7 In the royal charter of 1770 this organization was desig- 
 nated as "The Corporation of the Chamber of Commerce in 
 the City of New York, in America"; but in the confirma- 
 tion of the charter by the New York State Legislature in 1784 
 it was called "The Corporation of the Chamber of Commerce 
 of the State of New York." This name is still retained 
 though the Chamber is not a state organization. The name 
 may be explained by the fact that when re-incorporated in 
 1784 the New York Chamber was the only association of its 
 kind in the State. 
 
 8 See J. W. Spangler's "Commercial Arbitration." Bankers* 
 Magazine, Vol. LXXXV, page 356, for work of arbitration com- 
 mittees in the New York Chamber of Commerce. 
 
 Also: Earliest Arbitration Records of the Chamber of 
 Commerce of the State of New York. Committee minutes, 
 1779-1792, printed from the original manuscript in the New 
 York Public Library with biographical and other notes. 
 Press of the Chamber, 1913. 
 
16 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 regular currency; foreign coins, diminished in 
 value by a variety of means, were being circu- 
 lated. To meet this condition of affairs, it 
 was resolved on the motion of Mr. Isaac Low, 
 August 1770: 
 
 **that the members of the Corporation will in 
 future pay and receive half Johanneses ^ weigh- 
 ing nine pennyweight at three pounds four 
 shillings, and for every grain they weigh more 
 to allow three pence and to deduct four pence 
 for every grain they weigh less." 
 
 10 
 
 In the minutes of the January meeting, 
 1774, it is stated that the Chamber was com- 
 pelled to reverse a resolution to the effect that 
 its members would neither receive nor deal in 
 New Jersey paper money at its current rate, 
 as many members had resigned "to avoid the 
 obligation of this resolve" and the organization 
 was in danger of going out of existence be- 
 cause it was impossible to obtain a quorum for 
 a meeting. ^^ On motion, all those who had re- 
 signed were then invited to submit their names 
 to be voted on for membership. 
 
 During the months July 1774 to May 1775 
 
 » Portuguese gold coins, now obsolete. 
 
 10 Stevens, op. cit., page 106. 
 
 11 King, op. cit., page 58. 
 
EAELY HISTORY IN THE UNITED STATES 17 
 
 no business was transacted, but at the end of 
 that time a meeting was called for the election 
 of officers, Isaac Low receiving the presidency. 
 His long administration from 1775 to 1783 second 
 marks the second period of the Chamber's early Period 
 history. During these years the British forces 
 occupied New York, aided actively by the New 
 York Chamber of Commerce. At that time 
 its membership consisted almost entirely of 
 Loyalists, those who opposed the British rule 
 having either entered the service or fled from 
 the city.^^ During this period the records of 
 the Chamber refer to the Americans as "rebels" 
 and designate the war as "unnatural." ^^ 
 
 In 1779 the association made another move, 
 establishing its headquarters in the Merchants' 
 Coffee House,^* where it remained until 1795.^^ 
 At the first meeting of the Chamber after the 
 evacuation of the city by the British in 1783 
 there were proposed for membership the names 
 
 12 King, op. cit., page 64. 
 
 13 King, op. cit., page 62. 
 
 1* Located at the southeast corner of Wall and Water 
 Streets. 
 
 15 Stevens, op. cit., page 341, follows the original minutes 
 of the Chamber in which this date, through error, is given 
 as 1817; but his Erratum at the end of the book makes the 
 proper correction. 
 
18 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 of many who had been absent during the war 
 or engaged in the American service. In 1784 
 the total nmnber of members since the found- 
 ing of the organization was one hundred and 
 thirty-five and the average attendance at meet- 
 ings was twenty-six/^ 
 
 A meeting on April 20, 1784, was called un- 
 Be-incor- dcr a law passcd by the Legislature of the State 
 of New York, 
 
 "upon the petition of many members who dis- 
 sented from the course of the Chamber while 
 the city was in the occupation of the British 
 and were advised that the charter was forfeited 
 by reason of the misuser and nonuser of the 
 same and therefore required a new sanction 
 from the new state." ^^ 
 
 Following this re-incorporation the Cham- 
 ber enjoyed several active years. Prominent 
 among its minutes is a resolution in 1784 to 
 prevent by all possible methods "the scandal- 
 ous practice of smuggling." Other interesting 
 matters brought up for discussion were "a pro- 
 posal to connect the City of New York by arti- 
 ficial navigation with the Great Lakes" in 1786 
 and a memorial in the same year, "setting forth 
 
 16 Stevens, op. cit., page 300. 
 
 17 King, op. cit., page 65. 
 
EAELY HISTORY IN THE UNITED STATES 19 
 
 the evils and immorality of a scheme for issu- 
 ing paper money and making it a legal tender." 
 In 1795 the society moved to the Tontine Cof- 
 fee House.^^ 
 
 A yellow fever epidemic visiting New York inactivity: 
 in 1798 interrupted the regular meetings of the 
 Chamber and was the cause of their subsequent 
 omission during the summer months of the year. 
 Beginning in 1807 came a long period of inac- 
 tivity. It was not, in fact, until two years 
 after the 1815 Peace Treaty with England 
 that the members took steps to reorganize, 
 meetings being resumed at the Tontine. Un- 
 der the leadership of Cornelius Ray, a wealthy 
 New York merchant, the Chamber of Com- 
 merce began an active existence which has con- 
 tinued unbroken to the present time. 
 
 The New York Chamber has always main- Present 
 tained a conservative policy. It was estab- impo^rtance 
 lished to promote the commercial, financial, 
 and industrial interests of New York and has 
 been eminently successful in so doing. Its 
 founding marked the beginning of organized 
 commerce in this country. The routine work 
 
 18 Located at the northeast corner of Wall and Water 
 Streets. The narrow range of the Chamber's migrations 
 shows the historic continuity of New York's business center. 
 
20 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 of this body, now located in its own magnificent 
 building on Liberty Street/^ centers in a meet- 
 ing held once a month, at which time an address 
 is made by some prominent speaker and com- 
 mittee reports are presented. The policies of 
 the Chamber are not determined by an execu- 
 tive committee or board of directors as in many 
 commercial bodies, but by the whole member- 
 ship. The success of this arrangement, known 
 as the "town-meeting" plan, is attributable to 
 the fact that the Chamber takes up relatively 
 few matters, so that the members can give each 
 one their thoughtful attention. The number 
 of members is limited to fifteen hundred and 
 the privilege of membership is regarded as a 
 coveted honor. 
 
 An interesting story attaches to the Great 
 Great Seal of the Chamber of Commerce, "bearing the 
 
 date 1770, the year of the society's incorpora- 
 tion. Manufactured in England at a cost of 
 nineteen guineas, the seal is of solid silver and 
 about three inches in diameter. When the 
 British forces evacuated New York in 1783 
 the seal disappeared ; but by mere chance years 
 
 19 For an account of the dedication of this building see: 
 "The New Chamber of Commerce." The Outlook, 1903, Vol. 
 LXXIl, pages 665-666. 
 
 Seal 
 
EAELY HISTOEY IN THE UNITED STATES 21 
 
 afterward it was found in a sort of curiosity 
 shop in London. Attempts have been made to 
 explain its removal, but no facts are obtain- 
 able.^*^ Until 1905 the original seal was in 
 active service, and at that time, being much 
 worn from constant use, it was replaced by a 
 new seal, its exact dupUcate. 
 
 The varied history of the New York Cham- 
 ber of Commerce has attracted many writers. 
 For instance see: Lorenzo Sabine, "The Ori- 
 gin of Boards of Trade," see above, page 6. 
 Richard Wheatley, "The New York Chamber 
 of Commerce," Harper's Magazine, Vol. 
 LXXXIII, page 502 ff. September 1891. 
 Walter L. Hawley, "New York's Oldest Cor- 
 poration," Munsey's Magazine^ Vol. XXVI, 
 
 20 A letter written by Prosper M. Wetmore, Secretary of 
 the Chamber of Commerce, 1843-1849, and addressed to 
 Charles King, the author of a history of The New York 
 Chamber of Commerce, furnishes a reasonable explana- 
 tion of the disappearance of the seal. "If I mistake not," 
 writes Mr. Wetmore, "Anthony Van Dam, who was the first 
 Secretary of the Chamber, and continued to hold the office 
 until the close of the Revolution, went to England among the 
 Royalists expatriated at that period. ... Is it not fair to 
 suppose that through some inadvertency of his, as he was the 
 legal custodier of the article, our seal found its way to Lon- 
 don, and after his death, into the hands of the dealer in sec- 
 ond-hand wares?" King, op. cit., page 82. Another theory 
 is that the seal left the country in the possession of Isaac 
 Low, the last President of the Chamber in the Colonial Period 
 of its history. 
 
22 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 page 39 ff., October 1901. Franklin Mat- 
 thews, "The Organized Conscience of the 
 Rich," in The World's Work, Vol. IV, pages 
 2626-2631, October 1902. "History of The 
 New York Chamber of Commerce," Harper's 
 Weekly, Vol. XL VI, pages 1720-1722, Nov. 
 15, 1902. 
 
 MERCANTILE ASSOCIATIONS IN BOSTON 
 
 The early history of commercial organiza- 
 tions in Boston, as in New York, reflects the 
 unrest of the Revolution. When the New 
 York Chamber of Commerce received its royal 
 charter from England in 1770, the Boston 
 merchants were out of favor with the English 
 government and could not have secured like 
 recognition. So actively did they resist the 
 laws of trade and navigation that England sent 
 soldiers and ships to awe them into submission. 
 Troops were quartered in the very room that 
 the traders used as an exchange. The Eng- 
 lish government also adopted radical measures, 
 ordering vessels and merchandise seized; and 
 many offending merchants were summoned to 
 the Royal Admiralty Court and forced to pay 
 ruinous fines.^^ 
 
 21 "The Origin of Boards of Trade," address by Lorenzo 
 
EAELY HISTORY IN THE UNITED STATES 23 
 
 The harsh discipline meted out to the Bos- 
 ton merchants effectually frustrated their first 
 attempts to form an organization. About the Early 
 year 1805, however, the Boston Importing Bodies 
 Company was started for the purpose of regu- 
 lating the trade with London and Liverpool, 
 "in a way best to suit the importers." ^^ The 
 company purchased three or four ocean vessels 
 and kept them employed until the War of 1812 
 interrupted commerce with England; where- 
 upon the association closed its affairs. 
 
 After the Peace of 1815 there was organized 
 the New England Society for the Promotion 
 of Manufactures and Mechanic Arts. For 
 several years this body conducted semi-annual 
 public sales of domestic goods. These sales 
 were very successful, purchasers coming to 
 Boston from various parts of the country. In 
 1859 the society was reported as still retaining 
 its corporate existence.^^ 
 
 On January 11, 1836, the merchants and 
 
 Sabine, Secretary of the Boston Board of Trade, read at 
 a meeting of the Board at its rooms, 35 Merchants' 
 Exchange, Wednesday, January 19, 1859. Printed in the 1859 
 report of that body; reprinted in Bankers' Magazine, Vol. 
 XIII, pages 678-692. 
 
 23 Sabine, op. cit., page 24. 
 
 22 Sabine, op, cit., page 24. 
 
24 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 Chamber traders of Boston met at the Old Council 
 Commerce Room, Court Square, for the purpose of form- 
 ing a chamber of commerce. A week later 
 the association adopted a constitution and by- 
 laws, the number of members being two hun- 
 dred and twenty-four. William Sturgis was 
 elected president and three vice-presidents: 
 Thomas B. Wales, Robert G. Shaw, and David 
 Henshaw, were chosen.^* The original stand- 
 ing committees were the Committee of In- 
 quiry and the Committee of Reference. It is 
 not stated what their functions were, but the 
 latter was probably a board of conmiercial ar- 
 bitration.^^ 
 
 The early minutes of the Chamber record 
 frequent action on commercial questions, for 
 example, a recommendation to dealers in ex- 
 change on England to buy, sell, and quote the 
 pound sterling in federal money. There also 
 appears the resolution, "that in the measure- 
 ment of cotton, woollen, and linen goods, a 
 yard is just thirty-six inches and not the 
 
 24 Sabine, op. cit., page 25, says: "In this mention of the 
 principal oflBicers of the Chamber, we pronounce names that 
 will never disappear from the annals of the humane and lit- 
 erary institutions of Massachusetts; names widely known and 
 widely blessed." 
 
 25 Sabine, op. cit, page 26. 
 
EARLY HISTORY IN THE UNITED STATES 25 
 
 breadth of the thumb more," an early effort 
 to establish uniformity in mercantile usages.^^ 
 Notwithstanding the activity of the Cham- 
 ber of Commerce during the first years of its 
 existence the members soon lost interest in the 
 association's welfare, with the result that in Dissolution 
 1842, only six years after its founding, disso- 
 lution was proposed. On February first of 
 that year the Chamber voted: 
 
 **that a meeting of the President and Directors 
 be called for the purpose of taking measures, 
 if any can be devised, to infuse more vigor 
 into the operations of this association, that it 
 may be more useful to the mercantile commu- 
 nity, and if in the opinion of the officers no such 
 measures can be taken, then to consider the ex- 
 pediency of dissolving the association." 
 
 27 
 
 On April fifth following, the matter was 
 taken up by the directors, who postponed their 
 decision indefinitely. The last business trans- 
 acted was in March 1843, when the secretary 
 submitted a communication from Canada, "on 
 the subject of a railroad in the direction of that 
 colony." ^^ 
 
 2« Sabine, op. cit, page 26. 
 
 27 Sabine, op. cit., page 26. 
 
 28 Sabine, op. cit., page 26. 
 
26 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 In 1854, eleven years later, the Boston mer- 
 Board chants formed the Board of Trade, incorpo- 
 
 Trade rated the same year by an act of the Legisla- 
 
 ture.^^ The "Government" consisted of forty- 
 six persons: a president, three vice-presidents, 
 the members of four standing committees, 
 twenty-four directors, and a treasurer. The 
 "admission fee" was five dollars and annual 
 dues, payable in advance were a like sum.^* 
 In addition to a standing committee of arbitra- 
 tion, a committee of appeals was instituted, and 
 under certain conditions members of the Board 
 of Trade were permitted to appeal from the 
 decision of the conmiittee of arbitration.^^ 
 The two remaining regular committees were 
 
 29 Report of Boston Board of Trade 1859, page 216:— 
 "An Act to Incorporate the Boston Board of Trade: Section 
 1. James M. Beebe, Silas Potter, James C. Converse, their 
 associates and successors, are hereby made a corporation, by 
 the name of the Boston Board of Trade for the purpose of 
 promoting trade and commerce, in the city of Boston and 
 its vicinity, with all the powers and privileges, and subject to 
 all the duties, liabilities and restrictions, set forth in the 
 forty-fourth chapter of the Revised Statutes; provided how- 
 tver, that this act shall not be construed to authorize said 
 corporation to traffic in goods, wares, or merchandise of any 
 description.'* 
 
 30 Report of the Boston Board of Trade, 1856, page 154. 
 By-laws; Section V. Articles 1 and 2. 
 
 31 There could be no appeal if the amount in dispute did 
 not exceed $100, — or in any case that had been decided 
 unanimously by the whole committee, imless the amount was 
 
EARLY HISTORY IN THE UNITED STATES 27 
 
 those of finance and of "inquiry into the causes 
 of shipwrecks." The former audited the ac- 
 counts of the organization and directed its 
 financial poHcy. The function of the latter committee 
 was to investigate and, when possible, fix the sMpwrecks 
 responsibihty for maritime accidents.^^ 
 
 In 1857 the number of casualties to Boston- 
 owned vessels or to vessels entering the port 
 of Boston was 385. The five members of the 
 committee, though limiting their investigations 
 to cases referred to them by underwriters and 
 ship-owners, were unable to do all that was re- 
 quired of them and accordingly petitioned the 
 Board of Trade for a paid assistant. This re- 
 quest being denied, the committee became dis- 
 
 over $500. Report of Boston Board of Trade, 1856, page 
 154. By-laws, Sec. VI, Art. 4. 
 
 32 "The many shipwrecks and serious accidents which have 
 at all times happened to vessels and especially the sad losses 
 of the past year, have occasioned the appointment of a 
 Standing Committee, whose duty it is to inquire into and 
 record the causes of any shipwrecks or serious accidents which 
 may hereafter happen to vessels owned or insured in Boston, 
 or the cargoes of which may be insured here. It is thought 
 that this will result, in the course of a few years, in a very 
 valuable statistical register of the causes of disasters at 
 sea, — valuable to underwriters, to all owners of vessels, and 
 persons engaged in navigation, — and particularly that it wiU 
 have an immediate good effect in inducing to more care and 
 attention to duty on the part of practical navigators.'* Re- 
 port of Boston Board of Trade, 1855, page 3. 
 
28 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 gruntled and renewed it in annual reports un- 
 til 1862, when as a compromise they were given 
 two additional members, bringing the number 
 up to seven. But, unfortunately, during the 
 year following they were not asked by ship- 
 owners or insurance firms to examine into any 
 causes of shipwrecks. This fact terminated 
 the series of detailed reports by the committee, 
 although the annual table of maritime casual- 
 ties was not discontinued for several years. 
 In the first annual report of the Board of 
 KembeTsMp Trade issued by Secretary Isaac C. Bates in 
 1855 and containing thirty-eight pages, it is 
 stated that the number admitted to member- 
 ship at the date of organization was 769. But 
 the number of paid memberships according to 
 the Treasurer's report of that year was only 
 562, to which must be added a few delinquents 
 in calculating the actual roll of the society. 
 This discrepancy is explained by the fact that 
 the Board of Trade took it for granted that the 
 former members of the extinct Chamber of 
 Conmierce would wish to join the new organi- 
 zation. It happened, however, that when noti- 
 fied of election 191 refused, "doubtless because 
 all (of) them were admitted without their 
 
EAELY HISTORY EN THE UNITED STATES 29 
 
 knowledge or consent, and because they had 
 no very definite idea of what we intended to 
 do." '' 
 
 Contemporary with the Boston Board of Boston ^ 
 
 Trade was the Boston Corn Exchange, estab- Exchange 
 hshed in 1855. Its meeting place for nearly 
 twenty years was on Commercial Street within 
 a stone's throw of the eastern end of Quincy 
 Market. In accordance with the customs of 
 that day the merchants who convened there 
 wore tall silk hats almost without exception. 
 The business of the Exchange was interrupted 
 at eleven and four o'clock daily, the members 
 then adjourning to some neighboring tavern. 
 "Some merchants indeed made more frequent 
 pilgrimages." 
 
 About 1873 the name of the Corn Exchange 
 was changed to that of the Boston Commercial 
 Exchange, which later on moved to the former 
 post office building on State Street. That 
 building occupied the site of the present Ex- 
 change Building, and the trading room, that of 
 the present Boston Stock Exchange. Over 
 the entrance to the building was an especially 
 
 sa Report of the Boston Board of Trade, 1855, page 15. 
 The secretary adds: "A little consideration we trust will 
 change their decision.'* 
 
30 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 Seal 
 of the 
 Chamber 
 
 Commercial 
 
 Bodies 
 
 Merged 
 
 fine example of stone carving, said to have been 
 executed by an Irish sailor. When the old 
 building was demolished the stone was pre- 
 served and placed in the walls of the present 
 Chamber of Commerce, and the design has 
 since been adopted as the seal of the Chamber. 
 It represents an American eagle flying above 
 a globe which is surrounded by several allegor- 
 ical emblems. Beneath, resting upon bales of 
 merchandise, are two cornucopiae pouring 
 forth a wealth of agricultural and horticultural 
 products.^* 
 
 In 1885 the Boston Commercial Exchange 
 and the Boston Produce Exchange were united 
 under the title of the Boston Chamber of Com- 
 merce. A consolidation of all the important 
 commercial organizations in Boston occurred 
 in 1909, brought about largely by the construc- 
 tive and executive genius of Mr. Ryerson 
 Ritchie, Ex-President of the Cleveland Cham- 
 ber of Commerce. The bodies now merged in 
 the Boston Chamber of Commerce were for- 
 merly the Boston Merchants' Association, the 
 Chamber of Commerce of 1885, and the Asso- 
 ciated Board of Trade. The present Chamber 
 
 3* Boston Chamber of Commerce Journal, Nov. *09, pp. 48-50. 
 
EARLY HISTORY IN THE UNITED STATES 31 
 
 of Commerce building, valued at $600,000, 
 stands at the corner of India and Milk Streets. 
 On this site Boston vessels formerly anchored. 
 The work of the Boston Chamber of Com- 
 merce, one of the largest and most efficient or- 
 ganizations of its kind in the country, is partly 
 described in Chapter XI. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA COMMERCIAL ORGANIZATIONS 
 
 In the year 1801 a Chamber of Commerce chamber 
 was formed by the merchants of Philadelphia.^'^ commerce 
 Its purpose was to further the commercial in- 
 terests of the city "by carrying into effect, such 
 rules and regulations as may from time to time 
 be established, with respect to commerce." 
 The by-laws provided for the adjustment by 
 an arbitration committee of mercantile differ- 
 ences arising among its members. The society 
 had its origin in the City Tavern, a noted hotel 
 of the day.^' 
 
 35 See W. H. Schoff, American Commercial Institutions, 
 for early history of the Philadelphia Board of Trade. Note 
 that through typographical error the date of its founding is 
 there given as 1802. 
 
 36 "Origin and History of Boards of Trade, Chambers of 
 Commerce, etc.," address by Mr. Frederick Fraley, delivered 
 at a meeting of the Philadelphia Board of Trade, January 
 28, 1889; printed in the 56th annual report of that body. 
 Reference is to page 52. 
 
S2 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 An early authority thus describes the func- 
 Fimctions tions of the Chamber of Commerce : 
 
 "Agreeably to the rules of the association 
 published, they are to meet once a month: 
 thirteen members to constitute a quorum. The 
 officers are, a president, two vice-presidents, 
 a treasurer, and a secretary, chosen annually, 
 on the first Monday in January. The secre- 
 tary is to have a salary, to be fixed by the presi- 
 dent and vice-presidents. On the day of their 
 election, or as soon after as possible, the presi- 
 dent and vice-presidents form sixty of the 
 members of the society, into twelve classes, for 
 the purpose of serving as monthly committees;, 
 for the ensuing year: each class to consist of 
 five members, three of whom shall be competent 
 to the transaction of business. Members neg- 
 lecting to attend the meetings of the commit- 
 tees, pay fifty cents for every neglect. 
 
 "The duty of the monthly committee is, to 
 adjust and determine all mercantile disputes 
 which may be laid before them, and to report 
 their proceedings to the next general meeting. 
 All awards are to be recorded, with the reasons 
 of the award. 
 
 "The members shall in no case refuse to 
 submit any matter of account in dispute, or 
 any mercantile difference between them to the 
 final arbitration or adjustment of those mem- 
 bers who may be chosen for that purpose : but 
 it shall be at the option of the parties to sub- 
 
EAELY HISTORY IN THE UNITED STATES 33 
 
 mit such difference to the committee of the 
 month, or each to choose a member of the so- 
 ciety, who, together with the chairman of the 
 month, shall determine the matter in dispute. 
 . . . Members must be citizens of the United 
 States, and residents of Philadelphia ; and must 
 be nominated one month before they can be 
 chosen." ^^ 
 
 Of importance is the additional fact that the Membership 
 old Chamber of Commerce was further re- 
 stricted in its membership to owners of vessels, 
 importers and exporters of merchandise, and 
 marine insurance brokers.^^ This shows that 
 the organization came into existence primarily 
 to foster the shipping interests of Philadelphia. 
 In the files of Hazard's Register during the 
 1820's and '30's there are numerous reports of 
 action taken by the Chamber, indicating that it 
 was at that time an effective body. 
 
 In 1833 while the Chamber of Commerce 
 was still in existence, the Philadelphia Board Board 
 of Trade was organized on a more liberal plan Trade 
 by several merchants who met October fifteenth 
 
 37 Dr. James Meases' Picture of Philadelphia, published in 
 Philadelphia, 1811. Pages 67-68. See also Philadelphia in 
 1830 by E. L. Carey and A. Hart. Philadelphia, 1830. Page 
 95. 
 
 38Fraley, op. cit., page 31. 
 
34> AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 of that year, **to take into consideration the 
 propriety of forming an association by means 
 of which the commercial and trading com- 
 munity may be enabled to act with united ef- 
 fort on all subjects relating to their inter- 
 ests."^^ At this meeting twenty-four direc- 
 tors were elected and on October 22 the mem- 
 bers, numbering 220, chose a president. A 
 constitution was adopted January first, 1834. 
 
 The first move of the new body was to in- 
 crease the transportation facilities. In 1833, 
 within a month after its organization, delegates 
 were sent to a convention at Warren, Ohio, 
 called for the purpose of uniting the canals of 
 Pennsylvania with those of Ohio.^^ By the 
 publication and distribution of the proceedings 
 of that meeting and by continued action on the 
 general subject of constructing canals and rail- 
 roads, the Board of Trade rendered efficient 
 service in opening a means of communication 
 with the West. The organization was incor- 
 porated in 1838. 
 
 While this body was flourishing the Chamber 
 of Conmierce gradually lost ground and was 
 
 38 Sabine, op. cit., page 22. 
 *o Fraley, op. cit., page 53. 
 
EARLY HISTORY IN THE UNITED STATES 35 
 
 finally united with the Board of Trade in 1845 consoiida- 
 through a friendly conference between commit- 
 tees of both bodies. This consolidation was 
 later ratified by an act of the Assembly.*^ 
 
 For many years the Board of Trade had no 
 fixed meeting place. At first the meetings 
 were held at Wade's Hotel/^ and the Mer- 
 chants' Coffee House, and after 1834 in an 
 apartment in the Exchange. In June 1858 
 two large rooms with an office were fitted up 
 for the use of the organization on the second 
 floor of a new fire-proof building opposite the 
 Mayor's office and Independence Hall on 
 Chestnut Street.'^ 
 
 At the present time the Board of Trade is Present- 
 located at the Philadelphia Bourse. It is ac- ganizations 
 tively devoted to the material prosperity of the 
 
 *i Fraley, op. ciL, page 51. 
 
 42Fraley, op. cit., page 52f, says: "Carrying my recollec- 
 tions back to my first knowledge of that house of entertain- 
 ment, I recollect that it was kept, in 1826, by Mrs. Catherine 
 Yohe, who was a most admirable landlady, and attracted, — 
 by the goodness of her table and her genial and affable con- 
 duct towards her guests, — large numbers of merchants from 
 the South and West, — the then great sources of our Phila- 
 delphia trade." Mr. Fraley was Secretary of the Board of 
 Trade in 1838, the year of its incorporation by act of the 
 Assembly, and his report of its early history is authoritative 
 as well as interesting. 
 
 *3 Sabine, op. cit., page 24. 
 
36 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 city, the membership representing every de- 
 partment of industry. Other prominent com- 
 mercial organizations are the new Chamber of 
 Commerce, organized in 1891, and the Com- 
 mercial Exchange, organized in 1854 as the 
 Corn Exchange Association. The Chamber of 
 Commerce aims to promote the business wel- 
 fare of the city, while the Commercial Ex- 
 change is closely identified with the grain and 
 produce interests.*^ 
 
 44 The Port and City of Philadelphia, by F. H. Taylor and 
 W. H. Schoff. Page 110. 
 
 Boston's unified Chamber of Commerce contrasts strongly 
 with the several commercial organizations supported by Phil- 
 adelphia citizens. The author invited Secretary Schoff of the 
 Philadelphia Commercial Museum to state the reasons, in his 
 opinion, for the lack of unity now existing in Philadelphia. 
 Mr. Schoff's letter follows: "... I think the situation in 
 Philadelphia as regards combination of its Trade Bodies is 
 largely a personal one, and while ultimately a combination 
 may be brought about, it seems to me more likely that it will 
 come through gradual growth of the strongest body and ab- 
 sorption of the other bodies and that it may not be fully 
 consummated during the lifetime of some persons active in 
 this work. . . . While there has been considerable agitation 
 of the matter of combining our Trade Bodies, the agitation 
 itself has not been entirely free from personal or political 
 motives, and this has perhaps prevented it from commanding 
 general confidence. 
 
 "I do not believe that it can be accepted as axiomatic that 
 absolute combination into one body is necessarily beneficial, 
 although it cannot be denied that the division of interest in 
 Philadelphia has lessened the effectiveness of organization 
 work here." 
 
EAELY HISTORY IN THE UNITED STATES 37 
 
 The 1911 Annals of the American Academy- 
 furnish interesting early history of some of the 
 great produce exchanges of this country, nota- 
 bly, the Chicago Board of Trade, — pages 507- 
 523; N. Y. Produce Exchange, — pages 524- 
 539; the Merchants' Exchange of St. Louis, — 
 pages 540-544; and the Philadelphia Commer- 
 cial Exchange, — pages 562-567. New Eng- 
 land, edited by George French and pubUshed 
 1911 by the Boston Chamber of Commerce, 
 sketches the founding and early history of com- 
 mercial organizations in New England, — • 
 pages 344-360. 
 
A CENTURY OF DEVELOPMENT 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 A CENTURY OF DEVELOPMENT 
 
 In 1801 four chambers of commerce existed isoi 
 in this country, located respectively in the cities 
 of New York, New Haven, Conn., Charleston, 
 S. C, and Philadelphia.^ From the previous 
 description of the New York and Philadelphia 
 bodies it is apparent that they were composed 
 of business men meeting regularly to discuss 
 trade matters and to pass resolutions on cer- 
 tain important commercial questions. The 
 other chambers of commerce closely resembled 
 them. These pioneer mercantile associations 
 were the forerunners of the various bodies that 
 have since been founded. 
 
 During the first half of the nineteenth cen- 
 tury commercial conditions showed relatively 
 
 ^American Commercial Institutions by Wilfred H. Schoflf 
 (now Secretary of the Philadelphia Commercial Museum), — 
 fourth of a series of Monographs on American Social Eco- 
 nomics written at the request of the Department of Social 
 Economy of the United States Commission for the Paris Ex- 
 hibition of 1900. Published in Philadelphia, 1900. Refer- 
 ence is to page 5. 
 
 41 
 
42 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 1B58 little progress. The telegraph was not in reg- 
 
 ular use and the transatlantic cable had not yet 
 been laid. The increase in the number of com- 
 mercial bodies during the half -century was, nat- 
 ^ urally, only slight. In 1858, according to one 
 authority there were ten chambers of commerce 
 and twenty boards of trade in the United 
 States.^ They were voluntary associations of 
 business men, without political influence or 
 patronage, but generally possessing limited 
 charter privileges. 
 
 The laying of the cable in 1866 and the de- 
 velopment of telegraph and railway lines revo- 
 lutionized trade conditions and resulted in the 
 formation of numerous boards of trade and 
 similar associations. A prominent effect of the 
 extension of railroads was to deprive inland 
 waterways of much of the freight that had for- 
 merly been theirs. The commerce of some 
 river-cities actually decreased for a time. An 
 address contained in the records of the Pitts- 
 burgh Chamber of Commerce for the year 1878 
 
 Civic states that Pittsburgh was seriously affected; 
 
 Aroused and it is particularly valuable for showing how 
 one commercial organization came to take an 
 
 2 Sabine, o'p. cit., page 20. 
 
A CENTURY OF DEVELOPMENT 43 
 
 interest in the city's welfare.^ By the very 
 urgency of the situation the Pittsburgh Cham- 
 ber was forced to adopt a public-spirited point 
 of view. 
 
 For over a century there have been commer- 
 cial organizations in this country, but for the 
 greater part of this period they have been de- 
 liberative bodies, meeting infrequently, debat- 
 ing problems of local or national interest, and 
 adjourning. It is different in the case of the 
 modern chamber of commerce. Evolution has Evolution 
 produced a new organization, conducted by the commercial 
 best type of citizens and business men, and in- 
 terested not only in the upbuilding of commerce 
 but also in the betterment of community life. 
 In the words of Ex-President Wheeler of the 
 U. S. Chamber of Commerce, the commercial 
 organization of to-day is "the most beneficent 
 
 3 "Boards of Trade: Their Origins, History, Uses, and 
 Usefulness," — address by John H. Ricketson, Esq., before the 
 Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce, June 4, 1878. He said in 
 part: "Situated on the eastern edge of the Mississippi basin, 
 with river communication with the mouth of the Father of 
 Waters, only 450 miles from the largest sea-coast city, and 
 much nearer to two next in rank, with a delightful climate, 
 a fertile soil, a rich back country, and . . . the largest and 
 finest deposit of coal for manufacturing purposes, we have 
 grown in spite of ourselves. . . . But now a change has come 
 over the spirit of our dream. Artificial highways have been 
 created and our natural advantages are beginning to be neu- 
 
44 AMEKICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 force that community life in America has ever 
 known." * 
 
 By constantly enlarging their field of use- 
 fulness and by taking an active part in the so- 
 lution of civic problems, modern trade bodies 
 have made themselves invaluable to their cities. 
 The "doing" body of to-day, as Mr. Chering- 
 ton observes, has gone so far beyond its "resolv- 
 ing" forebear that we are prone to forget that 
 it is still a "voluntary association of business 
 men working for the common good." ^ He ac- 
 counts for this evolution by the fact that the 
 voluntary association has not only realized its 
 own strength but has also come to appreciate 
 the true meaning of the common good. 
 
 As stated above, there were four commercial 
 organizations in this country in 1801, their 
 number increasing to thirty in fifty-odd years. 
 
 tralized. . . . The changes the railroads first made on their 
 maps they are now making on the face of the land itself." 
 
 See also development of transportation facilities in United 
 States. New England, page 272. 
 
 * Speech before the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, 
 July 14, 1913, reported in The Nation's Business, Vol. I, 
 no. 14, page 5. 
 
 5 "The Secretarial Field for College Graduates," by Asst.- 
 Prof. Paul T. Cherington of the Harvard Graduate School 
 of Business Administration. The Nation's Business, Vol. I, 
 no. 14, page 7. 
 
A CENTURY OF DEVELOPMENT 45 
 
 Figures for 1898 are given by W. H. Schoff, i898 
 Secretary of the Philadelphia Commercial 
 Museum, in his pamphlet, American Commer- 
 cial Institutions. From a specially compiled 
 list of local boards of trade and other commer- 
 cial organizations Mr. Schoff finds a total of 
 2944. To this, he says, must be added about 
 100 national commercial bodies, as for example 
 the National Business League and the Na- 
 tional Board of Trade. 
 
 In December 1912 the Senate directed the official 
 
 _. /» ^ T , /. statistics 
 
 JDepartment of Commerce and Labor to fur- i9i3 
 nish a Ust of National, State, and local commer- 
 cial organizations, and the compilation was 
 made by the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic 
 Commerce of this Department and printed 
 February 1913. A description of the pam- 
 phlet is given on page 78. Careful analysis 
 of the hst shows that at the date of issue there 
 were approximately 3356 commercial organi- 
 zations in this country. Of those mentioned 
 243 are interstate, national, or international 
 bodies, 183, state and territorial, and 2930, 
 local. To the first of these three classes belong 
 such organizations as the New England Busi- 
 ness Federation, the Pan American States As- 
 
46 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 sociation, and, in addition, many national 
 trades organizations which are not related to 
 chambers of commerce and boards of trade. 
 Among the state bodies may be cited the Cali- 
 fornia Development Board, a consolidation of 
 the California State Board of Trade, the Man- 
 ufacturers' and Producers' Association of Cal- 
 ifornia, and the California Promotion Com- 
 mittee. This Board was organized to promote 
 the commercial development of California. In 
 New York State, since the publication of the 
 Government list, a body known as the Asso- 
 ciated Chambers of Commerce of New York 
 I State has been founded, having as its purpose 
 j the systematic interchange of information re- 
 garding the attitude of New York State com- 
 mercial bodies toward state legislation. These 
 two examples of state federations are sufficient 
 to indicate the wide diversity of causes which 
 bring these state bodies into existence. 
 
