UC-NRLF
3fi
Commercial
Organizations
Commercial Organizations
Their Function, Operation and Service
A Compilation of Material from the
Proceedings of the
National Association of Commercial Organization
Secretaries and its Predecessors
American Association of Commercial Executives,
and the Central Association of
Commercial Secretaries
With an Introduction by
Paul T. Cherington
Edited by
William George Bruce
THE T BRUCE PUBLISHING COMPANY
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN
ft Fit f
Copyright 1920
by the
Bruce Publishing Company
DEDICATION
This work is dedicated to that type of Ameri-
can, so abundantly found throughout the land,
who gives unselfishly of his time, thought and
effort for the wellbeing of his fellowmen; who,
through the medium of the modern commercial
body, promotes the economic, civic and social
progress of his community; who daily gives ex-
pression to the highest aspirations and motives
of citizenship; who, through constant interest
and concern in his home town contributes a real
man's share towards maintaining the prestige,
power and prosperity of a great nation.
PREFACE
The literature devoted to organized community promotion
along economic and civic lines, as exemplified through local
commercial bodies in the urban centers of the United States,
has been found to be extremely meagre and unsatisfactory.
For the most part it has been fragmentary in form and has
provided nothing in the way of a comprehensive and helpful
treatment of the subject.
With the growing tendency on the part of communities
towards material and social progress through collective effort
this dearth of instructive literature has become increasingly
manifest. The theorist, it is true, has spoken variously and
voluminously on the subject, but the man who has travelled
the road of experience in this domain has thus far remained
silent. At least his voice has not gone beyond a limited range
to that larger constituency which stands ready to listen and
profit by his counsels.
The lessons afforded by actual service have been exchanged
by commercial secretaries in somewhat restricted circles. But,
here authoritive voices have enunciated the fundamentals that
must be observed, the methods that must be employed, and the
results that may and can be achieved. Splendid studies have
been made by those actively identified with successful commerce
bodies, but their observations and conclusions have thus far
remained imbedded in the routine of convention proceedings,
and hence have not been readily accessible to the larger class
of students in this field of activity.
They have brought guiding principles and policies into
bold relief, constructed the organization machinery to its last
detail, outlined the mode of its operation, and established the
relations that must be observed by the active factors and forces.
They have touched the mainsprings of organization success, and
created the modern commerce body as defined and interpreted
in American urban centers.
The National Association of Commercial Organization
Secretaries and its two predecessors, the American Association
of Commercial Executives and the Central Association of Com
mercial Secretaries, have during the past decade produced a
7
series of documents which constitute a valuable contribution
to the helpful literature on the subject. They cover the entire
range of commercial organization eli'ort and constitute the first-
hand expressions of those who have served actively and effi-
ciently in a secretarial or directive capacity.
Those who have been actively identified with this field of
work are not unmindful of the fact that while fixed ideals and
standards have been evolved, further refinements and defini-
tions must follow. They are also conscious of the fact that
while a solid foundation has been laid, the super-structure is
subject to further amplification and such orientation as may
express the aspirations and ambitions of their projectors. True
progress implies constant and incessant effort in the direction
of better things.
In compiling and editing the mass of manuscripts submit-
ted to the editor a line of inclusion and exclusion was rigidly
drawn. Many of the earlier manuscripts, although meritorious
as such, had in the light of newer conceptions and experiences,
become obsolete. The trivial was discarded, the substantial
was preserved. Every document was weighed as to its value
in giving momentum, direction and effectiveness to organiza-
tion and secretarial service.
The manuscripts as a whole, however, proved so rich in
acceptable material that it was not difficult to select a series
of articles covering practically every phase of commercial or
ganization labors. In their entirety they form the first com-
plete and authoritive work on the subject.
There are hundreds of commercial organizations that
render service in an intermittent and spasmodic manner, others
that have been lulled into a state of lassitude and indiffer-
ence, and still others that lead an aimless and useless exist-
ence and live in name only. These require inspiration and
guidance in order to awaken them to their own task and mis-
sion.
Thus, it is confidently believed that this volume which
addresses itself to those engaged, as well as those desiring to
engage, in commercial organization effort, will serve as a stimu-
lus to wholesome community promotion and serve as a helpful
and dependable textbook on the machinery and methods that
must be employed.
The Editor.
CONTENTS
Introduction
PART I. Essentials of Efficiency and Character-
istic Activities.
PART II. Methods of Organization and Operation.
PART III. Qualifications and Self-Training of Sec-
retaries.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART I
Essentials of Efficiency and Characteristic
Activities
Page
Introduction 15
Chapter I.
An Efficient Commercial Organization.
Wm. George Bruce 25
The Essentials of an Effective Organization.
James A. McKibben 30
The Commercial Organization in Town or Small City.
J. P. Hardy 34
The Chamber of Commerce in the City of "Average."
Joseph F. Leopold 37
Chapter II.
The Relations between Civics and Commerce.
O. B. Towne. . 42
Chapter III.
Industrial Development by Chambers of Commerce.
Glenn A. Bowles 50
Industrial Development of the Small Town.
Wm. S. Millener 55
The Proper Place of Industrial Development in the Work of Com-
mercial Organization.
Ralph H. Faxon 58
What is an Industrial Survey?
A Student 62
Factors in Securing Factories.
J. F. Carter 70
Industrial Survey of the City.
Emmett Hay Naylor 77
Chapter IV.
Agricultural Activities.
Major H. V. Eva 86
Agriculture and Commercial Organization.
Committee 88
The Commercial Organization Relation to the Back Country.
Hon. D. F. Houston 92
11
12 TABLE OF CONTENTS.
PART I (Continued)
Chapter V. Page
Traffic and Transportation Bureaus.
Frank Barry DO
Transportation Problems How Shall They Be Dealt With?
D. P. Chindblom . . 102
Chapter VI.
Organization Service for Retailers.
Lee H. Bierce.. 113
Chapter VII.
Plan for Temporary Exhibitions.
John M. Guild.. 119
Chapter VIII.
Conventions and Publicity Bureaus.
L. II. Lewis 134
City Publicity.
Carl Dehonev and Thorndike Deland . . 139
Chapter IX.
The Mission of Trade Extension Journeys.
Win. George Bruce 143
Trade Extension Through Excursions.
Walter S. Whitten 146
Short Trips from a Jobbing Center.
E. H. Clifford 147
Trade Extension Trips Methods and Results.
Leroy M. Gibbs 150
Chapter X.
Charity Endorsements.
Howard M. Strong 160
Chapter XL
Commercial Arbitration.
T. C. Huff. . 168
Chapter XII.
Chamber of Commerce of the United States.
Merle Thorpe ISO
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 13
PART II
Methods of Organization and Operation
Chapter XIII. Page
Democracy as a Factor in Chamber of Commerce Membership.
Howard B. Strong 193
Chapter XIV.
The Best Method of Sustaining and Increasing Membership.
Byres H. Gitchell 197
Membership Development and Maintenance.
G. W. Lemon 221
Elements of Membership Conservation.
Robert B. Beach 226
Membership Methods in Small Organizations.
J. P. Hardy 234
Sustaining the Interest of Members.
James A. McKibbon 236
Rebuilding an Organization.
Paul V. Buim.. 239
Chapter XV.
Keeping Before the Public.
Wm. B. Wreford 246
Advertising Methods of Commercial Organizations.
Fred C. Butler 248
Promotional Effort and the Public Press.
Adolph Boldt 257
Keeping the Members Informed.
James A. McKibben 260
Organization Bulletins Their Hits and Misses.
G. W. Lemon 265
Some Dangers of House Organs.
G. W. Lemon 269
News Value in Organization Publicity.
H. F. Miller.. 271
Chapter XVI.
Some Problems of Organization Finances.
Carl Dehoney 275
Budgets for Commercial Organizations.
A. Heath Onthank 278
Organization Costs and Results.
Geo. W. Gillette.. 290
Chapter XVII.
When to Hold and How to Conduct Meetings.
Major H. V. Eva 301
Conservation of Committee Energy.
S. Christy Mead.. 306
14 TABLE OF CONTENTS.
PART II (Continued) Page
Stimulating Organization Machinery.
John M. Tuther 317
The Technique of Organization Administration.
Root. Wadsworth.. ... 323
Chapter XVIII.
Annual Reports Their Form .and Value.
Don E. Mowry 339
Chapter XIX.
Methods of Recording Minutes.
James A. McKibben 342
Methods of Keeping Records of Members.
Robt. B. Beach 350
Forms, Records and Financial Accounts.
Committee 353
Filing Systems for Chambers of Commerce.
S. Christy Mead 373
PART III
Qualifications and Self Training of Secretaries
Chapter XX.
The Qualifications for the Secretary.
Wm. George Bruce 389
Chapter XXL
The Most Helpful Secretarial Literature.
Roland B. Woodward . . 396
Chapter XXII.
What Education is Doing for Secretarial Efficiency.
Prof. Wm. A. Scott 408
The University and the Secretary.
Prof. Edward D. Jones 417
Conscious Training for Chamber of Commerce Secretaries.
Prof. Paul T. Cherington . .'. 427
Secretarial Efficiency from the Standpoint of the College.
Prof. Alf. L. Smith.. 430
Chapter XXIII.
How to Fail as a Secretary.
Munson Havens. . 435
Chapter XXIV.
The National Association of Commercial Organization Secretaries.
Wm. George Bruce. 450
INTRODUCTION
The Field of Chambers of Commerce
Chambers of Commerce American and Foreign
By PAUL T. CHERINGTON
The chamber of commerce as it occurs in the United States
is not exactly like any type of organization found in any other
country. The American type of organization may be best de-
nned in somewhat the following terms : A voluntary organiza-
tion of business men approaching the problems of the com-
munity from the business angle.
The three characteristic features of the American organi-
zation by this definition are: (1) the fact that the organiza-
tion is of a voluntary character, (2) the fact that it is dealing
primarily with community problems, and (3) the fact that it
approaches these problems from the business rather than from
the social or any other side. Organizations of this type, in
other words, clearly have their roots in the established busi-
ness interests of the community although much of their work
is concerned with what are really civic affairs.
American chambers of commerce clearly are not an entire-
ly new creation. They have developed out of previous types
of organizations and while their present activities are not
commonly engaged in by European chambers, many of their
most prominent features are directly drawn from organizations
of quite a different character either in this country or in Europe.
For this reason it may be well to look for a moment or two
at some of the characteristic features of some of the European
tvpes of organizations of business men. It is largely from
these that the forms of the American organization came.
The French Originals of the Chamber of Commerce
The chamber of commerce in anything like its modern form
apparently was of French origin. In the reign of Henry IV. in
the latter part of the Ifith Century, there was established what
was known as the Superior Chamber of Commerce of France.
This was of the nature of a temporary official commission and
15
Iff,,,";, c < ^ ' INTRODUCTION.
apparently had merely investigatory powers although its field
of operation covered both commerce and manufacturers and
geographically it was supposed to investigate in foreign
countries as well as in France. About the same time the mer-
chants of the City of Marseilles formed an independent volun-
tary organization for representing the commercial interests of
their port. The purposes of this organization evidently were
very closely akin to what afterwards developed into the chamber
of commerce as it is now known in France. Under Louis XIII,
in the year 1616, the General Chamber of Commerce of France
was established as a permanent organization under the direc-
tion of Richelieu. The powers of this body were expanded in
1664 by Colbert and later in 1700. With this last expansion of
the General Council of Commerce there also grew up local
chambers of commerce in eleven important commercial centers
in France, all of them being established during the first few
years of the 18th Century.
These chambers of commerce were all temporarily abol-
ished, Avith all other corporations, by the Decree of 1791. But
shortly afterwards twenty-two organizations, based on the old
plan, were formed in the principal cities of France. These have
continued to exist in approximately the same form up to the
present time although they were considerably modified by sub-
sequent laws in 1806, 1820, 1832, 1851 and 1908.
In brief, the French chambers of commerce are small
bodies with not less than nine nor more than twenty-one mem-
bers, with the exception of the Paris Chamber of Commerce
which has forty members. These members as a rule are chosen
by the merchants of the community, some of them voting as
individuals, while others vote by trades. At present there are
one hundred and forty-three chambers of commerce in France
and forty-four organizations known as consulting chambers of
arts and manufacturers.
Generally speaking, it is the task of these small elected
committees of the merchants of the various cities to supervise
the public aspects of commercial activities in their vicinity.
Wherever there are stock or produce exchanges the chambers of
commerce have charge of them. They also issue export certifi-
cates, credentials for commercial travelers and prepare lists
of produce prices which are issued by the organizations. To a
certain extent the maritime laws and regulations in the more
INTRODUCTION. 17
important ports are administered by. these organizations.
Chambers of commerce moreover may be granted concessions
for carrying out public works such as the construction of mari-
time ports, docks, and inland waterways and similar enter-
prises. Among the lines of activity undertaken by the French
chambers are the operation of all public warehouses, the opera-
tion and control of bonded warehouses, the operation of condi-
tioning houses in the textile trade, and conducting of testing
stations for arms and ammunition, the loading and discharging
of maritime freights, the maintenance and conduct of commer-
cial high schools, the operation of public libraries and reading
rooms, supervising or in some cases the actual conducting of
telephone service, while a few operate commercial museums.
The regular form of organization for the French chamber
includes a president, one or two vice-presidents, a secretary
and treasurer. Also there is ordinarily a salaried business sec-
retary and a salaried staff of clerks. Usually the larger cham-
bers meet twice a month although the smaller ones meet less
frequently. The local chambers always have free access to the
ministers of the government without intermediaries and they
are given, by the laws creating them, a semi-official standing
which makes them useful in an advisory capacity in relation to
the central government at Paris.
In supervising the work of the chambers the Minister of
Commerce is assisted by a committee known as the Superior
Council of Commerce and Industry consisting of two sections of
thirty members each. Thirty-four of the members are appointed
from among the presidents of the chambers of commerce while
the remaining twenty-six are senators. This body is consulted
freely by the government on all matters' in which the com-
mercial relations of the country come into contact with the
government, such as in the construction of the tariff, and other
commercial legislation, in the -drafting of commercial treaties
and in the drafting of laws concerning emigration, coloniza-
tion, and kindred subjects. There is a permanent consultative
committee of this larger body which is virtually on call at any
time.
The French type of chamber is thus apparently a sort of
executive committee elected by the merchants of the commu-
nity having supervision over some of the important commercial
activities of the community. It also has direct contact with
18 INTRODUCTION.
the central government by means of the organization made
up partly of chambers of commerce presidents and partly of
senators.
Two Types of Organization in Switzerland
The French type of organization has been quite closely
copied in Switzerland although the organizations in Switzer-
land have drawn some of their characteristics from the Guilds
Merchant of former times. Some of the Swiss organizations
which formerly existed, however, were completely reorganized
in the early part of the 19th Century and these reorganiza-
tions were closely modelled on the French system.
There are to be found in Switzerland two distinct classes
of organizations, those that are entirely independent and those
that are organized under state auspices. The independent or-
ganizations are more like the English voluntary type of or-
ganization and are of a more strictly unofficial character than
are those under state auspices. There are seven of those or-
ganizations, located at the principal commercial centers of
Switzerland, which are directly descended from the old com-
mercial directorates or similar organizations which existed be-
fore the general introduction of the French system. These or-
ganizations are permitted to charge fees for legalizing certain
classes of certificates and some of them are granted subsidies
by the cantonal governments in return for expert advice on
economic matters.
There is a central chamber of commerce known as the
Swiss Chamber of Commerce which receives a subsidy from the
central government. This has a total of fifteen members, has
its headquarters in Zurich, and its main service is to give ad-
vice when required.
The official chambers of commerce in Switzerland are
three in number and they are mainly concerned with the con-
duct of the trades or businesses which are most conspicuous
in the regions w r here they are located. The cantonal chamber
at Berne for example has three sections, one for commerce and
industry, another for crafts and the trades, and a third for the
watch industry.
The Swiss commercial and industrial organization is a
federation composed of sixty-two organizations and the Swiss
Chamber of Commerce is an executive committee of this bodv.
An important feature of the work of the commercial or-
INTRODUCTION. iy
ganizations of Switzerland is the maintenance of continuation
schools of applied design. A school of this sort, for example,
at Saint Gall is operated by the chamber of commerce. The
Saint Gall Chamber also operates a savings bank, and other
institutions for the benefit of employees of local factories.
German Official Chambers of Commerce
In Germany it is difficult to draw a line between the com-
mercial and industrial organizations. The three official desig-
nations employed with reference to organizations of this kind
are (1) the Fachverband, which is a group of manufacturers
or producers in any one trade or group of trades, (2) the
Zweckverband, which is an organization of manufacturers or
merchants for the attainment of definite ends as for instance
discussion of the tariff or important commercial treaties, and
(3) the Zentralverband, an association of commercial organiza-
tions of national scope.
Chambers of commerce exist in all German states with the
exception of three of the small principalities. In all there are
something like 150 organizations in Germany, 90 in Prussia,
eight in Bavaria, eight in Oldenburg, nine in Posen, five in
Saxon} r , seven in Hesse, and from one to four in various other
political divisions of the country.
Most of the German chambers of commerce are official
institutions, although they show quite a little variation in the
details of their organization. Most of the chambers of com-
merce of Germany are modelled on the French type of organi-
zation. In Prussia, for example, the oldest organizations were
those in the Rhenish province, ceded to France in 1801. In
those regions chambers of commerce were established in
Cologne, Crefeld and Treves during the first five years of the
19th Century. A number of Prussian chambers were formed
from 1820 to 1825 under the name of merchants' organizations.
This is true of some of the large organizations in the Empire.
There was another period of activity from 1830 to 1848 when
numerous chambers were created. And following the War of
1870 new regulations governing these bodies were passed and
many of the chambers were reorganized.