 Of the 2930 local commercial organizations 
 Civic mentioned in the official compilation, a large 
 
 runctlons . . , ,...,. 
 
 majority, 2274, are interested m civic and in- 
 dustrial development, as conveniently indicated 
 therein by symbols. Although there is a great 
 variety in the names of local bodies, a trifle 
 
A CENTURY OF DEVELOPMENT 47 
 
 more than 60 per cent, of them are designated 
 as chambers of commerce, boards of trade, and 
 commercial clubs, with numerous variations of 
 the last-named. There are listed 414 cham- 
 bers of commerce, 490 boards of trade, and 868 
 commercial clubs, commerce clubs, commerce 
 leagues, and commercial associations. The Names of 
 
 . . Organiza- 
 
 ngures mdicate that these descriptive terms tions 
 are in particular favor. The accompanying 
 table shows the average number of chambers of 
 commerce, boards of trade, and commercial 
 clubs, respectively, per hundred of commercial 
 organizations in each of the main divisions of 
 this country : ^ 
 
 
 Division 
 
 Ch.C'm. 
 
 Bd.Tr. C'm.Cl 
 
 No. 
 
 Atlantic States. 
 
 ...13.. 
 
 ...41.. 
 
 . 3... 
 
 So. 
 
 Atlantic States. 
 
 ...28.. 
 
 ...34.. 
 
 . 5... 
 
 No. 
 
 Central States.. 
 
 ... 6.. 
 
 ... 4.. 
 
 .49... 
 
 So. 
 
 Central States . . 
 
 ...12.. 
 
 ...10.. 
 
 .32... 
 
 Western States 
 
 ...30.. 
 
 ...11.. 
 
 .30... 
 
 It is interesting to note the high percentage 
 of boards of trade and chambers of commerce 
 
 7 These figures are not contained in the official report but 
 have been compiled from it by the author. See Appendix, 
 page 257, for statistics showing (1) commercial organizations 
 by States and (2f) those commercial organizations, by States, 
 that are interested in civic work. 
 
48 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 in the East, and the correspondingly small pro- 
 portion of commercial clubs, whereas the cen- 
 tral states show the figures reversed. In the 
 West chambers of conmierce and commercial 
 clubs exist in equal numbers, California alone 
 having as many as sixty-nine chambers of com- 
 merce. It should be carefully understood, 
 however, that the selection of one name or an- 
 other for a commercial organization engaged 
 in civic and industrial development is only ar- 
 bitrary. But it is probably justifiable to as- 
 sume that the existence of large commercial 
 clubs in the principal cities of the central states 
 accounts for the sectional popularity of their 
 name. And the Atlantic states very naturally 
 retain the terms, board of trade and chamber 
 of commerce, as their inheritance from the Old 
 World. 
 
 The World's Work, August 1913, page 479, 
 says editorially: 
 
 "At the present time there are over 4500 
 commercial organizations in the United States, 
 and over 1000 of sufficient importance to jus- 
 tify membership in the National Chamber of 
 Commerce." 
 
A CENTURY OF DEVELOPMENT 49 
 
 No figures are given to show how this ap- 
 parently excessive estimate was obtained. It 
 includes, of course, as do the lists for 1898 and 
 1913 above mentioned, many special organiza- 
 tions such as stationers' boards and real estate 
 associations which do not properly belong to 
 the class of commercial bodies treated in this 
 volume. 
 
 Along with the rapid increase in the number improved 
 of American commercial organizations has 
 come a satisfactory advancement in their meth- 
 ods and functions. For example, they have 
 been largely instrumental in improving the re- 
 lations between the transportation companies 
 and the commercial interests. Through their 
 traffic bureaus they settle the freight claims 
 that the business man willingly turns over to 
 them for adjustment.^ The agricultural pos- 
 
 8 Practical suggestions for the management of a traffic 
 bureau, examples of traffic bureau efficiency, etc., are con- 
 tained in the following: Special Agents Series — No. 60. 
 Commercial Organizations, by E. A. Brand. Washington, 
 D. C, 1912. Page 18— "Transportation Departments." 
 Special Agents Series — No. 79. Commercial Organizations in 
 Southern and Western Cities, by Geo. W. Doonan. Washing- 
 ton, D. C, 1914. Page 6— "Traffic Bureaus." S. H. Clay, 
 City Building, Chapter VIII, "Transportation." J. H. Seek, 
 "Transportation," in the Proceedings, Fourth Annual Conven- 
 tion, the Central Association of Commercial Secretaries, pages 
 27-30. E. J. McVann, "Traffic," in the Proceedings, Fifth 
 
50 AMERICAN CHAMBEES OF COMMERCE 
 
 sibilities of the territory adjacent to the cities 
 are being investigated by commercial organi- 
 zations.^ In conjunction with the Depart- 
 ment of Commerce, boards of trade also keep 
 the local merchants informed of foreign trade 
 opportunities and, carrying out their original 
 purpose, supervise the transactions in ex- 
 changes and arbitrate commercial disputes/^ 
 
 Fire and accident prevention is an impor- 
 tant part of their work in many places. Sani- 
 tary surveys conducted by these bodies have 
 lowered the death rates and made living safer 
 and more comfortable for whole communities- 
 Charitable and settlement work is coming to be 
 included in their field of service. In the mat- 
 ter of community building boards of trade now 
 make industrial investigations, analyzing the 
 
 Annual Convention, the Central Association of Commercial 
 Secretaries, pages 39-40. 
 
 ©Clay's City Building, Chapter XIII, "Agriculture in Co- 
 operation with Farmers and Growers." See page 248 for 
 additional references. 
 
 10 For accounts of the work of commercial bodies in whole- 
 sale and retail trade extension see: W. S. Whitten, "Trade 
 Extension," in the Proceedings, Fourth Annual Convention, 
 Central Association of Commercial Secretaries, pages 19-24. 
 E. H. Clifford, "Trade Extension," in the Proceedings, Fifth 
 Annual Convention, Central Association of Commercial Secre- 
 taries, pages 32-33. S. H. Clay, City Building, Chapters 
 V and VI. 
 
A CENTUEY OF DEVELOPMENT 51 
 
 needs and advantages of their cities, and plan- 
 ning to acquire new factories and industries. 
 The constructive work of commercial organi- 
 zations is more particularly described in Chap- 
 ter X, Civic Improvement, while their im- 
 portant relations with city governments are 
 treated in Chapters VII, VIII, and IX. 
 
THE FEDERATION MOVEMENT 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE FEDERATION MOVEMENT 
 
 Of the great elements in our national life, com- 
 merce has been the slowest to secure nationally 
 organized representation in governmental af- commerce 
 fairs. The laborers in this country are a more organize 
 or less cohesive body. Through their local 
 groups to their State and national organiza- 
 tions they make their wants known to the gov- 
 ernment. Likewise, agricultural interests 
 have combined in granges and other sectional 
 and national groups and they also are able to 
 command governmental recognition. But 
 chambers of commerce and boards of trade, 
 representing the commercial interests, have un- 
 til very recently existed only as independent 
 units and as a result have received little atten- 
 tion from the Federal Government. Public 
 officials dare not discriminate by recognizing 
 any particular board of trade to the exclusion 
 of the rest. The formation of one central 
 body representative of all these organizations 
 
 55 
 
56 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 Central 
 
 Body 
 
 Advocated 
 
 National 
 Board of 
 Trade 
 
 is evidently the means to the solution of this 
 difficulty/ 
 
 In the 1859 report of the Boston Board of 
 Trade there was recommended the formation 
 of a United States Government Board of 
 Trade, "not to replace but to help the local 
 chambers of commerce by bearing some of the 
 labor and expense." Presumably the Boston 
 organization had in mind a body similar to the 
 English Board of Trade, but at all events the 
 Government did not act favorably upon the 
 recommendation. The plan of forming a fed- 
 eration which should be truly representative 
 and entitle commercial organizations to official 
 recognition was considered at a meeting of 
 delegates held in Detroit in 1867. Since that 
 time American trade bodies have made at- 
 tempts to carry out the plan and the term 
 "federation movement" has been applied to 
 this phase of their history. 
 
 The year 1868 marked the first attempt, 
 when the plan of the National Board of Trade 
 
 i"A National Chamber of Commerce" by Edward F. 
 Trefz, Pield Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce of the 
 United States. Address made at the Fourth Annual Conven- 
 tion of the Central Association of Commercial Secretaries, 
 Indianapolis, Indiana, 1912. Reported on page 34 of the 
 Proceedings of tliis convention. 
 
THE FEDEEATION MOVEMENT 57 
 
 was drawn up at a convention in Boston. 
 Organization was effected the same year at 
 Philadelphia, the delegates meeting there at 
 the city's invitation. The new body adopted 
 a constitution June fifth, 1868, briefly sum- 
 marizing its purposes as follows: 
 
 "In order to promote the efficiency and ex- 
 tend the usefulness of the various Boards of 
 Trade, Chambers of Commerce, and other 
 chartered bodies, organized for general com- 
 mercial purposes, in the United States; in or- 
 der to secure unity and harmony of action in 
 reference to commercial usages, customs, and 
 laws, and especially in order to secure the 
 proper consideration of questions pertaining 
 to the financial, commercial, and industrial in- 
 terests of this country at large, this Associa- 
 tion on the fifth day of June 1868 is hereby 
 formed by delegates now in session in the City 
 of Philadelphia, " ^ 
 
 K. • • 
 
 It was provided by the constitution that 
 every local board of trade, chamber of com- 
 merce, or other body organized for general 
 conmiercial, and not for special or private, 
 purposes, and duly chartered under State or 
 national laws should be entitled to member- 
 
 2 Preamble to the Constitution of the National Board of 
 Trade, quoted in the 1868 Report of that body, page vii. 
 
58 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 Original ship, the representation of each body to be on 
 the basis of its number of members. The 
 original enrohnent consisted of thirty-two as- 
 sociations, probably a large majority of all the 
 commercial organizations existing at that 
 time.^ 
 
 The report of the executive council of the 
 National Board of Trade in 1878, reviewing 
 the first decade of its existence, states that the 
 Board was recognized as the leading repre- 
 sentative commercial body and, continuing, 
 says: 
 
 "The result of conservatism and disinterest- 
 edness on the part of the National Board of 
 Trade has been that when the executive council 
 or any committee of the Board has had occa- 
 sion to wait upon the President or upon the 
 heads of departments at Washington, or to ap- 
 pear before the committees of Congress, it has 
 had a cordial reception and a respectful hear- 
 ing. Its recommendations have not always 
 been immediately adopted but they have been 
 recognized as entitled to weight and have sel- 
 dom failed to exert due influence." ^ 
 
 3 Report of the National Board of Trade, 1868, page v. 
 
 4 "The National Board of Trade: Its Past and Future." 
 Report of a committee of the executive council as adopted 
 December 12, 1878, Boston. Reference is to page 4. 
 
THE FEDERATION MOVEMENT 59 
 
 Though it is admitted that the National Not a 
 
 ReprcMiita- 
 
 Board of Trade was measurably successful and tive Body 
 worked faithfully to secure proper recogni- 
 tion for commercial organizations, it was not 
 in fact a representative body. As time passed, 
 the growth of its membership did not keep 
 pace with the rapid increase in the number of 
 commercial bodies.^ Nevertheless the organ- 
 ization continued its activity until 1912, having 
 held annual meetings with only three excep- 
 tions since the date of founding. 
 
 THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF COMMERCE 
 
 An effort to establish closer relations be- * 
 tween commercial organizations and the Gov- 
 
 5 An attempt to explain this fact appears in the minutes of 
 the 1911 Annual Meeting of the National Board of Trade, 
 as follows: "A writer in a recent magazine article, comment- 
 ing on the success of two or three well-known commercial 
 bodies, conveys the impression that we have several thousand 
 commercial organizations in the tJnited States. We have a 
 very large number of organizations, created for special pur- 
 poses, whose membership never meets and whose existence is 
 on paper only; these cannot be classed among commercial 
 bodies eligible for membership in the National Board of 
 Trade. It is improbable that at this time there are more than 
 200 active commercial organizations as distinguished from 
 industrial and trading associations, identified with the civic 
 interests of their respective localities, and of these it is doubt- 
 ful if more than one-quarter have sufficient income to meet 
 their local demands." 
 
60 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 eminent was made at one time by the Depart- 
 ment of Commerce and Labor and, though un- 
 successful, it is worthy of mention. On 
 October 23, 1907, Secretary Straus addressed 
 a letter to a selected number of trade organ- 
 izations. Part of it is here quoted : 
 
 "Gentlemen: The Department of Com- 
 merce and Labor was created by the act of 
 February 14, 1903, and Congress had chiefly 
 in view . . . the fostering, promoting, and 
 developing of foreign and domestic com- 
 merce. . . . 
 
 "With the view of developing the most prac- 
 tical plan for rendering this Department of 
 greater service to the commercial interests of 
 this country, and at the same time to enable 
 the Department to enlist the co-operation of 
 such interests, I have invited the chambers of 
 commerce and boards of trade from some forty 
 of the leading cities of the country to appoint 
 committees to meet in the Department of Com- 
 merce and Labor on Thursday, December 5 
 ... to consider with me ways and means 
 of accompUshing the objects above set 
 forth. . . ."^ 
 
 ^National Council of Commerce: Proceedings of a meet- 
 ing of delegates from the chambers of comnnerce, boards of 
 trade, and trade organizations of the leading cities of the 
 United States, in conference with the Secretary of Commerce 
 and Labor, December 5 and 6, 1907. Printed Washington, 
 D. C, 1907. Secretary Straus's letter appears on pages 3-4. 
 
THE FEDEEATION MOVEMENT 61 
 
 At the meeting a plan of organization was National 
 
 Council 
 
 adopted providing for two closely connected, Formed 
 yet distinct bodies: (1) a National Council of 
 Commerce and (2) an Advisory Committee, 
 appointed by the Council. The National 
 Council was composed of representatives 
 from all of the leading commercial and in- 
 dustrial organizations in this country. Its 
 function was to hear and act on the reports of 
 the Advisory Committee and in turn to bring 
 to the latter's attention any important sug- 
 gestions."^ One of the chief services planned 
 for this Council was that of acting as an in- 
 termediary between the local commercial 
 bodies and the Department of Commerce and 
 Labor in making useful the information col- 
 lected by the Department concerning foreign 
 trade. 
 
 For a number of reasons the National Coun- 
 cil never fulfilled the expectations of its found- 
 ers. After its first annual meeting the 
 membership steadily lost interest and upon the 
 organization of the Chamber of Commerce of 
 the United States of America in 1912 the 
 
 7 Page 14, 1907 Proceedings of the National Council of 
 Commerce. 
 
62 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 Voted out Council voted itself out of existence, turning 
 istence over to the new body the contents of the treas- 
 
 ury which amounted to several hundred dol- 
 lars. 
 
 THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF THE UNITED 
 STATES OF AMERICA 
 
 In 1910 the Boston Chamber of Commerce, 
 a charter member of the National Board of 
 Trade, endeavored to bring about a reorgan- 
 ization of that body in order to make it more 
 effective. But the general sentiment of those 
 organizations which were not members of the 
 old Board of Trade was that it would be better 
 to form a new body. Accordingly in 1912 
 National President Taft, through Secretary Nagel of 
 Conference the Department of Commerce and Labor, in- 
 vited commercial organizations generally to at- 
 tend a National Commercial Conference in 
 Washington to consider the advisability of 
 carrying out this plan.^ 
 
 8 See Secretary Nagel's article : "A National Chamber of 
 Commerce." Harper's Weekly, August 10, 1912, page 9. He 
 says: ". . . Intelligent development, legislative or otherwise, 
 must in very large measure depend upon the opportunity and 
 ability on the part of officials of the government to confer 
 with accredited representatives of commerce and industry in 
 general." Also see Chamber of Commerce News (issued by 
 
THE FEDEEATION MOYEMENT 63 
 
 Seven hundred and fifty delegates, repre- 
 senting commercial organizations of every 
 state in the Union, attended the meeting on 
 April 22, 1912. At this time there was formed xr. s. 
 
 Chamber 
 
 the Chamber of Commerce of the United Formed 
 States of America.^ This body has no offi- 
 cial connection with the National Board of 
 Trade. The latter is still in existence, though 
 inactive and holding no meetings. Its mem- 
 bers have been advised by the ofiicers to sup- 
 port the new Chamber of Commerce and the 
 Board of Trade will resume operations only 
 in case the other is not successful. Subject 
 to the call of the president, the National 
 Board can be brought forward again at any 
 time to work in the interests of organized com- 
 merce. ^^ 
 
 the Boston Chamber of Commerce) Vol. II, No. 52, page 1: 
 "New National Commercial Body,'* showing the activity of 
 the Boston Chamber in connection with the founding of the 
 Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America. 
 The World's Work, Vol. XXVII, page 610, April 1914, gives 
 editorial conmient under the title "A National Chamber of 
 Commerce." 
 
 9 Greater New York, Vol. I, no. 9, page 8. "Federal Cham- 
 ber of Commerce Formed." 
 
 10 Letter of Mr. William H. Douglas, Dec. 26, 1913. Mr. 
 Douglas, formerly Second Vice-President of the National 
 Board of Trade, is now a member of the Board of Directors 
 of the Chamber of Commerce of the U. S. A. 
 
64. AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 The purpose of the United States Cham- 
 Purpose ber of Commerce is to establish closer relations 
 between the commercial interests of this coun- 
 try and the Federal officials, and thus to bring 
 about a better mutual understanding. It aims 
 in the words of the by-laws : 
 
 "to secure co-operative action in advancing the 
 common purposes of its members, uniformity 
 and equity in business usages and laws, and 
 proper consideration and concentration of 
 opinion upon questions affecting the financial, 
 commercial, civic, and industrial interests of 
 the country at large." ^^ 
 
 By comparing the purposes of this organiza- 
 tion with those stated half a century ago in 
 the "Preamble" of the National Board of 
 Trade ^^ it will be noted that the by-laws com- 
 mittee of the newer body thought it necessary 
 to add "civic interests" to the financial, com- 
 mercial, and industrial interests named by its 
 predecessor. It is reasonable to expect that, 
 
 11 Published in The Nation's Business, Vol. I, no. 4, page 7. 
 See also: The Nation's Business, Vol. I, no. 2, page 2: "The 
 Relation of the U. S. Chamber of Commerce to the Govern- 
 ment." Same, Vol. I, no. 5, page 12: "The Chamber and Con- 
 gress." Same, Vol. I, no. 14, page 5: "Purpose of the U. S. 
 Chamber of Commerce." Speech of Pres. Wheeler at San 
 Francisco Chamber of Commerce July 14, 1913. 
 
 12 See above page 57. 
 
THE FEDERATION MO^^EMENT 65 
 
 as the commercial organizations represented in 
 the United States Chamber of Commerce con- 
 tinue to extend their civic functions, becoming 
 increasingly valuable to their cities, they will 
 in due course be enabled to secure govern- 
 mental recognition and legislative support. 
 
 Following the advice of Secretary Nagel in Federal 
 his address at the National Commercial Con- sought 
 ference which marked the founding of the 
 Chkmber, the board of directors was ordered 
 to take steps to secure a Federal charter.^^ A 
 bill was therefore prepared and introduced in 
 the House of Representatives on June fourth, 
 1912, and referred to the Committee on Judici- 
 ary. The bill was promptly returned with the 
 recommendation that it be passed and these 
 significant comments : 
 
 **As the purpose of the corporation pro- 
 posed in this bill is to encourage trade and 
 commercial intercourse among the States, the 
 District of Columbia, the territories, and in- 
 sular possessions of the United States and with 
 foreign nations — in other words, as its pur- 
 pose is to encourage, stimulate, facilitate and 
 extend our commercial relations, there can be 
 
 13 The Nation's Business, Vol. I, no. 7, page 4: "Federal 
 Charter Sought for U. S. Chamber of Commerce." 
 
66 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 no question as to the right and the power of 
 Congress to grant the proposed charter. 
 
 "While we have many commercial bodies in 
 the country . . . they are all purely local in 
 their character, intended only to benefit the 
 particular conmiunities in which they are lo- 
 cated, and we have no organization of a na- 
 tional or quasi-national character, such as it is 
 proposed in this bill to organize. . . . 
 
 "In the collection, publication and distribu- 
 tion of the latest conmiercial statistics alone it 
 can do incalculable good. 
 
 "It can and ought to greatly increase the 
 commercial standing and importance of the 
 United States among foreign nations by ma- 
 terially extending our foreign trade and by 
 creating a higher standard of business ethics." 
 
 Although the House of Representatives 
 Charter favorcd the bill, it failed to pass the Senate, 
 
 Bill 
 
 Defeated owing partly to the fact that the latter's Com- 
 mittee on Judiciary did not report the bill, and 
 partly to the pressure of other important mat- 
 ters.^* The Chamber has urged the constitu- 
 ent members to work for the passage of the 
 Federal charter bill when it is next presented. 
 Recognition of this body by Congress would 
 enable it to treat on equal terms with the na- 
 
 1* The Nation's Business, Vol. I, no. 9, page 1, "Federal 
 Charter Bill Defeated." 
 
THE FEDERATION MOVEMENT 67 
 
 tional commercial organizations of other coun- 
 tries. Mere incorporation by a State or by 
 the District of Columbia would not be expres- 
 sive of its national purpose and would inevita- 
 bly lead to its confusion with local organiza- 
 tions. 
 
 The activities of the Chamber center in the 
 annual meetings held in various large cities 
 and attended by delegates from all the constit- runctions 
 uent organizations. On these occasions ques- 
 tions of a national character are discussed and 
 voted on. In the interval between meetings 
 the "referendum plan" is largely used, the vote 
 of the members being obtained through the 
 mails. The by-laws provide that any associa- 
 tion desiring to present a subject for the con- 
 sideration of the Chamber shall communicate 
 with the General Secretary. He, in turn, 
 places the question before the board of direc- 
 tors who decide whether it is of national im- 
 portance. If they find in the negative, the 
 proposing member may appeal to the National 
 Council, a body consisting of delegates from 
 all the organizations, each organization having 
 one representative. If the subject is finally • 
 
 decided by the directors or the Council to be 
 
68 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 worthy of consideration, a printed statement 
 of it is sent out to the members and a date set 
 within which votes must be returned. If the 
 general sentiment of the members is favorable, 
 the responsibility of making the action effec- 
 tive rests with the board of directors. The first 
 referendum of the Chamber contained the plan 
 of a national budget, and, owing to the great 
 importance of this subject, all the commercial 
 organizations in this country and in the in- 
 sular possessions, whether or not they were 
 members of the U. S. Chamber, were invited to 
 express their opinion. The returns showed a 
 strong sentiment in favor of the plan. 
 
 The nature of the Chamber's work is in- 
 Referenda dicatcd by a brief statement of the seven subse- 
 quent referenda which have thus far been is- 
 sued. The Chamber's second referendum 
 advocated the creation of a permanent tariff 
 commission. The third condemned an objec- 
 tionable rider on the Sundry Civil Bill. Spe- 
 cific amendments to the Banking and Cur- 
 rency Bill were made the subject of the fourth 
 referendum. Following the affirmative vote 
 of the constituent organizations, delegates 
 from the National Chamber were invited to 
 
THE FEDERATION MOVEMENT 69 
 
 present their amendments to the Senate Com- 
 mittee. The Chamber was thus enabled to 
 take an active part in perfecting the bill which 
 has since become law. 
 
 Referendum, number 5, advocated the ex- 
 pansion of the powers and functions of the 
 Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce. 
 The sixth and seventh referenda proposed, re- 
 spectively, the establishment by Congress of 
 a bureau, or bureaus, of legislative reference 
 and bill-drafting; and the creation of an in- 
 terstate trade commission. The eighth refer- 
 endum contained detailed recommendations 
 on the pending trust legislation and on the pro- 
 posals for regulating business practices.^^ 
 
 In order to keep the organization fully in- 
 formed on national questions affecting com- 
 merce, a number of standing committees have standing: 
 been appointed, whose function it is to investi- 
 gate and make reports whenever required to 
 do so. A committee consists of twenty mem- 
 bers and is divided into four sub-committees, 
 each located in, and representing, one of the 
 four great geographical divisions of this coun- 
 
 15 For a review of the Chamber's referenda with the excep- 
 tion of No. 8 see The Nation's Business, Vol. II, no 2, 
 page 7. 
 
70 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 try, — eastern, north central, south central, and 
 western. Over 600 commercial organizations 
 Membersiiip are included in the membership of the National 
 Chamber. There are, moreover, a large num- 
 ber of individual memberships, 1716 being the 
 figure given in the Directors' Report for 1913. 
 Individual members must be members in good 
 standing of an organization affiliated with the 
 Chamber and have no vote except through the 
 organization to which they belong. In return 
 for annual dues of $25 they receive direct all 
 the services of the Chamber, have the use of the 
 facilities at the Washington office, may attend 
 the meetings, and have the privilege of the floor 
 at these functions. 
 
 The official publication of the National 
 Chamber, The Nation's Business, is issued 
 monthly from the headquarters at Washing- 
 ton, D. C. 
 
 As the National Chamber is still in the 
 rnture of formative period, any statement regarding its 
 Chamber permanent value to organized commerce would 
 be imprudent. In the personnel of its found- 
 ers, the practical value of its proposed en- 
 deavors, and the friendly attitude of the Fed- 
 eral Government, the Chamber of Commerce 
 
THE FEDERATION MOVEMENT 71 
 
 has had from the first most desirable assets. 
 Its future will depend largely upon the ability 
 of its directors to combine the heterogeneous 
 elements which are represented in the member- 
 ship and to guide the organization as a unit in 
 accordance with wisely-chosen policies. 
 
 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF CHAMBERS 
 OF COMMERCE 
 
 An organization which tends to bring about 
 government co-operation with American com- 
 mercial bodies, and to raise them to the posi- 
 tion occupied by European trade associations, 
 is the International Congress of Chambers of 
 Commerce, representing the business men of 
 the entire world. It was founded at a meet- 
 ing held in Liege, Belgium, in 1905, which 
 resulted in the appointment of a permanent 
 committee and the decision to hold meetings 
 every two years. The second Congress took 
 place at Milan, Italy, in 1906 and at intervals 
 of two years thereafter meetings were held in 
 Prague, 1908, London, 1910, Boston, 1912, 
 and Paris, 1914, respectively.^^ 
 
 18 For details see: Bulletin of the Pan- American Union, 
 1912, Vol. XXXIV, pages 52S-525; "Fifth International Con- 
 gress of Chambers of Commerce." (Same) , Vol. XXXIV, pages 
 
72 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 Classes of 
 Delegates 
 
 Subjects 
 Discnssed 
 
 Delegates to the International Congress are 
 of two classes : first, the official delegates desig- 
 nated to attend the Congress by the Govern- 
 ments of the leading commercial nations; and 
 second, the delegates appointed by the busi- 
 ness organizations affiliated with this body. 
 The purpose of the International Congress is 
 to secure harmony of action on all interna- 
 tional questions affecting commerce and trade 
 by enlisting the co-operation of the various na- 
 tions to obtain uniform laws with respect to 
 commercial matters. At the biennial sessions 
 it therefore considers the current problems of 
 the world's trade. Questions are selected by 
 the permanent committee from among those 
 suggested by the constituent organizations and 
 are announced in advance of the meetings. 
 At the recent Paris Congress, attended by over 
 2000 delegates, the following were among the 
 subjects discussed and voted upon: a fixed 
 date for Easter, the universal adoption of 
 clocks numbering the hours 1-24, saving of 
 daylight in the simamer months by putting time 
 
 873-896. The Nation's Business, Vol. I, no. 18, page 16: " In- 
 ternational Chamber of Commerce Resolutions." New York 
 Times, July 26, 1914, magazine section, page 8: "Sixth Inter- 
 national Congress of Chambers of Commerce." 
 
THE FEDERATION MOVEMENT 7S 
 
 ahead one hour, May 1 to October 1, uniform 
 legislation regarding the arbitration of com- 
 mercial disputes between private parties of dif- 
 ferent countries, and a uniform bill of lading/^ 
 If the action taken by the delegates at the 
 biennial sessions is favorable, it then becomes 
 the duty of the permanent committee to take 
 steps to make the decision effective. This is 
 done either by urging some government to 
 call a diplomatic conference or by entering into 
 negotiations with the different governments. 
 The relations between the leading commercial 
 organizations of Europe that are included in 
 the International Congress and the various 
 European governments have always been of a 
 very cordial nature.^^ 
 
 THE PHILADELPHIA COMMERCIAL MUSEUM 
 
 The Philadelphia Commercial Museum is an 
 institution that indirectly contributes to the 
 federation movement since commercial organ- 
 izations of all countries are represented in the 
 membership of its international advisory board. 
 
 IT See Chicago Commerce, Vol. X, no. 6, pages 20-22. Also 
 The Nation's Business, Vol. II, no. 7, pages 11-13. 
 
 18 The Nation's Business, Vol. I, no. 2, page 1. 'The In- 
 ternational Congress of Chambers of Commerce.^* 
 
74 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 The purpose of the Museum is to develop 
 American export trade by supplying manu- 
 facturers with commercial information and 
 statistics. 
 
 In 1893 the Chicago World's Fair suggested 
 Plan to Dr. Wilham P. Wilson, then of the Uni- 
 
 Sn guested 
 
 versity of Pennsylvania, the plan of organiz- 
 ing a commercial museum and reference 
 bureau. The city of Philadelphia thereupon 
 authorized him to obtain material for a museum 
 of foreign trade products. By conferring 
 with foreign commissioners at the Exposition 
 and with their respective governments, he ob- 
 tained by purchase and gift a large number of 
 specimens. In Philadelphia he secured the 
 support of the late Dr. William Pepper, 
 Provost of the University of Pennsylvania, 
 and on June 15, 1894, there was organized 
 the Philadelphia Commercial Museum, of 
 which Dr. Wilson was subsequently appointed 
 Director. For the government of the Mu- 
 seum's affairs a board of trustees was chosen, 
 its members including the Governor of Penn- 
 sylvania, the Mayor of Philadelphia, and other 
 State and city officials. 
 
 In 1899 at the time of the official opening of 
 
THE FEDERATION MOVEMENT 75 
 
 the Museum there was held an Export Ex- Musenm 
 
 . 1 Opened 
 
 position and a Commercial Congress at which 
 there were delegates from commercial bodies 
 in most of the important countries of the 
 world. The Museum is supported by the city 
 of Philadelphia, the State of Pennsylvania, 
 and the Federal Government, deriving an ad- 
 ditional income from business firms which pay 
 annual amounts varying in accordance with 
 the services rendered to them by the institu- 
 tion.'^ 
 
 BUREAU OF FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC 
 COMMERCE 
 
 As the purpose of the federation movement 
 is to secure official recognition for commercial 
 organizations, it is interesting to note that the 
 Federal Government is inviting the co-opera- 
 tion of these bodies through the Bureau of 
 Foreign and Domestic Commerce. This 
 
 19 Schoff, American Commercial Institutions, page 30. 
 Other articles on the Philadelphia Commercial Museum are: 
 P. T. Cherington, "Philadelphia Commercial Museum," The 
 World Today, Vol. XIV, pages 500-507, May 1908; R. A. Foley, 
 "Philadelphia Commercial Museum," The World's Work, Vol. 
 II, pages 1258-1260, October 1901. "Pioneer Commercial 
 Museum," Harper's Weekly, Vol. XL VI, page 514, April 19, 
 1902. J. A. Stewart, "Where Science Is Allied to Commerce," 
 Chautauquan, Vol. XXXVIII, pages 264t-266. November 1903. 
 
76 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 Bureau was formed in 1912 by the consolida- 
 tion of the Bureau of Manufactures and the 
 Bureau of Statistics, both in what is now the 
 Department of Commerce. Its function is to 
 promote and develop trade at home and 
 abroad by collecting and publishing useful 
 commercial information. This material is se- 
 cured from many sources, mainly by a corps 
 of commercial agents, employed to make in- 
 vestigations and submit reports. A pamphlet 
 entitled: Miscellaneous Series — No. 6, Pro- 
 motion of Commerce, Washington, D. C, 
 1912, gives a brief outline of the service main- 
 tained by the Federal Government for the 
 promotion of trade. 
 
 In 1912 Mr. E. A. Brand, Commercial 
 Tonrof Agent of the Department of Commerce and 
 
 Investiga- 
 
 tion Labor, as it was then named, made a tour of 
 
 several of the eastern and central states, visit- 
 ing seventy commercial organizations. The 
 primary purpose of the inquiry was to estab- 
 lish a basis for co-operation between the local 
 commercial organizations and what is now the 
 Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce.^*^ 
 Mr. Brand made a general recommendation 
 
 20 See Remarks of E. A. Brand of the Bureau of Manu- 
 
THE FEDERATION MOVEMENT 77 
 
 that the commercial bodies file trade data con- 
 cerning their constituent members so that in- 
 formation of foreign trade opportunities, fur- 
 nished by the Bureau, could be directed to 
 those interested.^ ^ 
 
 As a result of this tour of investigation Mr. 
 Brand wrote: Special Agents Series — No. 60. Government 
 
 ^ ' -I ^ . • -TTT • Publications 
 
 Commercial Organizations, Washmgton, 
 D. C, 1912. This 48-page pamphlet cites the 
 leading activities of the organizations visited, 
 including efforts to aid in civic development, 
 foreign trade, manufacturing industries, indus- 
 trial expositions, campaigns for conventions, 
 publicity, development of wholesale and re- 
 tail trade, and the improvement of transporta- 
 tion facilities. 
 
 Supplementing this report, in 1914 the 
 
 factures, Department of Commerce and Labor, at a meeting 
 of Cleveland Manufacturers interested in Export Trade, held 
 under the auspices of the Committee on Export Trade of 
 the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce, May 8th, 1912. 10 
 pages. Published by Cleveland Chamber of Commerce 1912. 
 21 See E. A. Brand, American Commercial Organizations, 
 in Daily Consular and Trade Reports, December 8, 1911, 
 page 1217 ff. Through typographical error this citation is 
 made to read December 6 in Special Agents Series — No. 60. 
 Commercial Organizations, page 47. See also "Bureau of 
 Foreign and Domestic Commerce," page 35 of pamphlet en- 
 titled. Some Activities of the Rochester Chamber of Com- 
 merce during 1913, showing co-operation between the Bureau 
 and the Rochester Chamber. 
 
78 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce 
 issued: Special Agents Series — No. 79. 
 Commercial Organizations in Southern and 
 Western Cities, — by Geo. W. Doonan, Wash- 
 ington, D. C, 1914. As the general features 
 of commercial organization work were treated 
 in the previous bulletin, Mr. Doonan's mon- 
 ograph discusses in some detail the character- 
 istic work of the associations in twenty-five 
 isouthern and western cities and the methods 
 which they have adopted to meet conditions 
 peculiar to their respective fields. 
 
 The Bureau is also responsible for the com- 
 pilation of a list of national, state, and local 
 commercial organizations, issued 1913, cover- 
 ing the first 81 pages of the pamphlet entitled: 
 Miscellaneous Series — No. 8. Commercial 
 and Agricultural Organizations of the United 
 States. Washington, D.C., 1913."" The list 
 contains the names of practically all commer- 
 cial organizations in towns of 2000 inhabitants 
 or more, and in addition a concise statement 
 of facts regarding each organization, — its 
 dues, income, membership, special interests, 
 committees, and bureaus. 
 
 22 See page 45. 
 
MODERN STRUCTURAL 
 PRINCIPLES 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 MODERN STRUCTURAL PRINCIPLES 
 
 When a chamber of commerce is established 
 the members commonly draw up a statement 
 defining the pm-poses of the organization, and 
 at the same time prepare a constitution and 
 by-laws, giving to the organization its struc- 
 tural form. The purposes declared by the 
 founders are chief factors in determining what 
 this form is to be. The system is adapted to 
 the work in view. 
 
 The present type of commercial organiza- 
 tion, according to Mr. S. C. Mead,^ is the Purpose of 
 result of commercial and industrial evolution, commerce 
 In his opinion the main purpose of a chamber 
 of commerce is to stimulate, foster, and pro- 
 tect the commercial and industrial activities 
 of the community, through co-operation and i 
 co-ordination on the part of the citizens. ' 
 
 iS. C. Mead, Secretary of the New York Merchants* Asso- 
 ciation, "Methods of Commercial Organizations." Address at 
 the Second Annual Convention of the Chamber of Commerce 
 of the U. S. A., in Greater New York, Vol. Ill, no. 8, page 6. 
 
 81 
 
82 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 Collateral subjects such as civics, social better- 
 ment, and welfare work, are to be approached 
 by the commercial organization only in so far 
 as they are related to the commercial and in- 
 dustrial situation. 
 
 Mr. Ryerson Ritchie also properly insists 
 First upon the fact that the first duty of a commer- 
 
 Dnty 
 
 cial body is to the financial and industrial in- 
 terests of the community: 
 
 "It is only when the chamber takes its proper 
 place as the guardian of the city's commercial 
 credit and stability, the representative of busi- 
 ness as a whole, that it engenders a spirit of 
 confidence and respect that gives it power and 
 influence." ^ 
 
 Warning against the over-zealous reform 
 work attempted by some organizations he has 
 said: 
 
 "When ycJu find a commercial body that be- 
 gins with politics and ends with business you 
 will find one that misses a fundamental element 
 of efficiency as a public agency. The effective 
 commercial organization begins with business 
 and wins by forcing business into politics." ^ 
 
 2 Ryerson Ritchie, "The Modem Chamber of Commerce." 
 National Municipal Review, Vol. I, page 161. 
 
 3 Ryerson Ritchie, "Chamber of Commerce and the People.*' 
 The American City, Vol. V, pages 74-77. 
 
MODERN STRUCTURAL PRINCIPLES 8S 
 
 The best structural form, then, for a com- 
 mercial organization is that in which the col- 
 lateral interests are properly subordinated to 
 the promotion and stimulation of the com- 
 munity's industrial development. The con- 
 stitution and by-laws should be framed with 
 this in mind. 
 
 CHAMBER OF COMMERCE BY-LAWS 
 STANDARDIZED 
 
 The most important single contribution of 
 recent years to the strengthening of commer- 
 cial bodies throughout the country is the set 
 of by-laws formulated in 1914 by the Com- Committee 
 
 on Stand- 
 
 mittee on Standardization of Commercial ardization 
 Organizations. This committee, appointed in 
 1912 by the American Association of Com- 
 mercial Executives and including in its mem- 
 bership many prominent secretaries and or- 
 ganization experts, made a close study of the 
 characteristic structural forms of American 
 chambers of commerce.^ A preliminary re- 
 
 4 The personnel of the committee in 1913-14 was, with few 
 exceptions, the same as in 1912-13. The following men have 
 at one time or another served as committee members: 
 Munson Havens, Chairman, Secretary of the Cleveland Cham- 
 ber of Commerce. 
 Secretary Baker of the Ottawa Board of Trade. 
 
84. AMERICAN CHAMBEES OF COMMERCE 
 
 port was submitted by the committee's chair- 
 man, Mr. Mmison Havens, at the 1913 an- 
 nual meeting of the American Association.^ 
 
 J. F. Carter, Jr., New Orleans Association of Commerce. 
 
 Secretary Chapman of the Portland Commercial Club. 
 
 P. T. Cherington, Harvard University Graduate School of 
 Business Administration. 
 
 Secretary Clendening of the Commercial Club of Kansas City. 
 
 Secretary Davison of the Worcester (Mass.) Chamber of 
 Commerce. 
 
 G. Grosvenor Dawe, Chief Editorial Division, Chamber of 
 Commerce of the United States. 
 
 C. F. Dehoney, Manager, Development and Publicity, Cincin- 
 nati Chamber of Commerce. 
 
 Secretary Deland of the Denver Chamber of Commerce. 
 
 Secretary Gitchell of the Detroit Board of Commerce. 
 
 Secretary Guild of the Greater Dayton Association. 
 
 Secretary Kennedy of the Montgomery Business Men's 
 League. 
 
 Vice-President Lynch of the San Francisco Chamber of Com- 
 merce. 
 
 Secretary McKee of the Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce. 
 
 Secretary McKibben of the Boston Chamber of Commerce. 
 
 Secretary Mead of the New York Merchants' Association. 
 
 H. F. Miller, Business Manager, Chicago Association of Com- 
 • merce. 
 
 Secretary Morley of the Toronto Board of Trade. 
 
 Secretary Saunders of the St. Louis Business Men's League. 
 
 Managing Secretary Snell of the Charlestown Chamber of 
 Commerce. 
 
 Secretary Strong of the Minneapolis Civic and Commerce 
 Association. 
 
 Secretary Wiggins of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. 
 
 Secretary Woodward of the Rochester Chamber of Com- 
 merce. 
 5 First report of the Committee on Standardization of Com- 
 mercial Organizations made by Chairman Munson Havens, 
 
 Secretary of the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce, at the 
 
 1913 Annual Meeting of the American Association of Com- 
 
MODERN STRUCTURAL COMMERCE 85 
 
 This report contains a statement of ten struc- 
 tural principles which in the committee's opin- 
 ion should be observed in the by-laws of all 
 commercial organizations. It is rendered in- 
 teresting by the inclusion of the main argu- 
 ments advanced by members of the committee 
 in support of their views on disputed points. 
 
 Supplementing the preliminary report the 
 committee prepared a set of by-laws, based on 
 the ten structural principles and suitable for 
 chambers of commerce in cities ranging from 
 10,000 to 100,000 population. These by-laws standard 
 have been approved by the National Associa- Approved 
 tion of Commercial Organization Secretaries, 
 a body recently formed by the consolidation 
 of the Central and American Associations. 
 
 Owing to the great practical value of the ten 
 structural principles and the standard by-laws 
 for chambers of commerce which are attempt- 
 ing to organize or to reform their organiza- 
 tion, these principles and by-laws are given 
 below in full. 
 
 mercial Executives, St. Paul, Minn., September 25 to 2T, 
 1913. See also speech of S. C. Mead, made at the Second 
 Annual Meeting of the Chamber of Commerce of the U. S. A. 
 The Nation's Business, Vol. II, no. 3, page 13, and Greater 
 New York, Vol. Ill, no. 8, page 6. 
 
86 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 STRUCTURAL PRINCIPLES 
 
 1. The scope and purpose of the organiza- 
 tion are stated in terms sufficiently broad to 
 include every activity to be undertaken. 
 
 2. The qualifications for membership in- 
 clude all eligible persons, with reasonable re- 
 quirements as to their character, financial re- 
 sponsibility, and sympathy with the objects of 
 the organization. A member may be sus- 
 pended or expelled for cause. 
 
 3. Meetings of the entire organization are 
 held at intervals, the members being also em- 
 powered to enforce a demand for a special 
 meeting and to prevent the precipitation with- 
 out notice of a subject and action thereon at 
 any meeting. 
 
 4. Sufficient income is provided at regular 
 intervals to enable the organization to do its 
 work. The expenditure and auditing of funds 
 is in accordance with business methods. 
 
 5. The source of nomination for the gov- 
 erning group of the organization is the mem- 
 bership at large, the members exercising a 
 choice in the election of nominees to the gov- 
 erning group. 
 
MODERN STRUCTURAL PRINCIPLES 87 
 
 6. The governing group has ample power 
 and certain jurisdiction; but its action may be 
 reversed in a regular manner by the organiza- 
 tion. At stated intervals the governing group 
 is required to present a report to the member- 
 ship. 
 
 7. The governing group elects the officers 
 of the organization. 
 
 8. Committees are named by the president 
 subject to confirmation by the governing 
 group, their actions being subject to review 
 by the governing group before becoming the 
 actions of the organization. But, general 
 policies and their interpretation having been 
 fixed by the governing group, a committee has 
 reasonable freedom of action in specific cases. 
 
 9. The executive officer of the organization 
 is elected by the governing group, and has the 
 power of appointing and discharging all em- 
 ployees. Salaries are fixed by the governing 
 group or by a committee duly delegated. 
 
 10. Proper facilities are afforded for the 
 amendment of the by-laws. 
 
88 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 BY-LAWS 
 
 Article I 
 
 OBJECTS 
 
 ^ 1. Objects Defined 
 
 The Chamber of Commerce is organ- 
 ized for the purpose of advancing the com- 
 mercial, industrial and civic interests of the 
 
 city of ; to promote integrity and good 
 
 faith; just and equitable principles in business; 
 uniformity in commercial usages; and to ac- 
 quire, preserve and distribute industrial, com- 
 mercial and civic statistics and information of 
 value; to discover and correct abuses; to pre- 
 vent or adjust controversies; to have a part as 
 representing our city in the consideration and 
 decision of state and national issues. 
 
 2. Limitation of Methods 
 
 This chamber in its activities shall be non- 
 partisan, non-sectional and non-sectarian, and 
 shall take no part in or lend its influence to the 
 election or appointment of any candidate for 
 state, county or city office. 
 
MODERN STRUCTURAL PRINCIPLES 89 
 
 Article II 
 
 MEMBERSHIP 
 
 1. Classes of Membership 
 
 The Chamber of Commerce shall be 
 
 composed of active members and honorary 
 members. 
 
 Men of good standing, interested in the com- 
 mercial, industrial and civic progress of the 
 city shall be eligible for active membership. 
 Distinction in public affairs shall confer eligi- 
 bility to honorary membership. Honorary 
 membership shall include all the privileges of 
 active membership except that of holding 
 office, with exemption from the payment of 
 all fees and dues. 
 
 2. Active 
 
 Candidates for active membership shall 
 make written application to the board of direc- 
 tors and this application shall be regarded as 
 a guarantee on the part of the applicant of his 
 interest in and sympathy with the purposes of 
 the organization, and of his adherence, if 
 elected, to its by-laws, rules and regulations. 
 Election to active membership shall require 
 
90 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 the recommendation of the membership com- 
 mittee and an affirmative vote of the directors. 
 Ten days' notice of approval by the member- 
 ship committee shall be posted on the bulletin 
 board. Objection to any applicant recom- 
 mended for election by the membership com- 
 mittee shall be communicated to the board of 
 directors before the meeting of the board at 
 which the name of the candidate is to be con- 
 sidered. At each regular meeting of the 
 chamber the names of members elected since 
 the preceding meeting shall be announced. 
 
 3. Honorary 
 
 Honorary members may be nominated by 
 the membership committee and elected by the 
 board of directors. A proposal to confer 
 honorary membership may be made in writing 
 to the membership committee by any member 
 of the chamber. If the membership committee 
 approves such proposal the name shall be pre- 
 sented in nomination to the directors with a 
 brief statement of the reasons therefor. If 
 such nomination shall be approved by the 
 hoard of directors announcement of such ap- 
 proval shall be posted on the bulletin board for 
 
MODERN STRUCTURAL. PRINCIPLES 91 
 
 a period of ten days. Objection thereto may 
 be communicated to the board of directors in 
 writing within this period. If a nominee shall 
 receive an affirmative vote of the board of di- 
 rectors he shall be declared elected. Two 
 negative votes shall defeat approval by the 
 membership committee of a proposal for 
 honorary membership and three negative 
 votes shall defeat election by the board of di- 
 rectors. Every election to honorary member- 
 ship shall be announced to the chamber at its 
 first meeting thereafter. An honorary mem- 
 bership may be revoked by the board of direc- 
 tors at any time. 
 
 4. Dues 
 
 Each active member shall pay dollars 
 
 annually as dues toward the maintenance of 
 the chamber. These dues shall be payable on 
 the first day of . Members elected dur- 
 ing the fiscal year shall pay pro rata for the 
 months intervening between the date of elec- 
 tion and the first day of . 
 
 5. Delinquency 
 If any member shall fail to pay his dues 
 within three months after date of maturity. 
 
92 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 his name shall be posted on the bulletin board 
 for a period of ten days, and written notice of 
 delinquency shall be given to him by the treas- 
 urer. If at the end of ten days he still re- 
 mains delinquent his membership may be for- 
 feited by action of the board of directors. 
 
 6. Rebatement 
 The directors shall have the power to rebate 
 the dues of any delinquent member and con- 
 tinue his membership in good standing. The 
 directors may also rebate the dues of any mem- 
 ber unable to avail himself of the privileges of 
 the organization by reason of illness, absence 
 from the city, or any cause, during the period 
 that such cause is existent. 
 
 7. Resignations 
 All resignations shall be tendered to the 
 board of directors in writing. A resignation re- 
 ceived after a payment is due shall not relieve 
 the member presenting such resignation from 
 liability for the dues of the year entered upon. 
 
 8. Expulsion 
 Any member may be expelled for cause by 
 resolution passed by two-thirds of the entire 
 
MODERN STRUCTURAL PRINCIPLES 93 
 
 board of directors at any meeting called for 
 this purpose. Such member shall be notified 
 of the intention of the board to consider his 
 expulsion and shall be given the opportunity 
 of a hearing before the board, but shall not be 
 represented by professional counsel. Passage 
 of such resolution shall, without other act on 
 the part of the board of directors, annul such 
 membership. 
 
 Article III 
 
 BOARD OF DIRECTORS 
 
 The government of the chamber, the direc- 
 tion of its work and the control of its property 
 shall be vested in a board of directors consist- 
 ing of fifteen members, who shall be elected 
 annually as hereinafter provided. Their du- 
 ties shall begin within the three days following 
 their election, when they shall meet, qualify 
 and elect from their own number a president, 
 two vice-presidents and a treasurer. They 
 shall also annually elect a secretary and fix his 
 salary. The secretary shall, upon his election, 
 become a member of the board of directors. 
 The directors shall have power to fill all 
 
94 AMERICAlSr CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 vacancies in the board. They may adopt rules 
 and regulations for conducting the business of 
 the chamber. They shall meet not less fre- 
 quently than once a month. They shall sub- 
 mit in writing at the annual meeting a full re- 
 port of the work and finances of the organiza- 
 tion. 
 
 Article IV 
 
 OFFICERS 
 
 1. President 
 
 The president shall preside at all meetings 
 of the chamber and board of directors. He 
 shall perform all duties incident to his office 
 and advise such action as may be deemed by 
 him likely to increase the usefulness of the 
 chamber. 
 
 2. Vice-Presidents 
 
 The first or second vice-president shall act 
 in the absence of the president; and in the ab- 
 sence or disability of the three officers named, 
 a member of the board of directors shall be 
 chosen to act temporarily. 
 
MODERN STEUCTUEAL PRINCIPLES 95 
 
 3. Treasurer 
 
 The treasurer shall receive and disburse the 
 funds of the chamber. He shall keep all 
 moneys of the chamber deposited in its name. 
 At frequent intervals he shall make reports to 
 the board of directors, which shall require him 
 to give acceptable bond, in such sum as the 
 board may determine, for the faithful per- 
 formance of his duties. 
 
 4. Secretary 
 
 It shall be the duty of the secretary to con- 
 duct the official correspondence, preserve all 
 books, documents and communications, keep 
 books of account, and maintain an accurate 
 record of the proceedings of the chamber, board 
 of directors and all committees. He shall ap- 
 point, have general supervision over and may 
 dismiss all employees of the chamber. He shall 
 perform such duties as may be incident to his 
 office, subject to the direction of the board of 
 directors. He shall give bond for the faithful 
 performance of his duties in such amount as 
 the directors may determine. At the expira- 
 tion of his term of office, he shall deliver to the 
 
96 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 board of directors all books, papers and prop- 
 erty of the chamber. 
 
 Article V 
 
 COMMITTEES 
 
 1. Appointment 
 
 The president shall appoint all committees, 
 subject to confirmation by the board of direc- 
 tors. It shall be his duty to appoint an execu- 
 tive committee and a membership committee. 
 
 2. Executive 
 
 The executive committee, composed of five 
 members of the board shall transact all routine 
 business of the chamber, shall act for the board 
 in the interim between its meetings, shall have 
 authority to order disbursements for the neces- 
 sary expenses of the organization and audit the 
 same for payment. The executive committee 
 shall fix the salaries of all appointive employees 
 of the chamber. It shall have supervision of 
 the rooms and property of the chamber; it 
 shall submit at the meeting of the board re- 
 ports of its actions or minutes of its proceed- 
 ings for confirmation. 
 
MODERN STRUCTURAL PRINCIPLES 97 
 
 3. Auditing 
 
 The president shall nominate an auditing 
 committee at a meeting of the chamber prior 
 to the annual meeting. The chamber may- 
 approve or change the personnel of this com- 
 mittee. It shall be the duty of the auditing 
 committee to examine and audit the books and 
 accounts of the treasurer and the secretary at 
 the close of the year's business and report its 
 findings to the board of directors and to the 
 chamber at its annual meeting. 
 
 4. Authority of Committees 
 
 It shall be the function of committees to in- 
 vestigate and make recommendations. They 
 shall report in writing to the board of direc- 
 tors. No standing or special committee shall 
 represent the chamber in advocacy of or op- 
 position to any project without the specific 
 confirmation of the board of directors, or such 
 confirmation as may be clearly granted under 
 general powers delegated by the board of di- 
 rectors to that committee. 
 
98 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 5. Committee Meetings 
 
 Meetings of committees may be called at 
 any time by the president or by the chairman 
 of such committees. 
 
 6. Ea? Officio 
 
 The president and secretary shall be ecc 
 officio members of all committees, unless other- 
 wise ordered. 
 
 Article VI 
 
 SUBSIDIARY ORGANIZATIONIS 
 
 1. Formation 
 
 Any number of members who may desire to 
 be associated together as a board, section, ex- 
 change or association, for the purpose of pro- 
 moting more effectively the special trade, in- 
 dustry, business or profession in which they 
 are interested, may form a board of the cham- 
 ber of commerce. 
 
 2. Application 
 
 The desire to form any board shall be com- 
 municated to the board of directors in a peti- 
 tion signed by not less than ten members, who 
 
MODERN STRUCTURAL PRINCIPLES 99 
 
 would be eligible to membership in such a 
 board if formed, and if the board of directors 
 shall approve the formation of such board, the 
 secretary shall issue a call for a meeting of all 
 members likely to be interested therein. 
 
 S. Authority 
 If two-thirds of those called shall favor the 
 formation of such board, this fact shall be re- 
 ported in writing to the board of directors, 
 who shall issue a certificate of organization 
 bearing the seal of the chamber and the signa- 
 ture of its president and secretary; but such 
 certificate shall not be issued until the board of 
 directors shall have approved all by-laws, 
 rules and regulations adopted, or proposed to 
 be adopted, by such board. 
 
 4. By-laws 
 Each board of the chamber of commerce may 
 adopt such by-laws, rules and regulations as 
 it may consider necessary for its proper gov- 
 ernment; but no by-law, rule or regulation 
 shall be adopted by any board which shall in 
 any way conflict with the purposes and objects 
 of the chamber as set forth in its charter, by- 
 laws, rules and regulations. 
 
100 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 5. Indebtedness 
 No board of the chamber, or any member 
 thereof, shall contract any debt in its behalf 
 which shall in any manner, or to any extent, 
 render the chamber liable for the payment of 
 any smn, unless the same shall have been ap- 
 proved by the board of directors of the cham- 
 ber. 
 
 6. Resolution 
 
 No action or resolution of any board shall 
 be binding upon, or expressive of the sense of, 
 the chamber of commerce. 
 
 7. Dissolution 
 
 Any board of this chamber may be dissolved 
 by the directors upon petition approved by 
 two-thirds of the members of said board pres- 
 ent at a meeting officially called for the pur- 
 pose of considering such dissolution; and any 
 board may be suspended or dissolved by the 
 board of directors for any action contrary 
 to the charter, by-laws, rules and regulations 
 of the chamber. 
 
 8. Reports 
 Boards or associations, in affiliation with the 
 chamber, shall submit to the board of direc- 
 
MODERN STRUCTURAL PRINCIPLES 101 
 
 tors reports of their condition and reviews of 
 their proceedings at least once a year. 
 
 Article VII 
 
 MEETINGS 
 
 1. Annual 
 
 The annual meeting of the chamber shall be 
 
 held on the third Tuesday in of each year. 
 
 Regular meetings of the chamber shall take 
 place upon dates determinable by the board of 
 directors not less frequently than once in three 
 months. Special meetings of the chamber 
 may be called whenever the directors deem it 
 desirable. Twenty members shall constitute 
 a quorum at any regular or special meeting of 
 the chamber. 
 
 2. Special 
 
 A special meeting of the chamber or the 
 board of directors shall be called upon the 
 written request of ten members of the cham- 
 ber. 
 
 3. Business 
 
 At all special meetings of the chamber only 
 such business as the meeting was called to con- 
 sider shall be discussed and acted upon. 
 
102 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 4. Executive 
 
 Upon motion of any member, the chamber 
 may by a two-thirds vote go into executive ses- 
 sion. 
 
 5. Speeches 
 
 No member shall be permitted to speak more 
 than twice or longer than ten minutes each 
 time on a single subject except by a two-thirds 
 vote of those present. 
 
 6. Exclusion 
 
 No one but a member shall address the 
 chamber except by invitation of the directors 
 or by unanimous consent of the meeting. 
 
 7. Resolutions 
 
 A resolution offered at any meeting must 
 be in writing, and no member shall read or 
 offer for action any communication, report or 
 resolution, unless it has previously had the ap- 
 proval of the board of directors, without first 
 making a general statement of the subject 
 matter thereof. Should any two members 
 object to its presentation it shall be referred 
 to an advisory committee of three, to be im- 
 mediately appointed by the presiding officer. 
 
MODERN STRUCTUEAL PRINCIPLES 103 
 
 After hearing any statement the member of- 
 fering the resolution or the members objecting 
 to its presentation may desire to make, this 
 advisory committee shall report the matter 
 back to the meeting with its recommendation 
 that the matter be presented to the meeting, or 
 that its presentation be deferred. If the com- 
 mittee recommends that its consideration be 
 deferred the resolution in question shall be re- 
 ferred to the board of directors with power to 
 act, subject only to the provisions of Article 
 VII, Sections 2 and 3 of these by-laws. 
 
 Article VIII 
 
 ELECTIONS 
 
 1. Elections 
 
 The election of directors shall be held on the 
 Tuesday in of each year. 
 
 2. Nominating 
 
 At the last regular meeting of the chamber 
 prior to the annual election, a vote shall be 
 taken by ballot on open nomination, for the 
 selection of a nominating committee. Due 
 notice of such meeting shall be previously 
 
104 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 given to each member by the secretary. The 
 five members receiving the highest number of 
 votes cast shall constitute the nominating com- 
 mittee. 
 
 3. Official 
 
 The nominating committee shall prepare a 
 list of twenty-eight candidates, to be known 
 as the "ofiicial ticket," from which members 
 may select fourteen for directors. 
 
 4. Report 
 
 The report of the nominating committee 
 shall be posted, and a printed copy thereof 
 mailed to each member of the chamber at least 
 six days prior to the annual election. 
 
 5. Polls 
 
 The polls shall be open from 12 m. until 5 
 P. M. on the day of the annual election. 
 
 6. Result 
 
 The fourteen candidates receiving the high- 
 est number of votes cast at the annual election 
 shall be constituted and declared members of 
 the board of directors for the ensuing year. 
 
MODERN STRUCTURAL PRINCIPLES 105 
 
 7. Tie 
 
 In the election of directors, should a tie vote 
 occur, the committee of judges shall cast lots 
 and certify as elected the person or persons on 
 whom the selection falls. 
 
 8. Unofficial 
 
 Any twenty-five members of the chamber 
 may nominate a different ticket or tickets by 
 posting the same, over their signatures, on the 
 bulletin board, not later than three days previ- 
 ous to the annual election. 
 
 9. Voting 
 
 All voting shall be by ballot. No proxies 
 shall be allowed. A plurality of the votes cast 
 shall constitute an election. 
 
 10. Ldmitation 
 
 Members shall be limited to one vote each 
 ballot for any one candidate at any election. 
 
 11. Judges 
 
 The president shall appoint and announce 
 at the meeting when the nominating commit- 
 tee is elected, a committee of five judges, who 
 
106 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 are not members of the board of directors or 
 candidates for election as such, to have super- 
 vision of the election, and such committee shall 
 serve from the opening of the polls until the 
 result has been ascertained. 
 
 12. Certificates 
 The committee of judges shall cause to be 
 issued to each director elected a certificate of 
 his election, bearing the signatures of the mem- 
 bers of the committee. 
 
 Article IX 
 
 DISBURSEMENTS 
 
 No disbursements of the funds of the cham- 
 ber shall be made unless the same shall have 
 been approved and ordered by the executive 
 committee or board of directors. All disburse- 
 ments shall be made by check. Checks shall 
 be signed by the secretary and countersigned 
 by the president, or one of the vice-presidents, 
 or the treasurer. 
 
 No appropriation of money or other prop- 
 erty of the chamber shall be made for any pur- 
 pose other than to defray its legitimate ex- 
 penses, except by the unanimous vote of the 
 
MODERN STRUCTUKAL. PRINCIPLES 107 
 
 members present at a meeting of the board of 
 directors, or a four-fifths majority vote of 
 those present at a meeting of the chamber. 
 
 Article X 
 
 SEAL 
 
 The chamber of commerce shall have a seal 
 of such design as the board of directors may 
 adopt. 
 
 Article XI 
 
 PARLIAMENTARY RULES 
 
 The proceedings of the chamber meetings 
 shall be governed by and conducted according 
 to the latest edition of Roberts' Manual of 
 Parliamentary Rules. 
 
 Article XII 
 
 AMENDMENTS 
 
 1. By-laws 
 
 These by-laws may be amended or altered 
 by a two-thirds vote of those present at any 
 regular or special meeting, provided notice 
 of the proposed change shall have been posted 
 
108 AMERICAN CHAMBEES OF COMMERCE 
 
 on the bulletin board and mailed by the secre- 
 tary to each member not less than ten days 
 prior to such meeting. 
 
 2. Approval 
 
 All proposed amendments shall first receive 
 the approval of the board of directors. 
 
 SUGGESTED RULES AND REGULATIONS 
 1. Hours 
 
 The rooms of the chamber shall be open 
 daily from 8 a. m. until 5 p. m., except Sun- 
 days and holidays, and Saturdays after 12 m. 
 They shall also be open at other times for meet- 
 ings of the chamber, board of directors, com- 
 mittees or boards, and by order of the execu- 
 tive committee. 
 
 2. Use of Rooms 
 
 The rooms shall be primarily for the use of 
 members and guests, but may be used for meet- 
 ings of public interest, or of any branch of 
 trade, business or profession represented in the 
 membership of the chamber, but permission 
 must be obtained from the executive commit- 
 tee prior to such meeting. 
 
MODERN STRUCTURAL PRINCIPLES 109 
 
 3. Visitors 
 
 A member may personally introduce a vis- 
 itor to the privileges of the chamber by record- 
 ing the name and residence of his guest, to- 
 gether with his own, in the visitors' register, 
 which shall entitle such person to the privileges 
 of the chamber for a period of two weeks. A 
 card of membership in any commercial organi- 
 zation of good standing in the United States 
 shall entitle the holder to the privileges of the 
 chamber for a period of not exceeding two 
 weeks. Such period may be extended by ap- 
 proval of the executive committee. 
 
 4. Registration 
 
 Persons not members attending any meeting 
 shall be expected to register. 
 
 5. Press 
 
 The courtesies of the chamber shall be ex- 
 tended to duly accredited representatives of 
 the press. 
 
 6. Cards 
 
 A membership card shall be issued annually 
 to each member, who will present it on enter- 
 ing, when so requested. 
 
110 AMEEICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 7. Books, etc. 
 
 No book, publication, or other property of 
 the chamber shall be taken from the rooms, ex- 
 cept by authority of the executive committee. 
 
 8. Pictures, etc. 
 
 No pictures or works of art shall be placed 
 in the rooms without permission of the execu- 
 tive committee. 
 
 9. Advertisements 
 
 No advertisements of any nature shall be 
 placed in the rooms without the consent of the 
 executive committee. 
 
 10. Gratuity 
 
 No member shall give any gratuity to any 
 employee; any employee receiving a gratuity 
 shall be immediately dismissed. 
 
 11. Complaint 
 
 It shall be the duty of the members to pre- 
 sent in writing to the board of directors any 
 complaint, and to offer in writing any sugges- 
 tions, with a view to improvement in the man- 
 agement of the chamber. 
 
MODERN STRUCTURAL PRINCIPLES 111 
 
 PLAN OF THE NEW YORK MERCHANTS' 
 ASSOCIATION 
 
 A brief statement of the plan of the Mer- 
 chants' Association will serve to show the prac- 
 tical apphcation of its by-laws to the manage- 
 ment of its affairs. The members elect a board 
 of directors and commit to them all authority 
 and responsibility for the conduct of the or- 
 ganization's business during the year. How- 
 ever, the members reserve the right and the 
 opportunity to control the board by a proviso 
 in the by-laws whereby any five members, with- 
 out the concurrence of any officers or directors, 
 may call a special meeting of the membership. 
 
 The board of directors meets every month. Meetings 
 special meetings being held as occasion re-' 
 quires. Between meetings the power is in the 
 hands of the executive committee of the board 
 of directors; this committee carefully follows 
 the general policy of the directors. Its meet- 
 ings are held weekly and special meetings may 
 be called at any time. The executive commit- 
 tee is the point at which all the various lines 
 of the organization's activity are co-ordinated 
 and harmonized. The center of responsibil- 
 
112 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 ity, however, is in the officers, annually elected 
 by the board of directors. 
 
 Action on the part of the board or the ex- 
 ecutive committee is always preceded by com- 
 mittee investigations and reports. The presi- 
 dent appoints the members of each committee 
 and gives them authority to investigate and 
 recommend, but no power to act. Their 
 recommendation is sent to the executive com- 
 mittee and thence to the board of directors, by 
 whom a final decision is made. 
 
 After the policy has been determined, re- 
 suff* sponsibility for its administration passes 
 
 through the secretary to the official staff of the 
 organization. This staff represents the vari- 
 ous lines of the Association's activity: indus- 
 trial development, conventions, publicity, traf- 
 fic, etc. The administrative work of the com- 
 mercial secretary will be described particularly 
 in the next chapter. 
 
 An objection to a system that vests all the 
 executive authority in the board of directors, 
 though it is theoretically subject to the con- 
 trol of the membership, is that it results in loss 
 of interest on the part of the membership at 
 large. To avoid this criticism the Merchants' 
 
MODERN STRUCTURAL PRINCIPLES 113 
 
 Association has established a Members' Coun- Members' 
 
 T • • /» i_ Council 
 
 cil, representing about 150 divisions oi the 
 membership, and designed to be a connecting 
 link between the machinery of the organization 
 and its members. This Council has no power 
 of action, but may recommend to the board of 
 directors subjects which in the opinion of the 
 Council should be taken up by the Associa- 
 tion.^ 
 
 The structure herewith described is not pe- 
 culiar to the Merchants' Association, but is 
 found in other representative organizations, 
 modified according to individual opinions and 
 local requirements/ The form is of the sort 
 
 6 Greater New York, Vol. I, no. 36, page 9 ff. *The Machin- 
 ery of the Merchants* Association." 
 
 7 See S. H. Clay, City Building, Chapter I, "The Commer- 
 cial Organization: Approved Methods of Organizing." Also 
 see The Madison Board of Commerce, issued 1914 by the pub- 
 licity committee of this body. Page 10, "How the Board 
 Does Its Work." The activity of this organization is grouped 
 under three heads: 1, the division of business development; 
 2, the division of public affairs; and 3, the division of organi- 
 zation affairs. 
 
 The Commercial Club of Clinton, Iowa, is governed by a 
 board of 15 directors, each being the chairman of a standing 
 committee. This plan makes a strong connecting link be- 
 tween the governing body and the committee members inter- 
 ested in the various branches of the Club*s activity. See Spe- 
 cial Agents Series — No. 79. Commercial Organizations in 
 Southern and Western Cities. By Geo. W. Doonan. Wash- 
 ington, D. C. 1914. Pages 51-54 "The Commercial Club of 
 Clinton, Iowa." 
 
114 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 that ensures promptness, elasticity, and effi- 
 ciency, — factors which largely determine the 
 success of all co-operative efforts. 
 
 See Special Agents Series — No. 60. Commercial Organiza- 
 tions, by E. A. Brand. Washington, D. C, 1912. Pages 42- 
 43, "Membership." Also see Special Agents Series — No. 79. 
 Commercial Organizations in Southern and Western Cities, 
 by Geo. W. Doonan, Washington, D. C, 1914. Page 8, 
 "Methods of Financing." See also Carl Dehoney, "The 
 Financing of Commercial Organizations," pages 40-45, Pro- 
 ceedings, Fourth Annual Convention, The Central Association 
 of Commercial Secretaries. See also J. D. Biggers, "Asso- 
 ciation Revenues," pages 14-17, Proceedings, Fifth Annual 
 Convention, the Central Association of Commercial Secretaries. 
 
THE TRAINING AND WORK OF 
 
 THE COMMERCIAL 
 
 SECRETARY 
 
 I 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE TRAINING AND WORK OF THE COM- 
 MERCIAL SECRETARY 
 
 The functions of the secretary of a commer- 
 cial organization are so varied and require so 
 wide a knowledge of affairs that modern 
 boards of trade may well be said to have created 
 a new profession. The recent efforts of these 
 bodies to do fundamental things by way of im- 
 proving civic and commercial conditions have 
 opened up a large field of activity. The sec- 
 retary is the executive upon whom the respon- 
 sibility for achievement largely rests. 
 
 The history of American commercial organi- Three 
 zations is divided into three periods. The first 
 of these covered the wide-spread impulse to 
 form local bodies for the protection of trade 
 interests. In the second period the trade 
 bodies sought efficiency by combining in vari- 
 ous interstate and sectional unions, the move- 
 ment culminating in the formation of the 
 
 United States Chamber of Commerce. Thus 
 
 117 
 
118 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 methods and policies were formulated and the 
 foundations laid for a new science. The rec- 
 ognition of this science by schools and universi- 
 ties and the recent installation of courses for 
 the preliminary training of commercial secre- 
 taries marked the beginning of the third period. 
 At the first annual banquet of the United 
 
 Secretarial States Chamber of Commerce in January 1913 
 
 Advocated President Taf t said : 
 
 "You will have to have a school from which 
 the new chambers of commerce can draw their 
 secretaries, who will train the new membership 
 in the way in which the organization can be 
 built up and give them a practical knowledge 
 of how they can do what they are organized to 
 do." -^ 
 
 This innovation in teaching had already 
 been seriously considered at Harvard Uni- 
 versity, but definite action had been postponed 
 until its practicability could be more fully de- 
 termined. In 1913, however, at a meeting 
 held in Cambridge, attended by Elliot H. 
 Goodwin, General Secretary of the United 
 States Chamber of Commerce, and John H. 
 Fahey, representing the Boston Chamber of 
 Commerce, together with members of the staff 
 
WORK OF THE COMMERCIAL SECRETARY 119 
 
 of the Harvard Graduate School of Business 
 Administration, a plan providing for two years Harvard 
 
 Courses 
 
 of study was drawn up and approved, going 
 into effect in September 1913. 
 . The plan of training combines several exist- 
 ing courses with certain new courses of a 
 highly specialized character. Studies for the 
 first year include commercial organization, 
 business law, municipal government, and a 
 new course in the work and methods of trade 
 bodies. In the latter the various forms of ac- 
 tivity in which chambers of commerce and sim- 
 ilar bodies engage are examined in the light of 
 the actual experience of progressive organiza- 
 tions. The methods employed to secure new 
 industries and better industrial conditions are 
 described in detail. The course provides for 
 a comparison of American commercial organi- 
 zations with those of the other countries and 
 gives a survey of the federation movement. 
 The work is supplemented by actual experi- 
 ence in committee work in the Boston Cham- 
 ber of Commerce and in other organizations. 
 During the second year a course will be given 
 in business policy, together with corporation 
 finance, railroad rate making, and foreign 
 
120 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 trade. Finally the student learns to deal with 
 the problems of trade body management and 
 examines the various methods of organizing 
 and conducting committee work.^ 
 
 The first year's enrolment in the Harvard 
 secretarial courses included fourteen men. 
 During the last term of the college year 
 1913-14 this class conducted an industrial sur- 
 vey of Cambridge, Mass., which Asst.-Prof. 
 Cherington expects to form the basis of some 
 important constructive work to be undertaken 
 by the Cambridge Board of Trade. Mr. 
 Cherington has also succeeded in establishing 
 connections with nearby commercial bodies in 
 New England so as to furnish to the students 
 an abundance of practice work. 
 