Generally speaking the German organizations are similar
to those already described in France although some of them
collect trade taxes. In some instances a surtax may be levied
20 INTRODUCTION.
for the needs of the chamber of commerce, these taxes being
levied by the municipal and district authorities at the request
of the chamber of commerce.
Voluntary Chambers in England
The British chambers of commerce are entirely voluntary
organizations. Unlike the organizations on the continent, the
chambers of commerce in the United Kingdom operate with
scarcely any government regulation or restriction. Almost any
business man in the community is entitled to become a mem-
ber of a chamber of commerce by placing his name upon the
waiting list which is passed upon by a special committee, and
in practically every instance membership is purely voluntary.
The oldest organization in the United Kingdom dates back to
about the third quarter of the 18th Century, and the London
Chamber of Commerce, one of the largest of all, was not estab-
lished until 1881. There are in all about 125 organizations of
this kind in the United Kingdom and in most cases they are
not particularly important or influential bodies, although in
the large towns they have considerable influence.
The Origin and Works of American Chambers of Commerce
The American organizations are more nearly like those of
England than any of the continental bodies. The Chamber of
Commerce of the City of New York, in fact, dates its charter
back to King George and may be regarded as the connecting
link between the British and American types of chamber of
commerce.
The chamber of commerce as it exists today in the United
States is derived from two separate sources. The first of these
was the old board of trade established in many of the important
American cities for the purpose of supervising trading activi-
ties of one kind or another.
The most common form was the board of trade operating
the produce or grain exchange. Notable among these is the
Chicago Board of Trade, which, while its by-laws provide for a
wide variety of activities, is most commonly known as the super-
visor of the chief future-trading board in the American grain
trade. Trading bodies of this kind exist in Baltimore, Boston,
Minneapolis, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Cincinnati, and elsewhere.
In some instances they still continue their separate existence
INTRODUCTION. 21
as trading bodies pure and simple. Still others of them have
been merged with organizations having a wider field of activity.
In one case after another these organizations, starting primarily
as supervisors of trade, found themselves drawn into the con-
sideration of commercial problems of a wider character; and
finally they were confronted with the necessity for attacking
more or less purely civic problems. In this way what started
out to be a strictly trading body found itself sooner or later
taking on civic activities involving the development of a con-
structive community program.
The other type of organization common in this country
was the taxpayers' organization of citizens which originally
began with the idea of protecting the business men of the city
against unduly aggressive activities on the part of municipal
authorities, or for protection against some other immediate or
remote abuse. Many of these sooner or later developed into
what were known as "boosting" organizations which, particu-
lar^ in the middle west, assumed the function of advertising
the merits of the community in all material things. Activity in
soliciting industries to relocate in their cities became one of
the common lines of work for organizations of this kind, and
this or some other similar undertaking soon brought these en-
thusiasts to see that, if their community were to be pushed in its
industrial development or commercial growth as fast as they
sought to push it, it must have substantial ability to justify the
claim made for it. By this process this type of organization
also found itself facing the necessity of working out a con-
structive community program.
The Modern American Type of Chamber
About ten or fifteen years ago it became apparent in many
of the more aggressive communities of the country that these
two types of organization, one of which had started from the
strictly commercial side, and the other from something more
nearly like a citizens' union organization, were both brought
to the same point of intelligent direction in working out a con-
structive program for the community. Out of this situation
grew the modern form of commercial organization whose ac-
tivities under ordinary circumstances are quite as much civic
as commercial.
The definition of this type of organization as a voluntary
22 INTRODUCTION.
organization of business men approaching community problems
from the business angle appears, therefore, to suggest with rea-
sonable accuracy the work lying before the typical modern
American chamber of commerce.
It is its task, in the interests of the community as a whole
and viewing the problems from the business man's point of
view, to take a definite position in regard to public movements
and tendencies. The essential features of this attitude toward
public questions in the case of all organizations of this type
which are skillfully conducted, may be summed up as follows :
( 1 ) To interpret wisely arid disinterestedly all movements and
tendencies in the development of a community which have to do,
either directly or indirectly, with the business interests and the
civic welfare of the community. (2) To prevent the distortion
of any such movements by any other who, either as selfish propo-
gandists, or from any selfish motive whatever, undertake to
misuse the pOAvers of the community. (3) To make sure that
every movement or tendency of the business life of the com-
munity moves along lines of constructive progress.
This program, while it may seem rather general, is capable
of being interpreted concretely in the case of almost every con-
ceivable community problem.
To summarize the place of the American chamber of com-
merce in the community as compared with that of the European
organizations, it may be said that in this country the chamber
of commerce is the one body in the community responsible to
the community at large for the proper business interpretation
of civic developments, while in European cities the small com-
mittees of business men serve as the official interpreters of all
commercial developments for the central government, rather
than for the community at large.
PART I.
Essentials of Efficiency
and
Characteristic Activities,
23
CHAPTER I.
Essentials of Efficiency
An Efficient Commercial Organization
By WILLIAM GEORGE BRUCE
The currents of activity which characterize the American
urban centers of population, and which are essential to their
material and moral welfare, now include as a fixed factor cer-
tain defined promotional efforts. These efforts, while assuming
various forms and extending into several directions, have for
their ultimate object the achievement of that efficiency, public
and private, which makes for better community life in all its
essential features.
It has here been asserted that the agencies for such a
result or condition are already in existence and constantly at
work; that individual initiative and enterprise, the established
educational and moral forces, government and law are all
designed to achieve the ends to be attained. Granted that this
be true, it still remains for some generic force to give cohesion
to the several elements and invest the promotional possibili-
ties of the whole with momentum and direction.
The hopes and aspirations of the community in this direc-
tion, and the promotional effort arising out of them, cannot be
entrusted to purely private auspices or to public authority.
Each travels in its own orbit. The local government is restrict-
ed by law to certain functions. The single individual is ab-
sorbed in his individual pursuits with its limitations of influ-
ence. The scope then lies between the function of the indi-
vidual and the local government a collective effort which
transgresses neither the power of one or the function of the
other.
There must then be a force in which many individuals give
a part of their time, a part of their thought and a part of their
effort, and each throw into the scales his spare effort and his
25
26 EFFICIENCY .^ 7 D CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
influence with those of the others. It is this collective influ-
ence, this combined thought and action which must be shaped
into an efficient piece of machinery.
Thus, the recognition for concerted action along distinc-
tive lines for the welfare of an entire community has found its
best expression in the modern commercial organization.
The Essence of Promotion
While a discussion on the essentials of an efficient com-
mercial organization must concern itself with the machinery of
the same, it must bear in mind the immediate and ultimate
purposes for which the same is constructed. In fact, the con-
struction of a piece of machinery must be governed by the uses
for which it is intended. It must be simple in mechanism,
economical in operation and efficient in production. The ma-
chine is only an incident to the product and, therefore, merely
the means to an end.
A commercial organization constitutes the machinery
through which certain results are to be achieved. Efficiency
is exerted in the degree that it performs a service expeditiously
and well. The quality of the product or kind of results to be
obtained must determine the size, strength and character of
the machinery.
We must then deal with the results to be achieved before
we can successfully devise the method and manner of achieving
them. What are the end and essence of the results to be ob-
tained? The answer is embodied in a few words, namely, in a
condition which spells a progressive, prosperous and patriotic
community.
Government and Commerce
The earlier conception of a commercial organization pro-
vided for business promotion only. The civic idea was excluded
as irrelevant to its purposes. Then came the realization that
there is a relation between government and commerce, that
the growth of industry and commerce rests upon conditions and
environment, which, in part at least, are under governmental
direction or influence.
We must all agree that the relation between government
and commerce is an important one; that laws and regulations
AN EFFICIENT COMMERCIAL ORGANIZATION. 27
may protect or injure industrial or commercial pursuits, and
that, therefore, statesmanship must be in touch with the course
and the usage of business. That being true, it also follows
that there is a vital point of contact between the commercial
organization and the local city administration, the state ad-
ministration and the national administration. Statesmanship
must not only be in touch with the public pulse, but it must
also employ the judgment of business on problems of a purely
economic character.
The function of government is to protect and to regulate.
It has 110 special promotional function. But government re-
quires that stimulus which springs from a wholesome public
sentiment. The commercial organization must radiate its in-
fluence over a wide circle. It must touch government as well
as commerce; it must stimulate action, both promotional and
corrective, in the direction of efficiency, higher standards and
nobler ideals.
Economic and Civic Advancement
The mission and purpose of the modern commercial organi-
zation is primarily economic and civic in character. All pro-
motional effort in its field falls under these two classifications.
They may concern themselves with the commercial and indus-
trial advancement of the community, or strive for greater effi-
ciency in local government, but the basic purpose of all effort
is for material and social betterment.
The time when a commercial organization was recognized
solely as a promoter of commerce and trade, or of transporta-
tion and industry, has gone by. The interrelation between
business and government, between industrialism and social con-
ditions, has come into full recognition.
There are those who have more recently come into the work
who hold that in the last analysis the sole function of a com-
mercial organization consists of the awakening of a civic con-
sciousness. I combat this idea. The promotion of material
advancement is primary and fundamental. It forms the basis
of civic progress. At best, the economic and civic efforts must
go hand in hand. One contributes to the advancement of the
other.
Commerce Precedes Culture
It was not until the Phoenicians of old established them
selves as prosperous traders that their wonderful art in shaping
28 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
the precious metals began to develop. It was not until the mer-
chant princes of Venice brought gold and treasures to their
shores, that the art and poetry of its people began to assert
themselves. It was when the Hanseatic league brought pros-
perity to the ports of Germany that the literary and scientific-
rise of that country was assured. It was during the Elizabethan
period when the merchant came into his own, that the poetry
and literature of England assumed strength and beauty. It
was then recognized that trade precedes culture.
Civic progress then can no more constitute the sole aim
and purpose of commercial organizations than can economic ad-
vancement. The two are so closely interlinked that their pro-
motion must be simultaneous and reciprocal.
The promotion then of the economic growth and stability of
the community is primary and leading, All the higher aims and
purposes in our civic and social life are predicated upon ma-
terial foundations. The family must have an income to meet
the necessities of life before the conveniences and comforts can
be thought of. There must be bread and butter upon the kitchen
table before there can be a phonograph in the front parlor.
What applies to the individual family, applies to the collective
city.
The American city must find its sustenance in trade, com-
merce and industry. Out of the fruits of these she must gain
that strength which enables her to reach out for higher and
nobler ends. A forest of blazing factory chimneys, a row of
thriving business blocks, a fleet of laden ships or a train of
freight cars precede the construction of a theatre, the estab-
lishment of a zoological garden, the erection of a monument, or
the building of a fine boulevard.
There must be enough taxable industrial and commercial
property before there can be any thought of public improve-
ments. Comfortable homes and their equipment, schools and
churches, must first be earned by somebody. The factory, the
farm, the office, and the store are the scenes where the hand
and brain produce that which makes possible the better things
of life.
The very complexities of our commercial, civic and social
conditions render all our activities interdependent, one rely-
ing for its development upon the character of the other. The
AN EFFICIENT COMMERCIAL ORGANIZATION. 29
march of progress must embrace all lines of human activities
in order to complete and harmonize the efficiency of the whole.
Thus, it becomes clear that the modern commercial organi-
zation has a twofold mission and purpose. It must promote the
material advancement simultaneously with promoting the civic,
moral and educational progress of the community.
Directing Collective Effort
The modern commercial organization is limited in its use-
fulness only by its financial ability and the intellectual powers
of its executive officers. Its operating assets, like those of any
business enterprise, consist of money and brains. This implies
a plan of organization that will ensure an adequate revenue and
elevate into leadership men of vision, of judgment and of ac-
tion. The income must be commensurate with the size and im-
portance of the city. The executive family must reflect the
best type of citizenship.
The membership must consist of business and professional
men who command the respect of the general public. The lead-
ership must be entrusted into the hands of men who enjoy the
confidence of the membership. The actual labors of the associa-
tion must be assigned to the executive offices and committees.
The efficiency of an organization rests primarily upon an
accurate understanding of what the city really is and what it
may be ; its needs and its possibilities, the opportunities for
progress afforded through inherent qualities, environment and
geographic location.
Second, in agreeing upon principles and policies and in
choosing the men that can set them into action, focusing public
attention to desirable accomplishment of certain ends and pur-
poses, and in crystallizing public sentiment in their behalf.
Essentials of Efficiency
In reducing my discussion to fixed conclusions I hold that
an efficient commercial organization is one that :
First In membership and leadership is truly representa-
tive of the best citizenship, and reflects the highest impulse and
the noblest aspirations of the community.
Second That holds to principles which recognize the
fundamentals of truth and honor; policies which embody con-
sistency, discretion and judiciousness; methods which imply
tact, skill, and the exercise of common sense.
30 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
Third That is organized as to a division of duties and re-
sponsibilities, the assignment of directive powers and the es-
tablishment of principles and policies so as to ensure the largest
measure of service.
Fourth That constitutes itself into a clearing house for
the ideas, thoughts and suggestions of its constituency for the
community's welfare, subject them to a sifting process, and re-
duce the acceptable and feasible into form and action.
Fifth That recognizes expert knowledge and executive
power in secretarial service and stands ready to compensate
such service in keeping with professional service rendered in
other fields of activity.
Sixth That has a complete grasp of its own powers and
limitations, an understanding of the commercial and industrial
opportunities and the civic and cultural possibilities of the
community.
Seventh That appreciates the advantage and disadvantage
of location, of environment, of physical characteristics; that
recognizes errors and shortcomings in the economic, civic and
social life of the community; that understands its traditions,
tendencies and temperamental peculiarities.
Eighth That, in the pursuit of desirable ends, has a clear
conception of the possible and the impossible, of the obtainable
and the unobtainable, the feasible and infeasible, and constantly
sees the danger line of overactivity or unwise inactivity.
Ninth That fearlessly directs and focuses popular at-
tention to gross public evils, and the corrective means to be
employed, to desirable and needed improvements to be made,
or to advantageous projects to be realized, and
Tenth That sets about intelligently and energetically to
crystallize public sentiment towards the accomplishment and
achievement of its ends and purposes.
The Essentials of An Effective Organization
By JAMES A. McKIBBEN
A good many business men possibly the majority of them
if they were asked to specify just what you should do in order
to make the members of an organization interested in it, would
say "make the organization efficient/- "Do things."
THE ESSENTIALS OF AN EFFECTIVE ORGANIZATION. 31
"Efficiency" is the watchword of successful business. The
members of an organization can not be expected to have a sus-
tained interest in it unless they are proud of it; and successful
business men can not be proud of an organization unless it is
doing efficient work.
One of the fundamentals absolutely essential to a sustained
state of interestedness on the part of members is, I think, an
efficient organization. But, if an efficient organization is one
of the things essential to a live and continuing interest on 'the
part of members, it should be recognized that it is only one of
the essentials. There are a number of other things just as
fundamental.
Other Things Essential
The primary requisite to sustained interest seems to me to
be a realization and understanding on the part of its members
of what the organization is and what it is trying to do.
"But," some of you may be inclined to say, "the members
of course understand that. That was explained to them when
they were asked to join, and they understand it perfectly."
My experience has been that not one man in ten, when he
joined the chamber, had grasped or understood the fundamen-
tal difference between a trade organization and an organization
such as most of us represent, which is working for the ad-
vancement of the commercial and industrial and perhaps, also
the civic interests of the community as a whole. My experi-
ence has also been that after the management of an organiza-
tion has done everything it possibly can to bring about an
understanding of what the organization really is and is try-
ing to do, there will be at least one out of every ten who does
not understand that it is not a trade organization, and who
never will.
Why This is of Importance
And it is fundamentally important that your members
should understand that your organization is not a trade or-
ganization. The primary purpose of a trade organization is
to benefit pecuniarily the people engaged in that trade and to
do it quite irrespective of the effect on people not engaged in
that trade. Its success or failure is measured by the extent to
which it pushes the interests of each individual member, as a
32 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
separate entity from the rest of the community. Not so in the
case of the general organization working for the advancement
of the welfare of the whole community. Its path of duty may
or may not coincide with the path of duty of an organization
representing exclusively the people engaged in any one particu-
lar trade it may, in fact, be that the thing which is for the
benefit of the business community as a whole, and which it is.
therefore, the duty of the general representative organization
to work for, is against the interests of some one trade.
The motive, the field of work, the deciding factors, the
methods, of the two are entirely different; and the point of
view, the attitude of mind, the test by which your member will
in his own mind decide whether you are or are not an efficient
organization, and the amount of interest which he can be in-
duced to take in work to promote the prosperity of the whole
community, Avill be entirely different, depending upon whether
he has the trade organization point of view or the other.
Now, the natural point of view of a business man is the
trade organization point of view; and unless he understands
clearly and definitely the real field of work and primary pur-
pose of your organization he will measure its success or failure
by the trade organization yardstick and if your members use
that yardstick, you are pretty certain to have a lot of dissatis-
fied, disgruntled members.
And their inclination to take the trade organization point
of view is not in most cases, I believe, due so much to a lack of
public spirit as to lack of appreciation of the fact that you are
not doing business on the trade organization plan.
An Illustration
Perhaps I can best make clear the essential difference be-
tween the two, and the effect of getting a real understanding
of the difference, by relating an incident which actually hap-
pened in the early days of the reorganization of the Boston
Chamber.
One day a rather prominent merchant came to see the
president, and said: "I have been asked to join the Boston
Chamber of Commerce, and I thought I would come and see
you about it. What I want to know is this : I have been try
ing for two years to get the pavement in front of my store
THE ESSENTIALS OF AN EFFECTIVE ORGANIZATION. 33
changed. If I join the chamber, will the chamber help me to
get it changed ?"
Now, his proposition presented in definite, concrete form,
the trade organization point of view, which is that the sum
total of the duty of the organization is to help any particular
member to get anything done which he thinks will benefit him
pecuniarily in his business. I had never heard that point of
view stated in such a clear-cut, straight-out-from-the-shoulder
way as that, and I listened with a good deal of interest to see
what the answer would fte.
"Well, Mr. F ," the President said, in answer,
"frankly, I don't know whether we will or not. If you think
the pavement in front of your store ought to be changed, and
will write me a letter about it, I will see what our committee
on municipal affairs thinks about it; but its answer will de-
pend entirely upon whether it would be for the benefit of the
people of Boston as a whole to have that pavement changed.
In other words, if it is for the benefit of the city as a whole
that the pavement be changed, we will try to get it changed;
and, if it is for the benefit of the city as a whole that it should
stay as it is, we will oppose its being changed ; and, as a matter
of fact, we will favor its being changed or oppose its being
changed just as quickly w r h ether you are or are not a member
of the chamber. What you suggest is not what we are in the
business for."
And then he spent two or three minutes telling his caller
the kind of things which the chamber was formed to promote,
and ended by saying that it was evident that in working for the
kind of things he had enumerated, the organization would be
working to promote the interests of the great majority of busi-
ness men; that if by working for these things they were pro-
moting without a single exception the private interests of each
individual member of the chamber, they would be very glad of
that fact; and that if by working for the things which he had
named they happened to be working for something which was
against the private interests of some individual member, they
regretted that fact but that it was clearly the duty of the
organization to go ahead, regardless of that, and work just as
hard as possible to get it done. That conversation gives you a
clear-cut statement of the two points of view.
2
34 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
And what was the effect on the apparently selfish, grasping,
hardheaded business man, who came in so thoroughly imbued
with the trade organization point of view? Did he get angry?
Not in the slightest. Bringing his fist down on the desk, he
said: "By George, that's right, I never understood the idea
before. I will gladly join and help." He sat down and signed
an application. But that was not all. That man had seen a
new light he had been converted and he went out and, with-
out being asked by anybody to do it, secured and sent in five
applications of other men within a week.
The Commercial Organization in the Town
or Small City
By J. P. HARDY
For the purpose of determining wherein the problems of
small cities vary from those of larger communities, and to what
degree size accentuates this difference, I have divided the cities
into three groups as follows: Cities of 200,000 and over are
designated as Class A. Cities of not less than 75,000 nor more
than 125,000 as Class B. Cities of less than 75,000 as Class C.
Five cities in Class A with an average population of 360,000.
Five in Class B with an average of 98,000, and thirty-seven in
Class C with an average of 30,000 have furnished the informa-
tion on which this paper is constructed. Before entering on a
general discussion of the subject it will, I believe, be both in-
teresting and instructive to compile and analyze the answers
received to the questions.
Best or Most Unique Achievement
Question No. 1 : What is your best or most unique achievement for the
past five years?
The answers to this question varied to such an extent as to make it
necessary to tabulate them before attempting their analysis.
Answer Class A Class B Class C
Improvement of City government 129
Securing New Industries 10
Adjusting of Transportation rates 1 5
Campaign for Membership 1
Organized Retail Merchants 1 1
Note: This paper is based upon a questionaire designed to reveal char-
acteristic small town activities and the expressions of the small town secre-
taries.
THE COMMERCIAL ORGANIZATION IN THE SMALL CITY. 35
Answer Class A Class B Class C
Organized Agricultural Development 1 3
Built Public Buildings 113
Adjustment of Insurance rates 1
Trade Extension Tour 1 1
Promotion of Chautauqua Exposition of
Industrial Show fi
Civic Improvements
Elimination Fake Advertising 1
Improvement of Service of Public Service Corp 1
Securing Conventions 1
Re-organization of Chamber 1 6
Parks and Playgrounds 5
Good Roads 2
Charities 1 2
Extension of Transportation facilities 1 3
Educational Promotion 1
Remembering that one and one only achievement was asked
for, it is interesting to note that in answers received from forty-
seven cities, twenty distinctive achievements are recorded as
worthy of note. It is fair to presume that during our five-
year period, embodied in the question, many other notable
results were achieved by all the cities Avho record answers to
this question. Some index, therefore, of the ambition and
purposes of cities in general may be gleaned from these an-
swers. It will be noted that the size of the city bears evidently
no relationship to the importance it attaches to any one of the
accomplishments recorded; for those noted by Cities of Classes
A and B are also recorded by those of Class C.
Dividing the answers received into three subdivisions,
namely, Industrial, Commercial and Civic, we find that in the
small cities :
Twenty-one relate to Industrial Achievement.
Four relate to Commercial Achievement.
Forty relate to Civic Achievement.
While one achievement only was asked, some cities record-
ed two or more, which will account for the fact that sixty-five
answers are returned by thirty-seven cities.
Kinds of Promotion Emphasized
Question 2 : What kind of promotion do you emphasize most?
Industrial and Commercial only 2
Industrial and Civic only 1
Commercial and Civic only 3
Answer Class A Class B Class C
All three equally 2 3 14
All three mostly civic 226
All three mostly industrial 3
36 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
Class C
Civic only 3
Industrial only 3
Commercial only 2
Industrial and Commercial only 2
Industrial and Civic only 1
Commercial and Civic only 3
An analysis of these figures indicates that in all classes of
cities the preponderance of effort is laid on civic activities. In
the small cities it appears that efforts along one line only, while
exceptional, are evidently, confined to cities in this class only;
larger cities in both Classes A and B are indicated as engaged
in all three forms of association activities.
A closer study of the answers to this question shows that
in small cities stress is laid on the commercial or industrial
phase of association work, as they happen to be located in agri-
cultural or manufacturing localities. The only exception to
this rule being in those cities located in agricultural districts,
in which the association has interested itself in agricultural
development; in such cities surely they may be credited with
industrial as well as commercial activity on the theory that
every farm is a factory.
Large Town vs. Small Town Problems
Question 5: What do you regard as the most distinguishing difference
between- the large and small town problems?
As this question calls for an expression of opinion and not of necessity
of experience, I shall not tabulate the answers by classes. So many and
varied were the answers that I have concluded to quote from a selection
only, as follows :
"Siz?s of issues involved."
"Problems larger but not more numerous."
"Benefits more apparent in smaller towns, making it easier to get co-
operation."
"In small towns men know one another so well that they often fail to
harmonize."
"Work easier in large city."
"More direct service required in small city."
"Large cities have large problems unknown to small cities ; small cities
many problems which large cities have already solved."
"The large city must employ heroic measures to correct evils resulting
from lack of city planning when they were small ; small cities must give
citizens vision enabling them to prepare for the big city of the future."
"Finance is the difference, the little city usually lacks the big fellow
who will invest and await results."
"Problems proportionately the same; finance the little city's difficulty."
"The attitude of membership to organization."
"The problems are largely identical the machinery for working them
out naturally more limited in the small city."
THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN THE CITY OF "AVERAGE." 37
"The knocker's knock is not so keenly felt in large cities as in small."
"Large cities place emphasis on the word better small on the word
ligger."
"In large cities the association duties are specific and definite, while in
the small city they are variable and general."
"The small city problems are more personal."
"In the large cities, that is in cities of say a quarter of a million popula-
tion or more, the man of large affairs considers himself a permanent resident
and citizen of the community in which he lives, and, therefore, takes an
active interest in the work cf the city's commercial organization. Practically
all of his business affairs are in the city in which he lives, and he is, there-
fore, interested in its commercial progress.
"In the smaller cities, the same type of men do not give the same atten-
tion to local affairs and, as a result, the work of commercial organizations in
such cities is left very largely to men who cannot be properly classed as c:m
mercial leaders. This is due to some extent, I believe, to the fact that the
men of big affairs in these smaller cities are more deeply concerned in the
affairs of the larger communities near at hand and they consider the civic
and commercial problems of their own community too unimportant for their
attention. This statement is, of course^ not true with respect to every big
man in small cities, but it is true with respect to many. As a natural result
the large city organization has the advantage of the advice of the most suc-
cessful business men of the city ; men of ripe experience and sound judgment ;
men who have the means to properly finance the projects which are determined
to be for the best interest of their organization or community. The small
town organization on the other hand is often obliged to be content with the
advice of men of limited ability, experience and means. These men may
have large ideas, but they often lack the influence and means through which
to translate their words and plans into deeds."
The preponderance of evidence elicited by the foregoing
twelve questions is to the effect that the problems of the small
city are practically the same as those of the large cities as far
as concerns the problems themselves the distinguishing dif-
ference between the two being, that in small cities the questions
of finance and service by organization members is much more
acute.
It ?eems to he pretty well established that the efforts, aims
and ambitions of associations in small cities cover the Avhole
field of association work.
The Chamber of Commerce in the City of
<k Aver age"
By JOSEPH F. LEOPOLD
This new city named "Average" was founded somewhere
in the United States in July, 1917, and has grow r n but little
since. It is neither an industrial nor commercial community,
neither high-brow watering place nor mining camp, but a mix-
38 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES
ture of all in proper proportion as built from the information
furnished by some seventy-seven of the secretarial craft. The
city of "Average" is just 19,000 in population and its Chamber
of Commerce has an annual income of $4,100.00, with a gradu-
ated scale of membership fee from $1.00 to $300.00 per year
and about 155 members in good standing.
In other words, "Average" is just the information from
small cities over the whole United States ranging from 2,500
to 50,000 population "boiled down." Each of these cities re-
quested for information owns and operates in some fashion a
commercial organization. Their organization incomes stretch
from $75.00 per annum to $75,000 per annum, but the annual
income of "Average" is only $4,100, showing that many of the
cities smaller and larger, too, than "Average" are very inade-
quately financed.
It would be unfair to try to explain in detail what the
small town organization could do without first giving a mo-
ment to the secretarial wail that comes practically as one voice
in answer to the questionaire citing the small town handicaps
as compared with the city larger than 50,000, which, in this
statement, is classed among the larger communities. Let us
sum up some of the handicaps :
First: The small town usually has New York ideas com-
mercially and Pittsburgh thoughts industrially.
Second : The income is small, the secretary is poorly paid,
with but scant office help, if any.
Third : There are no bureaus in charge of expert indus-
trial managers, publicity men, etc.
Fourth: The small town chamber of commerce members
usually think in terms of dollars rather than units of com-
munity betterment.
Fifth : Small income curtails bulletins, etc., with resulting
small interest and consequent poor committee service*
For the sake of convenience, and to skeletonize the mass
of information received so that the results might be seen at a
glance, the accomplishments are listed under headings in the
order of their importance. It is interesting to note the simi-
larity of work and the lines of endeavor most generally attempt-
ed ; also, a measure of accomplishment in all lines in accordance
with the income of the organization, rather than in accordance
with the population, location or special type of city.
THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN THE CITY OF "AVERAGE." 39
1. Retail Work 62.
Credit Bureas,
Trade Tours,
Collection Bureaus,
Buy-at-home Campaigns,
Dollar Days, etc.
2. Industrial Promotion 59.
By Bonus, etc.
Helping Local Industries,
Bidding for New Industries.
3. Civic Improvement 44.
Health and Welfare of Public,
Parks, Playgrounds,
Government,
Public Nursing,
Rest Rooms, Comfort Sta-
tions.
4. National 43.
Largely Red Cross,
Liberty Bond,
Garden Work,
Recruiting,
Patriotic Demonstrations, etc.
5. Agricultural Farm Agent 42.
Increased Acreage,
Better Farming Condition,
Bringing Farmer and City to-
gether,
Picnics.
6. Municipal Improvement 19.
Water,
Sewers,
Buildings,
Streets,
City Planning, etc.
7. Advertising and Charities In-
vestigation 18.
Classifying Advertising -
Eliminating Fraud in Both,
Federation of Charities.
8. Good Roads 17.
Local Highways, State,
Main Market and National
Highways,
Permanent Road Building,
Auto Club Work,
Signs, etc.
9. Publicity and Conventions 15.
Magazine,
Newspaper,
Mail, etc.
Bulletins, Information
Bureau
Conventions.
10. Traffic Work 13.
Passenger Service,
Freight Service,
Freight Rates,
Claim Collection,
Auditing, etc.
11. Special Features 12.
Buying Own Home,
Bringing in Outside Attrac-
tion,
Musical Programs,
Entertainment of National
Figures.
12. Legislative Matters 9.
City,
State,
National.
13. Public Utility Work 4.
Traction Work,
Fights on Gas and Electric
Rates,
Express Rates and Service on
All Public Utilities,
Telephone Mergers.
14. Surveys 3.
Social, Industrial,
Health, Sanitary, etc.
15. Employment Bureau 3.
Local, State.
16. Leadership 4.
General Work.
17. Labor Disputes 3.
Mine, Factory and Other
Labor Troubles.
18. Financial Work 2.
Raising Large Funds for
Special Purposes.
19. Against Industrial Promotion
(Residence Section.)
20. Get-Together Lunches.
Weekly,
Bi-monthly,
Monthly, Special, etc.
40 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
A hurried glance here shows plainly that five particular
activities are uppermost in the small town mind; namely, re-
tail affairs, industrial promotion, civic improvement, agricul-
tural development, and national matters. Municipal improve-
ment, advertising and charities investigation, good road work,
special features and legislative matters follow next in impor-
tance. In other words, it shows what the town of "Average-'
is doing and not what it can do. 9
Some of the organization endeavors are peculiar to some
particular community, and, of course, are not subject to debate
here. The question of labor disputes is also a line of activity
that is limited to certain cities and to the whim of fate. Traffic
work requires skilled men and extra income. It is desirable
and always needed. Employment problems, legislative matters,
public utility affairs, various kinds of surveys and special finan-
cial work are all subject to certain contingencies of necessity
and frequently are not usable lines of activity for a period of
a year or even more.
Leadership is never enduring and requires continuous in-
jections of spirit along its hypothetical backbone to make it
actual, concrete and visible. Five and one half years of study
on my part have made me believe that a chamber of commerce
is constructive leadership in community matters and that regu-
lar, well outlined and prepared lunch programs are the surest
and quickest means to the end. With leadership assured, all
else is easy. And following come the four fundamentals of com-
munity organization activities in a definite way.
Retail affairs are not only important, but are showing vast
strides under the capable leadership of intelligent commercial
organizations. Retail affairs touch usually the pulse of the
membership and the hip pocket of the most influential citizens
in the community, and where rests his pocket book, there rests
his heart and interest. Trade expansion, credit rating, collec-
tive advertising, cooperative deliveries, and other chamber of
commerce stimulants have done and will do wonders toward
standardizing retail business.
Interdependent with retail affairs is industrial develop-
ment. Business men are responsible for the usual cry for more
factories and the secretary, lucky enough to be hired in a town
that some manufacturer wants to get into, is made for life.
Factory grabbing has been reduced to a business basis, but is
THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN THE CITY OF "AVERAGE." 41
far from being solved. Small towns especially are reaping
harvests in industrial development. The reason is plain and
not to be denied. The wise manufacturer wishes to get into
new territory with more easily satisfied labor, all other condi-
tions being considered equal. Small cities should and will
continue to strive for industrial development. It shows big re-
turns quickly and is the most popular of all chamber of com-
merce "results."
"Civic improvement" is the wish and desire of all good
citizens. Each individual and neighborhood suggestion reaches
the wide awake commercial organization. The result is or-
ganized activity on a community need and a stride taken in
city betterment. The growth in number of parks and play-
grounds, the better sanitary and living conditions, public com-
fort stations and rest rooms, clean city government and an in-
creasing standard of citizenship can be traced in many small
cities to the influence of organized effort in community bodies.
Agriculture is the all-important problem of this and every
other era of history. Small towns are especially fitted to pro-
mote and develop all things agricultural. By getting expert
farm demonstrators where none now exist, by preaching the
doctrine of better farming conditions, by helping to find mar-
kets for crops and labor to harvest them, by relieving the farm-
er's mind of the bogey that all urban dwellers are crooks and
instilling a feeling of dependence in the agriculturalist much
has been accomplished for the farm and farmer, and the end
is not yet. Most of the credit is due the small town and much
to the small town chamber of commerce.
Such work is the work in the small town. Such is the ac-
tivity of "Average." It is good, but not good enough. We
need more money to spend and more for full time, trained sec-
retarial executives. We can't blow hot and cold. We can't
practice law and run a chamber of commerce. The secretary
of "Average" is only about half-trained. He's still part in-
surance man, lawyer and newspaper man. Yet he has done
wonders.
CHAPTER II.
The Relations Between Civics and Commerce
By O. B. TOWNE
Text books on civil government define civics as applying
to those laws, methods and systems which administer the affairs
of government. In a more technical sense the definition refers
to the governmental and judicial functions of cities. Usage,
however, has measurably broadened the meaning of the term,
especially since the development of the commercial organization
idea. Dictionaries of standard merit accept the broader inter-
pretation, and the definition now includes altruistic and wel-
fare work and the humanizing of commerce, as well as civil
government.
We accept the theory of the definition, but in meeting the
civic and commercial requirements of the day, we find actual
limitations and danger lines which puzzle even the most ana-
lytical mind. Where does civic work leave off and commercial
work begin? Where does commercial work leave off and civic
work begin? Where does civic work leave off and politics
begin? Is there benefit accruing to the others when emphasis
is placed on any one of the three? What are the opinions of
secretaries and other business and professional men, who have
been long in the field? What are the facts?
A city reflects the ideals of its citizens. This is true in
commerce as well as in civics, although it will be more appar-
ent in civics. The standards of community life are boldly im-
printed on every department of community activity.
It is true that many communities have developed and
grown rich without paying the least attention to civics. But
a community without civic development remains at a stand-
still and commerce will eventually blight, if not decay. Com-
merce may make civic development possible in a pronounced
degree, but civics in return makes commerce human instead
of mechanical, thus making permanent commercial progress
possible.
42
THE RELATIONS BETWEEN CIVICS AND COMMERCE. 43
In speaking of commerce we have three things in mind.
First, manufacturing; Second, distribution; Third, community
values.