 After completing two years of study a man 
 will be unquestionably well fitted, as far as 
 actual knowledge and practical experience can 
 
 1 Harvard University Graduate School of Business Ad- 
 ministration, Pamphlet and Schedule of Courses, 1913-1914. 
 Pages 2S-24. Frequent magazine comment includes the fol- 
 lowing: The Nation's Business, Vol. I, no. 11, page 16; ho. 
 12, page 2; no. 14, pages 2 and 7. Vol. II, no. 3, page 12. 
 (Boston) Chamber of Commerce News, Vol. IV, no. 1, page 
 4; no. 48, page 7. The World's Work, Vol. XXVI, page 479. 
 See also speech of Mr. P. T. Cherington at the Fifth Annual 
 Convention of the Central Association of Commercial Secre- 
 taries, page 36 if. of the Proceedings. 
 
WORK OF THE COMMERCIAL SECRETARY 121 
 
 help him, to fill a position as commercial secre- 
 tary. Whether or not the theory of conscious 
 preparation for the work is sound will in time 
 be demonstrated by the success or failure of 
 graduates of this department of Harvard. 
 Though the field is not large it is rapidly devel- 
 oping in interest and importance. There are, it Estimated 
 
 - . Number of 
 
 IS estimated, about 3000 positions now filled by commercial 
 salaried commercial secretaries in this country, 
 and in many organizations, in addition to the 
 secretary, a number of assistants are employed. 
 Harvard has been the first to provide secre- 
 tarial training of the sort just described, 
 though other institutions are now working 
 along similar Unes. The great demand for 
 men trained to analyze municipal problems has 
 resulted in a general movement to provide for 
 their appropriate instruction. In this the 
 University of Wisconsin, Northwestern Uni- commercial 
 versity, the University of Chicago, and the Training 
 University of Pennsylvania have figured 
 prominently.^ The fact that commercial or- 
 
 2 In addition to several municipal courses the University of 
 Wisconsin has a course in business organization and man- 
 agement. According to Prof. S. W. Gilman, letter of August 
 10, 1914, the demand at Wisconsin is insufficient to justify 
 the maintenance of a separate course of training for com- 
 
122 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 ganizations are turning their attention to civic 
 matters, making it necessary for their secre- 
 taries to acquire a knowledge of this new field, 
 lends particular interest to the recent estab- 
 lishment of several courses in civics. 
 
 Typical of them is the Cornell University 
 Course "Coursc in Citizenship," endowed by several 
 
 izenship alumni and alumnae, and inaugurated in the 
 autumn of 1913. The course consisted of lec- 
 tures by non-resident lecturers, alternating 
 with class periods conducted by a member of 
 the department of political science. The scope 
 of this course is indicated by the titles of lec- 
 tures given in the college year 1913-14: ^ 
 
 "the citizen and his community ; the citizen and 
 the recreation needs of the conmiunity ; the citi- 
 zen and the schools; the citizen and problems 
 of poverty ; the citizen and labor problems ; the 
 citizen and public health; the citizen and prob- 
 lems of crime ; the citizen and the homes of the 
 community ; the citizen and problems of immi- 
 gration; the citizen and the physical develop- 
 ment of his community; the citizen and poli- 
 
 mercial secretaries. The Wharton School of Finance and 
 Conmierce, a department of the University of Pennsylvania, 
 offers training for civic work or secretarial work covering the 
 last three years of a four-year course at the University. 
 
 3 Pages 5-11 Syllabus, of the Course in Citizenship. Cor- 
 nell University, First Term, 191»-14. 
 
WOEK OF THE COMMERCIAL SECRETARY 123 
 
 tics ; the citizen and the Church ; the citizen and 
 the Press; the citizen and civic and social or- 
 ganizations." 
 
 Secretary Munson Havens of the Cleveland 
 Chamber of Commerce delivered the lecture 
 on the citizen and the physical development of 
 his community, presenting some of the ques- 
 tions of city planning and improvement. Other 
 prominent speakers were New York City 
 Chamberlain Henry Bruere, author of The 
 New City Government^ and Prof. Jeremiah 
 W. Jenks, Director of the division of public 
 affairs at New York University. 
 
 In New York City a Training School for TTainin^ 
 
 ■n 1 T o • 1 1 1 • School for 
 
 Public Service has been opened, representing Public 
 
 Service 
 
 the most notable eflPort yet made to educate 
 men for civic work. Through a gift of Mrs. 
 E. H. Harriman this school was established in 
 1911 as a department of the New York Bu- 
 reau of Municipal Research. All applicants 
 for admission are examined as to their fitness 
 for public service and only those who are con- 
 sidered to be well qualified are admitted. 
 After that, every student is given an oppor- 
 tunity to show his ability and in case of mani- 
 fest failure he is notified at once. 
 
124. AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 A recent report summarizes the purposes of 
 the school as follows : * 
 
 1. To train young men of executive ability 
 for the study and administration of public 
 business. 
 
 2. To meet the growing demand for stu- 
 dents and administrators able to test the ef- 
 ficiency of present methods of municipal service 
 and to introduce improved methods. 
 
 3. To work out and publish handbooks on 
 various departments of public service and 
 methods of testing and increasing the efficiency 
 of public service in all departments. 
 
 4. To furnish a municipal literature for the 
 use of graduate students in schools and col- 
 leges. 
 
 5. To emphasize the need for special train- 
 ing on the part of city officials and employees. 
 
 The work is eminently practical and is based 
 on the fundamental idea that the way to secure 
 the most effective training is to do services that 
 some community needs to have done. The as- 
 signments generally require students to work 
 with public officers or employees, or with the 
 
 4 Page 4, 1912 Annual Report. Training School for Pub- 
 lic Service. Conducted by the Bureau of Municipal Re- 
 search, New York City. See further, 1913 Annual Report, 
 Training School for Public Service and Six Years of Munici- 
 pal Research for Greater New York — 1912^ Bureau of Mu- 
 nicipal Research. 
 
WORK OF THE COMMERCIAL SECRETARY 125 
 
 staff of the Bureau of Municipal Research. 
 Chambers of commerce are looking to the 
 Training School for their secretaries and ac- 
 cording to the 1912 Report of this institution 
 the following extract from an inquiry is typi- 
 cal:^ 
 
 "The above organization contemplates the 
 employment of a secretary who could give his 
 whole time to the work of the Chamber, his 
 duties to consist of such organization work as 
 would ordinarily be transacted by the secre- 
 tary; in addition to which we should want him 
 to investigate such subjects as might come un- 
 der the heading of Municipal Research and to 
 take care of a publicity campaign to bring be- 
 fore the public at large the advantages of the 
 city. . . ." 
 
 In addition to the institutions that have been Training by 
 
 . , 1 ^ J -1 ... Commercial 
 
 cited we also find commercial organizations Bodies 
 active in the movement to provide civic and 
 commercial training. For example the Chi- 
 cago Association of Commerce during each 
 year conducts several excursions for the sons 
 of its members in order to teach them how large 
 industries are organized and how the work of 
 
 5 Page 27, 1912 Report. Training School for Public Serv- 
 
126 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 the Association is conducted.^ The Detroit 
 Board of Commerce has established a trans- 
 portation school for the instruction of young 
 traffic managers and shipping clerks in the lo- 
 cal manufacturing establishments J The New 
 York Chamber of Commerce, which in 1900 
 provided for the founding of the School of 
 Commerce, Accounts, and Finance at New 
 York University, is now planning a college of 
 commerce with a museum of commerce and 
 civics, to be controlled by a managing board 
 of trustees of both the Chamber of Commerce 
 and the College of the City of New York. 
 
 6 See also J. M. Guild, "The Boys' Dinner," Proceedings 
 of the Fifth Annual Convention of the Central Association 
 of Commercial Secretaries, pages 12-14. The World's Work, 
 Vol. XXVII, pages 616-617, describes the Winston-Salem, (N. 
 C), Plan in which the boys and young men of the community 
 are given an opportunity to aid in industrial development. 
 In May 1914 this periodical, page 113 fiF., cites the work of 
 the Commercial Club of Evanston, 111., in training boys for 
 citizenship. 
 
 7 See also The American City, Vol. X, no. 1, page 47, Janu- 
 ary 1914, regarding the foundation of the Syracuse Cham- 
 ber of Commerce Institute, open to employees of all business 
 concerns. Also American Year Book, 1913, page 394, 
 "Chambers of Commerce in Vocational Education"; and A. E. 
 Dodd and C. A. Prosser, What Chambers of Commerce Can 
 Do for Vocational Education, (pamphlet). The Nation's 
 Business, Vol. I, no. 17, page 14, "Commercial Organizations 
 and Educational Benefits." S. H. Clay, City Building, Chap- 
 ter X, "Education." 
 
WOEK OF THE COMMERCIAL SECRETARY 127 
 
 THE WORK OF THE COMMERCIAL SECRETARY 
 
 As the secretary is frequently the only sal- 
 aried official in a commercial organization it is 
 natural that he shbuld have supervision of all 
 the necessary routine. In the Boston Cham- Duties 
 ber of Commerce, for instance, the secretary is 
 in complete charge of the administrative and 
 executive work and has the appointment and 
 direction of all employees. He superintends 
 the preparation and publication of reports on 
 commercial, industrial, and public matters. 
 Ex officio a member of all committees he acts 
 as . their secretary, personally or by deputy. 
 The records of the Chamber, the directors, and 
 the committees are in his custody. Moreover, 
 the board of directors of the Boston Chamber 
 may at their discretion assign to the secretary 
 other special duties.* 
 
 It is a fault of organization if the secretary 
 is handicapped by lack of authority and is com- 
 pelled to wait for the sanction of the directors 
 before taking any active measures. Many 
 bodies have accordingly adopted the plan of 
 
 ,8 By-laws of the Boston Chamber of Commerce, Article 
 VI, Section 3. 
 
128 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 making him the manager and authorizing him 
 to act for the association. Under this arrange- 
 ment the board of directors forms a check on 
 mismanagement in accordance with the estab- 
 Kshed principles of corporation control.^ 
 The supervision of routine work in the ma- 
 Thc Secre- jority of Organizations does not by any means 
 
 tary as an • • n t 
 
 Expert measure the activity of the secretary. As a 
 
 paid expert he is also supposed to know how 
 the funds of his organization may most wisely 
 be expended, and in what direction the power- 
 ful influence of its various committees may be 
 turned most effectively.^^ And, since each 
 committee needs as an incentive the idea that 
 it is the real creator of results, the secretary 
 must make the committee feel responsible for 
 these results, though in fact he may be doing 
 the major part of the work.^^ Upon the sec- 
 retary, moreover, devolves the duty of keeping 
 the organization and the membership active. 
 
 9 Page 13, S. H. Clay, City Building: a citation of meth- 
 ods in use in more than one hundred cities for the solution 
 of important problems in the progressive growth of the Amer- 
 ican municipality. Clark Publishing Co., Cincinnati, 1913. 
 
 10 Editorial: "Profession of Power and Promise," The 
 American City, Vol. VII, page 311. 
 
 11 L. E. Wilson, Secretary of the Detroit Board of Com- 
 merce, "Increasing the Effectiveness of Commercial Organi- 
 zations," The American City, Vol. V, page 201. 
 
WORK OF THE COMMERCIAL SECRETARY 129 
 
 The interest and co-operation of the members 
 can be secured only by informing them of the 
 work that is being accomplished.^^ With this 
 in view efficient secretaries make efforts to 
 secure newspaper publicity for their organiza- 
 tions/^ 
 
 Several of the larger bodies publish their 
 own periodicals, the task of preparation falling Publications 
 largely upon the secretaries. Among these 
 publications are the following: 
 
 Atlanta Chamber of Commerce Progress. 
 
 Chicago Commerce. \ 
 
 Chicago Municipal Development Maga- 
 zine. 
 
 Current Affairs (formerly Boston Chamber 
 of Commerce News) . 
 
 Detroiter. 
 
 Greater Dayton. 
 
 Greater New York. 
 
 New York Chamber of Commerce Bulletin. 
 
 Providence Board of Trade Journal. 
 
 12 S. H. Clay, City Building, page 16. 
 
 13 W. B. Wreford, Asst. Secretary of the Detroit Board of 
 Commerce, "Co-operation of Commercial Organizations with 
 the Press," Proceedings of the Fourth Annual Convention of 
 the Central Association of Commercial Secretaries, page 
 15 ff. 
 
provemeiit 
 
 130 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 San Francisco Chamber of Commerce Jour- 
 nal, 
 
 Scranton Board of Trade and Engineering 
 Journal. 
 
 Worcester Magazine, 
 
 The secretary has a great opportunity to 
 Civic im- lead the way in civic improvement, though no 
 constructive work of his can be effective unless 
 he enlists the support of the citizens/* The 
 value of his organization to the community de- 
 pends upon his careful consideration of civic 
 improvements in their relation to one well-sus- 
 tained plan. In view of these facts it is 
 requisite that the secretary, to use a by-word, 
 "know his own city." To this end he should 
 be especially familiar with the local govern- 
 ment and understand thoroughly agricultural 
 and trade conditions.^^ 
 
 i*See H. H. Strong, Secretary, Minneapolis Civic and Com- 
 merce Association, "Democracy, the Duty and Opportunity 
 of the Commercial Organization," Proceedings of the Fifth 
 Annual Convention of The Central Association of Commercial 
 Secretaries, pages 18-20. Also H. V. Eva, Secretary, Com- 
 mercial Club of Duluth, "Meetings," Proceedings of the Fifth 
 Annual Convention of the Central Association of Commercial 
 Secretaries, pages 21-22. Also same, pages 3&-39, M. C. 
 Huggett, Secretary, Grand Rapids Association of Commerce, 
 "Membership Work*" 
 
 isThorndike Deland, Secretary, Denver Chamber of Com- 
 
WORK OF THE COMMERCIAL SECRETARY 131 
 
 As the result of a questionnaire sent to all 
 commercial bodies in the United States having Preliminary 
 a membership of 100 or over Mr. Cherington ^^^^^^^ 
 has discovered an interesting fact regarding 
 the preliminary training of their secretaries. 
 The replies received by him show that in cities 
 of from 10,000 to 50,000 44 per cent, of the 
 secretaries were formerly newspaper men; in 
 cities of over 50,000 this percentage was 34.^^ 
 It is probable that more commercial executives 
 have come from journalism than from any 
 other field. The training in publicity and 
 knowledge of events which they bring with 
 them are invaluable assets in the new profes- 
 sion. 
 
 A description of the secretary's activities 
 would be incomplete without mention of the secretarial 
 various State and interstate associations of ^®^^®^ 
 commercial executives. Organization into sec- 
 tional bodies is a progressive step taken by the 
 secretaries themselves during the last few 
 years. ^^ Through their meetings they have 
 
 merce, "Know Your Own City," Proceedings of the Fourth 
 Annual Convention of the Central Association of Commercial 
 Secretaries, page 12 If. 
 
 16 The Nation's Business, Vol. II, no. 3, page 12. 
 
 17 At a joint convention of the American Association of 
 Commercial Executives and the Central Association of Com- 
 
132 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 been enabled to discuss methods of increasing 
 efficiency, and to render mutual assistance by 
 exchanging ideas based on the results of their 
 experience. Some of these organizations print 
 the proceedings of their annual meetings, in- 
 cluding the principal addresses and discussions, 
 thus furnishing the secretary with a series of 
 reference books. 
 
 Another source of information available for 
 Municipal Commercial secretaries is found in the bureaus 
 
 Bureaus and _ - - ^ t • • i /» v 
 
 Libraries of municipal rcscarch, municipal reierence li- 
 braries, and university bureaus of research and 
 reference. New York, Dayton, Cincinnati, 
 Baltimore, and Philadelphia are among the 
 more important cities having bureaus of mu- 
 nicipal research. The New York Bureau of 
 Municipal Research, formerly the Bureau of 
 City Betterment, was incorporated in May 
 1907 and has shown great activity and effi- 
 ciency in collecting data, making municipal 
 surveys, at the instigation oftentimes of cham- 
 bers of commerce, and generally building up 
 
 mercial Secretaries held in Cincinnati, September 1914, a con- 
 solidation was effected, the new organization adopting the 
 name: National Association of Commercial Organization Sec- 
 retaries. New England, the southern states, and many other 
 sections have secretarial bodies. 
 
WORK OF THE COMMERCIAL SECRETARY 133 
 
 the foundations of the new civic sciences. Chi- 
 cago supports a Bureau of Public Efficiency. 
 Typical of the reference libraries is the New 
 York Municipal Reference Library, located in 
 the new Municipal Building. The University 
 of Wisconsin has built up a large municipal 
 reference bureau. The American City Bu- 
 reau, New York City, maintains a service for 
 managing exhibits, supplying municipal data, 
 and otherwise assisting commercial and civic 
 secretaries. This Bureau has issued a Selected 
 List of Municipal and Civic Books, and pub- 
 lishes The American City, a monthly maga- 
 zine devoted to municipal topics. All these 
 centers of municipal information act as clear- 
 ing-houses for the vast amount of data con- 
 stantly being collected by civic experts in all 
 branches. 
 
 It would be impracticable to describe the 
 many fields of work in which commercial sec- 
 retaries are occupied, though each is important 
 and deserving of mention. The modern sec- ^ 
 retary, it is said, is "a business man, an organ- The Modern 
 izer, a diplomat, a strategist, a mixer, and an Defined 
 all-around man of versatile ability." ^^ Many 
 
 18 The Nation's Bv^iness, Volume I, no. 5, page 12. See 
 
134 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 references to his work and influence will be 
 found in succeeding chapters. 
 
 also J. M. Guild, "About the Commercial Secretary." Pro- 
 ceedings of the Fourth Annual Convention of the Central 
 Association of Commercial Secretaries, pages 8-10; W. G. 
 Bruce, "The Future Status of the Commercial Secretary," 
 Proceedings of the Fifth Annual Convention of the Central 
 Association of Commercial Secretaries, pages 9-11; also pages 
 43-44, same. P. T. Cherington, "List of Readings for Com- 
 mercial Secretaries," prepared for the Central Association of 
 Commercial Secretaries from reading lists used in the Har- 
 vard Secretarial Courses. 
 
THE CLEVELAND CHAMBER OF 
 COMMERCE 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 THE CLEVELAND CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 
 
 Cleveland was the first American city to es- 
 tablish a modern chamber of commerce.^ The 
 latter has been selected for particular study as leadingr 
 it is a leading example of a commercial body Body 
 that is also in the best sense a civic organiza- 
 tion. The secretaries of thirty prominent com- 
 mercial organizations in the United States re- 
 cently voted to place the Cleveland Chamber 
 in the front rank as the body that in their opin- 
 ion had done most to improve its city and to 
 stimulate civic loyalty on the part of the citi- 
 zens.^ The success of the Cleveland associa- 
 
 1 "The Modem Chamber of Commerce" by Ryerson Ritchie. 
 National Municipal Review, Vol. I, pages 161, 167. 
 
 2 See Appendix, page 259, for details of this vote and two 
 statements of the result, prepared to show the returns in two 
 diflFerent ways. Recently in conferring upon Secretary Mun- 
 son Havens of the Cleveland Chamber the honorary degree 
 of Master of Arts, Oberlin College recognized him as "a 
 man whose enlightened efforts in behalf of the organized 
 commercial activities of Cleveland have been imitated the 
 country over." 
 
 137 
 
138 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 tion in civic work has earned it the title of 
 "Chamber of Citizenship." 
 
 Cleveland's rapid advance in population 
 Cleveland's during the past twenty years is largely due to 
 the efforts of the Chamber of Commerce to 
 unite the citizens and to make them a cohesive 
 force for civic development. Cleveland has 
 overtaken thirty-six cities and has been passed 
 by none. The famous slogan "Sixth City" in- 
 dicates its present rank in American munici- 
 palities. Mr. Ryerson Ritchie, a keen observer 
 of American municipal affairs, has pointed out 
 that the growth of five midland cities, Cleve- 
 land, Cincinnati, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, and De- 
 troit, within the last two decades has been pro- 
 portional to the relative efficiency of their com- 
 mercial bodies.^ Thus, taking the census 
 figures in 1890, Cincinnati led, followed by 
 Cleveland, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, and Detroit. 
 Ten years later Cleveland was in the first posi- 
 tion, Buffalo was second and Cincinnati had 
 fallen to third, while the standing of the other 
 two cities remained unchanged. In 1910 
 Cleveland held the lead, closely pressed by 
 
 3 Ritchie, "The Modern Chamber of Commerce." National 
 Municipal Review, Vol. 1, page 161. 
 
THE CLEVELAND CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 1S9 
 
 Pittsburgh; Detroit rose into third place and 
 Buffalo and Cincinnati came next in the order 
 named. Among these five cities Cincinnati, 
 which has not yet succeeded in uniting her citi- 
 zens in a comprehensive body, has fallen from 
 first to last place. In Cleveland, Detroit, and 
 Pittsburgh, the cities that have forged ahead, a 
 healthier civic spirit obtains, stimulated and 
 directed by their respective commercial as- 
 sociations. The recent reorganizations ef- 
 fected by the commercial bodies in Pittsburgh 
 and Buffalo have already been productive of 
 good results. 
 
 The Cleveland Chamber of Commerce was 
 formerly known as the Board of Trade of the Board 
 City of Cleveland, organized in 1848. The Trade 
 objects of the earlier association as set forth in 
 its constitution were: 
 
 "to promote integrity and good faith; just and 
 equitable principles of business; discover and 
 correct abuses; establish and maintain uni- 
 formity in commercial usages; acquire, pre- 
 serve and disseminate valuable statistics and 
 information; prevent or adjust controversies 
 and misunderstandings arising between per- 
 sons engaged in trade ; and generally to foster, 
 protect and advance the commercial, mer- 
 
140 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 Reorgan- 
 ization in 
 1893 
 
 Factors in 
 Success of 
 Chamber 
 
 cantile and manufacturing interests of the 
 city." ^ 
 
 The Board of Trade was from the first an 
 efficient body, but kept strictly within the field 
 of business. In 1893 it was reorganized as 
 the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce and in- 
 corporated under the laws of the State. The 
 scope of its activities was then enlarged to in- 
 clude civic work, an entirely new field as far 
 as commercial associations were concerned. 
 At that time, with the exception of certain spe- 
 cial trade bodies there were no other commer- 
 cial organizations in Cleveland. The Cham- 
 ber of Commerce was therefore in a favorable 
 position to make its work valuable to the city. 
 
 If we inquire into the causes for the instant 
 success of the Cleveland Chamber, it seems 
 reasonable to suppose that three main factors 
 were the stimulus afforded by the increasing 
 importance of the city, the persistent energy 
 of a small group of business men, who paved 
 the way for the founding of the Chamber, and 
 the able management of the Chamber's affairs 
 by Mr. Ryerson Ritchie, the first secretary of 
 
 * Reprinted page 25, 1912 Annual Report Cleveland Cham- 
 ber of Commerce. 
 
THE CLEVELAND CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 141 
 
 that body. The rapid industrial growth of 
 Cleveland, together with improved conditions 
 of trade and transportation, naturally created 
 a keen spirit of civic enthusiasm. This spirit 
 had been stimulated, previous to the reorgani- 
 zation of 1893, by the Cleveland Board of 
 Trade Committee on the Promotion of Indus- 
 try. The committee's efforts produced a 
 wider sentiment among business men in favor 
 of progressive measures. They saw the ad- 
 vantage to the city of united work and the 
 necessity of having an organization so well 
 equipped that it would invite the active interest 
 of the citizens. When the Chamber had been 
 established the difficult task of combining all 
 the elements in the new organization was ac- 
 complished by Secretary Ritchie. 
 
 The history of the Cleveland Chamber since 
 the reorganization of 1893 contains many nota- 
 ble achievements. One of its first acts was the 
 calling together of a State conference of com- 
 mercial associations, resulting in the formation 
 of the Ohio State Board of Commerce in 1893. 
 Under the leadership of President Harry A. consular 
 Garfield in 1899 this body started a movement 
 for the reform of the United States consular 
 
142 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 service. At that time a bill was drafted and 
 introduced into Congress as the Lodge-Burton 
 Bill. To the Chamber's continued support of 
 consular reform must be attributed the final 
 success of the movement, as the essential pro- 
 visions of the original bill have since been made 
 law. The year 1899 also marked the dedica- 
 tion of the Chamber of Commerce Building on 
 the Public Square. 
 
 Taking up the problem of the Cleveland 
 
 slum districts, the Chamber in 1902 appointed 
 
 Housing: a committee on housing conditions which was 
 
 Conditions m i p 
 
 responsible for the enactment of necessary 
 State legislation and the passage of the Cleve- 
 land building code. The latter, which is re- 
 garded as a model, prohibits the erection of 
 unsanitary or unsafe buildings and also over- 
 crowding. To rerfiedy existing conditions the 
 Chamber obtained from the Legislature au- 
 thority for the city to prohibit the occupancy 
 of buildings not conforming to the regulations 
 adopted by the Council. Later the city au- 
 thorities were empowered to condemn and raze 
 all structures which were entirely unfit for oc- 
 cupancy. 
 
 During the investigation of the housing 
 
THE CLEVELAND CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 143 
 
 problem the committee found that in one dis- 
 trict of the city, having about 5000 popula- 
 tion, there were only eleven bathtubs, most of 
 them being used for coalbins. This discovery 
 resulted in the appointment of a special com- 
 mittee, through whose efforts a bond-issue was 
 secured, providing for the building of three 
 public baths in this crowded section of the city. Public 
 The total annual attendance at these places is 
 500,000. Another outgrowth of the housing 
 investigation was the creation of a committee 
 on playgrounds which, in co-operation with 
 several municipal departments, mapped out a 
 system of recreation centers which the city au- 
 thorities duly adopted. 
 
 Against strong political opposition the 
 Cleveland Chamber in 1904 worked for the 
 passage of a school code drafted by the Cham- 
 ber's committee on education. Though failing 
 of complete success in this instance, the Cham- 
 ber secured the amendment of the successful 
 measure in a number of important particulars. 
 
 Several major achievements of the Cleveland 
 Chamber are treated individually in subsequent 
 pages. Mention should be made of others, not 
 included, notably the river and harbor improve- 
 
144 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 ments described in several committee reports 
 published by the Chamber. The installation 
 of efficient meat inspection in Cleveland, the 
 removal of dangerous grade crossings, the 
 placing of high pressure water mains in the 
 business districts, and the adoption of a mod- 
 ern and logical method of street numbering are 
 some results of the Chamber's work which can 
 only be cited without comment. 
 
 At the present time the general business in- 
 terests of Cleveland are conserved within the 
 Chamber. Compared with other bodies it is 
 unique in embracing all the lines of trade in 
 Sub-Organ- the city.^ In addition to the parent orejaniza- 
 
 izations . _ , x- o 
 
 tion there are sub-organizations, for example 
 the Retail Merchants Board, the Manufac- 
 turers and Wholesale Merchants Board, and 
 the Convention Board, which have been formed 
 within the Cleveland Chamber for special pur- 
 suits. Since Cleveland passed the half -million 
 mark in recent years a number of independent 
 sectional organizations have been founded, such 
 as the West Side Chamber of Industry and 
 the South End Board of Trade; also several 
 
 c"The Cleveland Chamber of Commerce," J. J. Sullivan 
 and F. A. Scott. Harpefa Weekly, Vol. XL VIII, page 628. 
 
THE CLEVELAND CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 145 
 
 of the special interests have formed bodies, 
 notably the Real Estate Board and the Elec- 
 tric League. The work of these organizations, 
 however, in no way interferes with that of the 
 Chamber, the only commercial body truly rep- 
 resentative of the city's business interests. As 
 evidence of its untiring activity, the Chamber, Meetings 
 its directors, boards, and committees hold from 
 500 to 700 meetings each year. The thor- 
 oughness with which this organization does its 
 work is illustrated by the conferences of a com- 
 mittee appointed in 1906 to consider one of the 
 phases of the troublesome street railway prob- 
 lem. The committee members, some of the 
 busiest men of affairs in Cleveland, held 36 
 meetings within three months, thfe sessions 
 averaging two hours. 
 
 In all important respects the structural form 
 of the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce fol- 
 lows the ten fundamental principles drawn up 
 by the Committee on Standardization and 
 stated on pages 86 and 87. The members stmctnrai 
 elect a board of directors, who in turn choose 
 the officers from their own number. The pres- 
 ident has the appointment of seven standing, 
 and many special, committees. 
 
146 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 Special 
 Reports 
 
 The Chamber of Commerce issues no peri- 
 odical, but from time to time prints committee 
 Animal and reports containing matters of general civic in- 
 terest. The Annual Report of the Chamber 
 is in the form of a cloth-bound volume summar- 
 izing the work of the organization during the 
 past year. An indication of the growth of the 
 organization and the constantly widening scope 
 of its activities is shown in the fact that the first 
 published annual in 1894 required but 123 
 pages; the annual of 1914, 404 pages of con- 
 densed material.^ 
 
 To the three secretaries of the Cleveland 
 Chamber who have successively held office since 
 1893 must be attributed in large degree the 
 pre-eminence of this body. Secretary Ritchie, 
 — 1893-1898, supplied the inspiration and 
 "civic vision" which have marked the organiza- 
 tion's achievements. He was elected Presi- 
 dent of the Cleveland Chamber in 1900 and 
 later in effecting the consolidation of the com- 
 mercial bodies in Boston demonstrated the 
 same qualities which made his work in Cleve- 
 land successful. 
 
 6F. C. Howe, "Cleveland's Education thru its Chamber of 
 Commerce." The Outlook, Vol. LXXXIII, pages 739-749, show- 
 ing the organization and influence of the Cleveland Chamber. 
 
 The Cham- 
 ber's Three 
 Secretaries 
 
THE CLEVELAND CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 147 
 
 Secretary Scott, 1898-1905, made a record 
 for loyal performance of duty. 
 
 ''Mr. Scott," writes Mr. Ritchie, *Vas the 
 servant of the Chamber and a faithful and able 
 servant. . . . The history of this organization 
 cannot be written without honorable mention 
 of his name and services." '^ 
 
 Upon his resignation as secretary, Mr. Scott 
 was elected to the board of directors, the va- 
 cancy left by him being filled by Mr. Havens, 
 the present secretary. Under his able man- 
 agement the Chamber has increased in mem- 
 bership and civic importance. 
 
 THE CLEVELAND FEDERATION FOR CHARrTY AND 
 PHILANTHROPY 
 
 The rapid increase of population enjoyed 
 by Cleveland has of itself made necessary a 
 considerable increase of the city's benevolences. 
 But these have undoubtedly grown even faster 
 than has the population as a result of the 
 broadening of Cleveland's social interests and 
 the advancement of her civic ideals. In May 
 1900 there were as many as fifty-one charitable 
 institutions in the city. The Chamber of Com- 
 
 7 Letter of Mr. Ryerson Ritchie, September 25, 1914. 
 
148 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 Committee 
 on Benev- 
 olent As- 
 sociations 
 
 merce, therefore, in order to be of service to 
 the organizations deserving public support, cre- 
 ated a Committee on Benevolent Associations, 
 ' the first in this country to be connected with a 
 civic or commercial body.^ Its duties were to 
 protect the giving public against solicitation 
 for unworthy purposes and thus to assist 
 worthy and efficient institutions whose income 
 had been adversely affected by the existence of 
 much fraudulent solicitation. To this end the 
 committee carefully investigated all charitable 
 organizations in the city and issued a card of 
 endorsement to those whose work and methods 
 met with the approval of the conmiittee. In 
 order to carry out its policy the committee de- 
 manded compliance with certain requirements, 
 in general that the charitable association should 
 fill an existing need not otherwise properly 
 filled; agree to co-operate with other benevo- 
 lent bodies in promoting efficiency and econ- 
 omy of effort; and collect and distribute its 
 funds according to a method approved by the 
 committee. 
 
 Members of the Chamber of Conmierce and 
 
 8 0. W. Williams, "Cleveland's Federated Givers, 
 of Reviews, October 1913, page 472. 
 
 Review 
 
THE CLEVELAND CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 149 
 
 the contributing public were requested to eon- 
 tribute only to those bearing the card of en- 
 dorsement. At first contributors were in- 
 clined to rely on their own judgment, pursuing 
 the policy of former years. The committee 
 found it necessary, therefore, to inaugurate a 
 campaign of education along these lines. 
 When it was found that a contributor had 
 given to an unendorsed institution he was 
 called by telephone and the reason for the com- 
 mittee's refusal to endorse was explained to 
 him. The Chamber by means of circulars, and^ 
 aided by the Press, notified its members of un- 
 worthy institutions that were still receiving 
 public support. Thus after years of education ^ 
 and development the community came to rec-^ 
 ognize the value of the committee's work. The committee 
 committee members have frequently been con- consSiSd^ 
 suited in the preparation of wills and the dis- 
 tribution of estates, with the view of securing 
 an equitable disposition of the funds be- 
 queathed to charity. In 1910 delegates from 
 New York, Pittsburgh, and other prominent 
 cities visited Cleveland to make a special study 
 of the committee's work and to benefit by its 
 ten years' experience. 
 
150 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 A decade of careful supervision by the Com- 
 mittee on Benevolent Associations was excep- 
 tionally beneficial to worthy organizations. 
 Nevertheless it did not solve certain problems 
 in connection with the philanthropic work of 
 the city. Some of the most reliable organiza- 
 tions experienced great difficulty in raising 
 sufficient money to carry on their work, while 
 other less important societies showed a sur- 
 plus. Moreover, the demands upon a certain 
 class of contributors known to be charitably 
 inclined became a great burden. The commit- 
 tee's report cites the case of one man who spent 
 an entire forenoon listening to solicitors from 
 ten different institutions. It was impossible 
 for him to see three more who subsequently 
 called, though he later learned that they rep- 
 resented the three institutions in which he was 
 most interested. 
 
 An investigation of the budgets and sub- 
 scription lists of sixty-one charitable institu- 
 tions in 1907 proved to the committee that the 
 people of Cleveland were not supporting char- 
 ities, but that on the contrary the philanthropic 
 work of the city was being financed by less than 
 six thousand contributors in a population of 
 
THE CLE^^LAXD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 151 
 
 over half a million. It is significant that thir- 
 teen people gave one-third of all the money so 
 contributed. The facts in regard to the num- 
 ber of contributors were startling even to those 
 who had made a special study of charitable 
 work in Cleveland. It is reasonable, however, 
 to suppose that a similar situation would be 
 discovered in nearly every city if such a can- 
 vass could be made. 
 
 The Committee on Benevolent Associations Federation 
 
 Plan 
 
 tentatively suggested as a remedy the plan of suggested 
 federating the charities, that is to say, their col- 
 lection and distribution through a central 
 board. The suggestion met with favor, but, 
 before a publicity campaign could be started, 
 a financial and industrial depression delayed 
 the undertaking. It was determined that the 
 advent of such an organization should be left 
 to the time when the relative financial needs 
 and resources should have regained their stabil- 
 ity. In 1909 the committee secured new sta- 
 tistics from charitable institutions, which served 
 only to emphasize the former findings. An 
 added objection to the existing system of char- 
 ities was that in practically all cases the ex- 
 pense of solicitation was materially increasing. 
 