The hardest thing in commerce is to find the man who can
most successfully manage the affairs of industry. But, there
are those who can. Their experiences in civics are interesting
in the extreme. They have learned that it is commercially profit-
able to keep machinery well repaired and protected, rather than
to neglect it and when it thus becomes useless, replace it with
new. They have also learned that it is commercially profitable
to protect the factory employee, to keep the quality of his ef-
ficiency at a high degree, rather than to drive him to the break-
ing point and then replace him with the untried and the un-
trained. But it takes a man with a mind and spirit tuned to
the civic idea, to see this and to profit commercially thereby.
It has proved true that an emplo3^ee who is well fed, who
lives in decent sanitary surroundings, with the beautiful in
nature and art to encourage and inspire him, will turn out
more perfect work, more of it and with less wear, tear and
waste, than will an employee, whose surroundings engender
low ideals of honesty, poor health, immorality, debauchery and
otherwise impaired ability to render even fifty per cent effi-
ciency in service.
Important problems of manufacturing are contentment,
health, clear minds, skill and efficienc} 7 among the employees.
Those business men who have made the experiment show, by
the increased output of their plants, that there is net profit in
emphasizing the civic end of industry.
In Germany, civic effort is a great feature of community
life. Dusseldorf business men, cooperating with the city gov-
ernment, previous to 1913, contributed $64,000 a year to parks
and $110,500 a year to theatres and orchestras, in order that
the people of that city might see and hear the best in music
and the drama for their inspiration and thinking, and not be
compelled to seek pastime in cheap beer gardens with debauch-
ing entertainments amid degrading surroundings. And a busi-
ness man of Dusseldorf said in 1913, when speaking of this
remarkable fact, "It is a business investment which yields net
profits to the manufacturers, and to industry."
We find the same condition true in Frankfort, Munich,
Cologne, Hanover, Mannheim, Ulm and many other cities in
44 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
the German Empire, as well as in many cities of France, Italy,
Belgium, Sweden, England and Austria.
In all the European cities mentioned great attention has
been paid to housing conditions for the employees, for the very
obvious reason of keeping them in good health, in pleasant sur-
roundings and in a contented frame of mindi
An enlightened, well-housed, healthy, and a mentally,
morally and physically clean buying public, with an eye ac-
customed to the beautiful in nature and in art, is going to buy
better goods, and do it more intelligently, than will a public of
the opposite status. Not only will it buy better, but it will buy
more, because less will be squandered for the degrading things
of life. The market for the retailer will, therefore, be more de-
sirable and more secure. Civics will also mean net profit to
him.
But what of community values? Property values are de-
termined by two things commerce and civics. The business
location and business utility of a piece of property determine,
to a very large extent, its market value. But civic improve-
ments, such as parks, boulevards, schools, civic and commercial
centers, good fire and police protection, improved streets, sewer
and water, gas and electric lights will increase the value of that
same property, many times. This is especially true of resi-
dence property, for the elements of convenience and environ-
ment have greater influence on the value of residence property
than business property. The effect in all instances is direct.
Concerning the extent to which a commercial organization
may legitimately interest itself in civic affairs and the dangers
encountered in this work, a vital consideration is the nature of
the commercial organization. In some of the older eastern
cities, the commercial organization devotes itself almost entire-
ly to commercial matters, to the exclusion of civics. This is due,
largely to the age of the cities in question, together with the fact
that the commercial organization in its present status is of
comparatively recent origin. Many of the older cities of the
east have had purely civic organizations for many years. These
are sectional, for a single civic WT>rk, for the permanent beauti-
fication and maintenance of specific residential districts, or for
community wide improvement. The board of trade, from which
the present commercial organization has sprung in these same
cities, was purely a commercial body and has not been tolerated
in the civic field.
THE RELATIONS BETWEEN CIVICS AND COMMERCE. 45
The dangers to any voluntary organization, such as is the
average commercial body, are from an internal rather* than
from an external source. Its main problem is in keeping its
membership intact while it establishes itself in the community.
Dangers from without usually serve to knit, more closely to-
gether, the component parts of the organization.
The reason for and strength of a commercial organization
lie in its ability to serve the community. The only danger
which need be considered is that which impairs this ability.
The danger, although it may come from mjany sources, is but a
single danger internal disruption.
A commercial organization must avoid participation in re-
ligious controversies; it must not take sides in keenly partisan
political campaigns. It must avoid advocating the cause or
candidacy of any individual or group ; using its influence ex-
clusively for the commercial interest of an individual or group
of business men ; interfering with or opposing, directly, officials
of constituted authority; any tendency toward exclusiveness ;
technicalities; taking sides in capital and labor controversies;
taking credit for the work of other organizations; interfering
with or openly opposing the operations of old established civic
bodies; being impractical, shallow and unprepared in its civic
promotional work ; allowing politics, religion or factional in-
terests to creep into the organization and influence its conduct
and the election of its officials.
The manner in which questions of principle may bring the
commercial body too near the danger line of politics, the actual
status of the organization in the community will be one factor,
and the relation of the principle in question to the commercial
and civic activity of the body will be the other. The status of
the organization in the community must be constantly main-
tained and improved. The same thing is true regarding the
commercial and civic activity of the body.
"Public questions of principle," according to Mr. Bowers,
of Jamestown, "are the very elements of political platforms
upon which men differ, and in that possible difference of opin-
ion lies the danger to commercial organizations/'
William George Bruce of Milwaukee, on the other hand,
writes: "Political parties have their adherents; candidates
have their friends. Both adherents and friends may be mem-
bers of the commercial organization. To exert partisanship
46 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
here means to invade the field of practical politics and the
domain of opposing political parties and organizations."
Questions of principle touch a community when they treat
of governmental safety, justice, commercial equity, humanity
and posterity. When public questions become any less broad
in their scope they pass into the twilight zone and cease to be
questions of principle.
Many differ over the line of demarcation between civics and
politics. To me, it appears that the purpose for which the
commercial body is formed has a, great deal to do with this
whole matter. A commercial organization has as its general
purpose service along commercial and civic lines. It has no
legally established position in the governmental affairs of the
community and, therefore, may not trespass on those grounds
with impunity, except in the spirit of service to commerce and
civics.
The policy of the useful commercial organization must be
constructive in every sense. To be constructive, it cannot be
partisan even in the slightest degree, for partisanism strikes
at the one vital spot in the organization internal cohesion, and
implies a destructive policy towards the tenets of its oppo-
nents.
Mr. Bruce of Milwaukee, says, "The line of demarcation
between civic activities and political activities, drawn by com-
mercial bodies, must lie between ante-election campaigning and
post-election cooperation, between selfish partisanship and un-
selfish non-partisanship, between party .preferment and commu-
nity progress and welfare."
While this is true, it does not go far enough. In the words
of Lucius Wilson of New York, "The duty of the commercial
organization is to teach the people to think." He did not say
think rightly. If he had, he would have assumed that someone
in the community knew which was the right way to think and
had the authority to dictate. No one may dictate unless so
authorized by the law or by the people. No one is so authorized
in the, commercial organization.
The line of demarcation between wholesome civic activi-
ties and dangerous political controversies lies in the attitude
and conduct of the commercial body itself when dangerous
political questions are involved. In wholesome civic activities,
the organization is seeking to serve the whole community along
THE RELATIONS BETWEEN CIVICS AND COMMERCE. 47
the line of civic and commercial affairs. If the organization is
impartially constructive in the assistance it renders the public
to help that public solve each problem on its merits, it can go
to almost any extent in its activities.
The phases of commercial organization work which come
entirely under the head of civics are numerous. To a well bal-
anced and wisely governed commercial body the field for civic
activity is very broad. Much of it, however, comes under the
head of commercial civics, for it has to do with those phases of
governmental and humanitarian effort which increase or de-
crease the profits of commerce.
The line of demarcation between commercial and civic af-
fairs is not so difficult to define, even though civics has a great
influence on commerce. J. P. Hardy of Fargo, believes "it
is parallel to the line that marks the difference between policy
and administration." He gives this definition with special ref-
erence to the science of government. Mr. Bruce of Milwaukee,
enlarges the scope of this definition, however, when he writes :
"The line of demarcation places pay-roll and profit on one side.
and the physical and moral well-being of the community on the
other." Mr. Gumm, of Fort Worth, sums it all up in one word.
"Dividends." Mr. Nelson of Binghajnton, says : "Business
Profits."
To my mind the line of demarcation may be found by de-
termining the direction of the activity. Is it toward, or is it
away from commerce? If the direction of the activity is toward
commerce, either directly in trade promotion, increasing divi-
dends, transportation of freight or manufacturing, or indirectly
in the improvement of streets and housing conditions and
building good roads, it may be said that the activity is purely
commercial. If, on the other hand, it is humanitarian welfare
work, and does not touch commerce either directly or indirect-
ly in matters of business, nor affect commerce even through
civil authorities, it may be said to be purely civic.
But how about those commercial organization activities
which may not belong to either class? There are exceptions to
all rules, of course, but it is a question whether the number is
very large and also whether a detailed analysis of the ultimate
purpose and effect of the activity would not determine pretty
accurately the exact direction of it as regards commerce.
There is general unanimity of opinion among secretaries
48 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
regarding the dependence of commercial success and progress
upon good government, but the extent of that dependence is
variously estimated.
Mr. Bruce of Milwaukee, says : "Good government means
to afford that freedom of action and that protection to life and
property which enables the merchant, the manufacturer, the
mechanic and the professional man each to perform his allotted
part of the world's work.''
Howard Strong says : "Good government generally means
an all-around square deal for everybody."
The reason for government in the first place indicates a
certain degree of responsibility for the success and progress of
business. Governments and laws are established primarily
that the right to life and livelihood may be enjoyed in a reason-
able degree of peace and security.
The commercial organization is composed of volunteers
with a wider common ground of understanding. The member-
ship is made up of business men with a common purpose and,
hence, with a wide field of common interests. This organiza-
tion is not established by law for administrative purposes. It
represents the collective citizen in thinking out and promulgat-
ing plans, methods and projects for today and for future gen-
erations. When it speaks it can only speak in an advisory ca-
pacity, in so far as the city administration is concerned, and
when it acts it can only act in a cooperative capacity. It can
only guide, direct and lead the people in their progressive
thinking and assist them to co-ordinate their efforts to secure
justice and equity while solving the problems of the times and
place.
In discussing the possibility of the commercial organiza-
tion being drawn into legislative matters of city, state and na-
tion, two things should be considered: First, who will specifi-
cally set forth the business and civic needs of our community
as a whole, if the commercial body does not? Second, should
the general civic and business interests of the community sit
calmly back and leave the laws, which vitally affect their affairs,
to the judgment of the legislators, who as a rule, are from small
communities, when in the halls of legislation, of city, state and
nation, private interests, private institutions and special or-
ganizations are rampant, seeking favors and special privileges?
Commerce has been the football of politics almost from the
THE RELATIONS BETWEEN CIVICS AND COMMERCE. 49
founding of the government. It has been the party issue in
almost every national campaign for a century. Few business
men have had a word to say about it all. Business men should
have something to say in the affairs of the state and nation.
They should have more to say about the real business end of
the local government. Commerce and civics, which every effort
is being put forth to improve should be heard from, directly,
when laws of vital importance to both are to be enacted. They
should be represented at the hearings and conferences, but
more especially, they should be represented in the membership
of the legislative body itself.
Good civic conditions and good citizenship advertise a com-
munity. The greatest source of desirable publicity is a citizen
who is in love with his city and has tangible reason for that
affection. Not only does it advertise his community, but it
advertises the community spirit of the place. It advertises its
industry, its general business affairs, its community life.
There is one other consideration on which too much em-
phasis cannot be laid. A community, in whose development
special emphasis has been laid upon civics, is loyal and patri-
otic to itself, to the state and to the nation. The very nature
of the civic work done proclaims that fact, There is the ideal
to defend; there is the contented home life to protect; there is
the organized whole to uphold. All these have their commercial
value. Although they do not appear in figures in the final
balance of the average commercial institution, who can say
that there is in them any less commercial value because of that
fact?
CHAPTER III.
Industrial Activities
Industrial Development by Chambers of Commerce
By GLENN A. BOWERS
The effort of commercial organizations to attract indus-
tries to their cities is almost universal. Three broad groups
of members in particular concern themselves with industrial
development activities; retailers who are interested in an in-
creased purchasing power of the city; manufacturers who are
aware of the advantages which result from the concentration
of a large number of industries ; and general members who look
to a larger, more prosperous and more active city. Because of
these interests, commercial bodies have for many years made
efforts to attract new industries and to assist in various ways
industries already located in the cities which they represent.
The broad policies of industrial development, unless de-
termined in an arbitrary manner, rest upon a knowledge of
industrial conditions. To acquire this knoAvledge, eonimon
practice has had to undertake a comprehensive survey of all
social and economic factors which affect industry. Some of the
points which it has been found profitable to include in a survey
of this kind are outlined very briefly in this paper. The policies
which organizations have followed may be put into two groups:
(1) The creation of conditions favorable to industries, both
those already in the city and those which may be induced to
come; and (2) The offer of special inducements to new indus-
tries. Offers of special inducements are given especial atten-
tion herein, with only casual mention of those conditions which
favor industrial growth.
Industrial Surveys
Industrial facts which would be of value in one city might
naturally be unimportant in another. The detailed outline of a
survey must, therefore, be left for local determination. In
general, however, an investigation of this sort might include
such subjects as are listed under the following principal groups :
50
INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT BY CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE. 51
1. Existing industries: Nature, number, output, etc.
'2. Market possibilities: Quantity and kind of manufactured material
shipped into vicinity, quantity and kind of unfinished products and
raw materials shipped elsewhere for further manufacture; de-
termination of accessible markets, extent to which accessible
markets have been developed, location of competitors, etc.
3. Raw materials : Cost, length of haul necessary, kind produced in
vicinity, etc.
4. Transportation facilities : Number of lines, distances to markets,
rates, traffic bureau organization and work, terminal facilities,
warehouses, means of transfer, etc.
5. Environment : Nature of industries, efficiency of city government,
character and supply of labor, housing conditions, educational in-
stitution, etc.
6. Manufacturing costs : Power, labor, raw materials, etc.
7. Banking facilities : Number and size of banks, nature of investments,
extent of local market for industrial securities, etc.
Two Types of Organization Activity
The two broad policies adopted by organizations to attract
industries, as was suggested above, apparently turn upon this
question: "Are your efforts confined to the creation of condi-
tions favorable to industries?'' In some organizations, the
policy is to confine their activities, either entirely or practically
so, to the creation of conditions favorable to industries. On
the other hand, many organizations have adopted the policy of
offering special inducements to secure new industries. Other
organizations make no effort whatever to attract new indus-
tries.
Those organizations which confine themselves to the crea-
tion of favorable conditions do so largely on the ground that
industrial growth depends upon fundamental economic condi-
tions, regardless of special inducements and artificial condi-
tions. Those organizations which offer special inducements
do so for one of tAvo reasons: (1) They believe that industries
may honestly need aid, financial or other, in order to develop
or expand, and that money spent to aid these industries will be
returned indirectly through improved business conditions; (2)
Although they may disapprove of the principle just stated, they
feel that it is necessary for them to follow the practice in order
to compete with other cities which give such inducements.
Creation of Conditions Favorable to Industries
"Conditions favorable to industries" appear to be corollary
to those groups given above in outlining a general survey. Ac-
52 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
tivities aimed at the creation of more favorable conditions may,
therefore, be grouped as follows:
1. Efforts to diversify industries by promoting improved local con-
ditions.
2. Improvement of marketing conditions by advertising, by attracting
trade conventions, by entertainment of buyers and providing fa-
cilities for display to buyers, by broadening market through bet-
ter freight and express service, etc.
3. Improvement of raw material conditions by making possible in-
creased production in vicinity, by providing adequate storage
space, by giving attention to freight rates, etc.
4. Improvement of transportation facilities by establishment of adequate
traffic bureau service, by providing adequate terminal facilities,
warehouses, good street conditions, etc.
5. Improvement of civic conditions, housing, schools, entertainment, rea-
sonable food prices, efficient management of physical plant of
city, etc.
6. Lowering of manufacturing costs by development of cheap power, by
providing expert advice for managers, by developing industrial
tracts in convenient relation to railroads and city, etc.
7. Improvement of banking facilities.
These are activities which organizations have undertaken
in efforts to improve local conditions. The list is by no means
complete and is intended merely to be suggestive.
Offer of Special Inducements to New Industries
Many kinds of special inducements may be offered to pros
pective industries. In general, however, they may be placed
into six main groups : Bonuses, cash and indirect ; credit guar-
antees; secured loans; loft buildings for small industries; and
stock or bond purchase.
Bonuses : Cash. A cash bonus is merely a payment of
money to a concern in return for locating its plant in the city
offering the bonus in other words, the city buys the industry
from which it expects to get an indirect profit. This practice
has had extensive use in the past but is now in disfavor in most
organizations.
Bonuses : Indirect. The plan of giving indirect bonuses in
the form of free sites, tax exemptions, moving costs, free rents,
low water rates, etc.. is the same in principle as the cash bonus
plan, but apparently differs considerably in application. Free
sites is the most popular form of indirect bonuses. In some
instances the gift is made directly by land owners or real estate
operators in the expectation of increased values accruing to
land adjacent to newly developed areas. Donations of land
INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT BY CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE. 53
may, therefore, be more freely secured than an outright gift of
money to a factory, or credit endorsement and stock subscrip-
tion in which the return is less certain and the benefits more re-
mote. Tax exemptions are granted in but few cities.
Credit Guarantees. Much criticism has been directed
against banks for their conservative policy toward industrial
loans. One reason for this conservatism may be the lack of
expert knowledge about industrial management on the part of
bank officials. It is not the practice in this country, as it is in
Germany, to have among the officers of a bank a man skilled
in industrial affairs. In a number of cities, commercial or-
ganizations have attempted to supply this expert knowledge
to banks and to offset all other objections to industrial loans
by guaranteeing to banks loans made to approved industries.
Typical provisions of this plan are :
1. Subscriptions for specified amounts are made with the understanding
that losses suffered will be prorated among the subscribers.
2. From 10% to 20% of the amounts subscribed shall be paid in to
form a contingent fund before the plan begins to operate.
3. Subscriptions paid in shall be deposited with banks which agree to
make loans to industries upon approval of duly authorized rep-
resentatives of the subscribers.
Secured loans. In most cases of credit guaranty, the sub-
scribers are secured to the extent of the physical assets of the
concern aided. Organizations may, however, extend credit to
industries direct, with or without credit. The results of a ques-
tionaire here show that while some organizations offer special
inducements, a larger number grant loans to industries only
upon security. A few organizations grant loans without se-
curity. The plan is simple and further comment is not neces-
sary.
Loft buildings for small industries. In a number of cities
in which desirable factory space is limited, loft buildings have
been financed by commercial bodies or by associations formed
among their members. The aim of these organizations is to
provide buildings equipped with modern industrial appliances
for the use of small industries which could not otherwise ob-
tain such facilities. In many cities, even antiquated factory
space is difficult to find. Without adequate factory space it
has been hard to secure new industries which could not afford
to construct and occupy an independent plant.
This activitv is not necessarily a "special inducement."
54 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
In some cases, it may be more -properly the "creation of condi-
tions favorable to industries." However, the facts that private
capital has not provided such facilities and that commercial
organizations have been forced at times to finance the undertak-
ing, warrant the mention of loft building construction as a
special inducement. It is the usual practice to charge a reason-
able rental for space in these buildings, to cover all expenses
and yield a fair rate of interest on the investment.
Stock or bond purchase. The final group of special induce-
ments includes the purchase of stocks of new industries, or of
established industries seeking to expand. Some organizations
offer special inducements, others purchase stocks or bonds in
concerns which show promise of success; some approve legiti-
mate stock issues to citizens after investigation, others refer
stock issues to citizens without approval. Again a number of
organizations will have nothing to do with stock or bond propo-
sitions but attempt to secure new industries through other
special inducements or economic advantages.
The industrial enterprise must be independent of the com-
mercial body but close cooperation may exist between them. A
selected group of men should be charter members. "One of the
fundamental essentials to the success of a financing plan is
that the unit of efficiency should be kept in mind in selecting
the members." The following requirements should be insisted
upon:
1. Members should be financially able to assist in the underwriting of
enterprises endorsed for promotion.
2. Members should be prominently identified with industrial or other
enterprises in the city.
3. Members should understand and be in full sympathy with the plans
and purposes of the company.
4. Members should be willing to contribute time and judgment to the
investigation of projects which the board of directors 'approve as worthy.
5. Members should have experience in some field of activity that will
enable them to assist in determining the advisability ocf promoting any enter-
prise under investigation.
Prior to investment in an industry the board of directors
shall first decide whether a project is worthy of investigation.
The board then appoints a committee of members especially
qualified to make the investigation. Members receive just com-
pensation for their services. If it is deemed advisable, expert
services may be employed by the board to assist the committee.
Incidental to the work of the company, a thorough survey is to
INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE SMALL TOWN. 55
be made of the city and vicinity to secure a complete analysis
of every industry, including full data as to its sources of ma-
terials and its products.
Industrial Development of the Small Town
By WM. S. MILLENER
Notwithstanding the fact that many of the foremost think
ers in commercial organization work hold that commercial
bodies should give first consideration to civic improvements,
and less attention to trying to secure new industries, the fact
remains that the average commercial organization in the small
town still devotes considerable time and effort to securing new
industries. ,
In order to learn something of the methods and progress
of other towns, over 100 questionaires were sent out. The data
upon which this paper is based was secured from the replies
received from eighty-four secretaries, located in towns ranging
Editor's Note: No subject which has come within the range ctf com-
mercial organization effort has received greater attention than that which
deals with the securing of new industries. At the same time no subject with-
in the range of organization purpose has undergone greater modifications.
"We want new factories !" was the sole slogan of many of the commercial
organizations a decade ago. Many were organized for no other purpose, and
secretaries were employed for no other duty than to secure factories. Their
tenure of office depended upon the measure ctf success they attained.
The offers of bonuses in the way of sites, buildings, stock subscription,
remission of taxes, etc., etc., were of a most generous nature. The reaction,
however, set in when the failures by far outnumbered the successes. It was
then discovered, too, that the success f an industrial enterprise involves
more than bonuses, gifts and exemptions.
It was learned that a manufacturing enterprise must take into considera-
tion accessibility to raw materials, facilities for distribution of the finished
product, and an adequate supply of the right kind of labor. And above all
things, the business management must be capable and honest. Much money
has been sunk in enterprises where one or more of the elements here enumer-
ated have been lacking.
While the average commercial body is no less ambitious to secure new
industries, it has become more circumspect in securing them. It no longer
makes factory getting the sole object of its existence or employs a secretary
solely for his factory getting ability. It inventories its own conditions and
environment, measures its opportunities, and establishes more nearly the cass
of industries that could thrive within its borders.
The commercial organization of today has also come to the realization
that the first essential is to make the city worth while as a place to live in.
The schools must be good, the streets clean, the drinking water pure, the
parks attractive, etc., etc. The city must be sanitary, afford recreational
facilities and public utilities if labor is to be attracted.
56 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
in population from 10,000 to 100,000, and scattered over thirty-
two states. The average population of the towns reporting is
59,252, having commercial organizations averaging 641 mem-
bers, and an average income of 114,406.00.
Industrial Committee
The answer to the question "Do you have an industrial
committee to investigate and negotiate with prospective indus-
tries?" indicates that, almost without exception, these towns
refer the investigation of industrial questions to a standing
committee. Answering the question "Do you have a guarantee
fund?" 71 towns answered "No." One town answered "Planning
to have such a fund.''
Williamsport answered "No longer. Guarantee fund aban-
doned."
Williamsport was a pioneer in the guarantee fund move-
ment. When this plan was first devised it was thought by
many that at last a way had been found to solve all of the prob-
lems of substantial industrial growth of both established and
new industries. Since this plan was devised in 1900 and aban-
doned in 1914, after having been copied or modified by a num-
ber of cities, it may be best to briefly refer to it, and the reason
for its abandonment.
The Williamsport plan was essentially a subscription of
credit by responsible local business men. Under this plan, the
local banks agreed to furnish money to such industries as might
desire to negotiate a loan on the endorsement of three attorneys-
in-fact, representing the subscribers to the fund. Subscrip-
tion contracts to this fund ran for a period of five years. Copies
of the contract and certificates of the action of the subscribers
in electing the attorn eys-in-f act were filed with the banks, and
the attorneys were authorized to endorse for the whole, or any
part of the fund.
Before such endorsement was made, applications by bor-
rowing firms for aid were required to be approved by the direc-
tors of the board of trade. However, the attorneys-in-fact had
the power to refuse the endorsement, even when it had been
approved by the directors of the commercial organization. If,
at maturity, the applicant failed to meet the obligation, the
subscribers to the fund were supposed to pay the amount due,
each subscriber being liable for a pro rata share only, of the
indebtedness.
INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE SMALL TOWN. 57
This guarantee of credit was conservatively given, and
when given was protected by sufficient security, so that with
but a few exceptions there were no losses. The few losses that
were sustained were paid by a few wealthy men, usually mem-
bers of the board of directors, and there was never any assess-
ment on all of the subscril>ers to the fund.
In this city, credit was only extended to industries that
found some difficulty in negotiating a*loan from a bank. The
result was that the credit of any concern so helped was material-
ly injured, and it was more difficult for it to secure accommo-
dations from local banks without the same sort of endorsement.
Believing that ultimately it was detrimental rather than help-
ful to the manufacturer who secured a loan under this plan, the
same was abandoned.
Commercial organizations are business concerns, and the
same tests of good business should be made to apply. It is a
question of bargain and sale, securing the goods, if they be
needed, at the best possible terms for your city.
The only way that a commercial organization can be of
assistance to established industries is to provide a business
atmosphere in the whole community that will produce general
conditions, such as stabilizing labor, which, in turn, will pro-
vide the opportunity for industrial growth, if the industry is
well placed and capably managed.
Small Town Development
In the final analysis of industrial development of the -small
town, whether it be in making conditions favorable to indus-
tries or in offering either direct or indirect special inducements,
the greatest factor for success is the standard of the human
element back of the movement. Every movement needs its
leader, its optimistic, determined, public-spirited man with a
vision, who will give freely of his own time and influence others
to give of theirs, working for the good of all. Such is the work
of our commercial organizations, the building of men and inter-
esting them in all the ramifications of community betterment
and industrial development.
There is no set rule which can be laid down for the guid-
ance of all, but the conclusions reached in studying this ques-
tion are:
1. That it is unwise to offer a cash bonus to secure the location of an in-
dustry.
58 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
2. That desirable factory locations on one or more railroads should be con-
trolled, either directly or indirectly, by the commercial organization, to
prevent undue land speculation and the retarding of normal industrial
growth.
3. That commercial organizations, either directly or indirectly, should pro-
vide suitable facilities for small manufacturers in a loft building or in-
dustrial building, that could be sub-let at a reasonable rate, having all the
conveniences of low power, shipping facilities, etc.
4. That the possession of a fund for investment in industrial securities is
no guarantee of wise industrial development.
5. That more thought should be given to ways and means that make it pos-
sible for established industries to grow and expand, than should be given
to efforts to secure the location of new industries.
6. That when the best conditions for manufacture and the proper housing of
employees of established industries are sufficiently developed, new indus-
tries will seek you, rather than you having to seek them.
7. That satisfactory industrial development will come to every sma-1 town
when these things have been done, for, in the doing of them, the human
elements, organization and cooperation, will have been brought to the high-
est point of development, and all community problems may be solved with
despatch.
The Proper Place of Industrial Development in
the Work of a Commercial Organization
By R. H. FAXON
Cities do not grow they are made! And yet, industrial-
ly, there are notable examples of cities which have not been
made, but have grown. There are cities where every natural
law of industry has apparently been violated or has failed to
work. Such cities are fortunate indeed, and yet they do not
disprove the rule. They are, rather, the exception. There is,
for instance, no special reason why Battle Creek should be a
cereal center ; Detroit a motor center ; Grand Rapids a furniture
center; or New England the center of the textile industry or of
shoes. Yet the last- named examples emphasize the more great-
ly the rule that cities are made and do not merely grow. But
that the supply of material is an overwhelming incident, is illus-
trated by the growth of the textile industry in the South, where
cotton grows, and by the shoe industry in St. Louis, near the
leather-production center.
Therefore economy of location and proximity to raw ma-
terials do not always determine the location of industry.
As a premise, the five things that really count in industrial
work, or factory location, are: Labor, transportation, materi-
als, money, and market.
PLACE OF INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT IN ORGANIZATION. 59
Labor is the element often considered most important. A
labor market has in the past been deemed essential to successful
industrial development. Yet it may be accepted that, outside of
certain peculiar or isolated cases, labor will go where industry
begins its work.
Transportation is an important factor, yet not an absolute
essential. We find, on analysis of conditions, that Grand Rap-
ids still remains an important furniture center, despite the al-
most total lack of Northern timber and the distance from which
it has to secure its supply. Massachusetts, far removed from
hides and leather, save by importation under more recent legis-
lation, continues to specialize on the shoe and leather business;
and its raw materials of cotton are a long distance from the
place of production.
Transportation also takes into consideration the haul of the
finished product as well as the raw material ; but in this era of
intensive development surrounding so-called "centers ;" with
the existence of successful tariff, freight, or transportation
bureaus, jealously guarding the territory of these "centers;"
and with national advertising creating a countrywide if not
international demand for many products, the distance the
product has to go is found to be no insuperable barrier.
We next come to money outlay. Included in that is capi-
tal, most important, and its procurement; the question of sal-
aries and wages, matters of taxation, including war and other
governmental revenues and taxes; credits, and the amounts
necessary to procure materials and to equip industrial institu-
tions. A further treatment of this essential will be found later.
As to market, the world is the market of any staple product.
There is little barrier. Coming myself from an inland city,
small in comparison with the great industrial centers, unde-
veloped as it is industrially, and not known to fame as a manu-
facturing community of renown, I could name you at least a
half dozen products which go to not only the length and breadth
of the land, but into foreign countries as well. How much more
marked this is in a hundred other communities!
The Man and the Market
Into the term "market" go many things, which include
production, sales, advertising, management, etc. Without
these, the word "market" is not embrasive. And here, again,
60 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
we find the importance, the potency, of The Man Behind !
Someone's vision, someone's strength of character, someone's
strict integrity, someone's administrative genius, must go into
the product from its inception to its final lodgment with the
consumer, else we have not suitably defined the word "market."
There can be no royal road to industrial success in any
community. Seldom can any wholesale industrial development
be attained. If a community starts to develop some one indus-
try, it makes it the better for others in that line, and, ultimate-
ly, the community develops thereby. The success of one man
attracts the attention of another in the same line. The labor
market is thus created, and the community sort of specializes
on that line. Like attracts like. Soon the community becomes
famous as of one thing. But the best balance is maintained,
of course, by a careful study of the things most adapted, the
nearby source of raw material, the small market that may first
be developed, and the kind of men that may be massed for in-
dustry in general.
It is a starting point to other things. It may be accom-
plished by an industrial secretary, or by a general secretary,
or by a committee, or by a bureau. It matters not so long as it
be done. When it is done and done right, then the organiza-
tion is in shape to do more industrial work intelligently.
The safest and surest way to get an industry is to discard
all the wellworn methods, study the local situation thorough-
ly ; take the local survey and ascertain as above indicated the
institutions and products of the community, the lack, and the
need, and then make a systematic effort to build up a new line
or a weak line. The opportunity will come it never yet failed
to pass the door of any community, and only may be intercepted
by an alert and sane community organization. An invitation
to a concern that seeks to remove for proper reasons ; the sub-
mitting of a brief that is sensible and practical and shows rates,
market, labor conditions, distribution, and general community
relations toward industry, and, most of all, a dignified, sensible
desire on the part of the community to have the industry in its
midst, will do more than anything else ever invented to bring
it. And every one thus brought and successfully looked after
and followed up is an assurance of more to come in the future.
We have been preaching civics in our commercial organi-
zations for the past few years. Indeed, it may be said that
PLACE OF INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT IN ORGANIZATION. 61
civics occupies nearly one-half the average community organiza-
tion effort. We assume there may be no successful contradic-
tion of this assertion. The best business application of that
fact lies in its relation to industry. For instance : we may lay
it down as axiomatic, regardless of woeful lack in so many
places, that if it is best for the community to have parks and
boulevards and lighting and paving that is worth while, and
playgrounds and comfort stations and a clean, wholesome sur :
rounding, it is doubly well for industry to receive its share of
such modern civic improvement and betterment.
Housing, industrial welfare, the pension system, the recog-
nition of the man factor in industry, the facilities in the factory
which the office and the home enjoy, the bonus system, the re-
fectory, the clubs and all that, are not a waste in overhead :
they are a definite investment and a part of the institution
outlay. They produce results, just as the ordinary civics pro-
duce results in the general citizenship.
An Industrial Survey
An industrial survey, a carefully planned, thoughtfully
figured out, homegrown affair, which would not go above the
heads of a committee or a board, and which would not be con-
fusing in its multiplicity of details, should be provided. Such
a survey might feature cardinal points as follows :
Business and Administration Name and character; date
of establishment; names of officers, directors, etc., especially
including engineer and works manager ; physical value of plant.
Plant Location and physical layout ; number of buildings,
and whether owned ; surroundings, as to density of population,
isolation, etc.; character of building construction; floor space;
insurance; fire; heating facilities; water supply; power; ele-
vators and safety devices ; clubs ; telephones, etc.
Production Seasonal periods; equipment; routing and
follow-up system; organization membership; principal materi-
als used ; principal articles manufactured ; direct marketing or
through jobbers; branches; catalogs, etc.
Labor Accessibility; closed or open; history of experi-
ence ; manner of settlement of trouble ; workmen ; clerical force ;
can women replace men if necessary; manner of payment;
bonus ; overtime ; nationality, etc.
62 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
Transportation Trackage, trucking arrangement, etc. ;
trunk lines accessible; switching facilities; water use, if any.
Then it would be wise to include some addenda as follows :
Laboratory data ; disposal of products as to area and man-
ner of shipment, especially if express is used; list of principal
competitors; railroad service, as a general factor; use of traffic
bureaus ; materials used, source, etc. ; heat, light, power, water ;
taxes, etc. ; by-products and waste.
As to the proper place of industrial development in a com-
mercial organization, speaking directly and briefly to that one
point: There are, generally speaking, in community organiza-
tion work as systematized today, four great subdivisions. They
are: Organization affairs; public affairs; industrial affairs,
and civic affairs. Each is co-ordinate. Each bears its proper
proportion of importance in organization work.
What Is an Industrial Survey?
BY A STUDENT
The term "survey" has been borrowed from the science of
sociology. It has been expanded, however, until the expression
"an industrial survey" has come to mean anything from a card
index of industrial cities to an elaborate investigation of the
industrial resources of the community.
As a point of departure it might be well to define more or
less definitely what is meant by industrial survey in this dis-
cussion. For purposes of argument we may use the term as
including any attempt to determine and list the factors bear-
ing on the industrial problems of the community. Three ques-
tions at once present themselves : ( 1 ) What are the factors
bearing on industrial problems? (2) What is the purpose for
which they are to be listed? and (3) What are the industrial
problems of the community?
The main difficulty in industrial surveys as conducted by
chambers of commerce is that they are apt to be carried on
from the viewpoint of "social values" rather than from the view-
point of the manufacturers' ledger.