152 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 The cost of collecting the amount annually re- 
 quired from the public was placed at $70,000, 
 about 15 per cent, of the total collected. In 
 one instance a solicitor's commission was 33% 
 per cent. 
 
 On January 7, 1913, the Chamber of Com- 
 merce gave its sanction to a federation board 
 in accordance with plans submitted by the 
 Committee on Benevolent Associations. After 
 a thorough consideration of candidates, Mr. 
 Charles W. Williams, secretary to the Presi- 
 dent of Oberlin College, was offered the posi- 
 Pederation tion as Organizer of the Federation, a post 
 
 Organized 
 
 which he accepted, and as fully constituted the 
 Cleveland Federation for Charity and Philan- 
 thropy began active operations on March first 
 following. Its policies are in the hands of 
 thirty trustees chosen equally by the organiza- 
 tions belonging to the Federation, the contrib- 
 uting patrons, and the Cleveland Chamber of 
 Commerce. Any philanthropic association is 
 eligible to participate in the Federation, pro- 
 viding it makes a legitimate appeal for funds 
 without restriction to religious or other special 
 affiliations. On behalf of the constituent or- 
 ganizations the Federation makes a co-or- 
 
THE CLEVELAND CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 153 :4^ 
 
 dinated appeal, stating the needs of each and ^ 
 giving the contributor an opportunity to des- 
 ignate his beneficiaries or to place his gift for 
 distribution at the discretion of the Federation 
 Board. Persons contributing are freed from 
 any further solicitations for current expenses 
 of any organization in the Federation. The 
 Cleveland Federation for Charity and Philan- 
 thropy has been called "the greatest step in 
 municipal history." The definite results of 
 this plan which unites over fifty charitable or- 
 ganizations include an increase in the amount of 
 gifts, a minimum cost of collection and opera- 
 tion, and a general awakening of philanthropic 
 interest on the part of large numbers of citi- 
 zens. In the fiscal year October 1913-Oc- 
 tober 1914 the Federation distributed about 
 $300,000.' 
 
 9 See also: (1) Report of the Committee on Benevolent 
 Associations on the Federation of Contributions for the 
 Charities of Cleveland, 11 pages. Cleveland Chamber of 
 Commerce, January 26, 1909. (2) The Cleveland Federation 
 for Charity and Philanthropy «w Proposed by the Committee 
 on Benevolent Associations of th& Cleveland Chamber of Com' 
 merce. 32 pages. Cleveland Chamber of Commerce. Janu- 
 ary 7, 1913. (3) The Cleveland Federation for Charity and 
 Philanthropy. Comments by Chairman Marks on the Report 
 of the Committee on Benevolent Associations of the Cleve- 
 land Chamber of Commerce. 11 pages. Cleveland Chamber 
 of Commerce, January 7, 1913. (4) "Chamber of Commerce 
 
154 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 INVESTIGATION OF COAL THEFTS 
 
 The Chamber of Commerce appointed a spe- 
 cial committee in 1909 to investigate the steal- 
 ing of coal from cars standing on the tracks 
 and at transfer points in or near Cleveland. 
 Although dealing with a subject of minor im- 
 portance compared with others which have 
 come before the Chamber, the report of this 
 committee is interesting and it is also illus- 
 trative of the attention that the Chamber de- 
 votes to all matters affecting the public wel- 
 fare. 
 
 To accomplish their purpose the members of 
 the committee conferred with the municipal 
 authorities, railway officials, coal dealers, and 
 manufacturers, and also visited the principal 
 localities where coal was being stolen, in order 
 to see the stealing going on. The annual loss 
 to the city from this source was conservatively 
 estimated to be $90,000. A force of twenty- 
 four men was employed by the local coal deal- 
 ers to patrol the tracks and transfer points of 
 the various railroads for the period of one whole 
 
 to Federate Charities," Charities, 1909. Vol. XXI, page 
 557-8. (5) National Municipal Review, Vol. II, page 356. 
 
THE CLEVELAND CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 155 
 
 day, and the report of these men was then sub- 
 mitted to the special committee of the Chamber 
 of Commerce, together with deductions from 
 their findings. On all lines carrying coal into 
 the Cleveland market coal stealing was found 
 to be general, the amount stolen depending 
 upon the accessibility of the coal and the class 
 of people living along the right of way. In 
 cases where the cars had been left standing un- 
 protected at transfer points for several hours 
 during times of railway congestion, coal losses 
 as high as 7,000 pounds per car were recorded. 
 A detailed statement from one manufacturer 
 showed that during eight months in 1907 his 
 losses were 583 tons. The committee learned 
 that practically none of the stealing was being 
 done by organized gangs of men, but that about 
 ninety per cent, of it was due to the persistent 
 work of women and children, mostly for- 
 eigners. 
 
 "The usual method of procedure," reads the 
 committee's report, "is for the children to climb Report of 
 upon the cars and throw off the lumps, which committee 
 are gathered up by the women and carried 
 away. Very often the children climb upon the 
 through trains and throw off coal as the cars 
 
156 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 pass near their homes. Many instances have 
 been reported of the smaller children being held 
 up at arm's length by the women in order that 
 they may dislodge the coal within reach. All 
 assist in carrying it away, the children often 
 carrying burdens far beyond their strength. 
 
 **A large proportion of these people are not 
 in actual need of coal; the men are usually 
 working and the stealing of coal with them is 
 merely a matter of thrift. . . . Where cases 
 were investigated it was found that the families 
 had from one to three tons of coal in their coal 
 bins." ^^ 
 
 The report further states that, although in 
 European countries, where these families orig- 
 inated, it is a serious offense to trespass on rail- 
 road property and everjiihing of value is kept 
 within fenced inclosures and properly guarded, 
 over here they are given to understand that this 
 is a free country. These immigrants see cars 
 of coal, pig iron, and other valuables left un- 
 protected and they are allowed to trespass on 
 the tracks at will. The bad moral and physical 
 effects upon the people themselves are not the 
 least important considerations. The report of 
 
 10 Report of the Special Committee on Coal Stealing: Ap- 
 proved by the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce, March 23, 
 1909. Page 5. 
 
 See also The World's Work, 1909, Vol. XVIII, pages 11655-6. 
 
THE CLEVELAND CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 157 
 
 the special committee, made as a result of the 
 investigation, concludes with the suggestions 
 that the transfer points be adequately fenced 
 and policed, and that probation officers be em- 
 ployed to investigate cases of coal stealing and 
 to see that persistent offenders are appropri- 
 ately punished. 
 
 In December 1909 one probation officer was Results of 
 
 ,. . . rt , Investiga- 
 
 appomted and, at the earnest solicitation of the tion 
 Chamber's committee, an appropriation was 
 made by the Council for his salary. This offi- 
 cial carefully investigated all cases of reported 
 theft, warned those persons who were sus- 
 pected, and impressed them with the fact that 
 punishment will follow coal stealing. The ■ 
 Chamber states that this nuisance has gradually 
 been abated. 
 
 Cleveland's civic center 
 
 In 1899 a special committee of the Cleveland 
 Chamber submitted a report on a plan for 
 erecting new public buildings in the center of 
 the city to replace the antiquated structures 
 then existing. The idea received immediate 
 and vigorous support from the Cleveland 
 Chamber of Commerce which perceived its 
 
158 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 Group Plan 
 Committee 
 
 Board of 
 Supervision 
 
 great value ; and this special committee, known 
 at first as the Group Plan Committee, was em- 
 powered to further the project. During the 
 years 1899-1901 this committee devoted its ef- 
 forts to stimulating public sentiment and was 
 remarkably successful. The members of the 
 Group Plan Committee favored the idea of re- 
 placing the four principal public buildings, 
 namely the City Hall, Federal Building, 
 County Building, and Public Library. Later 
 it was found practicable to include plans for a 
 new union railway station. 
 
 In 1902 the committee continued its efforts 
 by securing the passage by the State Legisla- 
 ture of a law enabling Ohio cities to create 
 supervising boards of architects. This re- 
 sulted in the appointment of the Cleveland 
 Board of Supervision, having general powers 
 of selection of site and plan for public 
 buildings erected within the city of Cleveland. 
 This commission, consisting of Messrs. Daniel 
 H. Burnham of Chicago, Arnold W. Brunner, 
 and John M. Carrere,^^ made a careful study of 
 
 11 Mr. Frank B. Meade, a Cleveland architect, was ap- 
 pointed in 1911 to the vacancy in the Board of Supervising 
 Architects created by the death of Mr. Carrere, and Mr. 
 Frederick Law Olmsted has since been appointed to fill the 
 
THE CLEVELAND CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 159 
 
 the problem and in 1903 proposed two alterna- 
 tive plans for grouping the public buildings. 
 The one they particularly recommended met 
 with general approval, and, although there was 
 no one body that could formally adopt it, the 
 plan has been followed by the authorities in the 
 construction of the Federal Building and the 
 County Building, both of which are now in use, 
 and the City Hall now being constructed/^ 
 The voters of the city have authorized the issu- 
 ance of bonds to erect the Public Library. 
 This plan groups these buildings and the Union 
 Station in the form of a Roman cross, leaving 
 a broad expanse of parking about the buildings 
 included in the group. These structures are 
 later to be connected by a Mall, 600 feet wide, 
 which will also extend from the center of the 
 business district to a park on the waterfront. 
 A considerable portion of the land required for 
 
 vacancy caused by the death of Mr. Burnham — Letter of Sec- 
 retary Munson Havens, January 31, 1914. 
 
 12 See the interesting report of the Special Committee on 
 Material for the County Building. Adopted, Cleveland Cham- 
 ber of Commerce, February 12, 1907. 19 pages. 
 
 Also report of Committee on Municipal Art and Architec- 
 ture, including the Report of the Sub-committee of Engineers. 
 Concerning the Building of a Power Plant in Connection with 
 the County Building. Adopted, Cleveland Chamber of Com- 
 merce, March 23, 1909. 
 
160 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 the Mall has already been taken over by the 
 city, including the site upon which the Public 
 Library will be erected. To prevent the erec- 
 tion of buildings not in harmony with the group 
 the city has restricted the property fronting on 
 the Mall. 
 
 The committee that has rendered admirable 
 service to the city and to the Chamber of Com- 
 merce in its successful campaign for the Civic 
 Center was originally known as the Group 
 Plan Committee, as stated above. In 1908 the 
 scope of this committee was broadened by the 
 Chamber of Commerce to include supervision 
 of the construction of public works. It was 
 then re-named the Committee on Municipal 
 Art and Architecture. To make it broadly 
 representative the Chamber of Commerce in 
 1911 asked the Cleveland Chapter of the Amer- 
 ican Institute of Architects, the Cleveland 
 Architectural Club, and the Cleveland En- 
 gineering Society to name for appointment on 
 this committee members of their societies who 
 were also members of the Chamber, Succeed- 
 ing municipal administrations have recognized 
 the committee as a quasi-official public body to 
 such an extent that it has become customary for 
 
THE CLEVELAND CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 161 
 
 the city to submit to the committee for ap- 
 proval the plans of proposed public works. 
 
 The expenditure by Federal, county, and 
 city governments and by the railroad compan- Cost of 
 ies for Cleveland's Civic Center will aggregate center 
 $25,000,000. 
 
 Cleveland's new city charter 
 
 The Cleveland Chamber of Commerce has al- 
 ways been actively interested in municipal gov- 
 ernment. On October 12, 1912, the board of di- 
 rectors requested the Committee on Legislation committee 
 to consider the various questions involved in the Legislation 
 proposed new charter for the city. The com- 
 mittee immediately undertook a study of the 
 important provisions to be embodied in a new 
 city charter, made an exhaustive analysis of 
 other city charters, and studied the published 
 works on municipal government. It also en- 
 deavored to keep in touch as closely as possible 
 with the deliberations of the charter commis- 
 sion. Charters of cities operating under the 
 commission plan were considered, but it soon 
 became evident that the so-called federal plan 
 would be adopted by the charter commission. 
 The committee also endorsed this plan believing 
 
162 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 it better suited to Cleveland in view of the con- 
 dition prevailing in the community. 
 
 The report of the Committee on Legislation, 
 entitled ^'Proposals for the City Charter," was 
 adopted by the board of directors April 4, 1913, 
 and is an excellent example of the careful com- 
 mittee work done by members of the Cleveland 
 Chamber. In a general way, according to 
 Secretary Munson Havens, ^^ the report was 
 helpful to the subsequent passage of the bill, 
 although it is reasonable to suppose that the 
 charter would have passed the electorate with- 
 out any action by the Chamber. The com- 
 mittee argued out certain minor differences 
 with the charter commission with considerable 
 success. The report was used mainly to in- 
 form the members of the Chamber of Com- 
 merce regarding the proposed legislation and 
 in that respect was of great value. 
 
 Cleveland's new charter provides for a form 
 Cleveland's of government modelled in general upon the 
 
 New 
 
 Giiarter national government. The legislative branch 
 
 13 Letter of Secretary Munson Havens, January 31, 1914. 
 
 See also: Report of the Committee on Legislation of the 
 Cleveland Chamber of Commerce, February 31, 1906, relative 
 to House Bill 173, etc., 20 pages, at page 4 "The Federal 
 Plan of Government." 
 
THE CLEVELAND CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 163 
 
 is the city council, with one councihnan from 
 each of the twenty-six wards. The voter at 
 each biennial election receives a short ballot 
 showing only the candidates for mayor and for 
 councilman from his ward, all without partisan 
 designation; and he may vote for a first 
 choice, a second choice, and any number of 
 third choices on the preferential system of vot- 
 ing. All nominations are made by petition 
 and no primaries or party conventions are held. 
 There are six administrative departments, 
 whose heads are appointees of the mayor, as 
 follows : law, public service, public safety, pub- 
 lic utihties, public welfare, and finance. The 
 department heads and their secretaries are ex- 
 empt from civil service examinations, and they 
 are the only officials so exempt. The charter 
 provides for the recall, and for the initiative 
 and referendum on city ordinances. Among 
 its interesting and unusual features is the pro- 
 vision for "excess condemnation" by virtue of 
 which the city may appropriate more property 
 than is required for a public project, and sell 
 the excess, — with restrictions as to its use, if 
 desirable, — thus possibly defraying some of the 
 
164. AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 cost of the work by the increment resulting 
 from the improvement. 
 
 Industrial 
 Develop- 
 ment Com- 
 mittee 
 
 INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT 
 
 Cleveland's industrial development is di- 
 rected by the Chamber of Commerce through 
 the latter's Industrial Development Commit- 
 tee. According to a recent report, the most 
 promising efforts for industrial expansion 
 in Cleveland are those which aim at the fullest 
 development of industries already established 
 there. In the opinion of the Committee, if 
 every small industry now located in Cleveland 
 could reach its highest possibilities there would 
 be no need for new factories. 
 
 While rendering its greatest service to home 
 industries the Chamber aims to encourage new 
 enterprises. To this end it classifies the needs 
 and resources of the city. Its records include 
 traffic and transportation data, freight records, 
 and cost figures on sites and materials. With 
 the help of these statistics the manufacturer 
 who contemplates moving his plant to Cleve- 
 land is able f o analyze local conditions affect- 
 ing his project. 
 
 Cleveland firmly refuses to offer bonuses, re- 
 
/ 
 
 i 
 
 THE CLEVELAND CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 165 
 
 mission of taxes, or other artificial inducements 
 in order to obtain new factories. 
 
 "As a general rule," states the 1911 Direc- 
 tors' Report, "Cleveland does not want indus- 
 trial projects which cannot make good in Cleve- 
 land without such aid." ^^ 
 
 The Cleveland Chamber, as a result of a com- 
 mittee investigation in 1913, decided not to 
 adopt a credit plan for financing industries 
 similar to that employed by the Boston Cham- 
 ber of Commerce and described on page 236. 
 In the judgment of the committee, the financial 
 problem of the majority of manufacturers is 
 not to be solved by credit; invested capital is 
 needed. 
 
 More recently the Chamber has approved a 
 plan for an investment company with an initial investment 
 
 Company 
 
 capital of not less than $500,000 to finance 
 Cleveland industries, — although no definite 
 time has been set for the inauguration of this 
 enterprise. The plan provides for the issuing 
 of stock to the citizens generally, with the full 
 understanding that the company is to operate 
 largely in industrial securities which always in- 
 
 1*1911 Annual Report, Cleveland Chamber of Commerce. 
 Page 145. 
 
166 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 volve business risks, while promising business 
 profits. It is intended that the directors of 
 the company shall have the right of supervi- 
 sion over any firm applying to them for finan- 
 cial assistance. 
 
 The conservative attitude of the Chamber in 
 relation to industrial development is worthy of 
 the highest consideration in view of the re- 
 sults already obtained. The Industrial De- 
 velopment Conmiittee point out that the real 
 test of their work will be the results ten years 
 hence. They are now laying foundations which 
 should withstand this test. 
 
CITY GOVERNMENT REFORM 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 CITY GOVERNMENT REFORM 
 Many phases of the main subject have now Summary 
 
 and 
 
 been described and it is reasonable to suppose Forecast 
 that the logical connection between the various 
 parts is in need of clarification at this point in 
 the study. It will be remembered that we first 
 traced commercial bodies from their origins 
 through the early period of their history in the 
 United States and down to the present day. 
 An attempt was then made to show the evolu- 
 tion of trade bodies into civic organizations 
 whose object it is to further the interests of 
 their cities. Next we studied the efforts of 
 these organizations to secure governmental 
 recognition, and examined their structural ma- 
 chinery and the work of that keystone of the 
 whole structure, the commercial secretary. In 
 the previous chapter the Cleveland Chamber 
 of Commerce was used as a type of civic or- 
 ganization and some of its methods and activi- 
 ties were described in detail. 
 
 169 
 
170 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 Having thus briefly reviewed the course of 
 the work up to this point it will be equally ad- 
 visable to forecast the development of the 
 theme in the remaining chapters: VIII, City 
 Government Reform, IX, Co-operation With 
 Municipal Authorities, X, Civic Improvement, 
 and XI, Competition Between Cities. 
 
 The present chapiter deals with the efforts 
 of commercial organizations to secure efficient 
 local government/ In the majority of cases 
 they have advocated the substitution of some 
 form of commission government for the exist- 
 ing system. City officials holding office under 
 the latter naturally oppose all efforts aimed at 
 their elimination, and radical reform must be 
 accomplished before the next step, co-opera- 
 tion with municipal authorities, is possible. 
 Vitally important to civic development and ex- 
 pansion is efficient municipal government, in 
 which the citizen may take an active interest. 
 Chapter IX, therefore, shows the relation of 
 boards of trade and other organizations of 
 citizens to municipal authorities in several well 
 governed cities. 
 ' i When a good imderstanding has been estab- 
 
CITY GOVERNMENT REFORM 171 
 
 lished between civic organizations and local 
 authorities, and also when both the authorities 
 and the organizations have earned the confi- 
 dence of the citizens, the results of this harmony 
 of interests are manifested in civic improve- 
 ment as outlined in Chapter X. When once 
 the citizens feel it in their power to control con- 
 ditions the resultant benefit to the community 
 is extraordinary. 
 
 Civic reform, co-operation, and improve- 
 ment are successive steps in the development 
 of the city. They are the factors that deter- 
 mine its fate in the struggle for existence, the 
 subject treated in Chapter XI. If a city is 
 poorly governed, does not unite the citizens, 
 or is neglectful of their welfare, it will not 
 grow as fast as a rival city where better civic 
 conditions obtain. 
 
 In June 1913 The Nation's Business, the offi- 
 cial organ of the United States Chamber of Municipal 
 Commerce, received reports from the commer- 
 cial organizations in thirty-eight states regard- 
 ing their attitude toward municipal better- 
 ment. There was a consensus of opinion that 
 the business interests in any city have a right 
 
172 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 to expect business efficiency in municipal 
 affairs.^ The invasion of politics by the com- 
 mercial organizations is not unwarranted. It 
 represents the organized effort of public- 
 spirited citizens to remedy existing abuses. 
 Moreover, the appHcation of sound business 
 principles to a system of government is un- 
 doubtedly the best means by which to accom- 
 plish reform, for in the performance of many 
 of its functions a municipality must meet pre- 
 cisely the same technical problems that a pri- 
 vate enterprise meets in the discharge of similar 
 functions.^ In many cities the campaign for 
 charter amendments or for administrative re- 
 forms has originated in the business organiza- 
 ci^« tion. Thus the Atlanta Chamber of Com- 
 
 Surrey 
 
 merce recently employed two experts from the 
 New York Bureau of Municipal Research to 
 investigate every branch of the city govern- 
 ment. The reports and recommendations sub- 
 mitted by these experts were pubhshed and dis- 
 tributed by the Chamber.^ 
 
 1 The Nation's Business, Vol. I, no. 13, page 15. 
 
 2 "Efficiency Standards in Municipal Management," by 
 Jesse D. Burks, Ph.D., Director, Bureau of Municipal Re- 
 search, Philadelphia. National Municipal Review, Vol. I, 
 page 364. 
 
 3 This organization has also brought about the creation of 
 
CITY GOVERNMEXT REFORM 
 
 173 
 
 A 
 
 The part which chambers of commerce are 
 probably destined to play in the scheme of po- 
 litical evolution has thus been defined by Presi- 
 dent Garfield of Williams College: 
 
 "If I may so express it, the center of politi- 
 cal gravity is gradually settling and, if it passes 
 from our legislative bodies to the electorate, 
 there must be found a workable way of secur- 
 ing dehberation among the voters. If it 
 should come about that the only place for free 
 and effective deliberation is among the voters 
 prior to election day, then, plainly, bodies like 
 the Cleveland Chamber of Conmaerce will be- 
 come normal centers for the consideration of 
 public questions, and their influence will be- 
 come increasingly important." ^ 
 
 the Atlanta Improvement Conmiission, including citizens and 
 city and county officials, to prepare a city plan for Atlanta. 
 See the National Municipal Bevieic, Vol. II, page 349. Also 
 Special Agents Series — No. 79. Commercial Organizations in 
 Southern and Western Cities. By Geo. W. Doonan. Wash- 
 ington, D. C. 1914. Page 10, "Atlanta Chamber of Com- 
 merce." 
 
 The New York Bureau of Municipal Research has under- 
 taken several other civic surveys. Among them may be cited 
 the one made at Reading, Pa., funds for which were supplied 
 by the Reading Chamber of Commerce. Reading, Pennsyl- 
 vania. Report on a Survey of the Municipal Departments 
 and the School District. Prepared for the Chamber of Com- 
 merce of Reading by the New York Bureau of Municipal 
 Research. December 1913. (8 pamphlets.) 
 
 4 Letter of Dr. Garfield to President Johnson of the Cleve- 
 land Chamber of Commerce. Page 217, 1913 Annual Report 
 of the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce. 
 
 Chambers 
 of 
 
 Commerce 
 in Political 
 Evolntion 
 
 7 
 
174 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT BY COMMISSION 
 
 Commercial bodies favor commission gov- 
 ernment very largely because it can be made 
 efficient from a business standpoint. Its advo- 
 cates urge for the commission form that it does 
 away with the secrecy and shifting of respon- 
 sibility which are the dismay of citizens under 
 other forms of municipal administration. 
 Furthermore, it concentrates public attention 
 upon a commission composed of a few citizens. 
 These men, generally five in number, hold office 
 and conduct the work of their several depart- 
 ments subject always to the control of popular 
 opinion and, in extreme cases, dismissal by vir- 
 tue of the recall. The commission plan is the 
 most signal instance of an American govern- 
 ment that is so sensitive that it dare not dis- 
 obey the public will. It is in design a govern- 
 ment which is completely exposed to popular 
 supervision.^ 
 
 The history of the commission plan in this 
 country dates back to 1870 when it was tried 
 in several southern cities and proposed for New 
 
 BChilds, "Reform via Democracy," National Municipal Re- 
 view, Vol. I, page 256. 
 
CITY GOVERNMENT REFORM 175 
 
 Orleans.^ The Galveston Flood brought commission 
 
 • 1 /» 1 • • 1 Plan in 
 
 about the recent revival oi the commission plan, Galveston 
 and the success of the Galveston commission 
 was so marked as to give the experiment an un- 
 usual amount of publicity. Adding to the 
 commission idea the provisions for the initia- 
 tive, referendum, and recall, the people of Des 
 Moines, la., inaugurated in 1908 a new type of 
 commission government, including non-parti- 
 san primaries. This plan has frequently been 
 used as a model by other cities. 
 
 In 1913 a committee on municipal research 
 was appointed by the directors of the Associa- 
 tion of Commerce at St. Paul, Minn. This ac- 
 tion on the part of the Association followed the 
 adoption of a new municipal charter providing 
 for a modified form of commission government. 
 The latter went into effect in 1914. The pur- 
 pose of the committee was to instruct the cit- 
 izens in the details of the new charter and thus 
 enable them to take an active and critical in- 
 terest in civic affairs. St. Paul is now gov- 
 erned by a legislative and administrative coun- 
 cil of seven, including the mayor, and in this 
 
 6 The Making of a Town, by Frank L. McVey. Chicago. 
 A. C. McClurg & Co. 1913. Page 142. 
 
176 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 respect has followed the usual lines of commis- 
 sion charter practice. A check upon the work 
 of these officials has been supplied, however, in 
 St. Paul's the form of an elective comptroller who has no 
 
 Comptroller . i.. . n, .,,. 
 
 part m the administration of the city s business 
 except in connection with finances and the 
 countersigning of documents and contracts. 
 The comptroller is also the civil service com- 
 missioner and publicity officer; his main func- 
 tion is to supply the citizens with exact in- 
 formation concerning the management of the 
 cityJ 
 
 Commission governments have been created 
 in many cities of moderate size as a result of 
 the efforts of commercial organizations. In 
 Haverhill, Mass., which claims to be the first 
 city in the East to adopt the commission form, 
 the Board of Trade was instrumental in bring- 
 ing about its adoption in 1908. Five years ago 
 the Commercial Club of Topeka, Kans., was 
 responsible for the installation of the commis- 
 sion plan. In September 1913 following its 
 recommendation by a committee of the local 
 
 7 "St. Paul's Comptroller: An Interesting Experiment," by 
 J. W. Bennett. National Municipal Review, Vol. II, page 
 
CITY GOVERNMENT REFORM 177 
 
 Board of Trade, commission govermnent went 
 into effect in Nashville, Tenn.® 
 
 THE CITY MANAGER PLAN 
 
 What President McVey of the University of 
 North Dakota terms "the egotism of the 
 democracy" ^ is responsible for a weakness in 
 the commission form of government. In this 
 country it is too often taken for granted that 
 any business man of ordinary talents will make 
 a good governing officer. The human factor 
 in the commission plan is no less important 
 than it is in any other system of government. 
 We have yet to learn that municipal govern- 
 ment should be conducted by experts. 
 
 In German cities the governments, admitted German 
 
 Municipal 
 
 to be the most successful in the world, are di- Government 
 rected by an administrative board known as the 
 Magistrat, Its presiding officer and formal 
 head is the Bilr germeister, a trained executive 
 with general supervisory jurisdiction over the 
 city government. His profession is one of 
 
 8 "Commercial Organizations in Social Welfare," edit. 
 The Nation's Business, Vol. I, no. 12, pages 13, 16. Under 
 the heads, "Charities," "Better Homes," "Recreation," "Labor 
 Matters," "Municipal," and "General Service," are cited many 
 instances of civic reforms accomplished by commercial bodies. 
 
 9McVey, op. cit., page 144. 
 
178 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 great opportunity and honor. A Burger- 
 meister who succeeds brilliantly in the admin- 
 istration of a small city is called to more im- 
 portant work elsewhere. 
 
 Munro, contrasting this German official with 
 the American mayor who generally has had 
 little or no executive training, says : 
 
 " The Bilr germeister is an expert, a profes- 
 sional administrator, who looks upon his office 
 as a career, who seeks the post on his public 
 record, and who expects promotion upon this 
 alone." ^^ 
 
 In 1911 the Board of Trade of Lockport, 
 The N. Y., seeinff the advantage of the German 
 
 "Lockport . ° . ° 
 
 Plan" idea, drew up a tentative charter for Lock- 
 
 port and petitioned the State Legislature for 
 its ratification and adoption. The charter 
 provided for a commission of five to be paid 
 nominal salaries and to handle all administra- 
 tive work through an appointive city manager, 
 who in turn would appoint and control the 
 whole administrative staff. Unfortunately 
 political influences at Albany overcame the 
 efforts of the Board of Trade to secure this 
 
 low. B. Munro, The Oovernment of Europecm Cities, 
 Chapter II. "The Government of Prussian Cities." 
 
CITY GOVERNMENT REFORM 179 
 
 new form of efficient, non-partisan govern- 
 ment and the bill was defeated in the Legisla- 
 ture. 
 
 The Board of Trade became interested in the 
 city manager modification of the commission 
 form of government because it seemed a feasi- 
 ble and practical plan to secure good govern- 
 ment for a community that had long been at 
 the mercy of corrupt politics. In their ef- 
 forts to eliminate the possibility of muncipal 
 reform in Lockport, local politicians three 
 years ago organized a rival commercial organ- 
 ization for the purpose of putting the Board 
 of Trade out of existence. According to 
 President W. H. Upson, however, " the Board 
 of Trade still maintains its original position, 
 favoring commission government and espe- 
 cially the city manager modification," and will 
 continue the fight in the interests of good gov- 
 ernment.^^ 
 
 11 Letter of President W. Harrison Upson of the Lock- 
 port Board of Trade, February 2, 1914. 
 
 At the 1914 Session of the New York State Legislature 
 there was passed an optional city government law, whereby 
 any city of the second or third class may adopt any one of 
 six simplified forms specified in the law. One of these forms 
 is the city manager plan. This law eliminated the necessity 
 of Lockport going again to the Legislature before putting 
 the matter to a vote of the citizens. At a general election 
 
180 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 Olean 
 
 Charter 
 
 Defeated 
 
 Sumter 
 rirst with 
 City Man- 
 ager 
 
 In 1913 the Olean Chamber of Commerce, 
 after a thorough investigation of the city man- 
 ager plan, framed a charter containing its es- 
 sential features and obtained about 1000 sig- 
 natures petitioning the New York State Leg- 
 islature to pass the Olean Charter Bill. The 
 Bill was duly passed and signed by the Gov- 
 ernor, April 20, 1914. Previous to election 
 day, June 30, following, the Chamber con- 
 ducted a vigorous campaign to inform the 
 Olean voters why they should vote for the 
 adoption of the Charter. Nevertheless it was 
 rejected by a vote of 1059 for, and 1312 
 against. A recent letter from Secretary Gibbs 
 of the Olean Chamber states that "the old line 
 politicians, the Socialists, an Anti- Vaccination 
 group, and a number of disgruntled ones were 
 responsible for the defeat of the charter." ^^ 
 
 The first city in America to adopt the city 
 manager plan was Sumter, S. C. Here, also, 
 the local commercial organization initiated the 
 movement, and the successful installation 
 of the new form of government was due largely 
 
 held in November, 1914, the proposed city manager charter 
 was narrowly defeated. 
 
 12 Letter of Secretary Raymond B. Gibbs, Olean Chamber 
 of Commerce^ August 27, 1914. 
 
CITY GOVERJ^MENT REFORM 181 
 
 to the efforts of the Sumter Chamber of Com- 
 merce. In 1912 a special act of the South 
 Carolina Legislature gave the people of Sum- 
 ter their choice between the regular commission 
 form of government and the new city manager 
 plan. The former provided for a commission 
 of three members elected at large, the other offi- 
 cials being appointive, and a short ballot. In 
 accordance therewith the mayor was to receive 
 $1,200 a year, and each of the other commis- 
 sioners $1,000, all of them being ex ojficio de- 
 partment heads. The Sumter city manager 
 plan, also presented to the voters, gave the 
 commissioners only nominal salaries and left 
 them free to pursue their private careers. 
 They were to be authorized to employ a city 
 manager and to fix his duties and salary. 
 During the brief campaign conducted by the campaigrn 
 
 by 
 
 Chamber of Commerce it was pointed out that chamber of 
 the city manager plan involved a substantial 
 salary for only one official, the difference be- 
 tween the two plans in commissioners' salaries 
 being sufficient to give a city manager $2,500 
 a year. Among local politicians there was 
 some objection on the ground that the impor- 
 tant office of city manager would be likely to 
 
 / 
 
182 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 go to a non-resident ; but the town at large did 
 not consider this objection serious, and on June 
 12, 1912, voted three to one for the city man- 
 ager plan. 
 
 The most important task before the Sumter 
 commissioners was the choice of a city manager. 
 They hesitated to advertise for fear of being 
 inimdated with applications. However, the 
 secretary of the Chamber of Commerce offered 
 to take charge of the matter and it was duly 
 placed in his hands. 
 
 The following excerpts are taken from the 
 Press An- announcement that the Chamber handed to the 
 
 nouncement ,^ ^ 
 
 Press on October 20, 1912: 
 
 "The City of Sumter hereby annoimces that 
 applications will be received from now until 
 December the first for the office of City Man- 
 ager of Sumter. . . . This is a rapidly grow- 
 ing manufacturing city of 10,000 population, 
 and the applicant should be competent to over- 
 see public works, such as paving, lighting, 
 water supply, etc. . . . An engineer of stand- 
 ing and ability would be preferred. . . . The 
 City Manager will hold office as long as he 
 gives satisfaction to the commission. He will 
 have complete administrative control of the 
 city, subject to the approval of the board of 
 three elected commissioners. . ,. . There will 
 
CITY GOVERNMENT REFORM 18S 
 
 be no politics in the job ; the work will be purely 
 that of an expert. . . . Local citizenship is not 
 necessary although a knowledge of local con- 
 ditions and traditions will ... be taken into 
 consideration. . . . At the request of the City 
 Commissioners these applications will be filed 
 with the Chamber of Commerce of Sumter." ^^ 
 
 The newspapers handled this announcement 
 as news and it was widely printed and noticed. 
 The municipal and engineering magazines gave 
 it free space and much comment. Applications 
 poured in to the number of 150. Particularly 
 significant was the fact that applicants saw 
 in the office a fascinating opportunity. The 
 candidates included a number of men of con- 
 siderable note. The successful applicant was 
 Malcolm McLean Worthington, a young civil sumter^s 
 engineer who had specialized in railroad con- agers 
 struction. During his administration he con- 
 centrated his attention upon improvement of 
 the public works. He was succeeded in 
 November 1913 by Major W. F. Robertson, 
 the present manager.^* 
 
 13 The Sumter ''City Manager" Plan of Municipal Govern^ 
 ment, published by the Chamber of' Commerce of Sumter, S.C^ 
 February 1913; reprinted April 1913. 
 
 14 Statement from E. I. Reardon, Managing Secretary, 
 Sumter Chamber of Commerce, January 31, 1914. 
 
184 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 The results of Major Robertson's first year 
 Kesuits as City Manager include marked improvement 
 of the streets and drainage system ; the increas- 
 ing by means of wells of an inadequate water 
 supply to a supply "more than necessary for 
 the present and adequate for several years to 
 come" ; and more efficiency in the fire and street 
 cleaning departments. 
 
 **One of the best features of the City 
 Manager plan," writes Major Robertson, 
 " — whether greatly economical or not — is the 
 improved and prompt service given to the citi- 
 zens. Their municipal needs are generally an- 
 ticipated and when they request or complain, 
 attention is effectively and promptly given by 
 one dependent entirely on his record as an ef- 
 ficient public caretaker of municipal inter- 
 ests." '' 
 
 The success of Sumter's innovation has been 
 generally conceded and already several other 
 cities have put into effect similar plans. The 
 city manager plan completely unifies the ad- 
 ministration and makes it possible to have a 
 permanent expert in charge of the affairs of 
 the city. Since the manager is always sub- 
 
 15 Letter of August 36, 1914. 
 
CITY GOVERJ^MENT REFORM 185 
 
 ject to the control of the commission, there is 
 no *'one man power." 
 