Let us illustrate: There is a certain pork-packing estab-
lishment in the East which has an elaborate system for collect-
ing hogs in the Mississippi valley. This system costs thousands
of dollars a month to operate. The firm also has a system of
WHAT IS AN INDUSTRIAL SURVEY? 63
education for its employees on which it spends a great deal of
money. Every part of the factory is carefully planned, and
expenses are watched at every turn. The market is carefully
studied and the marketing system worked out by the company
is designed to secure the largest return possible from the entire
output. After all this care has been exercised and all this ex-
pense laid out, the company figures its profits on all the animals
it kills at considerably less than one-quarter of one cent a
pound. All the savings and all the advantages over the com-
petitors secured by careful thought in the planning of the manu-
facturing and marketing steps may be wiped out by a little
carelessness anywhere along the line. For instance, in the cut-
ting room the whole profit margin may be wiped out by care-
lessness in cutting the sides into their two main parts backs
and bellies. There is a strip through the middle of each side
which belongs equally well with either type of product, and
if the price of backs is high of course there is an advantage in
cutting the backs wide and getting the greatest possible amount
of backs out of the sides, and vice versa. The point, however,
is that carelessness in this one detail within the plant may off-
set the results of an elaborate system for making savings 1 in
production or distributing costs.
This illustration may make it clearer than the bare state-
ment can, what is meant by dealing with the industrial and
commercial factors of the community- from the point of view
of the manufacturer's ledger. In many instances, every pos-
sible advantage which the community can offer must be turned
to account. But such advantages as labor supply ? nearness to
market, immunity from strikes, or even cheap power, in the
manufacturer's mind only work out into figures representing
minute fractions of a cent per unit of product. It is clear, there-
fore, that what may appear to be great advantages in a com-
munity may be either largely, or entirely, off -set by apparently
trivial factors. At the same time it is clear also that certain
apparently trivial factors may make up for deficiency in what
might be called natural equipment.
This idea of viewing resources from the standpoint of the
manufacturer's ledger helps us to explain also some of the ap-
parent contradictions between the results of surveys and the
actual experience of communities. For instance, if we viewed
the resources of Detroit in perfectly cold blood the probabili-
64 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
ties are that we should never pick that as the location for the
greatest automobile center in the United States. What appar-
ently happened was that certain forceful and constructive per-
sons undertook the establishment of automobile factories there,
and the personal influences were strong enough to counteract
what natural disadvantages there might have been. Illustra-
tions of the same thing might be found in the case of such mat-
ters as a minor change in a freight rate. There are instances
also where the mere passage of time with the resulting depreci-
ation of property has been sufficient to modify the larger and
apparently more powerful factors in the location or operation
of an industry.
Factors Bearing on Industrial Problems
With this point in mind it is possible to get some idea of
what type of factors it is necessary to consider in an industrial
survey. Strictly speaking, there is nothing short of omni-
science that would be entirely satisfactory as equipment for
conducting an industrial survey. There is no feature of the
civic, social, commercial, or political life of the community
which might not have a bearing on industrial location and op-
eration. The main difficulty is not to find factors which ought
to be listed, but to select those factors the listing and observa-
tion of which will be of use. It perhaps needs no demonstra-
tion that an industrial survey may very quickly clutter itself
up with the mere volume of detail accumulated, so that it will
be of absolutely no use to anyone.
Two common errors in making such a survey may serve to
sum up the general principles underlying the process of selec-
tion of material factors in the situation. The first of these is
the error of duplicating work already done. For example, one
industrial survey which closed its eyes to the existence of a
very full housing survey already available in the community,
undertook to cover incompletely the ground which had
been thoroughly covered by the housing survey, instead of go-
ing through the housing survey and selecting and indexing
such material as would be useful. Another case may be cited
where several thousand dollars were spent in supplementing
material on the statistics of employment on tfre theory that the
state statistics on the subject were incomplete. After three
years' work material was collected W 7 hich was perhaps more
WHAT IS AN INDUSTRIAL SURVEY? 65
detailed than the state's figures, but a portion of what had been
collected was two or three years old and the value of the sta-
tistics was seriously impaired by the minuteness with which
the survey had been conducted. In their present form the sta-
tistics may be more valuable from a scientific point of view,
but they will probably be no more useful to the manufacturers
than are the state figures.
When large appropriations are not available, and when a
large staff cannot be used for conducting the survey within a
very short time, one of the most important steps is the determi-
nation of what material already exists concerning the more
conspicuous factors, and a careful indexing of the data which,
while they may have been collected from an entirely different'
point of view, may be extremely useful in specific cases.
A second common error is that of regarding the industrial
survey as being an end in itself. Its chief usefulness is in
making easy of access facts which will help the manufacturer
to judge intelligently the suitability of the community for his
purposes. A survey, therefore, is never an achievement; it is
always merely a tool.
It is even a question whether a separate survey from the
industrial point of view is what is wanted in most instances,
and not an index of the significant industrial factors brought
out in either a general civic survey, or the surveys covering
specific parts of the equipment and conditions of the commu-
nity.
With this point in mind it is evident that no satisfactory
general schedule of factors to be considered in an industrial
survey can be made. What would apply in one community
would not be pertinent in another, nor would the same lists be
equally valuable in the same community for two different in-
dustries at the same time.
The Purpose for which Factors are Listed
The second question is what is the use to be made of the
listed factors bearing on the industrial problems of the commu-
nity. For the sake of emphasis let us repeat the answer to this
which has already been given. An industrial survey is not
intended to take the place of the brains of a manufacturer. Its
task is to help him to ascertain some of the factors useful in
the process of reaching a decision whether to locate or to remain
in a community, or to modify his present equipment or methods.
60 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
As in the case of the factors to be considered so in the case of
the method of listing, no formula for a survey can be laid down.
In fact, in many instances, the most useful form of survey con-
ceivable is not strictly speaking a survey at all, but is rather,
as has already been intimated, a card index of material in
existence. But whether the survey takes this form or a more
elaborate one there are certain general features which may be
worth consideration.
In the first place, the index ought to be in such form that
the material is always in process of expansion and correction.
An industrial survey which is in final form is in most cases no
longer of any use. In the second place, one of the most con-
'spicuous features of the survey should be reference to compiled
sources and to sources in the form of well-informed men w T ho
may be expected to supply material and suggestions on the
factors under consideration. The third essential should be
availability of the material for use without the guidance or in-
terpretation of anyone, even the secretary himself.
Aside from these features there is little that is common in
the problems of compiling and indexing the material bearing
on the industrial problems of the community. How detailed the
material is to be will vary with almost every case which it is
planned to serve. What standards are to be set up for the in-
clusion and exclusion of material, also, will be matters impos-
sible of satisfactory solution according to any general formula.
The chief objection to any such statement of the case as
this is the rather sweeping one that by the application of such
standards one might as well have no separate industrial survey
at all. Except as a matter of convenience, and as a tool for the
saving of time and effort, this is entirely true ; but even after it
has been granted that the survey is merely a device for making
accessible material already in existence there is still a large
usefulness for it. Certainly in most cases there is a wide gap
between dependence on the general information of the secre-
tary, and having available an index of this kind for use in get-
ting facts about the industrial situation.
What are the Industrial Problems of the Community?
The third question is, what are the industrial problems
of the community. As has been intimated there probably is no
industrial problem absolutely separate from all the other prob-
WHAT IS AN INDUSTRIAL SURVEY? 67
lems of the community, but there certainly are questions which
arise, the bearing of which is mainly industrial.
For example, I have before me specimens of analyses of the
industrial and commercial resources of the communities pre-
pared for four different types of purpose: (1) An analysis of
u specific industry for the purpose of determining the facts con-
cerning- a restricted number of features of that one industry;
(2) A special survey of a certain portion of the resources of a
community for a specific purpose; (3) A general survey of the
community for the purpose of bringing out a specially selected
group of facts; (4) A general inventory for general reference.
The first of these an analysis of a specific industry for the
purpose of determining the facts concerning a restricted num-
ber of features of that one industry is the simplest and easi-
est sort of survey to conduct. The ends aimed at are specific
and the material to be collected is not so diffuse that it cannot
be readily handled. For example, in the city of Rochester, a
few years ago, a state committee met for the purpose of investi-
gating conditions in the factories in Rochester. The testimony
taken at this time was made the basis of sensational newspaper
articles concerning the length of hours and some features of
organization in the clothing factories of Rochester. The cham-
ber of commerce undertook to ascertain the actual facts of the
case. A committee was appointed for the purpose, and the
committee worked with diligence and with absolutely even
handed justice, and made a presentation of the situation which
corrected many of the misrepresentations in the newspaper
article, and for the first time made available the real facts of
the case.
Such a survey as this confined to a single industry, and
covering a concrete group of problems necessarily is much more
satisfactory and tangible in its results than a general survey
can be, but, of course, the number of surveys of this sort would
have to be multiplied almost indefinitely before they would be
of great value in any general examination of the industrial con-
ditions of the community.
The second type of survey a special survey of a certain
portion of the resources of a community for a specific purpose
is comparatively simple also, but it is very difficult to con-
duct such a survey and keep it on a thoroughly practical and
scientific basis. An example of a survey of this kind would be
68 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
the examination of the resources of a city for the purpose of
determining in a general way its adaptability to, say, an ex-
pansion of the steel rolling industry there. The general facts
of course may be ascertained without difficulty, but when it
comes to the real concrete factors in the situation one is con-
fronted with the difficulty of presenting the real inside infor-
mation, such as would be necessary from the standpoint of the
manufacturer's costs of operation. If, for instance, there should
be one or two successful steel mills in the city, none of them
would be willing to give up its inside figures for the encourage-
ment of the location of new industries. If, on the other hand,
there were no steel mills there, almost any figures would neces-
sarily be conjectural.
The third type of general survey for the purpose of bring-
ing out a specially selected group of facts is extremely useful
as an adjunct to social service or to civic investigations. A
good example of this was a survey made a few years ago in the
city of Cleveland which brought out certain facts about the in-
dustries of the city which had not been available before. Notable
among these was a collection of facts about gaps in the indus-
trial activities of the city. It was found, for example, that in
some instances the finished product of certain Cleveland estab-
lishments was the raw material for factories located elsewhere,
and that there were no factories of the second type in the city.
On the other hand, it was frequently found that Cleveland in-
dustries were going elsewhere for semi-manufactured materials
which apparently could be produced quite satisfactorily in
Cleveland.
The following quotation from the report of the committee
conducting this survey which, by the way, was not called a
survey but merely a report on progress in industrial develop-
ment will indicate something of Avhat the survey revealed :
Radiators :
Thousands are used in Cleveland and its immediate vicinity annually,
none are made here, and foundry iron goes to consumers here cheaper
than at the points where radiators are made.
Woolen fabric and wool yarn:
Cleveland is one of the greatest centers for the production of women's
clothing and knit goods : about $8,000,000 worth of woolen fabrics is used
by Cleveland manufacturers annually, of which only a small portion, in a
few grades, is woven here ; and no' yarn is produced here.
Machine tools :
Some are made in Cleveland, but many of the tools most generally used
WHAT IS AN INDUSTRIAL SURVEY? 69
in our scores of machine shops must be bought directly or indirectly from
outside producers.
Automobiles :
Cleveland is one of the largest makers of automobile parts, but exports
a large proportion of them to Michigan, where they are assembled into
the cheaper machines, turned out in large quantities, with acres of fac-
tories and thousands of mechanics. We produce high-grade cars, but
why not also the cheaper cars in larger volume, thereby swelling our own
industrial prosperity?
This survey became the starting point for a long series
of more detailed investigations by the chamber and led eventual-
ly to the formation of the Industrial Development Company
which has for its object assisting in the financing of new en-
terprises and the undertaking of what is referred to as a thor-
ough, exhaustive survey of Cleveland and adjacent territory to
secure complete analysis of every industry including full data
as to its sources of materials and its products.
The type of survey which thus fits into the existing studies
of conditions in the city, but undertakes to view them primarily
from the industrial point of view is in many respects the most
useful and suggestive type of all.
The fourth class of survey which has been referred to as an
inventory of general reference has already been discussed as
a convenient means to the end of working out the industrial
problems of a community. There are certain secretaries whose
grasp of the details of their own community is more useful for
practical purposes than any survey could be, but at the same
time there is very grave danger in the secretary's assumption
of familiarity with facts concerning which his real knowledge
is extremely limited and vague.
From what has been said it may be gathered that I have
some doubts about the value of a separate industrial survey to
be conducted by a commercial body duplicating the work of civic
or social surveys already in existence. On the other hand, I
am convinced that it is unfortunate for secretaries as a whole
to have at hand for general use no more really specific and re-
liable information about their city than is commonly available.
In every community there certainly ought to be somewhere,
either at the chamber of commerce or in some other place, a
collection and a carefully prepared index of such written or
other material as is available in the way of reliable facts about
the industrial and commercial equipment of the city. More-
over, even small organizations might well turn their attention
70 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
to the preservation and maintenance of what might be called a
current catalogue of some of the more obvious industrial and
commercial factors. For example, maps of the city showing
at a glance insurance districts, tax rates, passenger transporta-
tion facilities, available industrial locations and similar facts
ought to be a part of the equipment of each commercial organi-
zation office. The following list of some of the concrete types
of material collected for a survey conducted in Minneapolis
contains some suggestions which ought to be of value to any
secretary, and which are much more useful for practical pur-
poses than a great deal more detailed material hid away in a
file:
Compilation of lists and maps of available factory sites both improved
and unimproved, together with full description of the same with regard to size,
location, character of buildings, proximity to labor supply and transportation
facilities, insurance rates on stock and machinery, etc.
Preparation of more than one hundred maps, charts and tables showing
various phases of industrial development.
Analysis of industries to show which are declining, which are stationary
and which are advancing, together with the reasons therefore.
Preparation of maps showing localization of various classes of industries.
Preparation of maps and charts showing principal distributing centers
for local industries.
Analysis of trade tendencies in local territory to 'discover changes in
industrial relations by which local establishments may profit.
Back of these the amount of detail would depend on the
resources of the organization, but material of this kind ac-
curate enough for most cases can be obtained without great
cost, and in most instances, the collection of the really inti-
mate and detailed material can better be done by individuals
than by any organization undertaking to have a universal
knowledge on hand for everybody.
Factors In Securing Factories
By J. F. CARTER
The main factors of factory efficiency are labor, transpor-
tation, materials, investment, markets and location. While
some of these are primary essentials, others are only apparently
so.
Let us examine location as a factor. For instance, the
furniture factories are located in and around Grand Rapids,
while the mahogany and Circassian walnut are imported
through New Orleans and New York, and the red gum and
FACTORS IX SECURING FACTORIES. 71
<mk grow natively in the extreme south. Raw materials must
travel far out of the way to be manufactured in Grand Rapids
and shipped to the center of population. There is here an evi-
dence that the economy of location is not decisive. Hence, it
would seem that there is some other factor w r hich has a bearing.
Detroit is an automobile center; New Orleans is a burlap
bag center; eastern Massachusetts is a shoe center, and Grand
Rapids is a furniture center. A few years ago some men start-
ed a shoe factory in St. Louis, and another was started as soon
as the first one show^ed signs of success. Today St. Louis rivals
1'oston, and men have no fear of making shoes in St. Louis.
It has been but a few years since some brave fellows in a little
town in North Carolina invested their local money in a furni-
ture plant today High Point is the furniture center of the
southeast.
Within two years there have been many "Made at Home"
exhibits and expositions and campaigns held in the larger cities
of this country. The newspaper comments and publicity and
some of the letters of the commercial bodies in those cities cried
aloud against the shame of their people buying goods outside
of town when they were made in their own home city at the
lack of patriotism of the people of "our town" in purchasing
the goods made in a competitive city.
The Factor of Chief Importance
It would seem, really that after a study of the whole field,
after a few years 1 review of the situation, first studying the ele-
ments of economic location and comparing the conclusions with
the actual location of factories, manufacturing of almost any
article is successful in almost any part of the country.
The man is the real factor in successful manufacturing.
It is the human element that counts, and which is left out of
the calculations of commercial secretaries.
This does not argue that there is nothing to be gained from
the study of economics of location, nor that we should not try
to influence some of the furniture factories to leave Grand
Rapids by proving that the combination of the five great ele-
ments of economic location are more favorable to the furniture
manufacturer at New Orleans than at Grand Rapids; nor that
Kansas City should not try to lure the woolen mills of the east
by showing them that the combination of the five great elements
favors Kansas City as against any of the New r England loca-
72 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
tions. But, here it is clear, that when nothing is added to
these economic arguments by the cities which are so economi-
cally situated, factories are not seen moving to them in great
numbers, while factories of various kinds are moving to those
cities which are advertising themselves in a big way, and grant-
ing concessions to plants.
Little attention need be paid to some items : For instance,
as calculated against the total production of a factory, the
average percentage paid out in power is slightly more than two-
tenths of one percent ; power that includes cost of fuel, or cost
of production of power of any kind, or cost of renting power of
any kind. Taxes, even including the internal revenue charges,
amount to less than two-tenths of one percent.
Here and there we find a factory which uses large amounts
of power, and, in such cases, it might be well for the commer-
cial secretary to find ways and means of reducing the cost of
power, or of exhibiting to the prospective manufacturer what
low cost is to be found in his particular city. But, as a general
rule, it applies in far the greater number of cases, the cost of
power and taxation has a very small bearing on the total busi-
ness done. Many manufacturers may talk of taxation, but when
the tax bill is paid it figures as a very small part of the total
expense.
Going further through the census figures, we find that
salaries amount to 5.1 percent of the value of the product
turned out in the average factory, and that wages amount to
18.6 percent of the total.
Some Other Important Items
Then we approach the real crux of the situation the ma-
terials amount to 63.8 percent of the total manufactured prod-
uct, and by "materials" the census bureau has specifically
stated that it means the materials used in manufacture, plus
the mill supplies used by the factory, plus the container of the
product.