 Dayton, Ohio, is the first important city to 
 have adopted the city manager plan. This Dayton's 
 
 , . City Man- 
 
 newest form of mumcipal government went ager pian 
 
 into effect there on January first, 1914. The 
 Dayton Chamber of Commerce, since consoli- 
 dated with other bodies in the Greater Dayton 
 Association, was largely interested in the move- 
 ment. In 1912 the Chamber appointed a com- 
 mittee of five to study the question of commis- 
 sion government. Their investigation led to 
 the forming of a committee of one hundred 
 citizens to work for a new charter, embodying 
 the city manager modification of the commis- 
 sion form. The "home rule" amendment to 
 the Ohio State Constitution which became 
 effective November 1912 gave Ohio cities the 
 right to frame their own charters and aided the 
 efforts of the committee. As a result of the co-operation 
 
 of Chamber 
 
 continued activity of the Chamber of Com- with 
 
 Research 
 
 merce and the Dayton Bureau of Municipal Bureau 
 Research a publicity campaign was started. 
 The phrase "government by deficit" was used 
 by the Bureau to characterize the existing 
 
186 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 municipal administration. Copies of the pro- 
 posed charter were widely distributed previous 
 to the general election held August 12, 1913. 
 At this time the charter was adopted by a 
 large majority. ^^ 
 
 The Dayton city manager plan retains the 
 idea of a commission but is nevertheless a radi- 
 cal advance upon the commission form of gov- 
 ernment. Under the latter, legislative and 
 executive functions are in thie same hands and 
 the executive responsibility is divided among 
 the commissioners in charge of their respective 
 departments. Dayton, however, puts the re- 
 sponsibility of administration upon one man. 
 Abuse of his extraordinary power is prevented 
 by provisions for the initiative, referendum, 
 and recall. ^^ 
 
 Director L. D. Upson of the Dayton Bureau 
 
 Results of Municipal Research, reviewing Dayton's 
 
 first five months under City Manager Henry 
 
 M. Waite, attributes the success and economy 
 
 16 Proposed Charter of the City of Dayton: Prepared and 
 Proposed by the Charter Commission. 64 pages. Dayton, 
 Ohio, 1913. 
 
 17 Popular recall provision is adversely criticised in the 
 National Municipal Review, Vol. Ill, page 95. "Defects in 
 the Dayton Charter." 
 
CITY GOVERNMENT REFORM 187 
 
 of the administration to the centralizing in one 
 individual of authority and responsibility for 
 the efficient conducting of all departments of 
 the city. This individual, the city manager, 
 in turn demands that his department heads 
 produce results, or make way for men who can 
 do so.^® 
 
 The American City for July 1914 contains 
 Manager Waite's article: "The City Manager 
 Plan — The Application of Business Methods 
 to Municipal Government." In addition to 
 outlining his policies and giving a history of 
 the results to date. Manager Waite takes oc- 
 casion to commend the work of the Dayton 
 Bureau of Municipal Research and the co-op- 
 eration of the Greater Dayton Association, 
 comprising 7000 members in a city of 125,000. 
 
 ''It may very well be," comments The 
 World's Worh,^^ "that Dayton has taken the 
 step forward that will place the chief adminis- 
 trator of a big city's affairs in a position of 
 such security and dignity that municipal gov- 
 
 18 L. D. Upson, "How Dayton's City Manager Plan Is 
 Working," American Review of Reviews, June 1914, pages 
 714-717. 
 
 19 Editorial, The World's Work, Vol. XXVI, page 614. Octo- 
 ber 1913. 
 
188 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 eminent may become a field for the best busi- 
 ness ability and the most statesmanlike intelli- 
 gence of the country. 
 
 "Years ago when the recently retired Am- 
 bassador Bryce wrote The American Com- 
 monwealth, city government was the one con- 
 spicuous failure which he had to chronicle. 
 With the wide spread of the commission form 
 of government and the hopeful experiments 
 in city managers the present would afford a 
 much brighter picture." 
 
 The Ex- Ambassador has accorded the re- 
 Bryce on cent trend in municipal government due notice. 
 
 Commission . ^ ^t -xt ^ r^- /^i i • 
 
 Govern- In addrcssmg the New York City Club m 1911 
 he said: 
 
 "Your administration is becoming more and 
 more of a business administration, certainly 
 in this city, than ever before, and that is gen- 
 erally true of cities all over the Union. Every- 
 where men are coming to see the importance of 
 fixing responsibility upon definite persons. 
 That is the meaning of the tendency to adopt 
 the commission form. In that respect your 
 forms of government are far better over the 
 country at large than they used to be. ... In 
 all the largest cities where I have been honored 
 by being the guest of chambers of commerce 
 and civic clubs and citizens' associations, I have 
 found organizations in which good citizens have 
 banded themselves together, supplementing 
 
 ments 
 
CITY GOVERNMENT REFORM 1 89 
 
 the defects of their local municipal government 
 by making themselves the organs of an alert 
 and enlightened public opinion, stirring up the 
 spirit of the people and impelling by the pres- 
 sure of opinion the municipal authorities to- 
 ward the improvements that are needed." ^^ 
 
 20 Cited in National Municipal Review, Vol. I, page 18, 
 January 1912. 
 
 Recent articles on commission government include the fol- 
 lowing: Bradford: "Financial Results Under the Commis- 
 sion Form of Government," National Municipal Review, Vol. 
 I, page 372; Clay: Chapter XI of City Building; Dana, 
 "Anti-toxin for Municipal Waste," National Municipal Re- 
 view, Vol. I, page 38; Hawkins: "Ideal City Government," 
 Proceedings, Fourth Annual Convention, Central Association 
 of Commercial Secretaries, page 5; Thompson: "The Vital 
 Points in Charter Making from a Socialist Point of View," 
 National Municipal Review, Vol. II, page 416; Upson: "The 
 City Manager Plan of Government for Dayton," National 
 Municipal Review, Vol. II, page 638. 
 
 Also: "New Orleans Largest with Commission Govern- 
 ment," Nation's Business, Vol. I, no. 2, page 4; "The Com- 
 ing of the City Manager Plan," report of a committee of 
 the National Municipal League, National Municipal Review, 
 VoL III, page 44. 
 
CO-OPERATION WITH MUNICIPAL 
 AUTHORITIES 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 CX)-OPERATION WITH MUNICIPAL 
 AUTHORITIES 
 
 The report of a special committee of the Na- 
 tional Municipal League in 1911 on the com- 
 mission form of government does not accord it 
 unqualified praise and characterizes it as only a 
 "relative success," that is, by comparison with 
 other existing forms. According to the report 
 the citizens in commission-governed cities are 
 satisfied with the change, feeling that they are 
 given the opportunity to be more effective 
 pohtically and that the commission form is one 
 of the city's chief assets.^ It is conceded that 
 this form of government shows a marked ad- 
 vance in respect to business efficiency and the 
 
 1 "City Government by Commission: a Report," National 
 Municipal Review, Vol. I, page 40. A special committee con- 
 sisting of William Bennett Munro of Colimibia, Dr. Ernest 
 S. Bradford of Washington, Clinton Rogers Woodruff of 
 Philadelphia, Editor of the National Municipal Review, and 
 Richard S. Childs, Secretary of the Short Ballot Association, 
 presented this report at the Seventeenth Annual Meeting of 
 the National Municipal League, Richmond, Va., November 
 13-16, 1911. 
 
 193 
 
194. AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 centralization of responsibility. Theoretically, 
 also, the popular rule provisions, the initiative, 
 referendum, and recall, should provide the 
 citizens with adequate protection against cor- 
 rupt and incompetent administration. Never- 
 theless in practice these provisions are seldom 
 utilized.^ 
 
 One objection advanced against the com- 
 Criticism mission form is that it does not contain pro- 
 sion Plan visions beneficial to citizens who are disinclined 
 to use the facilities offered them, namely, the 
 popular rule provisions.^ As a matter of fact 
 this criticism is by no means fatal to the case for 
 commission government. No plan can be de-. 
 vised to compel citizens to take an active inter- 
 est in the city administration. More signifi- 
 cant is Mr. Bruere's suggestion that the 
 growing efficiency of city administrations un- 
 der the commission plan will eventually cut off 
 the only outlet of citizen action, by making the 
 
 2 The New City Government : a discussion of municipal 
 administration based on a survey of ten commission governed 
 cities, by Henry Bruere, Director of the New York Bureau 
 of Municipal Research. New York, D. Appleton & Co., 1912. 
 438 pages, 8vo. Reference is to page 376. 
 
 3 "A Participating Commission Plan of Government: 
 method whereby citizens may participate in municipal govern- 
 ment through their group organizations," by George H. Mur- 
 doch. The Americcm City, Vol. VI, pages 471-476. 
 
CO-OPERATION WITH AUTHORITIES 195 
 
 use of the popular rule provisions unneces- 
 sary.* 
 
 Progress in society is the result of bad, rather Progress, 
 
 the 
 
 than good, government for the reason that in Result of 
 case of the former the citizens are roused to act emment 
 and thus perform their proper function in the 
 community.^ If, then, commission govern- 
 ment is merely efficient and requires no atten- 
 tion from the citizens, it would seem to be in 
 this respect undesirable. It is most important 
 to the community to have a government that 
 can be made an internal force in the activities 
 of the citizens. 
 
 It is true that popular opposition to corrupt 
 government produces good citizens and that an 
 efficient administration does away with the need 
 of reform, thus closing this avenue of citizen 
 action. But, as the commercial organizations 
 in this country have demonstrated, there still 
 remains the opportunity as well as the need for 
 co-operation with the municipal authorities 
 along constructive lines. However efficient 
 and systematic the city administration may be, 
 real development and progress depend in large 
 
 *Bru^re, The New City Government, page 377. 
 5 Murdoch, "A Participating Commission Plan of Govern- 
 ment," etc., — see above. 
 
196 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 measure upon the active civic interest of the 
 citizens. 
 
 Before describing the work of boards of 
 oroup-Par- trade in this field it will be interesting to exam- 
 
 ticipation , i /> << 
 
 me a plan for group-participation" in com- 
 mission cities, devised by Mr. George H. Mur- 
 doch ^and entirely applicable to commercial 
 bodies, though, so far as is known, not yet prac- 
 tically applied. He advocates the passing of a 
 statute by which in any commission-governed 
 city a civic or commercial organization by fil- 
 ing a certificate of certain qualifications shall 
 become a semi-official body. Among these 
 quaUfications are : (1) that the organization 
 states in its constitution the purpose for which 
 it was founded; (2) that the government of the 
 organization be by majority and meetings made 
 open for all; and (3) that the initiative, refer- 
 endum, and recall shall be used within the or- 
 ganization. Mr. Murdoch suggests the fol- 
 lowing privileges which a duly qualified organi- 
 zation would enjoy: (1) the resolutions or 
 positive acts of the organization, whenever it 
 so desires, are to be spread upon the commission 
 
 « Murdoch, "A Participating Commission Plan of Govern- 
 ment," etc., — see above. 
 
CO-OPERATION WITH AUTHORITIES 197 
 
 records; (2) the body may call upon the com- 
 mission at any time to produce records, corre- 
 spondence and public accounts; and (3) the 
 body may also call upon the commission under 
 reasonable regulations for a public hearing. 
 Finally it is recommended that all semi-official 
 bodies so constituted be bound under law 
 to perform certain duties, for example (1) 
 serve without pay, and report whenever sub- 
 jects are referred to them by the commission; 
 and (2) send delegates to advise the commis- 
 sioners in considering momentous matters. 
 Under a participating commission plan it is 
 urged that each citizen could select his own 
 field of public influence, and that, moreover, 
 the commissioners, being in intimate touch with 
 large groups of individuals, could thus secure a 
 fair expression of public opinion. 
 
 CO-OPERATION INVITED BY CITY OFFICIALS 
 
 To-day it is practically impossible to find an 
 efficient municipal administration that does not 
 invite the active co-operation of the citizens. 
 This is true of cities which do not have com- 
 mission government as well as of those which 
 have adopted the commission form. Cham- 
 
198 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 bers of commerce are the civic bodies which 
 chiefly make such co-operation feasible. The 
 organized sentiment of the members of these 
 associations acts as a guide to the city officials 
 in addition to supplying an effective check upon 
 their public acts. Accordingly the Boston 
 Chamber of Commerce through its committees 
 on municipal and metropolitan affairs and on 
 city planning is placed in close touch with the 
 various city departments, the City Council, and 
 the Mayor. From time to time these commit- 
 tees request the Chamber to make specific 
 recommendations to the city officials. The 
 Chamber of Commerce volunteers suggestions 
 or criticisms impartially in civic affairs, but 
 above all things evinces a desire to co-operate 
 with the officials whenever it can be of assist- 
 ance. 
 
 The value of the civic body as a check upon 
 
 the city administration is emphasized by Dr. 
 
 The Civic Clyde L. King in his book, The History of the 
 
 Body as a 
 
 Check Government of Denver with Special Reference 
 
 to its Relations with Public Service Corpora- 
 tions, Denver, 1911. He says: 
 
 **In Denver's own history the real check has 
 never come from the formal institutions, such 
 
CO-OPERATION WITH AUTHORITIES 199 
 
 as the council, but from the informal institu- 
 tions, the chief of which has been, and is, the 
 Chamber of Commerce." ^ 
 
 In 1912 the Mayor of Denver, seeing the 
 benefits of citizen co-operation, asked every 
 civic or commercial body in the city to name 
 three of its members to serve on a City Board 
 of Advisers. The Board was duly constituted 
 and conferred with the Mayor several times. 
 Its members then reported back to their re- 
 spective organizations, as a means of giving the 
 fullest publicity to administrative affairs. Ac- 
 cording to the Denver Chamber of Commerce, 
 however, this Board "had very little to do with 
 forming the policy of the city government un- 
 der Mayor Arnold." ® When Denver adopted 
 the commission form of government at the close 
 of his administration the advisory committee 
 went out of existence. 
 
 Marking an innovation in municipal govern- The 
 
 Mayor's 
 
 ment. Mayor Brown of Kansas City, Mo., in cabinet 
 1910 established a council known as the 
 "Mayor's cabinet." As first constituted it was 
 
 ■7 King, History of the Government of Denver, etc., page 
 302. 
 
 8 Letter from Asst. Secretary C. M. Kittredge, Jr., Den- 
 ver Chamber of Commerce, December 12, 1913. 
 
200 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 composed of the heads of the various city de- 
 partments, such as the Public Utihties Com- 
 mission, the Board of Civil Service, and the 
 Board of Fire and Water Commissioners. At 
 the weekly meetings of this cabinet each mem- 
 ber was called upon to offer suggestions re- 
 garding not only his department but also every 
 other department in the city government. 
 Matters of legislation, municipal service, and 
 public improvements were referred to special 
 committees composed of members of the 
 cabinet, and action was taken in accordance 
 with their reports. The Mayor in this way 
 secured information and advice that resulted in 
 many improvements in the municipal service 
 while the various branches of the city govern- 
 ment worked in complete harmony. 
 
 After about nine months of cabinet meetings 
 it occurred to the Mayor that valuable sugges- 
 tions might be obtained from men not con- 
 nected with the municipal government and that, 
 moreover, citizens engaged in the civic and in- 
 dustrial life of the city should be enabled to 
 present their complaints and criticism through 
 the medium of their respective civic and com- 
 mercial associations. The cabinet was accord- 
 
CO-OPERATION WITH AUTHORITIES 201 
 
 ingly enlarged to include, in addition to the 
 department heads, one delegate from each of 
 these bodies. The conferences of the cabinet 
 in its new form were of great value to the city. 
 The fact that representative business men were 
 enabled to come into direct contact with munic- 
 ipal department heads resulted in prompt and 
 intelligent action. 
 
 A concrete case will serve to show the value instance 
 
 of Co-op- 
 
 of the cabinet's work. On one occasion a eration 
 manufacturer reported to the Kansas City 
 Commercial Club that he had purchased 
 ground for a factory about 400 feet beyond the 
 city limits and that, although his factory build- 
 ing was completed, he could not begin opera- 
 tions because the city refused to extend the 
 city water main to his factory site unless he 
 would pay for the extension. Upon investiga- 
 tion the Commercial Club found that the loca- 
 tion had been purchased beyond the city limits 
 because the land could be secured at a reason- 
 able figure and a good railroad siding was ob- 
 tainable, — two conditions essential to a success- 
 ful enterprise. It was also evident that the 
 community was growing in the direction of the 
 factory-site and would eventually include it. 
 
202 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 These facts were presented to the Mayor's 
 cabinet and, the majority of the members 
 agreeing that the manufacturer's request was 
 reasonable, the water main was promptly ex- 
 tended by the city. 
 
 Upon the termination of Mayor Brown's 
 Cabinet period of officc the Mayor's cabinet was discon- 
 
 Discon- •Till 
 
 tinued tmucd and under the next administration was 
 
 replaced by ward meetings. The cabinet was 
 not, however, without its permanent benefit to 
 the city. 
 
 "We have learned," said the secretary of 
 the Commercial Club, "that there are more 
 capable men holding public office than we 
 thought, and they have found out that the voice 
 of a well organized body of business men is to 
 be respected. . . . We have discovered many 
 difficulties that confront city officials, and now 
 know . . . that they need friendly encourage- 
 ment . . . from the men who pay a large per- 
 centage of the taxes." ^ 
 
 9 "Co-operation of Municipal Authorities with Commercial 
 Organizations," by E. M. Clendening, Secretary, Commercial 
 Club, Kansas City, Mo. Address delivered at the Fourth 
 Annual Convention of the Central Association of Commercial 
 Secretaries, Indianapolis, Ind., September 20 and 21, 1912. 
 Reported page 32 of the Proceedings of that convention. 
 See further, same, page 61, "Advisory Boards of City Gov- 
 ernment." 
 
CO-OPERATION WITH AUTHORITIES 203 
 
 THE BOSTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND 
 THE CITY GARBAGE CONTRACT 
 
 In many cases the commercial organizations 
 themselves have taken the initiative and have 
 offered to co-operate with the city. A striking 
 instance of this is furnished by the work of the 
 Boston Chamber of Commerce in the matter of 
 the city garbage contract. Under the old con- 
 tract which expired the first of January 1911, 
 the garbage and waste collected in the city of 
 Boston was removed by a private firm. Previ- 
 ous to its expiration the Commissioner began to 
 draw up the specifications for a new ten-year 
 contract and he also advertised for bids. The 
 only bid received was from the contractor the 
 city was then employing. 
 
 At this point the Chamber of Commerce 
 Committee on Municipal and Metropolitan 
 Affairs, which had been working on the matter, 
 communicated with the city council and advised campaign 
 calling for new bids. This suggestion was bIL ^^ 
 adopted and the committee was authorized to 
 assist the Commissioner. The first difficulty 
 to be met was that, under the laws of the city 
 of Boston, the Commissioner was not allowed to 
 
204 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 advertise for bids except in the City Record, 
 the official weekly publication. Ordinarily this 
 paper does not reach engineers and business 
 men, a fact which accounts for the absence of 
 any competitive bids for the garbage contract. 
 To overcome this difficulty the Chamber's com- 
 mittee communicated with the commercial 
 bodies in all large cities, asking them to notify 
 their members that the city of Boston required 
 estimates for garbage disposal. Further- 
 more, one member of the committee at his own 
 expense advertised for bids in several engineer- 
 ing magazines. Seven bids were received as a 
 result of this campaign and the lowest of them 
 was materially less than the original one. 
 
 The Chamber of Commerce was not yet satis- 
 fied. The bids were not figured uniformly 
 and it was impossible to tell which was actually 
 the lowest. In the face of much opposition the 
 committee urged that these bids also be re- 
 >^ected and new ones secured on the basis of a 
 set of specifications. The city finally yielded 
 the point and permitted the Chamber to draft 
 the specifications in consultation with the city 
 engineer. 
 
 When the new bids arrived it was found that 
 
CO-OPERATION WITH AUTHORITIES 205 
 
 the lowest was $500,000 less than any properly largre 
 
 Saving 
 
 figured bid previously received. By a vote of Effected 
 seven to two the city council approved the 
 awarding of the contract to the Boston De- 
 velopment and Sanitary Co. whose bid was the 
 lowest in addition to being the one recom- 
 mended by the Chamber of Commerce. This 
 company's process of garbage reduction is the 
 dry-heat system carried on under vacuum; 
 paper and rubbish are incinerated, while ashes 
 and street sweepings are used for filling 
 islands or swamps along the water-front.^ 
 
 10 
 
 THE HAMILTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 
 
 During the flood disasters of 1913 Hamil- 
 ton, Ohio, found itself deprived of its munic- 
 ipal officials with the result that it was tem- 
 porarily without a government. In this emer- 
 gency the Chamber of Commerce brought into 
 existence a provisional government that 
 proved fully capable of handling the situation. 
 
 10 "The Boston Chamber of Commerce and the Garbage 
 Contract." Letter of Herbert J. Kellaway in The American 
 City. Vol. VI, pages 496-7 with editorial note. See also 
 Boston Chamber of Commerce News, June 19, 1911, and October 
 30, 1911, for further information. Also F. R. Bangs, "Saving 
 the City Half a Million," Boston Chamber of Commerce News, 
 Vol. II, no. 32, page 4. 
 
206 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 Instead of co-operating with the city officials, 
 a commercial body was forced in this instance 
 to take their place. The co-operative spirit 
 that had marked the previous activity of this 
 chamber of commerce and had made it a use- 
 ful civic organization became the flooded city's 
 greatest asset/^ 
 
 The Hamilton Chamber has its offices in the 
 Rentschler Building, one of the city's large 
 office structures. In these offices there were 
 six of the leading business men of Hamilton 
 when the first rush of water came on March 
 25, and there they remained until late the next 
 afternoon, when the flood began to recede. 
 Word reached them that the Mayor could not 
 be located and that the police chief was thought 
 to have been drowned. At this report Presi- 
 Temporary dent Fitton of the Chamber of Commerce 
 
 Government n i . « 
 
 called an miormal meetmg of all those present 
 in the building and a temporary government 
 was organized. 
 
 The first efforts of this body were directed 
 toward the rescuing and protection of those in 
 
 11 "How the Chamber of Commerce of Hamilton, O., Met 
 a Great Emergency," by Leo L. Redding. The World's 
 Work, Vol. XXVI, pages 598-9, September 1913. 
 
CO-OPERATION WITH AUTHORITIES 20? 
 
 danger. The Chamber's vice-president, for the 
 time being chief of the commissary depart- 
 ment, communicated with the Mayor of Cin- 
 cinnati, using the only wire left standing, and 
 in less than four hours after the formation of 
 the provisional government twenty-two motor 
 trucks were plowing the roads between the two 
 cities, carrying supplies and provisions. Prom- 
 inent members of the Chamber of Commerce 
 were also placed in charge of the volunteer po- 
 lice force and the morgue. The Chamber's 
 treasurer became custodian of the relief fund, 
 while an ex-president of the organization, to- 
 gether with one of its directors, assumed the 
 responsibility for re-establishing the city's pub- 
 lic works. 
 
 When provision had been made for Hamil- Restoration 
 ton's most immediate needs the temporary Hamilton 
 government turned over control of the city to 
 a council of thirty citizens, headed by an ex- 
 ecutive committee of six, and the whole com- 
 munity participated in the work of restoring 
 the city. As a result of the flood the four local 
 bridges were piles of debris and the railroads 
 were useless. There was little food in Hamil- 
 
208 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 ton and no gas, electricity, or drinking water. 
 The first practical work was the temporary re- 
 pair of three of the wrecked bridges. The 
 water supply and the lighting system were 
 next rendered serviceable and finally the streets 
 were cleared. 
 
 The flood came on March 25 and by April 
 9 the citizens had repaired the greater part of 
 the damage. The Chamber of Commerce mem- 
 bers who had organized the provisional govern- 
 ment later subscribed to a guarantee fund, ex- 
 tending credit to the business men of Hamil- 
 ton, thus enabling them to get a new start. In 
 order to prevent a recurrence of the disaster, 
 the counties along the Great Miami have 
 formed an organization for the purpose of ex- 
 tending a dam across the river and thus bring- 
 ing it under control. 
 
 THE CIVIC FIELD FOE COMMERCIAL BODIES 
 
 A notable feature of the new co-operative 
 spirit manifested by citizens through the me- 
 dium of voluntary associations is their attitude 
 of toleration and forbearance. Thus the 
 Rochester Chamber of Commerce avoids prom- 
 inence in its co-operative undertakings, recog- 
 
CO-OPERATION WITH AUTHORITIES 209 
 
 nizing the fact that "municipal government 
 carries many responsibihties for the people 
 and, therefore, must be permitted and encour- 
 aged to take the initiative." ^^ Although the 
 city government involves a great many proc- 
 esses of importance, popular action must be 
 limited to a few. 
 
 Without forethought a commercial body limits / 
 may find itself occupying the same field as the pieid 
 municipal authorities and attempting civic im- 
 provements already contemplated by the city. 
 There must accordingly be limits to the civic 
 work of boards of trade. City clubs and com- 
 mercial organizations are the two main di- 
 visions under which the majority of civic bodies 
 may be grouped. To a certain extent the ac- 
 tivities of these two classes are distinct. The 
 commercial organization is concerned pri- 
 marily with the business interests and cannot 
 interfere in administrative matters as easily 
 as can the city club, for the reason that the 
 former may be criticised, though unjustly, for 
 trying to control the city authorities for its 
 own profit. On the other hand the greater 
 financial resources of the commercial bodies 
 
 i2Brufere, The New City Government, page 393. 
 
210 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 place them in a more favorable position to pro- 
 mote civic development/^ Moreover, when 
 the opinions of experts are required by the 
 city officials, individual cases must determine 
 the organization best qualified to render the 
 services/^ 
 
 To avoid a clash of interests there should be 
 close co-operation between city-plan experts 
 and commercial associations working to pro- 
 mote the city. City-planning unquestionably 
 enhances the value of property and causes civic 
 growth which directly benefits the manufac- 
 turers and merchants. Nevertheless, where 
 co-operation is neglected we may expect to find 
 conflicting aims and a lack of efficiency. ^^ 
 
 In many instances the efforts of chambers of 
 
 13 Thus the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce supports 
 an inspection bureau to inform citizens and taxpayers how 
 their money is being expended in municipal improvements. 
 See Special Agents Series — No. 79. Commercial Organizou- 
 tions in Southern and Western Cities, by Geo. W. Doonan. 
 Washington, D. C, 1914. Page 22, "San Francisco Chamber 
 of Commerce." 
 
 14 "The Relation of Civic and Commercial Organizations to 
 Municipal Government." Address delivered before the Inter- 
 national Municipal Congress, September 21, 1911, by Mayo 
 Fesler, Secretary of the Municipal Association of Cleveland. 
 Reported in The American City, Vol. V, pages 274—9. 
 
 15 "Town Promotion and City Planning," by Elmer S. 
 Batterson, Associate Editor of The Dry Goods Reporter, 
 The American City, Vol. IV, page 119. 
 
CO-OPERATION WITH AUTHORITIES 211 
 
 commerce have resulted in great financial sav- Financial 
 
 Support 
 
 ing to their cities. It has been suggested that, urged 
 since comparatively few citizens assist in sup- 
 porting commercial organizations, legislation 
 should be passed permitting cities or communi- 
 ties to levy a tax, the proceeds to be payable 
 to commercial bodies and to be expended by 
 them in civic improvements.^^ In Colorado 
 at the present time the counties collect a small 
 tax for the support of commercial and devel- 
 opment organizations. Secretary Adolph 
 Boldt of the Houston (Tex.) Chamber of 
 Commerce, citing the Chamber's successful 
 campaign for the "front foot paving plan," 
 which annually saves the city of Houston thou- 
 sands of dollars by charging two-thirds of the 
 cost of street improvements to the abutting 
 property-owners, urges a monthly appropria- 
 tion from the city's revenues for the support of 
 the Houston Chamber of Commerce. ^"^ 
 
 16 Edit. The Nation's Business, Vol. I, no. 13, page 2, July 
 15, 1913. 
 
 17 "Ideal Relations Between the Chamber of Commerce 
 and the Municipal Government," by Adolph Boldt, Secretary 
 of the Houston Chamber of Commerce, Houston, Tex. 
 Article prepared for the author. 
 
>:: 
 
CIVIC IMPROVEMENT 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 CIVIC IMPROVEMENT 
 
 The problems presented by the modern city 
 are more complex than ever before. Half of 
 the people in the United States live in cities. 
 Congestion, crime, and poverty are essentially 
 city evils. Nevertheless, the commercial 
 bodies are rapidly improving conditions in our 
 large municipalities. This phase of their ac- 
 tivity includes city planning, housing and san- 
 itary reform, recommendations for public 
 health and safety, the regulation of charities, 
 and the support of park and playground 
 movements. Moreover, campaigns for good 
 roads and proposals for public works fre- 
 quently originate in these organizations. 
 
 "The chamber of conmierce is a composite The Brains 
 not only of the city's wealth but of its intelli- 
 gence." * An efficient commercial body knows 
 what is requisite for the growth of the city and 
 
 1 Ritchie, "The Modern Chamber of Commerce,*' National 
 Municipal Review, Vol. I, page 161. 
 
 215 
 
216 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 for the well-being of the citizens. The pro- 
 gressive manufacturer has discovered that it is 
 not enough to have a fine equipment ; unless his 
 employees are living in healthy and moral sur- 
 roundings he cannot expect to get the highest 
 efficiency. This consideration alone often 
 causes factory-owners to change the location 
 of their plants. The conditions that affect the 
 welfare of an industrial enterprise are equally 
 important in the case of a community. If only 
 to maintain its population, a city must keep 
 pace with modern requirements. 
 
 Constructive work by boards of trade is in 
 constrnc- Itsclf their best reward. The advantages pos- 
 sessed by an attractive, healthy city, where 
 good housing and labor conditions prevail, are 
 too apparent to need demonstration. The sig- 
 nal efforts of commercial organizations, 
 whether aimed at selfish ends or actuated by 
 true civic loyalty, as in the majority of cases, 
 are in the field of public service. 
 
 A committee is the board of trade's most 
 effective instrument. Thus the Commercial 
 Club of Duluth conducts all of its civic work 
 through the Public Affairs Committee. The 
 first committee, appointed ten years ago, con- 
 
CIVIC IMPROVEMENT 217 
 
 sisted of forty members. At the present time 
 the nmnber is 150. The chairman and mem- 
 bers of the Pubhc Affairs Committee are ap- 
 pointed by the President of the Commercial 
 Club, the chairman later assigning the mem- 
 bers to sub-committees which deal with special 
 subjects. Detailed work is carried on by 
 these smaller bodies and reports are made at 
 monthly meetings of the Public Affairs Com- 
 mittee. Questions that require the opinion of 
 the large committee are also presented in the 
 form of recommendations. Ordinarily the 
 recommendations are accepted without objec- 
 tion.^ 
 
 COMMERCIAL ORGANIZATIONS AND CITY 
 PLANNING 
 
 City planning is a phase of civic improve- 
 ment to which chambers of commerce largely 
 devote their efforts. The reasons for this fact 
 are not hard to find. The aims of the city- 
 plan expert are, first, to make a city an attrac- 
 
 2 "The Public Affairs Committee," address by H. V. Eva, 
 Secretary of the Commercial Club of Duluth, Minn., at the 
 Fifth Annual Convention of the Central Association of Com- 
 mercial Secretaries, Omaha, Nebraska, September 22, 23, and. 
 24, 1913. Reported on pages 21-22 of the Proceedings of 
 this convention. 
 
218 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 tive and healthy place for homes, thus giving 
 it advantages which cause a growth in popu- 
 lation ; and, second, to provide for the handling 
 of traffic on the streets and at the stations and 
 wharves. 
 
 Mr. George B. Ford ^ thinks the industrial 
 need for the planned city is the most urgent 
 and that, therefore, chambers of commerce 
 should lead in this work. But, illustrating the 
 close co-ordination between beauty and utility 
 in city planning, he says : 
 
 "No matter how good the industrial features 
 may be, unless the community is attractive to 
 labor, a sound and healthy development is 
 hardly probable." 
 
 The importance which city planning has as- 
 Recent sumed is shown by the recent passage of a law 
 in Massachusetts, entitled: "An act to pro- 
 vide for the establishment of local planning 
 boards by cities and towns." The Boston 
 Chamber of Commerce, carrying out its educa- 
 tional programme in New England outlined 
 on pages 242-250, distributes weekly to New 
 
 3G. B. Ford, member of the city planning committee of 
 the New York Merchants' Association, "Chambers of Com- 
 merce and City Planning," The American City, Vol. X, no. 5, 
 page 448, May 1914. 
 
 Legislation 
 
CIVIC IMPROVEMENT 219 
 
 England cities index cards recording new 
 items about city planning. The Board of 
 Trade in Salem, Mass., and the New Haven 
 Chamber of Commerce have been instrumental 
 in the creation of city plans commissions for 
 their respective communities. 
 
 An effective piece of publicity as well ^s a 
 contribution to the literature of city planning 
 is the volume, Greater Erie, prepared for "Greater 
 
 Erie*' 
 
 the city planning committee of the Chamber 
 of Commerce and Board of Trade of Erie, Pa. 
 The unique value of this book consists in its 
 complete study of city planning as related to 
 Erie and the inclusion of suggestive matter re- 
 lating to city planning in this country and 
 abroad. Chapters deal with streets, railroads, 
 waterfront, buildings, open spaces, and the in- 
 dispensability of city planning. 
 
 On August 28, 1913, the Board of Estimate 
 and Apportionment of the City of New York, New York 
 at the request of Borough President Mc- 
 Aneny of Manhattan, agreed to make an ap- 
 propriation for an exhibition of city planning, 
 providing that half as much could be raised by 
 private subscription. On the same day the 
 Merchants' Association of New York guaran- 
 
220 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 teed the amount required. An advisory com- 
 mission was duly named, which secured the use 
 of the New York Public Library exhibition 
 rooms and appointed the American City Bu- 
 reau to collect and install the exhibit. 
 
 The officials of many foreign cities and those 
 of all American cities of over 10,000 popula- 
 tion were asked to co-operate to make this ex- 
 hibition representative. This invitation was 
 also extended to many civic and commercial or- 
 ganizations. The response was wide-spread 
 and so generous in amount that the commission 
 was unable to find room for all of the valuable 
 material. 
 
 The exhibit took place November 24 to De- 
 cember 7, 1913. Its purposes as defined in 
 the official catalogue were to explain to the 
 public the meaning and scope of city planning; 
 to show, also, the intimate relation between all 
 the different branches of the subject; and, 
 lastly, to prove to taxpayers that efficient plan- 
 ning is one of the best investments a city can 
 make. 
 
 The bibliography of city planning is already 
 
 Bibiiog- very large. The New York Public Library 
 
 has published a Select List of Works Relat- 
 
CIVIC IMPROVEMENT 221 
 
 ing to City Planning and Allied Topics which 
 was especially prepared for the city planning 
 exhibition. A Selected List of Municipal 
 and Civic Books is obtainable from the Amer- 
 ican City Bureau, New York City.^ 
 
 THE HOUSTON SHIP CHANNEL 
 
 A leading example of civic improvement due 
 to the efforts of a chamber of commerce is the 
 Houston Ship Channel, now in course of con- 
 struction. When completed the waterway 
 will enable the largest steamers to reach Hous- 
 ton from the Gulf of Mexico, a distance of 
 
 •4 Recent magazine articles on city planning and civic im- 
 provement in relation to commercial bodies include: 
 World's Work, Vol. XXVII, pages 354-355, January 1914, "A 
 Commercial Club in a Small Town," describing the work of 
 the Dallas Chamber of Commerce. National Municipal i2«- 
 view, Vol. I, page 236, "The Business Side of City Plan- 
 ning"; page 318, "The Boston Chamber of Commerce and 
 City Planning"; page 325, "Harrisburg Board of Trade and 
 the Billboards"; page 458, "San Francisco's Civic Center"; 
 Vol. II, page 132, "City Planning"; page 210, "Constructive 
 Housing Reform." The Nation's Business, Vol. I, no. 12, 
 page 13, "Commercial Organizations and Social Welfare." 
 
 See also H. Bruere, The New City Government, pages 384- 
 393, citing cases of civic improvement by chambers of com- 
 merce; S. H. Clay, City Building, Chapter VII, "Street Build- 
 ing and Cleaning," Chapter IX, "The City Beautiful," and 
 Chapter XII, "Good Roads"; Annals of the American Acad- 
 emy; Vol. XXV, pages 359-401, "Activities of Civic Organi- 
 zations for Municipal Improvement in the U. S."; Some 
 Activities of the Rochester Chamber of Commerce, 1912, 
 (also, same, 1913). 
 
222 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 fifty miles. This Channel was originally 
 Government known as Buffalo Bayou and existed as a nat- 
 ural arm of the sea. It was sluggish and 
 marshy, besides being too shallow to admit ves- 
 sels of ordinary size. As early as 1871 the 
 United States Government adopted a plan for 
 the improvement of the harbor, to make it one 
 hundred feet wide and twelve feet deep ; and in 
 1898 the Board of Survey's report for the en- 
 largement of Buffalo Bayou was acted upon 
 favorably. This report recommended a mini- 
 mum depth of twenty-five feet. 
 
 Work was partially completed in 1909, 
 when, as a result of dredging, the depth had 
 been increased to eighteen feet throughout the 
 entire length. This depth has been sufficient 
 to accommodate small coasting vessels and 
 Houston's annual traffic already amounts to 
 over $55,000,000. For several years previous 
 to 1909 the Houston Chamber of Commerce, 
 Manchester realizing the need for extensive harbor im- 
 
 Ship Canal 
 
 provements, made a study of the Manchester 
 Ship Canal in England. The commercial 
 growth of this English city has been due largely 
 to a canal that was built to overcome condi- 
 tions very similar to those found at Houston. 
 
CIVIC IMPROVEMENT 22S 
 
 At a cost of several million dollars the shallow 
 Mersey was dredged and the underlying bed 
 rock, excavated, so that the largest ocean liners 
 can now dock at Manchester. 
 
 In 1909 the Chamber of Commerce re-named 
 Buffalo Bayou, calling it the Houston Ship 
 Channel, and started plans to secure an appro- 
 priation from the Government to enlarge the 
 Channel to a minimum depth of twenty-five 
 feet and a minimum width of 200 feet. The 
 estimated cost of this work was $2,500,000. 
 After considerable delay Congress granted an 
 appropriation of $1,250,000 on condition that 
 Houston would raise an equal amount. There- 
 upon the business men of the city came for- 
 ward and accepted the proposition, the issue 
 of bonds being promptly taken up by local 
 banks and trust companies. The funds were 
 placed to the account of the Secretary of War ^ork 
 and in 1912 the work now nearing completion completion 
 was started by United States engineers. 
 
 By the terms of the contract with the Gov- 
 ernment, the city of Houston has agreed to 
 construct adequate wharfage to be maintained 
 forever free to commerce, thus making Hous- 
 ton a free port and exempting from taxes all 
 
224 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 freight passing over its wharves. The signifi- 
 cance of the immense project may be appre- 
 ciated from the statement that Houston is the 
 furthest point inland on deep water in the State 
 of Texas, and is entered by seventeen Hnes of 
 railroad. As soon as the Channel is completed, 
 Houston will be the logical freight center for 
 the products of fourteen middle-western states 
 bound for South American points via the 
 Panama Canal.^ 
 
 THE GROWTH OF OKLAHOMA CITY 
 
 The chamber of commerce in Oklahoma City 
 has been unusually successful in accomplishing 
 civic improvement. This city was founded 
 only a quarter of a century ago and since then 
 has reached a population of approximately 
 72,000. Between the years 1900-1910 the 
 population grew from 10,000 to 65,000. A 
 few years ago the local civic bodies were consol- 
 idated into one organization, the Chamber of 
 Commerce, which now represents over 1200 
 business firms. The city's growth and promi- 
 nence can be traced directly to the work of this 
 
 8 "The Houston Ship Channel in Epitome," article prepared 
 by the Houston Chamber of Commerce for the author, re- 
 ceived December 12, 1913. 
 
CIVIC IMPROVEMENT 225 
 
 central civic organization. Moreover, as a re- 
 sult of the Chamber of Commerce's activity, 
 the commission form of government has re- 
 cently replaced the federal plan in Oklahoma 
 City. 
 
 In 1907, when Oklahoma was granted state- 
 hood, its capital was Guthrie. Through the 
 efforts of the Oklahoma City Chamber of Com- 
 merce a movement was started to make Okla- 
 homa City the capital of the new State. In 
 favor of this plan it was argued that the city 
 was the most central point in the State and had 
 excellent transportation facilities, besides being 
 thejargest city in Oklahoma. The legislation 
 required for this change could be secured only 
 by an affirmative vote of the people of Okla- campaign 
 
 by 
 
 homa on an initiative petition. As a result of a Oklahoma 
 State-wide campaign led by the Chamber of 
 Commerce the people by a large majority de- 
 clared in favor of Oklahoma City. 
 
 At this point difficulties arose. Oklahoma 
 City, in return for being made the permanent 
 home of the State Government, had agreed to 
 provide funds for the construction of a Capitol 
 building. A suit instituted by Guthrie to re- 
 cover its position as capital and the failure of 
 
226 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 the State legislature to provide certain enact- 
 ments hindered the execution of this project. 
 Finally the State agreed to start construction 
 work on the Capitol building on condition that 
 Oklahoma City would pay over $100,000 in 
 cash and vest the State with a clear title to 665 
 acres of land, valued at $1,400,000. 
 
 The land was easily secured by gift ; and, as 
 the city found it difficult to obtain the money, 
 certain public-spirited citizens agreed to do- 
 nate a sufficient amount of land for park and 
 play-ground purposes, the city to issue bonds 
 thereon to the amount of $100,000. Just at 
 this time, however, several financiers signified 
 their intention to build a railroad from Okla- 
 homa City to Woodward, a town in the north- 
 western part of the State, provided that Okla- 
 homa City would furnish the terminals and 
 purchase the right of way as far as the county 
 Bond line. As the advantage of having this railroad 
 
 Issue 
 
 Voted was apparent, the citizens voted in favor of in- 
 
 creasing the bond issue to $250,000 to enable 
 the city to obtain both the Capitol building and 
 the new railway. The plan was executed suc- 
 cessfully and the value of a novel method of 
 
CIVIC IMPROVEMENT 227 
 
 financing civic improvements was demon- 
 strated.^ 
 
 It would not be by any means difficult to 
 multiply instances of civic improvement as a 
 result of commercial organization activity. 
 However, the purpose of this volume is not to 
 draw the details with too great a degree of 
 minuteness, but rather to present a general 
 survey of the civic work of American commer- 
 cial bodies. A board of trade or a chamber of 
 commerce is, after all, only a body of citizens. 
 It is but natural that they should wish to im- 
 prove their city. But, that they have devel- 
 oped a powerful co-operative force which en- 
 ables them, in the face of many obstacles, to 
 effect improvements and reforms is a remark- 
 able achievement. 
 
 6 "Oklahoma City Unique in Nation," article by W. B. 
 Moore, Secretary of the Oklahoma City Chamber of Com- 
 merce. The Nation's Business, Vol. I, no. 3, page 6. 
 
COMPETITION BETWEEN CITIES 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 COMPETITION BETWEEN CITIES 
 
 A MIGHTY competition between cities is result- 
 ing from the growth in influence of commercial 
 organizations in this country. It is becoming 
 increasingly necessary to recognize the board 
 of trade as an important economic factor whose 
 operations may be tremendously significant. 
 The board of trade has been termed the city's 
 garrison, ever alert to sense changing condi- 
 tions, or important movements by other trade 
 centers, and faithful in building up and pre- 
 serving the commercial strength of the city. 
 
 The words of a speaker before the Phila- Modem 
 
 . Functions 
 
 delphia Board of Trade some years ago epit- Epitomized 
 omize the functions of the modern civic and 
 commercial organizations : 
 
 "Maintain your interest in the great work 
 which lies before you for the education and 
 improvement of the people of our city ; for the 
 development of those impersonal interests un- 
 derlying the prosperity of a great city." ^ 
 
 1 Fraley, op. cit., pages 66-7. 
 
 231 
 
232 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 CIVIC ADVERTISING 
 
 Publicity is an important element in inter- 
 I city competition, but unless a city has impor- 
 tant advantages to offer new industries, money 
 so spent is wasted. In some cases the signifi- 
 cant undertakings of commercial bodies have 
 aroused general interest and newspapers and 
 periodicals have published accounts for their 
 news value. Many boards of trade send out 
 pamphlets and illustrated booklets displaying 
 local industrial and civic advantages.^ The 
 most notable achievement in advertising of this 
 sort is the volume New England: What It la 
 and What It Is to Be, circulated in 1911 by 
 the Boston Chamber of Commerce. 
 
 2 See Special Agents Series — No. 60. Commercial Organi- 
 zations, by E. A. Brand, Washington, D. C, 1913. Pages 
 44-45 "Publicity." Also Special Agents Series — No. 79. 
 Commercial Organizations in Southern and Western Cities, 
 by George W. Doonan, Washington, D. C, 1914. Page 6 
 "Publicity Work." 
 
 Chapter X — "Advertising the Town," in The Making of a 
 Town, by Frank L. McVey, discusses modern publicity meth- 
 ods employed by cities. 
 
 Chapter II— "Publicity," in City Building, by S. H. Clay, 
 gives details and practical suggestions for city advertising 
 campaigns. 
 
 See H. F. Miller, "Publicity," page 23, Proceedings, Fifth An- 
 nual Convention, Central Association of Commercial Secre- 
 taries. 
 
COMPETITION BETWEEN CITIES 233 
 
 The assets of the city of Milwaukee, to take Milwaukee' 
 
 Assets 
 
 a concrete case, are thus set forth in the 1913 
 Year Book of the Milwaukee Merchants and 
 Manufacturers Association : 
 
 ''Health: Figures furnished by the Health 
 Departments of other cities show conclusively 
 that Milwaukee has the lowest death rate 
 of any of the larger cities of the United 
 States. . . . 
 
 ''Homes: Milwaukee is essentially the 'city 
 of homes,' second to no other city as a place 
 of residence afforded by the elevations which 
 surround the city. ... It has no congested 
 slum or tenement districts. 
 
 "Parks: , . . Every section of the city has 
 its own park. Its residence streets are beauti- 
 ful, many being over-arched with maple and 
 elm trees. 
 
 "Shipping: Milwaukee is the largest re- 
 ceiving port and one of the greatest land and 
 rail exchange points on the Great Lakes, con- 
 necting the water route to the East with the 
 rail lines to the West and Northwest. The 
 inner harbor consists of three large rivers, . . . 
 all affording twenty miles of dockage and am- 
 ple connections with railroad warehouses and 
 manufacturing plants. 
 
 "Civic: Milwaukee is the most orderly and 
 law-abiding city in the nation, having a smaller 
 percentage of crime and vice than any other. 
 
234. AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 "Public Utilities: The rates for water, gas, 
 and electric power and light are most reasona- 
 ble. The city administration maintains a help- 
 ful attitude towards all industrial enterprises.^ 
 
 INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT 
 
 The growth of one community as a manu- 
 facturing center may possibly be independent 
 of a corresponding decrease elsewhere, but as 
 a general thing industrial development involves 
 the element of competition between cities. 
 Going concerns remove from one place to an- 
 other in order to obtain increased facilities for 
 transportation or production, or because the 
 new location offers better living conditions. 
 The full value of the economic arguments ad- 
 vanced in favor of civic improvement is thus 
 apparent. 
 
 Most chambers of commerce maintain in- 
 
 industriai dustrial burcaus for the purpose of discovering 
 
 contemplated removals and securing a first 
 
 hearing for the advantages of their respective 
 
 cities. A recent Government report* criti- 
 
 & Commercial Milwaukee: 1913 Year Book of the Merchants 
 and Manufacturers Association, 175 pages 4to. References to 
 pages 6, 7, 10, and 12. 
 
 See Putnam's, 1910, Vol. VII, pages 673-80, "Era of Civic 
 Advertising." 
 
 4 Brands, Commercial Organizations, etc., page 46. A. F» 
 
 Bureaus 
 
COMPETITION BETWEEN CITIES 235 
 
 cises the practice of bidding for industrial con- 
 cerns and offering large bonuses and other ma- 
 terial inducements. The first duty of a cham- 
 ber of commerce is to the local enterprises ; by 
 making them healthy, the community will be 
 better off in times of business depression. 
 
 A report of the Industrial Committee of the conserva- 
 tive Policy 
 Merchants' Association of New York, "in the 
 
 matter of obtaining, and providing for, new in- 
 dustries in New York city"^ advises a sane, 
 conservative policy and makes these significant 
 statements : 
 
 "The Merchants' Association should encour- 
 age only carefully considered attempts to bring 
 new industries to New York. . . . The loca- 
 
 Bacon, "Facts Which Commercial Bodies Must Face," The 
 [dmerican City, Vol. X, no. 6, page 555, argues that the re- 
 sult of attracting industries to a city is likely to be the crea- 
 tion of slum dis.tricts, because the city has not enough decent 
 houses for the accommodation of the new employees and their 
 families. The same idea is brought out by W. L. Finch, 
 "Town Development," page 34 of the Proceedings, Fifth 
 Annual Convention of the Central Association of Commercial 
 Secretaries. 
 
 5 Greater New York, Vol. II, no. 3, page 1. See further, 
 same, no. 4, page 1; no. 14, page 8; and no. 27, page 1. 
 
 Further references on location of industries: Clay's City 
 Building, Chapter III; The Nation's Business, Vol. I, no. 2, 
 page 7, "Detroit"; Vol. II, no. 1, page 10, "Achievements of 
 Commercial Organizations — Locating Industries"; G. H. For- 
 see, "Industries," page 26, Proceedings, Fifth Annual Con- 
 vention, Central Association of Commercial Secretaries. 
 
236 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 tion of industries worth having is determined 
 by economic factors and not by mere sohcita- 
 tion. . . . The purpose of the Merchants' As- 
 sociation should be to develop the entire terri- 
 tory which is tributary to New York. We 
 deem it wise to steer such enterprises as cannot 
 be secured for Greater New York to Jersey 
 City, Newark, etc., rather than have them lo- 
 cate at Cleveland or some other distant city. 
 . . . We are against the policy of giving arti- 
 ficial advantages to new concerns. .^. . We 
 beheve that the Merchants' Association 
 through the Industrial Bureau should make a 
 thorough study of the whole problem of the 
 location of industrial plants so that it will 
 eventually become known as an authority on 
 the subject." 
 
 The so-called Williamsport plan for financ- 
 Financing ing industries has frequently been followed by 
 boards of trade, notably in Scranton, Pa.,^ and 
 Boston, Mass. The Boston Chamber of Com- 
 merce was responsible for the organization of 
 an Industrial Development Company. The 
 
 « See M. K. Edgar, "For Financing Industrial Develop- 
 ment," The American City, July 1914, page 56, describing 
 Scranton's plan. Also, The World's Work, Vol. XXIV, pages 
 705-706, "Boston Credit Lending"; W. E. Holmes, "The 
 Guaranty Fund," page 29 of the Proceedings, Fifth Annual 
 Convention of the Central Association of Commercial Secre- 
 taries. 
 
COMPETITION BETWEEN CITIES 237 
 
 latter guarantees on the security of a credit 
 fund the notes of men with enterprises to es- 
 tablish, who have been previously recommended 
 by the Chamber. The officers of the Devel- 
 opment Company have the power to reject 
 such recommendations as they wish. The lia- 
 bility of each subscriber to the credit fund of 
 $500,000, $50,000 of which is paid in, is lim- 
 ited to the amount of his guarantee and all 
 losses are distributed pro rata. 
 
 The Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, industrial 
 
 Survey 
 
 through its Civic Industrial Department, re- 
 cently started an industrial survey of the city. 
 A circular letter has been sent to manufactur- 
 ers asking them to furnish data regarding the 
 cost of raw materials, freight rates, limits of 
 natural markets, and the cost and availability 
 of labor. These and other facts will enable the 
 officials to supply correct information concern- 
 ing industrial conditions in Cincinnati. In 
 conjunction with this investigation a vocational 
 education survey is being conducted for the 
 purpose of finding out what employees in the 
 different industries need to learn and what 
 part of it they could learn in industrial schools. 
 
238 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 CONVENTIONS 
 
 Much competition arises between rival cities 
 to secure the conventions of associations and 
 societies which are annually held in the United 
 States to the number of over 18,000/ The 
 value of conventions to a city grows out of the 
 influx of people and the resultant circulation 
 of new money. The majority of commercial 
 bodies, through their convention boards or com- 
 mittees, endeavor to bring conventions to their 
 respective cities, favoring this means of ob- 
 taining publicity. 
 
 The Committee on Conventions of the Bos- 
 Fiie of ton Chamber of Commerce maintains a file 
 
 Data 
 
 concerning transportation facilities and avail- 
 able hotels and halls, and also keeps track of 
 all the important conventions in the United 
 States. Before inviting a convention to Bos- 
 ton, the Chamber of Commerce makes certain 
 that local organizations are willing to provide 
 
 7 Brand, Commercial Organizations, page 34. See above 
 page 77. 
 
 For practical suggestions regarding the securing and en- 
 tertainment of conventions see S. H. Clay, City Building, 
 Chapter IV, "Conventions." 
 
 See M. Carmichael, "Conventions," page 24, Proceedings of the 
 Fourth Annual Convention of the Central Association of Com- 
 mercial Secretaries. 
 
COMPETITION BETWEEN CITIES 239 
 
 proper entertainment for the convention dele- 
 gates. 
 
 According to the Fourth Annual Directors' 
 Report: 
 
 "When it is considered that the committee 
 is compelled to work without funds and to bid 
 against the substantial inducements offered to 
 conventions by other cities, the advantages of 
 Boston as a convention city, and the efficiency 
 of this committee as an agency to induce con- 
 ventions to come to Boston should be appre- 
 ciated." « 
 
 Mr. Ryerson Ritchie, the prominent com- 
 mercial organization expert, though admitting Ritchie on 
 
 . . 1 /» . , Conventions 
 
 the advertismg value ol conventions, has pub- 
 licly said that they create an abnormal condi- 
 tion in the city which is not to be preferred to 
 the regular and steady course of business. In 
 his opinion: 
 
 "The greatest of conventions with baggage 
 and banners is not of as much value as one little 
 factory whose operatives and their families 
 live and move about here 365 days in the 
 year." ^ 
 
 8 1912 Report of the Boston Chamber of Commerce, pages 
 97-8. 
 
 9 Ryerson Ritchie, "The Chamber of Commerce and the Peo- 
 ple." The American City, Vol. V, pages 74-7. 
 
240 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 Campaigning for conventions, nevertheless, 
 is a major activity in even the most prominent 
 commercial organizations. Bonus-giving to 
 secure a convention is discountenanced, and 
 efficient organizations generally ascertain the 
 benefits likely to accrue to the city before ne- 
 gotiating with convention representatives. 
 
 NEWARK VERSUS NEW YORK CITY 
 
 The contests in which cities engage may be 
 conducted by strategy as shown in the case of 
 the Passaic railroad bridges. In 1903 the 
 Merchants' Association of New York made ap- 
 plication to Secretary Elihu Root of the War 
 Department for an order to authorize the vari- 
 ous railroad companies to close their draw- 
 bridges over the Passaic River two and one- 
 half hours every morning and afternoon, sus- 
 pending river traffic during these periods. 
 The purpose of this application was to benefit 
 the New York commuters and to forestall the 
 possibiUty of railroad delays in rush hours 
 when dozens of trains pass through Newark 
 and over the Passaic River on their way to 
 New York. The Newark Board of Trade, 
 upon hearing of this attempt on the part of 
 
COMPETITION BETWEEN CITIES 241 
 
 the Merchants' Association and perceiving that 
 Newark's large river commerce was threatened, 
 communicated with Washington and secured 
 the appointment of a Court of Inquiry, before 
 whom several hearings were held. As a result 
 the Newark Board of Trade received the as- 
 surance that these bridges would not be closed 
 to navigation, nor would they be permitted to 
 remain closed until they had been raised a 
 specified height above low water and until the 
 Government had completed river improve- 
 ments so that tidal conditions would not be a 
 factor in the navigation of the Passaic.^^ 
 
 In 1907, when Mr. Taft was Secretary of second 
 War, the New York business men, seconded ^^^ 
 by the railroad interests, made another appli- 
 cation for permission to close the bridges at 
 certain hours. In this case the move was 
 planned so quietly that it almost escaped the 
 notice of the Newark Board of Trade. How- 
 ever, twenty-four hours after the first news of 
 this attempt reached the Board, a Newark del- 
 egation was conferring with Secretary Taft in 
 Washington. 
 
 10 1903 Report of the Newark Board of Trade, page 59. 
 See also "A New Force for City Efficiency," The World^s 
 Work, Vol. XVIII, pages 11654-6, June 1909. 
 
242 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 "It was my privilege," writes Secretary 
 Reilly of the Newark Board of Trade, "to off er 
 the brief on behalf of our Board, and as it 
 would have taken twenty minutes' time to read 
 the entire brief and the time left at our dis- 
 posal was only five minutes, I simply quoted 
 one paragraph and the decision of the Secre- 
 tary, Honorable William H. Taft, was sub- 
 stantially in the words of the paragraph as fol- 
 lows: 
 
 " 'Twelfth: The proper official of each of 
 the railroads should be required to present a 
 statement showing the actual detentions and 
 interruptions to passenger train schedules, un- 
 der affidavit ; such statement to contain the date 
 of detention, the actual cause of detention, the 
 time lost, the point at which detention oc- 
 curred, either through terminal congestion, 
 congestion at the tunnels, or detention caused 
 by the opening or closing of bridges ; such state- 
 ment should be insisted upon before considera- 
 tion is given to the petition to penalize river 
 traffic and river front property by a closed 
 period.' "^^ 
 
 THE PORT OF BOSTON MOVEMENT 
 
 The special activity of the Boston Chamber 
 of Commerce known as the "Port of Boston 
 Movement," extends far beyond its funda- 
 
 11 Letter of James M. Reilly, Secretary of the Newark 
 Board of Trade, December 16, 1913. 
 
COMPETITION BETWEEN CITIES 243 
 
 mental purpose, harbor development, and 
 gives us an insight into a great modern strug- 
 gle for commercial supremacy. Boston has 
 long sought the opportunity to contend with 
 New York as a seaport. The thoroughly con- 
 structive work now being done by the Boston 
 Chamber with this end in view has already pro- 
 duced material results/^ 
 
 By virtue of location alone Boston has un- 
 usual commercial advantages and it was the 
 realization of this fact that caused the Cham- 
 ber of Commerce to undertake the present 
 campaign for port improvement. These ad- 
 vantages include proximity to Europe and to 
 South America. The completion of the Pan- 
 ama Canal, moreover, has given Boston added 
 importance as a shipping center. i 
 
 Development of the Boston water-front was Appropri- 
 
 ^ . , . , , . 1.1 ation for 
 
 nrst seriously considered m 1911, when the Harbor 
 Chamber of Commerce prepared a bill calling ments 
 for a special port board to have complete con- 
 trol over harbor development, and also for a 
 large appropriation available for the immedi- 
 
 12 See Brooklyn Daily Eagle, October 19, 1913, "Boston Makes 
 Bid for Shipping Trade." 
 
 Also "Summary," page 62, 1912 Report of the Directors of 
 the Port of Boston. 
 
244 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 ate use of this board in the construction of 
 piers, terminals, and track connections. The 
 bill further provided for industrial areas con- 
 tiguous to the terminals. It was presented to 
 the committee of the Legislature which re- 
 ported the bill in somewhat altered form, but 
 providing an even larger appropriation than 
 that suggested by the Chamber. The modified 
 bill received the united support of the Chamber 
 of Commerce and other organizations inter- 
 ested. A state-wide campaign resulted in the 
 passage of the act practically in its original 
 form, creating a Board of Directors of the Port 
 of Boston and appropriating $9,000,000 for 
 their use. This Board was appointed by the 
 Gk)vernor and the Mayor in 1911 and con- 
 sisted of four Directors, all members of the 
 Boston Chamber of Commerce.^^ 
 
 The first accomplishment of the Directors of 
 the Port was to persuade the Hamburg- Amer- 
 ican Line to make Boston one of its ports for 
 transatlantic passenger steamers.^'* At the 
 same time the lease by which the New York, 
 
 13 Report of the Boston Chamber of Commerce, 1911, pages 
 36-7. 
 1* The Nation's Bttsiness, Vol. I, no. 8, page 4. 
 
COMPETITION BETWT:EN CITIES 245 
 
 New Haven, and Hartford Railroad had the 
 exclusive use of the Commonwealth Pier was 
 annulled and the pier was re-fitted to accom- 
 modate the Hamburg-American vessels. Of 
 the original appropriation of $9,000,000 
 for port improvements, $3,000,000 were ap- 
 portioned for this work alone.^^ In Novem- 
 ber 1913 one-half of the improvements on the 
 pier had been completed and work was pro- 
 gressing rapidly. Three of the largest steam- 
 ships in the world could be accommodated at 
 the Conmionwealth Pier at the same time, its 
 capacity equalling the total capacity of any 
 four other piers in Boston harbor. 
 
 On State land at South Boston preliminary 
 work is in progress for the construction of a large 
 
 Sirvdock 
 
 drydock which will be the largest in the west- Planned 
 ern hemisphere. For this purpose $3,000,000 
 have been appropriated out of the original 
 fund provided by the Legislature and contracts 
 for the use of the drydock have been made with 
 leading transatlantic steamship companies.^^ 
 Tentative plans have also been prepared for the 
 
 15 Letter of Mr. Edwin J. Clapp for the Directors of the 
 Port of Boston, November 29, 1913. 
 
 16 Fifth Annual Directors* Report, Boston Chamber of 
 Commerce, November 1913, page 10. 
 
246 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 Handbook 
 
 Boston's 
 Construc- 
 tive 
 Progrram 
 
 modernization of a large pier in East Boston, 
 and for the reclamation of State-owned flats 
 in that vicinity. The work will be financed 
 out of the remaining $3,000,000." 
 
 In order to follow up the port improvements 
 and to induce New England manufacturers to 
 export their products by way of Boston, the 
 Chamber of Commerce in 1913 issued a 
 Handbook of the Port of Boston, This 
 cloth-bound volume of 265 pages was published 
 under the auspices of the Chamber's Commit- 
 tee on Foreign Trade and contains a compila- 
 tion of useful facts concerning shipping facil- 
 ities, customs regulations, tables of foreign 
 moneys, and weights and measures. 
 
 The success of the "Port of Boston Move- 
 ment" is vitally connected with harbor devel- 
 opment; but no amount of preparation for 
 handling a greater volume of freight will actu- 
 ally increase Boston's commerce. The build- 
 ing up of the city's trade, as the Boston Cham- 
 ber of Commerce has wisely foreseen, depends 
 upon securing New England's co-operation 
 and the good will of the principal foreign coun- 
 tries. Boston has taken a major part in the 
 
 17 The Nation's Business, Vol. I, no. 8, page 6. 
 
Tour 
 
 COMPETITION BETWEEN CITIES 247 
 
 activity of the International Congress of 
 Chambers of Commerce. ^^ The energetic 
 work of the Boston delegates at the 1910 Con- 
 gress in London was responsible for bringing 
 the Congress to Boston in 1912, the first time 
 that this organization has met in the United 
 States/^ In the smnmer of 1911 the Boston 
 Chamber organized and conducted a seventy- European 
 day torn* of European cities for the purpose of 
 arousing international interest in the 1912 
 Congress and of extending formal invitations 
 to many organizations and governments. The 
 effect of this tour was to advertise Boston 
 widely among influential Europeans, and to 
 bring to the Boston Congress 850 delegates, 
 more than twice as many as had attended any 
 previous meeting. Of these about 550 came 
 from the forty-four foreign countries repre- 
 sented in the Congress. The whole city of 
 Boston co-operated in furnishing entertain- 
 ment to the delegates. Mayor Fitzgerald took 
 a personal interest in the arrangements and ob- 
 tained an appropriation from the city. The 
 State of Massachusetts joined with the city and 
 
 18 See above, page 71 ff. 
 
 19 1911 Report of the Boston Chamber of Commerce, page 
 43. 
 
248 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 South 
 
 America 
 
 Visited 
 
 Orgranizingr 
 New Eng- 
 land 
 
 the business men of Boston in bearing the ex- 
 pense of the Congress. 
 
 In 1913 the Boston Chamber organized a 
 South American Embassy composed of New 
 England business men and representatives of 
 the professions. This party made a three 
 months' tour of seven of the foremost South 
 and Central American countries and three of 
 the West Indies colonies, covering altogether 
 16,000 miles. The declared object of the tour, 
 — the establishment of cordial commercial rela- 
 tions between New England and South Amer- 
 ica, — was satisfactorily achieved. Everywhere 
 commercial organizations, both local and na- 
 tional, extended elaborate courtesies. This 
 experiment by the Boston Chamber of Com- 
 merce was closely watched throughout the 
 country and official Washington manifested 
 great interest in the results. 
 
 While thus effectively advertising Boston to 
 foreign countries the Chamber of Commerce 
 has been concerned even more with uniting the 
 industrial forces of New England and training 
 New Englanders to help Boston in her fight for 
 commercial supremacy.'^ Having provided 
 
 20 See also Bert Ball, "Inseparable City and Country," page 
 
COMPETITION BETWEEN CITIES 249 
 
 for harbor improvements and created a demand 
 for American goods in foreign countries, the 
 Boston Chamber has turned its attention to 
 developing the source of supply. 
 
 In the fall of 1911 the Chamber of Com- 
 merce presented to the people of New Eng- 
 land an Industrial and Educational Exposi- 
 tion, featuring many New England products 
 and manufactures. The success of this ex- 
 position in drawing the attention of the whole 
 country to New England was marked and led 
 to the Industrial Exposition of 1913, con- 
 ducted on a much larger scale, with the co- 
 operation of the principal civic and commercial 
 organizations all over New England. 
 
 Reference has already been made to the book, 
 New England: What It Is and What It Is «New 
 to Be, published in 1911 by the Boston Cham- ^^ ^^ 
 ber. This volume, in addition to possessing 
 true advertising value, has done much to create 
 a spirit of solidarity throughout the New Eng- 
 land States. In several chapters the industries, 
 
 51, Proceedings of the Fourth Annual Convention of the Cen- 
 tral Association of Commercial Secretaries; J. L. Kling- 
 ler, "The Metropolis and the State," in Commercial MiVwa/O' 
 kee, 1913 Year Book of the Merchants and Manufacturers 
 Association, Milwaukee, page 16. 
 
250 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 resources, and transportation facilities in this 
 section are attractively described with a view 
 to making the New Englander proud of his 
 part of the country. The Boston Chamber 
 has done well in emphasizing the close relation- 
 ship existing between the city and the agricul- 
 tural districts, and by helping New England 
 communities to grow and prosper it has also 
 succeeded in making them turn to Boston as 
 the commercial center of New England. 
 
 NEW York's port problems 
 
 New York harbor has a water-front 748 
 miles long.^^ For the fiscal year ending June 
 30, 1913, New York's share of the United 
 States imports was 58 per cent, of the total 
 amount imported.^^ Figures for the fiscal 
 year ending June 30, 1913, show that the value 
 of New York's exports was $917,935,988, 
 about thirteen times that of Boston's exports 
 for the same period. These three facts epito- 
 mize the immensity of New York's com- 
 merce. 
 
 Various influences have combined, however, 
 
 21 Greater New York, Vol. II, no. 30, page 7. 
 
 22 Greater New York, Vol. II, no. 29, page 7. 
 
COMPETITION BETWEEN CITIES 251 
 
 to make insecure New York's commercial su- 
 premacy, and, unless material changes can be 
 effected to relieve congested conditions along 
 the water-front, and to provide modern facili- 
 ties for the transfer of freight from steamers 
 to railroads, there is grave danger that New 
 York will lose much of its commerce. Just 
 as in Boston we found the Chamber of Com- 
 merce leading in port development, so in New 
 York the Merchants' Association and the New 
 York Chamber of Commerce have worked un- 
 tiringly to convince the local Board of Esti- 
 mate and the Dock Commissioners that the 
 need for prompt action is imperative. 
 
 At the present time only one railroad, the 
 New York Central, has been able to extend its 
 freight tracks on Manhattan Island. These 
 tracks run from Spuyten Duyvil to Canal 
 Street, most of the distance along the west side 
 water-front at grade. The seven other rail- 
 roads entering the west side of the city have 
 their main freight terminals at Jersey City and 
 Hoboken and bring their freight cars across 
 to New York on floats. This necessitates these 
 companies occupying 28^/2 of the 72 piers on 
 the congested portion of the west side water- 
 
252 AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
 
 front extending from Thirtieth Street to the 
 Battery, Obviously, this condition should be 
 remedied. 
 
 The Merchants' Association, the Citizens' 
 Plan to Union, and the Chamber of Commerce have ex- 
 
 B-elieve i • . « 
 
 Congestion prcsscd thcmsclvcs as being m favor of a plan 
 providing for an elevated freight railway along 
 the marginal way from Sixtieth Street to Ful- 
 ton Street. At various points, this plan pro- 
 vides for terminal buildings for the joint use 
 of the railroad companies. The terminal 
 buildings would then be connected by means of 
 freight viaducts with a single water ter- 
 minal to which railroad cars would be brought 
 on floats from the Jersey side. This plan 
 would, if executed, release all of the twenty- 
 eight piers now used by the railroads and make 
 room for steamships which are already ham- 
 pered by inadequate accommodations.^^ The 
 Legislature has recently passed three acts de- 
 signed to make the plan effective and the civic 
 and commercial bodies in New York are en- 
 
 23 Arthur C. Ludington, "The New York Water Terminals." 
 National Municipal Review, Vol. I, page 87. 
 
 See magazine section N. T. Times, page 5, Sunday, July 
 36, 1914, "City's Piers for Huge Ships WiU Soon Be Finished." 
 
COMPETITION BETWEEN CITIES 253 
 
 deavoring to promote the much-needed im- 
 provements in every possible manner. 
 
 The history of commercial organizations in 
 this country shows struggle and achievement, a 
 realization of the power of co-operative effort, 
 and the applying of this power to things worth 
 while. "We need more than anything else," 
 it has been said, "something to create a sense of 
 a city, a feeling of unity and dependence, of 
 common obligation and purpose." The true 
 function of the modern chamber of commerce 
 has never been more aptly phrased. 
 
 4- 
 
APPENDIX 
 
APPENDIX "A" 
 
 The following statistics have been compiled from the 
 
 government publication^ Commercial and Agricultural 
 
 Organisations in the United States.^ The first colmaan 
 gives the approximate number of commercial bodies in 
 
 each State. In the second column is shown by States 
 the number of commercial bodies which include civic 
 work among their activities. 
 