The "miscellaneous'' item forms 10.5 percent of the total
value of manufactured products; this miscellaneous item in-
cludes rent of offices and buildings, exclusive of factory, and in-
cludes rent of machinery, royalties, use of patents, insurance,
ordinary repairs of buildings and machinery, advertising, trav-
eling expenses and all other sundry expenses. This item also
includes the taxes and revenue charges.
FACTORS IN SECURING FACTORIES. 73
Now, there comes the question of transportation of the
manufactured goods to the market, and there are no figures
given on the question. It would help us a great deal were we
able to know this.
May I revert for a moment to the much-talked-of topics of
taxation and fuel, and call your attention to the fact that the
percentage paid out in salaries (without mention of wages)
is more than twelve times as great as the items of taxation and
fuel combined? Yet, commercial secretaries will use their
efforts in arguing taxation and fuel items, when the manufac-
turer himself can wipe out all the ground he gains by the mere
payment of a little salary to someone who might be useless to
the plant.
In discussing this item of fuel : Why is it that secretaries
will discuss the price of coal per ton? Coal is not valued by
the ton by a good manufacturer. What he is looking for is
coal with heat units in it, and the chances are that he pays
more when he buys a low-priced coal, than when he buys a
high-priced coal, for in the latter case he is getting a coal with
heat units which are available with the least destruction of
his boilers or grate bars, or waste of time to his firemen in
dumping ashes. Coal is good or bad or indifferent. It should
be analyzed, and each manufacturer should buy that coal which
gives him minimum-priced horsepower. He should figure his
coal by the horsepower hour, just as he buys his electricity from
a public utilities corporation by the kilowatt hour.
The Influence of Market Problems
The item of "market" is one of the important factors in
locating a factory, or a branch plant. "Market" certainly is
not composed of the population of the city or its state. "Mar-
ket" is all that territory which can be reached in competition
with any other center of manufacture of the same article. Com-
merce is the movement of things from the place where they are
abundant to the place where they are not. "Market," viewed
from the standpoint of an industrial location, is all that terri-
tory to which the manufacturer can go on an equality with his
competitor. "Market," to the largest extent, is bounded by the
line of demarkatioii of comparative freight or express rates,
the comparison being between the proposed location and some
competitor or several competitors. That is, "market" for agri-
cultural implements for a proposed factory at Houston, is pri-
74 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
marily that territory into which the Kansas City and Moline
manufacturers of implements can not go as against freight
rates applying out of Houston. In brief, any argument offered
by the industrial secretary as to markets, must be based very
largely upon freight rates applying on the particular com-
modity.
However, if it can be shown that the combination of cost
items are lower at Houston than at Kansas City or Moline, the
territory broadens slightly and goes beyond the freight rate
line of demarkation. This is drawing a very fine line on the
work of the industrial secretary, and we find very few of them
who come to a discussion of cost items with any degree of defi-
niteness or accuracy.
In thus attempting to define "market," I have assumed that
the factory shall make a piece of goods in which there is compe-
tition, such as cigars, candy, caskets, paint, gas engines, etc.
There are some commodities, of course, Avhich have little com-
petition and which travel far beyond any territory bounded by
freight rate lines.
One point I wish to drive hard upon is this : that "mar-
ket" is not present merely because a certain commodity is not
made in a city. For instance, there is no paper factory at El
Paso and this can never be taken as an argument that the
"market" at El Paso forms a reason for the location of a paper
plant.
The Matter of Money Outlay
One of the major elements in economic location is known
as investment or "Money Outlay." It is -my impression that
just here lies one of the chief factors in securing factories.
I am opposed to the bonus, unalterably opposed to it. "Money
outlay" includes the cost of the site, the improvement of that
site and its approach, the cost of building materials, the bank
credit facilities, the licenses, corporation laws and costs, ease of
obtaining additional subscriptions to stock, ease of selling
bonds or other securities, and like items. And, of these,
the factor which arises often is a combination of cost of site,
credit facilities and stock subscription. It is not the big manu-
facturer with plenty of capital who is seen before our commit-
tees in an effort to locate it is, rather, the small man who has
worked himself up from a degree above zero and who is in search
of help after proving to himself that he is deserving of it. He
FACTORS IN SECURING FACTORIES. 75
wishes to have more money behind him, wishes to be given a
strong push along the highway which he has been following,
and he seeks that place where the people are willing to give
him the necessary aid. We speak now, of course, of the legiti-
mate, honest manufacturer.
This does not rise out of an attempt on the part of run-down
plants, or poorly-operated plants, or poorly-managed plants to
get enough money from someone to head off its creditors for a
period. There comes a demand for local investment from some
of the very best managed plants plants which are perfectly
solvent arid which have, for quite a time, been paying good divi-
dends.
It is a very easy matter, however, to be tricked, and it is
also a very easy matter for a commercial secretary to criticize
others for not putting in their money to help the city gain new
enterprises. The average man seeking factories for his city has
probably not lost a large proportion of his own money by ven-
turing in other people's enterprises, else he would not be so
prone to find fault with his own townspeople for being slow in
making investments in divers plants Avhich he may have inter-
ested in locating.
There are several ways of raising money for the prospec-
tive incoming factory. One is by direct solicitation of stock
subscriptions among the townspeople or members of the com-
mercial organization for each separate plant; another is by
the raising of a fund which shall be used in making such in-
vestments; a third is by the adoption of a guarantee plan for
backing the credit of the manufacturer ; and another is the sub-
division plan. It may Avell eliminate that plan which demands
that the secretary go about the city in an effort to interest a
dozen individuals in an enterprise getting one located in that
way, and then proceeding on the same line for the second.
This is a very Aveak plan, just as is that one by which a meet-
ing of citizens is called and voluntary subscriptions to stock
are asked. It works once or twice and then fails. The sub-
scriptions are made on a basis of patriotism and not on a basis
of investment.
The Attitude of the Banks.
The guarantee plan, by which the manufacturer borrows
money at a bank and has a special list of subscribers standing
back of his note, does not appear to be a good one. Cities that
76 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
have tried it will not employ the guaranty plan again. Boston
is a very fine evidence of this. Boston is willing to state that
the guaranty plan was a failure in that city. It does not af-
ford an opportunity for anyone but the manufacturer and the
banker to profit. The bank makes its interest on the loan and
is secured by having prominent men of the community endorse
the paper ; the manufacturer is given the chance to make money
manufacturing or to experiment on other people's money, him-
self having whatever chances there are to win, while, if he
loses, the citizens of the community are given the bag to hold.
A Fund for Industrial Development
Then there is the fund of cash for the purpose of investing
in securities of a factory. A fund of $400,000 is raised by popu-
lar subscription, and a call for the payment of ten percent in
cash is made. The ten percent is placed in bank. We now have
a factory approach us. It looks good; we investigate; it still
looks good, and we have the committee make an investigation ;
it continues to look good, and the investment is made. The
money is either borrowed from the bank, putting up the cash
payment as collateral by promising to leave it on deposit, or the
cash fund itself is used and a second call for ten percent is
made for use in the next factory. So on we proceed until the
entire fund is exhausted. What is the result? Some of those
plants will fail, others succeed, and a third group will hold their
own, showing neither progress nor retrogression. The invest-
ments, as investments, will go the way of that sort the divi-
dends from the paying plants will not take care of the losses
of those which fail to pay. Of course, it must be understood
that we are discussing this entirely from the standpoint of in-
vestment forgetting the good which the plants do for the city
by their employment of labor.
The Industrial Sub-division
There have been several industrial subdivisions in towns
and cities of this country, some operated as private enterprises
and others operated by commercial bodies without profit. Such
industrial subdivisions as a rule have been successful. The
reason is that investment is obtained for a group of plants
without asking the townspeople to invest directly in the stock
of the factory and thus have a reasonable chance of losing;
that the townspeople invest in a piece of land, by the growth
FACTORS IN SECURING FACTORIES. 77
of the town in a natural manner and by the forced growth of
the particular section by the location of factories, they have a
much better, almost certain, chance to realize their investment,
with the additional chance of profit on the land adjacent to the
factories.
It becomes necessary, of course, for the industrial secre-
tary to work out a plan of industrial subdivision which will
contain the greatest number of advantages for the various fac-
tories, such as street car transportation for labor, several spur
tracks from different railroads, the installation of water, gas,
electricity, telephone service and sewerage. An active indus-
trial secretary could build a model industrial center if he so
desired, thus giving advertising to his city which is of consider-
able value beyond the mere location of the plants.
Since the investment of money or the granting of conces-
sions has brought about such plans as the guaranty, the ex-
emption from taxation, free sites, and investment companies,
all of which have had serious disadvantages and drawbacks,
the industrial subdivision, operated without profits to any pri-
vate person, is the method which will get the greatest support
from townspeople and which will solve the question of invest-
ment and granting of concessions to plants.
The industrial secretary should have Ms own survey in
hand, and should know more especially the class of factories
which would have the least chance at success and those which
would have the best. Among the leading factors in securing
factories advertising is first, and the second factor is the ease
of obtaining help for the honest manufacturer who is solvent
and can show that he will succeed with more capital behind
him.
The five great elements of economic location are primarily
those which a manufacturer should study closely before trying
to change, but the two mentioned are those which an industrial
secretary should study before he will be successful in locating
plants. To some cities factories have a tendency to drift to
others they must be attracted.
Industrial Survey of the City
What it Involves, and the Results to be Expected
By EMMETT HAY NAYLOR
The preparation of the municipality for industries involves
making a complete industrial survey. This should be done by
classifying all the present industries of the city as to their
products, volume of business and financial standing. All
freight rates, shipping charges (by water or rail), should be
analyzed. The housing conditions of the employees should be
investigated. When all these facts are gathered together, then
a careful study should be made of the situation with the knowl-
edge at hand. If there is any industry already in the city
which needs financial aid or proper management or other need-
ful direction, it should be assisted. By all means, the in-
dustries already located in the city should be assisted first,
before any new ones are sought. If the freight rates are not
satisfactory, they should be adjusted. If the housing condi-
tions and home advantages are not desirable, they should like-
wise be rectified. In this analysis should be determined the
weak spots in the industrial life, and they should be strength-
ened.
Then the question will arise, "What does the city want as
regards new industries?'' It is never safe for any city to have
one product. The industries of the municipality should be di-
versified so that in time of depression of one article, the others
will maintain an equality of business activity.
Another question that should arise is : "What industries
is the city most fitted to take care of as regards the locality of
the city?" A city should guarantee high profits to the manu-
facturer by natural advantages a net profit greater than would
be possible in any other city for this particular product.
Also, in considering the industrial situation, and in bring-
ing new industries to the city, labor conditions and the possi-
bilities of strikes should be in every instance regarded.
When we consider that the average gain from year to year
in urban population for the United States was 35 per cent and
that the average gain in manufacturing for the United States
was 81 per cent, it is plainly manifest that the factories supply
prosperity to the cities. In the New England district, we find
the payroll and net factory cash spent through the regular
78
INDUSTRIAL SURVEY OF THE CITY. 79
channels of stores, banks, realties, etc., amounts to about f>1200
for every family, city and country, while in the South, West,
Southeast and Southwest, it reaches about f 150 per family. If
the same proportionate factory business be located in a city of
100,000, it would mean an increase of some $20,000,000 spent
yearly in that city, or some $1000 more for every family.
Now, when the city has been placed in a position to invite
new industries to it, and has no needful industries of its own,
and it has been determined what class and kind of new indus-
tries are desired, we go to our next step.
Solicitation of New Industries
The solicitation of new industries may be done in two
ways : the indirect or receptive manner, and the direct or aggres-
sive manner.
The indirect or receptive manner, is by advertising. Mu-
nicipal advertising for industries does pay for the commercial
organization that has unlimited funds to spend in such, but for
a commercial organization to have only a small campaign of
advertising, with little or no money to devote to it, is a loss.
The advertising of the municipality for industrial purposes
will bring in a great many replies which will be chiefly chaff,
but among them there may be one or two kernels of pure wheat.
The commercial organization, however, always should have on
hand all up-to-date information as regards wages of labor,
freight rates by rail or water, power rates, light rates, rentals
for workmen, cost of fuel, available raw materials, etc. Such
literature as is sometimes foisted upon the public by munici-
palities, showing delightful scenes and written in fine descrip-
tive power, makes pleasant reading, but the average industry
wants to know definite and vital facts. Fine illustrated book-
lets showing the city as a good place to live in, and to do busi-
ness in, are desirable, but facts and figures of a business nature
are more essential. A card system should be established by the
commercial organization by which all available factory sites,
buildings for rent, etc., should be kept up-to-date and on hand
for immediate and ready replies. On this card should be the
following information : Size of lot, location, size and character
of building, space available, light, for heavy manufacturing, for
light manufacturing, kind of business desired, elevators, power,
railroad facilities, sale price, rental and the name of owner and
agent.
80 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
The industry applying for information and assistance from
the commercial organization should be told exactly the position
of that commercial organization as regards new industries, so
that there may be no misunderstandings and no waste move-
ments in going after something which in the end will mean noth-
ing. The assistance of the railroads should be sought in fur-
nishing information to commercial organizations, as it is as
much their business as anyone's to bring new industries into
the city.
The direct or aggressive method, is to concentrate on the
particular kind of industry that is desired for the city. It is bet-
ter to go after one or two than to give a great broadside by a
whirlwind advertising campaign and be indifferently effective.
Through the press clipping bureaus and by other means, a sec-
retary can keep constantly in mind labor conditions in other
municipalities, where fires, etc., have taken place, and if he sees
there an industry which he thinks should be better located in
his city, he can then go to them with a proposition at the time
of their trouble, and they may consider a change. In this he
has to be the diplomat, in becoming acquainted with the offi-
cials of the company and suggesting to them the possibilities of
a change. It is never wise to talk to an old and established in-
dustry about moving their entire plant to another city. It is
better to talk to them about establishing a branch plant in
your city and then eventually you may get the entire industry.
If, however, the secretary cannot make a personal visit, he can
at least write a letter which is full of personality and sincerity,
but which contains convincing facts. If there is one "DON'T"
that I would suggest, it would be DON'T USE CIRCULARS.
They are a waste and a quasi insult. If the industry is worth
going after, it is worth at least spending two cents on in a per-
sonal letter.
Investigation of New Industries
In the investigation of the new industry, judgment and
analytical work must be used. This is the part of the indus-
trial committee of the commercial organization. The thing to
beware of in the neAV industry is the bonus-hunting, the fly-by-
night concern which wishes to come to your city, raise money,
do manufacturing there for a while, and then move on to the
next municipality. The woods are full of tramp industries the
same as they are full of tramp individuals looking for a hand-
INDUSTRIAL SURVEY OF THE CITY. 81
out. And if they come to your city and locate and then fail,
they leave industrial scars which are hard to eradicate. No city
is desirous of the reputation of being the "home of industrial
failures."
And yet, one must not be too independent as regards the
consideration of new industries. All merit some thought. For
instance, a man once came to a city in New England with a new
kind of biscuit. He invited some of the so-called progressive
citizens to his room in the hotel and there demonstrated to them
his proposition. He squeezed some dough through a sieve, made
it into a cake, baked it in a charcoal oven, and then served it to
them with sugar and cream. In a self-complacent manner they
informed him that it might be all right for invalids, but that
the average person would not eat that baled hay. He was a
man without money, but he had a good product. Somebody
with a vision saw it, and he is now manufacturing shredded
w r heat biscuit at Niagara Falls, and you all know the result.
In the city of Springfield, Massachusetts, a world cham-
pion bicycle rider, suggested the possibility of having bicycles
run by motor, and was called a day dreamer. But at last he
interested some parties, and now he has one of the largest in-
dustries in the country. These two examples show that no
matter what the man's idea is, there doubtless may be some
practical, saleable value in it, for you never can tell what the
public will buy. And yet, on the other hand, you have to w r atch
out for the visionary patent!} older, who has an article which
never could sell, but who comes to you and wants to organize
a company and himself with no business ability at all, to be-
come manager of it. I would suggest that the average new in-
dustry be tested by the following questions :
1. Is the article which they manufacture useful? Is there a demand for
it?
2. Has the company proper and efficient officers?
3. Is the company capitalized sufficiently to carry on the business in a
satisfactory manner?
4. Has it a clear and definite business policy?
5. Does it strive for a high perfection in manufactured product?
6. Is its business and manufacturing organization satisfactory, and has
it a complete system of accounting?
These facts should all be procured, and, furthermore, a
complete report from Brad street and Dun should be had as to
the business and as to the integrity of the officers. The com-
pany should also be asked to place in the hands of the commit-
82 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
tee a certified auditor's report of its accounts and a certified
appraiser's report of its machinery and other material assets.
The question should also be carefully considered as to ex-
actly why this industry wants to come to your city. Of course,
if you are soliciting the industry, the question does not arise,
but if the industry comes to } r ou, there must be some reason
for it, and there's many a chance for an ulterior purpose to
creep in here. If the industry is established in the city, all of
these reports and facts should be kept carefully on hand by the
secretary for reference and the progress of the industry for two
or three years recorded.
With the approval of the new industry, we come to our
fourth and last step, the
Location of New Industries
In the first place, no commercial organization can consist-
ently consider itself a stock promoting organization. It may
be able to promote nine industries and have them successful,
but the tenth industry might fail and thus spell dissatisfaction
and ultimate disorganization to the commercial body. All that
the commercial organization can do in this regard is to endorse
an industry highly, and say to its members "We have investi-
gated this industry and have found it to be desirable for the
city.'' But, there are four definite business methods by which
a commerce body may locate new industries, and they are by
forming independent companies working under the advisement
of the board of directors' of the commercial organization. These
four methods are :
1. The Industrial Holding Company Plan.
2. The Industrial Loan Plan.
3. The Real Estate Development Plan.
4. The Nursery Plan.
The Industrial Holding Company Plan is brought about by
organizing a holding company of certain citizens of the commu-
nity who will use the resources of the company for the purpose
of stimulating old and new industries in the community. The
company does not give bonuses, but properly invests its re-
sources. The company is organized and incorporated for the
benefit of its stock holders and for the promotion of the pros-
perity of the community. All the stock is subscribed by the
citizens of the municipality. The capital of this company should
INDUSTRIAL SURVEY OF THE CITY. 83
be large enough to permit the compan}' to do comprehensive
work. Under the general corporation laws, when one-half of
the stock is subscribed the company may do business. The
company can be formed in the city by either a general canvass,
by a mass meeting, or in any manner that seems best suited
to the temperament of the citizens.