 State Total Civic work 
 
 Alabama 35 30 
 
 Arizona 11 10 
 
 Arkansas 44 39 
 
 California 160 125 
 
 Colorado 80 65 
 
 Connecticut 44 36 
 
 Delaware 2 1 
 
 District of Columbia 4 2 
 
 Florida 48 - 45 
 
 Georgia 43 34 
 
 Hawaii, Territory 2 1 
 
 Idaho 23 21 
 
 Illinois 171 134 
 
 Indiana 101 85 
 
 Iowa 122 111 
 
 Kansas 61 45 
 
 Kentucky , 48 42 
 
 Louisiana 35 25 
 
 Maine 42 40 
 
 Maryland 24 16 
 
 Massachusetts 93 72 
 
 1 Above, 47. 
 
 267 
 
258 APPENDIX 
 
 State Total Civic work 
 
 Michigan 63 51 
 
 Minnesota HO 97 
 
 Mississippi 34 29 
 
 Missouri 132 84 
 
 Montana 14 12 
 
 Nebraska ...101 71 
 
 Nevada 3 3 
 
 New Hampshire 17 17 
 
 New Jersey 43 36 
 
 New Mexico 18 10 
 
 New York 165 115 
 
 North Carolina 54 ' 39 
 
 North Dakota 41 41 
 
 Ohio 114. 84 
 
 Oklahoma 83 62 
 
 Oregon 28 21 
 
 Pennsylvania 170 113 
 
 Philippines • 1 1 
 
 Porto Rico 1 
 
 Rhode Island 12 10 
 
 South Carolina 30 29 
 
 South Dakota 22 20 
 
 Tennessee 45 33 
 
 Texas 187 138 
 
 Utah 30 25 
 
 Vermont 17 14 
 
 Virginia 56 36 
 
 Washington 43 25 
 
 West Virginia 31 24 
 
 Wisconsin 58 42 
 
 Wyoming 14 13 
 
 Summary 2930 2274 
 
APPENDIX 259 
 
 APPENDIX "B" 
 
 On September 15, 1913, the New York Bureau of 
 Municipal Research wrote ^ to the secretaries of the fol- 
 lowing commercial organizations: 
 
 Baltimore Merchants & Manufacturers Assn. 
 Boston Chamber of Commerce 
 BuiFalo Chamber of Commerce 
 Chicago Association of Commerce 
 Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce 
 Cleveland Chamber of Commerce 
 Denver Chamber of Commerce 
 Detroit Board of Commerce 
 Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce 
 Jersey City Board of Trade 
 Kansas City (Mo.) Commercial Club 
 Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce 
 Louisville Commercial Club 
 Milwaukee Merchants & Manufacturers Assn. 
 Minneapolis Civic & Commerce Association 
 Newark Board of Trade 
 New Orleans Association of Commerce 
 New York Chamber of Commerce 
 New York Merchants* Association 
 Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce 
 Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce 
 Portland (Ore.) Chamber of Commerce 
 Providence Board of Trade 
 Rochester Chamber of Commerce 
 St. Louis Business Men's League 
 St. Paul Association of Commerce 
 San Francisco Chamber of Commerce 
 2 Above, 137. 
 
260 APPENDIX 
 
 Seattle Chamber of Cammerce 
 Washington Chamber of Commerce 
 
 and 
 Chamber of Commerce of the U. S. A. 
 
 The following is an excerpt from the letter: 
 "From time to time our advice is asked with respect 
 to organizing chambers of commerce, boards of trade, 
 etc. Of course, our own special interest is in the ques- 
 tion whether or not a chamber of commerce should con- 
 cern itself with matters which fall under the head of 
 municipal research, i.e., methods of municipal budget 
 making, surveys of city departments, reports upon forms 
 of organization, efficiency bureaus, cost accounting, etc. 
 You will place us much in your debt if you will care 
 to advise us . . . which five organizations mentioned in 
 the accompanying list of thirty (enumerated above) you 
 would rank first with respect to (a) the accomplishment 
 of results for the community's general commercial and 
 civic spirit and (b) success in influencing individual 
 members to express public spirit and to interest them- 
 selves in efficient citizenship. . . . We shall regard your 
 communication as strictly confidential but would like the 
 privilege of using the summary of the votes, whether in 
 writing requests for information to individual bodies, in 
 commenting upon it in addresses or papers, or possibly 
 in use in one of our Efficient Citizenship bulletins deal- 
 ing with this general subject." 
 
 Twenty-seven replies to this letter were received, of 
 which twenty-three submitted votes. The results are 
 shown on the accompanying tables. 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 261 
 
 Standing with Respect to the 
 Question (a) Votes 
 
 Clieveland 19 
 
 Chicago 17 
 
 Boston 16 , 
 
 Detroit 11 
 
 N. Y. Merchants' Assn... 8 
 
 Minneapolis 6 
 
 Kansas City 5 
 
 New Orleans 5 
 
 Los Angeles 3 
 
 Rochester 3 
 
 San Francisco 3 
 
 Seattle ^ 
 
 Baltimore 1 
 
 Portland , I 
 
 St. Louis 1 
 
 Washington 1 
 
 Total Number of Votes. 
 
 Question (b) Votes 
 
 Cleveland 19 
 
 Chicago 15 
 
 Boston 14 
 
 Detroit 6 
 
 Kansas City 6 
 
 Minneapolis 6 
 
 Rochester 6 
 
 Los Angeles 4 
 
 New Orleans 4 
 
 N. Y. Merchants' Assn.. 4 
 
 Buffalo 3 
 
 Cincinnati 3 
 
 Baltimore 
 
 Denver 
 
 Louisville 
 
 Newark 
 
 N. Y. Ch. of Com 
 
 Philadelphia 
 
 St. Louis 
 
 San Francisco 
 
 Seattle 
 
262 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
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 5 
 
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 a ^ o <S eS ©>l J 
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 ^ 60 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 BOOKS 
 
 American Year Book — 1913. 
 
 Board of Trade and The Produce Exchange, The, JD. H. 
 Bisbee and /, C, Simonds. 
 ""^ Charter and By-Laws, with a History of the Chamber of 
 
 Commerce of the State of New York 1855, Charles King. 
 — ~- City Building, 8. U. Clay, 
 
 Colonial Records of The New York Chamber op Com- 
 /'^^ merge, /. A. SUvens. 
 
 Commercial Milwaukee, 1913 Year Book of the Merchants 
 
 and Manufacturers Association. 
 Earliest Arbitration Records of the New York Chamber 
 
 OF Commerce, published by the Chamber. 
 Government of European Cities, The, W. B. Munre. 
 ^^i Greater Erie, published by the Chamber of Commerce and 
 
 Board of Trade of Erie, Pa. 
 ^^-> • Handbook of the Port of Boston, published by the Boston 
 Chamber of Commerce. 
 History of the Government of Denver, The, C h. King. 
 Law of CbMMERCiAL Exchanges, The, C. A. Legg. 
 ,_„.—-' Making of a Town, The, F. L. McVey. 
 New City Government, The, H. Brubre. 
 New England, edited by Geo. French, published by the Bos- 
 ton Chamber of Commerce. 
 Philadelphia in 1830, E. L. Carey and A. Hart. 
 Picture of Philadelphia, The, /. Mease. 
 Port and City of Philadelphla, The, F. H, Taylor and W, 
 H. 8chof. 
 
 pamphlets 
 
 Abcerican Commercial Institutions, W. H. Schof. 
 Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York, 1848, 
 Charles King. 
 
 265 
 
266 BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 CiTT Planning and Allied Topics, Select List of Works 
 
 Relating to. New York Public Library, 1913. 
 
 Course in Citizenship, Syllabus of the, Cornell University, 
 1913. 
 
 Dayton, Proposed Charter for the City of. Prepared and 
 Proposed by the Charter Commission. 
 
 Harvard University Graduate School of Business Admin- 
 istration, Pamphlet and Schedule of Courses, 1913. 
 
 Miscellaneous Series — No. 6b, Promotion of Commerce, Gov- 
 ernment Printing Office, 1912. 
 
 Miscellaneous Series — No. 8, Commercial and Agricultural 
 Organizations of the U. S., Government Printing Office, 
 1913. 
 
 Municipal and Civic Books, Selected List of, published by 
 The American City. 
 
 Olean, Proposed Charter for the City of. Proposed by the 
 Citizens' Charter Committee. 
 /~N» Reading, Pennsylvania. Report on a Survey of the 
 Municipal Departments and the School District. Pre- 
 pared for the Chamber of Commerce of Reading by the 
 New York Bureau of Municipal Research, December 1913. 
 
 Special Agents Series — No. 60. Commercial Organizations, 
 by E. A. Brand. Government Printing Office, 1912. 
 
 Special Agents Series — No. 78. German Commercial Or- 
 ganizations. Government Printing Office, 1914. 
 
 Special Agents Series — No. 79. Commercial Organizations 
 in Southern and Western Cities. G. W. Doonan. 
 Government Printing Office, 1914. 
 ,^--% Sumter "City Manager" Plan of Municipal Government, 
 The, published by the Chamber of Commerce of Sumter, 
 S. C, 1913. 
 
 Vocational Education, What Chambers of Commerce Can 
 Do for, a. E. Dodd and C. A. Prosser. 
 
 periodicals 
 » American City, The. 
 Annals of the American Academy, etc. 
 ^^^ Atlanta Chamber of Commerce Progress. 
 Bankers' Magazine. 
 Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 
 j^ Bulletin of the Pan American Union, 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 267 
 
 <^hamber of Commerce Journal (Boston). 
 
 Chamber of Commerce News (Boston). 
 
 Charities. 
 
 Chautauquan. 
 
 Chicago Commerce. 
 
 Chicago Municipal Development Magazine. 
 
 Current A fairs (Boston Chamber of Commerce). 
 ' Daily Consular and Trade Reports. 
 
 Detroiter, The, 
 
 Greater Dayton. 
 
 Greater New York (N. Y. Merchants' Association). 
 
 Harper's Magazine, 
 
 Harper's Weekly. 
 
 Munsey's Magazine. 
 
 National Municipal Review, 
 
 Nation's Business, The. 
 
 New York Chamber of Commerce Bulletin, 
 
 New York Times. 
 
 Outlook, The. 
 .Providence Board of Trade Journal. 
 
 Putnam's. 
 
 Review of Reviews (U. S. edition). 
 
 8an Francisco Chamber of Cormnerce Journal. 
 
 Scranton Board of Trade and Engineering Journal. 
 
 Town Development. 
 
 Worcester Magazine. 
 
 World To-day, The. 
 
 World's Work, The. 
 
 ORGAinZATION REPORTS 
 
 Boston Board of Trade, 1855, 1856, 1859. 
 
 Boston Chamber of Commerce, 1911, 1912. 
 
 Boston Chamber of Commerce Directors' Report, 1913. 
 
 Central Association of Commercial Secretaries — Proceedings 
 
 of Annual Meetings, 1912, 1913. 
 Committee on Standardization of Commercial Organizations — 
 
 First and Second Reports. 
 Cleveland Chamber of Commerce, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1914. See 
 
 Footnotes, Chapter VII, for special committee reports. 
 Madison Board of Commerce — description of, undated. 
 National Board of Trade, 1868, 1878, 1911. 
 
268 BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 National Council of Commerce — Proceedings of First Meet- 
 ing, 1907, and of First Annual Meeting, 1908. 
 
 National Municipal League reports on (1) City Government 
 by Commission, National Municipal Review, Vol. I, page 
 40; (2) The Coming of the City-Manager Plan, National 
 Municipal Review, Vol. Ill, page 44. 
 
 New York Bureau of Municipal Research — Six Years of Muni- 
 cipal Research for Greater New York — 1912. Also: 
 Bureau's Training School for Public Service, 1912, 1913. 
 
 Newark Board of Trade, 1903. 
 
 Philadelphia Board of Trade, 1889. 
 .Port of Boston, 1912 Report of the Directors of the. 
 
 Rochester Chamber of Commerce, 1912, 1913. 
 
INDEX 
 
 Accident prevention, 50. 
 
 Advertising, civic, 232. 
 
 Agriculture, 49. 
 
 American Association of 
 Commercial Executives, 
 Committee on standardiza- 
 tion, 83; consolidation, 131. 
 
 American City, The, 82, 126, 
 128, 133, 194, 210, 218, 235, 
 236, 239. 
 
 American Commercial Insti- 
 tutions, 31, 41, 45, 75. 
 
 Arbitration, 50. 
 
 Arbitration committees, Bos- 
 ton Board of Trade, 26; 
 Phila. Chamber of Com- 
 merce, 31. 
 
 Arnold, Mayor of Denver, 
 199. 
 
 Associated Chambers of Com- 
 merce of N. Y. State, 46. 
 
 Associations for the Non-Im- 
 portation of English Goods, 
 14. 
 
 Atlanta Chamber of Com- 
 merce, 172. 
 
 Bankers* Magazine, 15. 
 
 Baltimore Merchants and Man- 
 ufacturers Association, 259. 
 
 Batterson, E. S., 210. 
 
 Bennett, J. W., 176. 
 
 Board of trade, city's garri- 
 son, 231; civic field limited, 
 
 269 
 
 209; committees, 216; con- 
 structive work, 216; defined, 
 7; distribution in U. S., 47; 
 English, 7; existing as unit, 
 55; first, 6; history, 6; name 
 in East, 47; number, 1858, 
 42. 
 
 Board of Trade and the PrO' 
 duce Exchange, The, 6. 
 
 "Boards of Trade, etc.," 43. 
 
 Boldt, Sec. Adolph, 211. 
 
 Bond-issue, Oklahoma City, 
 226. 
 
 Bonus-giving discountenanced, 
 240. 
 
 Boston Associated Board of 
 Trade, 30. 
 
 Boston Board of Trade, com- 
 mittee on shipwrecks, 27; 
 membership, 28 ; organized 
 1854, 26; recommended U. 
 S. Board of Trade, 56; re- 
 ports, 26, 27, 29. 
 
 Boston Chamber of Com- 
 merce of 1836, dissolution 
 proposed, 25; organized, 24. 
 
 Boston Chamber of Conmierce 
 of 1885, 30. 
 
 Boston Chamber of Commerce 
 of 1909, active in Interna- 
 tional Congress, 247; build- 
 ing, 30; by-laws, 127; city 
 garbage, 203; city planning, 
 218; civic work, 198; com- 
 
270 
 
 INDEX 
 
 bines organizations, 30 ; 
 commercial secretary, 127 ; 
 committee on conventions, 
 238; consolidation, 30; co- 
 operation in New England, 
 249; Directors' report, 239, 
 245 ; emphasizing relation 
 of city to country, 250; 
 European tour, 247; Hand- 
 hook of the Port of Boston, 
 246; New England, 249; or- 
 ganizing New England, 248; 
 port development, 243; re- 
 organization of National 
 Board of Trade attempted, 
 62; reports, 239, 244, 247; 
 seal, 30; South American 
 Embassy, 248 ; waterfront 
 Improvement, 243. 
 
 Boston drydock, 245. 
 
 Boston garbage contract, 203. 
 
 Boston Importing Co., 23. 
 
 Boston mercantile associa- 
 tions, 22. 
 
 Boston Movement, Port of, 
 242. 
 
 "Boston Chamber of Com- 
 merce and the Garbage 
 Contract, The," 205. 
 
 Boston Chamber of CoTnr 
 merce Journal, 30. 
 
 Boston Chamber of Commerce 
 News, 129, 205. 
 
 Boston Commercial Exchange, 
 30. 
 
 Boston Industrial Develop- 
 ment Co., 236. 
 
 Boston mercantile associa- 
 tions, 22. 
 
 Boston Merchants' Associa- 
 tion, 30. 
 
 Boston Produce Exchange, 30. 
 
 Brand, E. A., 76. 
 
 Brown, Mayor, Kansas City, 
 199. 
 
 Brufere, Henry, 123, 194, 195, 
 209, 221. 
 
 Bryce, Hon. James, 188. 
 
 Buffalo, Chamber of Com- 
 merce, 259; growth of, 138. 
 
 Buffalo Bayou, 222. 
 
 Bureau of Foreign and Do- 
 mestic Commerce, 45, 75. 
 
 Bureau of Manufactures, 7G. 
 
 Bureaus, industrial, 234. 
 
 Burks, Dr. J. D., 172. 
 
 California, Development 
 Board, 46 ; Manufacturers' 
 and Producers' Association, 
 46 ; Promotion Committee, 
 46; State Board of Trade, 
 46. 
 
 Central Association of Com- 
 mercial Secretaries, Pro- 
 ceedings, 114, 120, 129, 130, 
 134; consolidation, 131. 
 
 Chamber of commerce, com- 
 posite of city's intelligence, 
 215; defined, 7; distribution 
 in U. S., 47; European, 7; 
 evolution, 43; existing as 
 unit, 55; first, 5; first in U. 
 S., 11; functions, 81; Ger- 
 man, 5; history, 6; in poli- 
 tical evolution, 173; name 
 in East, 47; numbers in 
 U. S., 41, 42. 
 
 "Chamber of Commerce and 
 the People, The," 239. 
 
 Chamber of Commerce of the 
 
INDEX 
 
 271 
 
 State of New York, 1848, 
 13. 
 
 Chamber of Commerce of the 
 U. S. A., committees, 69; 
 federal charter sought, 65, 
 66; functions, 67; National 
 Board of Trade not con- 
 nected with, 63; oflScial or- 
 gan, 70; organized 1912, 62; 
 purpose, 64; Wheeler, Ex- 
 Pres., 43. 
 
 Charities, 50. 
 
 Charlestown Chamber of Com- 
 merce, 41. 
 
 Charter and By-laws with a 
 History of the Chamber of 
 Commerce of the State of 
 New York, 12, 21. 
 
 Cherington, P. T., 44, 120. 
 
 Chicago Association of Com- 
 merce, 125, 259. 
 
 Chicago Bureau of Public Ef- 
 ficiency, 133. 
 
 Cincinnati, Hamilton aided by, 
 206 ; population compared, 
 138. 
 
 Cincinnati Chamber of Com- 
 merce, 239, 259. 
 
 City Board of Advisers, Den- 
 ver, constituted, 199; dis- 
 continued, 199. 
 
 City Building, 128, 129. 
 
 City manager plan, Dayton, 
 185; Lockport, 178; Clean, 
 180; Sumter, 180. 
 
 "City Manager Plan, The," 
 187. 
 
 City planning, 217, 219. 
 
 Civic, advertising, 232; bibli- 
 ography, 221 ; Center, Cleve- 
 land, 157; field limited, 209. 
 
 Clapp, E. J., 245. 
 
 Clay, S. H., 128, 129. 
 
 Clendening, E. M., 202. 
 
 Cleveland Board of Trade, 
 committee, 141; now Cham- 
 ber of Commerce, 139; ob- 
 jects, 139. 
 
 Cleveland Chamber of Com- 
 merce, best civic organiza- 
 tion, 137, 261 ; building dedi- 
 cated 1899, 142; coal steal- 
 ing report, 154; Havens, 
 Sec, 83, 84, 123, 137, 147, 
 159, 162; model of efficiency, 
 139; plan of Investment 
 Co., 165; represents busi- 
 ness interests, 144; Ritchie, 
 Sec, 138, 140, 141, 146; 
 Scott, Sec, 147; structure, 
 145; study of new charter, 
 161; support of group plan, 
 157. 
 
 "Cleveland Chamber of Com- 
 merce, The," 144. 
 
 Cleveland city charter, 161. 
 
 Cleveland civic center, 157. 
 
 Cleveland Electric League, 
 145. 
 
 Cleveland Federation for 
 Charity and Philanthropy, 
 147. 
 
 Cleveland growth in popula- 
 tion, 138. 
 
 Cleveland industrial develop- 
 ment, 164. 
 
 Cleveland Real Estate Board, 
 145. 
 
 Cleveland South End Board 
 of Trade, 144. 
 
 Cleveland West Side Cham- 
 ber of Industry, 144. 
 
272 
 
 INDEX 
 
 "Cleveland's Education Thru 
 Its Chamber of Commerce," 
 146. 
 
 "Cleveland's Federated Giv- 
 ers," 148. 
 
 Colonial History of the New 
 York Chamber of Com- 
 merce, 13. 
 
 Commerce not oflScially repre- 
 sented, 55. 
 
 Commercial and Agricultural 
 Organizations in the U. 8., 
 78, 257. 
 
 Commercial clubs, distribution 
 in U. S., 47. 
 
 Commercial Milwaukee, 234. 
 
 Commercial organizations, by 
 states, 257 ; characteristic 
 names, 47; civic functions, 
 257; evolution, 43; federa- 
 tion, 56; functions, 49; his- 
 tory in 3 periods, 117; N. 
 Y. Chamber oldest, 11; 
 numbers of, 45, 46; pro- 
 totypes, 3 ; publications, 
 129 ; represented officially, 
 197. 
 
 Commercial, Organizations, 77, 
 232, 234. 
 
 "Commercial Organizations in 
 Social Welfare," 177. 
 
 Commercial Organizations in 
 Southern and Western 
 Cities, 78, 173, 210, 232. 
 
 Commercial Secretary, Har- 
 vard courses, 119; profes- 
 sion, 118; Taft, Pres. on, 
 118; training, 118; work, 
 127. 
 
 Commission government, citi- 
 zen participation, 194; Des 
 
 Moines, 175; efficient from 
 business standpoint, 193; 
 Galveston, 175; Haverhill, 
 176; Oklahoma City, 225; 
 participating plan, 196 ; 
 popular rule provisions, 194 ; 
 report, National Municipal 
 League, 193; St. Paul, 175; 
 sensitive to public will, 174; 
 Topeka, 176; see also: City 
 Manager Plan. 
 
 Committees, arbitration, 26, 
 32; benevolent associations, 
 148; coal thefts, 154; con- 
 ventions, 238; group plan, 
 157; housing, 142; indus- 
 trial, 235; municipal art, 
 160; public affairs, 216; 
 shipwreck, 27; standardiza- 
 tion of commercial organi- 
 zations, 83. 
 
 Commonwealth Pier, 245. 
 
 Consular reform, 141. 
 
 Conventions, annual number, 
 238; committee on, 238; 
 Ritchie on, 239. 
 
 Co-operation, city with com- 
 mercial bodies, 197; civic 
 clubs with conunercial 
 bodies, 209; invited by city 
 officials, 197. 
 
 "Co-operation of Commercial 
 Organizations with the 
 Press," 129. 
 
 "Co-operation of Municipal 
 Authorities with Commer- 
 cial Organizations," 202. 
 
 Cornell course in citizenship, 
 122. 
 
 Cruger, John, 12, 13, 15. 
 
 Current A fairs, 129. 
 
INDEX 
 
 273 
 
 Dayton, Proposed CharUr of 
 the City of, 186. 
 
 Dayton Bureau of Municipal 
 Research, 185. 
 
 Dayton Chamber of Com- 
 merce, 185. 
 
 **Dayton Charter, Defects in 
 the," 186. 
 
 Dayton Charter Commission, 
 185. 
 
 Dayton City Manager, 186. 
 
 Deland, Sec. Thorndike, 130. 
 
 Denver, The History of the 
 Oovemment of, 198. 
 
 Denver Chamber of Com- 
 merce, 199, 259. 
 
 Denver City Board of Ad- 
 visers, 199. 
 
 Department of Commerce, 76. 
 
 Department of Commerce and 
 Labor, 45, 62. 
 
 Des Moines commission gov- 
 ernment, 175. 
 
 Detroit, growth of, 138. 
 
 Detroit Board of Commerce, 
 secretary of, 259; transpor- 
 tation school, 126. 
 
 Directors of the Port of Bos- 
 ton, 244. 
 
 Doonan, G. W., 78. 
 
 Douglas, W. H., 63. 
 
 Drydock, Boston, 245. 
 
 Duluth Commercial Club, 216. 
 
 Earliest Arbitration Records 
 of the N. Y. Chamber of 
 Commerce, 15. 
 
 "Efficiency Standards in Mu- 
 nicipal Management," 172. 
 
 English Board of Trade, 6, 
 56. 
 
 Eva, H. v., 217. 
 
 Fairs, 3. 
 
 Federal Government, 55. 
 
 Federation movement, 53. 
 
 Fesler, Mayo, 210. 
 
 Fire prevention, 50. 
 
 Fitton, Pres., 206. 
 
 Fitzgerald, Mayor, 247. 
 
 Ford, G. B., 218. 
 
 Foreign trade, 50. 
 
 Fraley, Frederick, 31, 34, 35, 
 231. 
 
 Functions of commercial 
 bodies, 46, 49; also see: ad- 
 vertising, civic; arbitration; 
 board of trade; chamber 
 of commerce; city planning; 
 commercial organizations ; 
 commercial secretary; com- 
 mittees ; conventions ; co- 
 operation; federation move- 
 ment ; industrial bureaus, 
 and development ; sanita- 
 tion; standardized by-laws; 
 structural principles ; and 
 traffic bureaus. 
 
 Galveston commission govern- 
 ment, 175. 
 
 Garbage contract, Boston, 203. 
 
 Garfield, H. A., 141, 173. 
 
 German municipal govern- 
 ment, 177. 
 
 Government of European 
 Cities, The, 178. 
 
 Greater Dayton Association, 
 185, 187. 
 
 Greater Erie, 219. 
 
 Greater New York, 113, 129, 
 235, 250. 
 
274 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Guild, J. M., 134. 
 
 Guilds, 4. 
 
 Guthrie, city of, 225. 
 
 Industrial development, 51, 
 234. 
 
 Industrial and Educational 
 Exhibition, 349. 
 
 Industries, 50. 
 
 Initiative, see commission gov- 
 ernment, popular rule pro- 
 visions. 
 
 ress of 
 Chambers of Commerce, 
 Boston Chamber active in, 
 247; functions, 71. 
 
 Hamilton Chamber of Com- 
 merce, 205. 
 Harper's Weekly, 144. 
 
 Harvard secretarial training, , . '.' , ^ 
 
 ° International Cong 
 119. ^ 
 
 Havens, Sec. Munson, 83, 84, 
 
 123, 137, 147, 159, 162. 
 Haverhill Board of Trade, 
 
 176. 
 Haverhill commission govern- Jersey City Board of Trade, 
 
 ment, 176. 259. 
 
 "History of the New York Johnson, Pres. Cleveland 
 
 Chamber of Commerce," 22. Chamber of Commerce, 173. 
 
 Home rule amendment, 185. 
 Houston Chamber of Com- Kansas City Commercial Club, 
 
 merce, 222. 
 Houston Ship Channel, 221. 
 "Houston Ship Channel in 
 
 Epitome, The," 224. 
 
 201, 259. 
 Kansas City Mayor's Cabinet, 
 
 199. 
 Kellaway, H. J., 205. 
 
 'How Dayton's City Manager King, Charles, 12, 14, 16, 17, 
 
 Plan Is Working," 187. 
 'How The Chamber of Com- 
 
 18, 21. 
 King, Clyde L., 198. 
 
 merce of Hamilton Met a Kittredge, C. M., 199. 
 Great Emergency," 206. "Know Your Own City," 131. 
 
 Howe, F. C, 146. 
 
 Lockport Board of Trade, 
 
 178 
 "Ideal Relations Between the 
 Chamber of Commerce and ^os Angeles Chamber of Com- 
 
 merce, 259. 
 
 the Municipal Government," 
 211. 
 
 "Increasing the Effectiveness 
 of Commercial Organiza- 
 tions," 128. 
 
 Indianapolis Chamber of Com- 
 merce, 259. 
 
 Industrial bureaus, 234. 
 
 Louisville Commercial Club, 
 
 259. 
 Low, Pres. Isaac, 13, 16, 17. 
 Ludington, A. C, 252. 
 
 McVey, F. L., 175, 177, 232. 
 Magistrat, 177. 
 
INDEX 
 
 275 
 
 Making of a Town, The, 175, 
 177, 232. 
 
 Manchester Ship Canal, 222. 
 
 Mayor's Cabinet, 199. 
 
 Mead, S. C, 81. 
 
 Mease, Dr. James, 33. 
 
 Members' Council, 113. 
 
 Merchant guilds, 4. 
 
 Milwaukee Merchants and 
 Manufacturers Association, 
 233, 259. 
 
 Minneapolis Civic and Com- 
 merce Association, 259. 
 
 "Modern Chamber of Com- 
 merce, The," 137, 138, 215. 
 
 Moore, W. B., 227. 
 
 Municipal government, Ger- 
 man, 177. 
 
 Municipal reference bureaus 
 and libraries, 132. 
 
 Munro, W. B., 178. 
 
 Murdoch, G. H., 194, 195, 196. 
 
 Nagel, Sec, 62. 
 
 National Association of Com- 
 mercial Organization Secre- 
 taries, 85, 132. 
 
 National Board of Trade, 56. 
 
 "National Board of Trade, 
 The," 58. 
 
 National Business League, 45. 
 
 National Commercial Confer- 
 ence, 62. 
 
 National Council of Com- 
 merce, 59. 
 
 National Council of Conv- 
 Tnerce, 60. 
 
 National Municipal League, 
 193. 
 
 National Municipal Review, 
 82, 138, 154, 172, 173, 174, 
 
 176, 186, 189, 193, 215, 221, 
 252. 
 
 Nation's Business, The, 44, 64, 
 65, 66, 69, 70, 72, 73, 85, 
 120, 131, 133, 171, 172, 177, 
 189, 221, 227, 235, 244, 246. 
 
 Newark Board of Trade, 240. 
 
 New City Government, The, 
 123, 194, 195, 209, 221. 
 
 New England, 37, 232, 249. 
 
 New England Business Fed- 
 eration, 45. 
 
 New England Society for the 
 Promotion of Manufactures 
 and Mechanic Arts, 23. 
 
 New Haven Chamber of Com- 
 merce, 41. 
 
 New Orleans Association of 
 Commerce, 259. 
 
 New York Bureau of Mu- 
 nicipal Research, Atlanta 
 survey, 172; history, 132; 
 Reading survey, 173; Train- 
 ing School, 123; votes for 
 best organization, 259. 
 
 New York Chamber of Com- 
 merce, arbitration commit- 
 tee, 15; charters, 15, 18; 
 commercial education, 126; 
 founding, 12 ; membership, 
 17, 18; oldest in U. S., 11; 
 one of 4 in U. S., 1801, 41; 
 periods in Colonial history, 
 15, 17, 19; policy conserva- 
 tive, 19; port improvement, 
 251; present location, 20; 
 removals, 13, 17, 19; seal, 
 20. 
 
 New York Citizens' Union, 
 251. 
 
 New York City, exports 1913, 
 
276 
 
 INDEX 
 
 ^50; freight terminals, 251; 
 imports, 250. 
 
 New York Merchants* Asso- 
 ciation, favors terminal 
 plans, 252; industrial com- 
 mittee, 235; Passaic bridges, 
 240; port improvement, 251; 
 structural form. 111. 
 
 New York Municipal Refer- 
 ence Library, 133. 
 
 New York Public Library, 220. 
 
 New York University, 126. 
 
 "New York Water Terminals, 
 The," 252. 
 
 Ohio State Board of Trade, 
 141. 
 
 Oklahoma City, bond issue, 
 226; capital of Oklahoma, 
 225; Chamber of Com- 
 merce, 224; growth of, 224. 
 
 "Oklahoma City Unique in 
 Nation," 227. 
 
 "Origin of Boards of Trade, 
 The," 22. 
 
 "Origin and History of 
 Boards of Trade, Cham- 
 bers of Commerce, etc., 
 The," 31. 
 
 Outlook, The, 20, 146. 
 
 Pamphlet and Schedule of 
 Courses, Harvard Graduate 
 School of Business Admin- 
 istration, 120. 
 
 Pan-American States Asso- 
 ciation, 45. 
 
 "Participating Commission 
 Plan of Government, A," 
 194. 
 
 Passaic River bridges, 240. 
 
 Philadelphia Board of Trade, 
 Chamber of Commerce 
 united with, 33; meetings, 
 35; organization, 34; pres- 
 ent location, 35; speech be- 
 fore, 31, 231. 
 
 Philadelphia Bourse, 35. 
 
 Philadelphia Chamber of 
 Commerce — old. Board of 
 Trade united with, 33; early 
 functions, 32; efl&cient, 33; 
 founded 1801, 31; member- 
 ship restricted, 33; one of 4 
 in U. S., 1801, 41. 
 
 Philadelphia Chamber of Com- 
 merce — new, 36, 259. 
 
 Philadelphia Commercial Ex- 
 change, 37. 
 
 Philadelphia Commercial Mu- 
 seum, 74. 
 
 Philadelphia Corn Exchange 
 Association, 36. 
 
 Philadelphia in 1830, 33. 
 
 Picture of Philadelphia, The, 
 33. 
 
 Pittsburgh Chamber of Com- 
 merce, 42, 259. 
 
 Pittsburgh's population com- 
 pared, 138. 
 
 Port and City of Philadelphia, 
 The, 36. 
 
 Port of Boston, Directors of 
 the, 244. 
 
 Port of Boston, Handbook of 
 the, 246. 
 
 Port of Boston Movement, 
 The, 242. 
 
 Port problems. New York's, 
 250. 
 
 Portland Chamber of Com- 
 merce, 2^59. 
 
INDEX 
 
 277 
 
 Produce exchanges, 37. 
 "Profession of Power and 
 
 Promise," 128. 
 Promotion of Commerce, 76. 
 Providence Board of Trade, 
 
 259. 
 "Public Affairs Committee, 
 
 The," 217. 
 Public baths, 143. 
 
 Reardon, E. I., 160. 
 
 Recall — see commission gov- 
 ernment, popular rule pro- 
 visions. 
 
 Redding, L. L., 206. 
 
 Referendum — see commission 
 government, popular rule 
 provisions. 
 
 ReUly, J. M., 242. 
 
 "Relations of Civic and Com- 
 mercial Organizations to 
 Municipal Government, 
 The," 210. 
 
 Review of Reviews, The, 148. 
 
 Ricketson, J. H., 43. 
 
 Ritdiie, Ryerson, 30, 82, 140, 
 146. 
 
 Robertson, W. F., 184. 
 
 Rochester Chamber of Com- 
 merce, 208, 259. 
 
 Root, Sec. Elihu, 240. 
 
 Sabine, Lorenzo, «, 22, 23, 24, 
 25, 34, 35, 42. 
 
 St. Louis Business Men's 
 League, 259. 
 
 St. Paul Association of Com- 
 merce, 175, 259. 
 
 St. Paul's comptroller, 176. 
 
 "St Paul's Comptroller: An 
 
 Interesting •Experiment," 
 176. 
 
 San Francisco Chamber of 
 Commerce, 259. 
 
 Sanitation, 50. 
 
 SchofF, W. H., 36, 45. 
 
 Scott, Sec, 147. 
 
 Seattle Chamber of Commerce, 
 260. 
 
 Secretary defined, 133. 
 
 Secretaries, associations of, 
 131. 
 
 Secretaries, training of, 118, 
 131. 
 
 Senate, U. S., 45. 
 
 South American Embassy, 
 248. 
 
 Standardization committee 
 personnel, 83, 84; reports, 
 83, 85. 
 
 Standardized by-laws, 83, 88, 
 
 Stevens, J. A., 13, 16, 17, 18. 
 
 Structural principles, 86. 
 
 Sturgis, W., 24. 
 
 Sullivan, J. J., 144. 
 
 Summary, 169. 
 
 Sumter Chamber of Com- 
 merce, 182. 
 
 Sumter City Manager, 184. 
 
 Sumter City Manager Plan of 
 Municipal Government, 183. 
 
 Syllabus of the Course in Cit- 
 izenship, 122. 
 
 Taft, Hon. W. H., 62, 241, 242. 
 Topeka Commercial Club, 176. 
 "Town Promotion and City 
 
 Planning," 210. 
 Traffic bureaus, 49. 
 Training School for Public 
 
 Service, 123. 
 
278 
 
 INDEX 
 
 U. S. Chamber of Commerce, 
 see Chamber of Commerce 
 of the U. S. A. 
 
 U. S. Government Board of 
 Trade proposed, 56. 
 
 Upson, L. D., 186, 187. 
 
 Upson, W. H., 179. 
 
 Waite, H. M., 1S6. 
 Washington Chamber of Com- 
 merce, 260. 
 
 Wheeler, Ex-Pres. U. S. 
 
 Chamber of Commerce, 43. 
 Williams, C. W., 152. 
 Williams College, 173. 
 Wilson, L. E., 128. 
 Wilson, W. P., 74. 
 Wisconsin, University of, 133. 
 World's Work, The, 48, 75, 
 
 156, 187. 
 Worthington, M. M., 183. 
 Wreford, W. B., 129. 
 
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