Now, when some new industry has been investigated and
found desirable, it is brought to the city, and it is necessary,
let us say, to have $50,000 additional capital. The directors of
the industrial holding company are thoroughly satisfied that
the new industry is a good investment; they call upon all the
stockholders pro rata to buy stock to the aggregate sum of
$50,000 and with the understanding that the industrial hold-
ing company shall have representation on the governing board
of the new industry. In this manner, $50,000 is invested, not
given, to the new industry. The dividends on the $50,000 are
paid to the treasurer of the industrial holding company and
are pro rated to the individual stockholders of the industrial
holding company after paying any incidental expenses for the
operation of the said industrial holding company. In organ-
izing the company and in securing stock, it is well to bear in
mind that no subscription shall be called for until the new
industry is endorsed by the directors of the industrial holding
company ; that not more than a certain percentage of the capi-
tal stock shall be called for within a certain period of time;
and that no subscription shall be in force until at least one-
half of the capital stock of the industrial holding company has
been subscribed. The industrial holding company should be
empowered to purchase bonds from any incoming industry,
which it endorses, or to furnish funds on long time loans, to
purchase securities, and to do everything necessary to the loca-
tion, establishment, maintenance and operation of the indus-
trial enterprise. The industrial holding company can, if it
wishes, organize its own industries and operate them with its
own capital- The secretary of the commercial organization
should be secretary of the industrial holding company.
The industrial loan plan simply involves a credit or en-
dorsement of loans for industries which are in need of addi-
tional funds for the larger development of their business. This
is done by calling a mass meeting of the citizens or a commit-
tee meeting, as you will, and organizing a loan company. The
84 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
affairs of the company are in the hands of three or more trus-
tees whose dut} 7 it is to carefully investigate the matter, ascer-
tain the amount of loan desired, what security is offered, and
the general merit of the proposition. If the trustees approve,
they will go to the bank in which the loan is to be placed, make
out the notes or mortgages, have the proper officials represent-
ing the industry endorse the notes or sign the mortgages and
then sign the papers themselves as attorneys-in-fact for the
signers of the guarantee fund. The banks notify the trustees,
at the same time they notify the officials of the industry when
payments on notes or mortgages are due. In case of loss, the
banks notify the trustees, who in turn, call upon and collect
from each subscriber his share of the loss. The applicants are
often found among people outside of banking credit, but as the
risk is high, the loans are generally kept small.
The next plan is the real estate development plan. It pro-
vides that a group of citizens may get together and open up a
certain tract of land for development purposes, offering special
inducements to industries recommended by the industrial com-
mittee of the board of trade or chamber of commerce to locate
there. The plan secures an industrial fund for the city without
calling for outright subscriptions, but by giving real value for
any moneys secured. There is danger, however, under this
plan that the real estate developers, in their desire to make
money, will let any industry come into the city, and, therefore,
it should be understood that no industry will be allowed on the
tract which has not been thoroughly investigated and approved
by the industrial committee of the commercial organization.
The advantages of this plan are that it gives the municipality
an industrial fund in real property. It segregates the factory
district ,of the city; it stimulates the municipality to develop
along proper city planning lines as regards factories, and it
offers great possibilities as regards satisfactory housing condi-
tions and pleasant, healthful environment.
The last plan is the nursery plan. There are many indus-
tries which are too small to occupy large plants, but which will
eventually grow. These industries should all be housed in one
building known as the Industrial Building, and there allowed
to incubate. The building, of course, should be constructed with
jrood railroad facilities, proper lights, air, and modern manu-
facturing requirements and conveniences. A great many cities
INDUSTRIAL SURVEY OF THE CITY. 83
have already constructed such buildings and find no difficulty
at all in renting space to small industries which are investi-
gated and found to have possibilities of future growth.
To summarize briefly then. The municipality must be
properly prepared by a survey, so as to have all conditions satis-
factory for procuring new industries. New industries must be
solicited by either the indirect method through advertising
or by the direct method personal and individual solicitation.
All industries should be carefully investigated by the industrial
committee, and if recommended, turned over to the industrial
holding company. They can then be properly financed and
located, but if there is no industrial holding company, they can
be provided for by the industrial loan plan, the real estate de-
velopment plan, or the nursery plan.
There is every reason to believe, however, that the indus-
trial holding company plan is the solution, since it is possible
for the company to lend credit to incoming industries by finan-
cing its loans in the company's own funds either through the
purchase of industrial bonds or making loans outright.
The industrial holding company plan is better than the
loan company plan because its subscribers invest and secure
dividends, whereas in the loan company plan, merely low in-
terest is obtained. The risk is equal in both plans. An indus-
trial holding company can also handle the real estate develop-
ment plan, can construct a building for infant industries and
can do all when once a new industry is found desirable for the
municipality.
The great purpose, or purposes, of the commercial organiza-
tion is to build up the industries of the city by the most economi-
cal, efficacious and business-like methods possible. And every
city, citizen and member will praise and support that organiza-
tion which has this one of several purposes and accomplishes
definite results.
Some may say that the commercial organizations should
build up their cities and let the industries come of themselves,
but I sincerely feel that definite action should take place in
procuring new industries and that when all is said and done,
the commercial organization exists, first and foremost, for the
building up and increasing of the industrial life of the city.
CHAPTER IV.
Agricultural Activities
Commercial Organizations and the Farming Element
By H. V. EVA
The functions of a commercial organization may be stated
in general as the promotion of the commercial, industrial and
civic welfare of the community it is organized to serve.
The question is, how far should agricultural development
enter into carrying out these functions? There can be but one
answer : First, all things come from the ground. There have been
no skeptics in the history of the world on the truism that man
must eat to live. A community also must eat to live, and the
community's food supply has an important bearing on develop-
ment.
The more immediate question today is how far should the
commercial organization enter into this work? Let me give you
two different viewpoints. One is expressed by the secretary of
one of the most efficient organizations in the country: "It
would indeed sound strange if we were to tell you that as an
organization we do not devote any time to the subject of agri-
cultural development, because all of our prosperity comes from
the ground ; but as a matter of fact we do not have a committee
on agriculture, and we have never felt the necessity of taking
an active interest in this subject, This perhaps needs an ex-
planation." The explanation is that he thinks the agricultural
college in his state is very satisfactorily doing the work of im-
proving agricultural conditions.
Another executive states that his organization was not
organized for agricultural development. It was organized for
the purpose of advertising the city, securing new industries,
conventions and advancing the interests of the city generally
so far as possible. However, in the conduct of a campaign it
learned the truth that a prosperous and progressive city must
be backed up by a prosperous and progressive farming region.
The result was enthusiastic and effective work in the field of
agricultural development.
COMMERCIAL ORGANIZATIONS AND THE FARMING ELEMENT. 87
In this day of cooperation and interdependence no man, no
business, no community may stand alone. We must look about
us, confer with and work with our neighbors that we may solve
the problems that touch us all. Therein lies the foundation for
commercial organization work and every movement in which
men work together.
The problems of the farmer and the city business men are
intimately related. The problems of the city and the county
surrounding it have a similar relation. The commercial organi-
zation that endeavors to confine itself to the problems that can
be seen from its office windows is, in my judgment, making a
serious mistake.
Among the factors entering into industrial development
is the cost of living. In the family of the \vage earner food
takes a greater percentage of the family income than it does in
the family of the average salaried man or business man. Food
costs have a greater bearing on the wages of mechanics than
on the salary of the executive. Accordingly, the man with capi-
tal to invest considers the food supply and its effect on wage
when considering a location for his factory.
Every city that pretends to be a distributing center must
have a market. A city is large and important in proportion
to the size and importance of its distribution area. Within the
distribution area of a large city will be found smaller cities
of various grades of size and importance, each with its own
distribution area circles within a circle. Obviously, the pros-
perity of the people and the towns within its distribution area
is of vital importance to every city. If its own food supply is
not involved if there is plenty of production to supply it with-
out expensive transportation, it still may turn its attention to
production for other markets, and the serving of those markets
so as to bring the greatest prosperity to the producers.
How should the commercial organization show its interest?
I am going to quote here the experience and accomplishments
of one organization. In this particular city some twelve years
ago a commercial club was organized. At that time everyone
believed that the city was surrounded by barren waste. Through
the whole upper part of the state the lumberman had cut his
swath, leaving millions of acres of pine stumps, trees he scorned,
tangled brush and branches. Underneath was a soil rich in
agricultural resources, but few r would believe it.
88 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
For several years the commercial club talked agriculture.
It called upon the world to take notice of the rich surroundings
and obtained no response. Then they started out to prove their
statements. They engaged a practical, scientific farmer and
made him agricultural superintendent. He got out among the
few farmers. He made displays at county fairs and land shows.
He conducted experiments. He interested the state college of
agriculture and the county. It gradually climbed in the esti-
mation of those who had been skeptics. Today its position is
assured. They did not stop when they had proved their state-
ments, but went to the state legislature and obtained an appro-
priation for a state demonstration school. They went to the
legislature again and obtained the passage of a bill empower-
ing counties to make appropriations for county agents, and ap-
propriating an amount from which the state would make similar
appropriations when the counties had qualified. The result is
that this state now has 35 county agents in the field.
A commercial organization should most emphatically take
an interest in agricultural development in the country around
it. The degree of activity should be based upon local condi-
tions. Study your county. If the actual work of instruction
is being done by the state agricultural college or some other
agency, get into touch with it and see if there is not something
you can do to help. Your ability to deal with problems of road
building, the straightening out of marketing tangles and the
extension of farm credits is far ahead of the ability of any mere
educational agency. Whether your problem is one of settle-
ment, increased production, conservation or marketing, you
need a scientific agriculturist to work among the farmers.
Agriculture and Commercial Organizations
*(EXTRACTS FROM A COMMITTEE REPORT)
It is a plain and self-evident fact that there are very fe\v
commercial organizations so situated that they cannot do great
good for their cities and communities by an effort to help solve
some of the many problems of the producers of farm products.
There are few states where the yearly value of farm products is
not greater than that of all its manufactured products, and
* Committee : W. E. Holmes, Chairman; Bruce Kennedy, H. V. Eva, L.
B. Dunham, Carl J. Baer.
AGRICULTURE AND COMMERCIAL ORGANIZATIONS. 89
when one considers that agriculture is only beginning to be rec-
ognized as a science, the modern farmer, both as a scientist and
business man, it is easy to see that the great majority of com-
mercial organizations can deal with no more vital subjects than
those presented to the individual, or organization, who will
study the needs of the contiguous rural communities.
Doubtless every commercial secretary in the country ap-
preciates, at least to some extent, the wonderful work that has
been and is being done by the United States Department of
Agriculture and by the agricultural colleges of the various
states; but the most casual investigation will show that in a
great majority of the communities where practical work is be-
ing done along the line of educating the rank and file of farm-
ers to the latest and most scientific ideas the initiative has
been taken by the business men of the towns, only a compara-
tively few of whom are land owners.
Especially to those of us who have spent some years on
the farm the reason is obvious; but the fact remains that the
average farmer resents the insinuation that the "town man"
can tell him anything about farming, forgetting that the busi-
ness world is filled with thousands of "farmer boys' 7 who have
had an opportunity to study and to observe the application of
modern ideas, men who can see where their fathers failed,
through lack of instruction, to practice methods that are today
revolutionizing agriculture and adding immeasurably to the
wealth of the country.
Movement for Diversified Farming
A movement in the South that is of significance, is the
campaigns of education for diversified farming supported and
fostered by commercial organizations.
For a great many years, the agricultural energies of this
section have been devoted to growing cotton almost exclusive-
ly. As a result of the one-crop system, the soils have deterio-
rated and it has become the custom to buy practically all food-
stuffs from other states. It is said that in Alabama, during the
year 1914, the people sent money to other states for foodstuffs
6,000,000 more than the total value of the state's cotton crop.
This money purchased corn, oats, wheat, hay, potatoes, and
other foods, despite the fact that it has been demonstrated that
90 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
these crops can be grown abundantly in Alabama and the other
states of the South.
The necessity for growing more foodstuffs was forced upon
the minds of the farmers by the sharp drop in the price of cot-
ton, following the outbreak of the Avar in Europe. The market
fell from around fourteen cents to six cents and farmers, who
had planned to buy foodstuffs from the West with cotton at
fourteen cents, had to suffer the consequences of their own
folly. They could not pay their debts and had no money to
buy corn, hay and potatoes, which they should have grown.
It is no light task to undertake changes in lifetime customs
of a people, but this work was shouldered by several commer-
cial organizations of the South and reports indicate surprising
results already. Whirlwind campaigns were made in Texas.
Arkansas and Alabama. Scores of speakers, men of expert
knowledge, were sent throughout these states. Their work was
given enthusiastic support by the newspapers and business men
and was followed by carefully prepared pamphlets and book-
lets treating of grain growing, cattle, hogs, sheep and chickens.
In many counties permanent organizations were perfected.
Another result of this campaign of education is shown in
the fact that packing houses, flour mills, and grain elevators
are being established at hundreds of commercial centers in the
South. All over the South farmers are organizing for coopera-
tion in growing and marketing grain, livestock and vegetables.
Commercial organizations have blazed the way for these new
conditions.
A distinct service has been performed by chambers of com-
merce in the way of developing and improving rural life and in
cultivating closer relations between the city man and his country
neighbor. Rural communities have been organized for social
development, excursions have been made into the country by
business men, farmers have been invited to join commercial
bodies, and rest rooms and market exchanges have been pro-
vided at commercial centers.
But the people of the east and the middle and central west
where land values are high, are also waking up to a realization
that the farmers must change their methods. A prominent
official of the United States Department of Agriculture recent-
ly said to a member of your committee :
"If the present high land values in many sections of the
I
AGRICULTURE AND COMMERCIAL ORGANIZATIONS. 91
country are to be maintained it will be only by the introduction
of improved methods of agriculture, and the tirst lesson to learn
is to make the farm fully support the family, after which the
farmer can begin to figure on profits. It is almost a crime for
any farmer to buy his ham and bacon, or potatoes and butter
in town, but thousands of them are doing it."
There certainly is food fdr reflection in the statement of
Bert Ball, secretary of Crop Improvement Committee, Chicago,
that in no community where an agricultural adviser is at work
was the initiative taken by the farmers ; it always has and prob-
ably always will remain with such organizations as we have
the honor to represent to lead in the campaign of education
which must precede the employment of such experts.
The Farm a Factory
There are so many phases and angles to the subject under
discussion that one hardly knows which is the most important
and interesting; but if one were to attempt to sum up briefly
the statement contained in the many replies received to the
questionaire sent by your committee to two hundred secre-
taries, in all parts of the country, it would probably be in these
words : "The commercial organization which does not concern
itself with local agricultural problems and conditions is asleep
at the switch."
"We consider every farm in our trade territory as a fac-
tory, producing materials absolutely indispensable to the life
of the human race," says one secretary. "It is a singularly
fortunate fact that the farmer produces no 'finished products,'
in other words, that with the exception of vegetables and fruits
(which the average farmer does not produce to sell) and of
eggs and hay, practically everything grown on the farm corn,
wheat, rye, barley, cotton, cane, hogs, cattle and sheep must
come to the city as 'raw materials,' to be prepared for consump-
tion, these various processes furnishing employment to an in-
finitely larger army of laborers than was required to produce
the raw materials."
A bulletin recently issued by one of the great harvester
manufacturing companies says:
The opportunity of the town lies in the country. The country can get
along without the town, but no town ever has been or ever will be 'perma-
nently prosperous where the land is poor. The town is built on farm prof-
its; on what farmers produce in excess of their home needs. Towns are the
92 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
natural evolution and outgrowth of necessity places to store and distribute
the world's surplus products through the channels of commerce. There is but
one road to permanent city building that road leads to the farm. Business
is so sympathetic, so sensitive to crop production, that the forecast of a poor
wheat or corn crop affects the markets of the world. When the harvest fields
smile, towns wax fat, and factories increase the pay roll. Corn, wheat, and
hay, beef, pork and poultry these are the soil builders, the home builders, the
builders of great cities.
The old fashioned chamber of commerce, with its cash bonuses and free
factory sites, is rapidly passing away. Instead of grabbing business from
each other, towns are beginning to look to the country, out into the fields of
growing corn and wheat and hay. Here lies the opportunity for the great
city, strange as it may <seem, is out in the country, hidden in the fertility of
the soil. A successful hay campaign will bring factories to the town. Hay
means beef and pork, which beckon the packing house and storage plant.
More corn means cereal mills, glucose factories, starch factories. Flour mills
locate in wheat-producing sections. Creameries follow the dairy cow, and the
truck patch calls for the canning factory.
Let us have more chambers of agriculture and commerce and fewer "com-
mercial clubs." Let us create wealth from the opportunities at home, and
not subtract it from other communities
"No country can be richer than its lands/' says another
secretary, who adds : "From the soil comes our food and cloth-
ing; all other human needs are subordinate to these. Food is
the chief material of life its production is the most important
occupation. In the hard school of experience we are slowly
learning the lesson of real business economy the greatest les-
son of all time that of feeding ourselves. Should commercial
organizations interest themselves in these problems? I, should
sav thev should."
The Commercial Organizations' Relations With
the "Back Country"
By HON. D. F. HOUSTON
It was my fortune not many months ago to have an op-
portunity to speak to the chamber of commerce of one of our
thriving cities. I had made some study of its problems and
progress. I had certain views as to its relations to the sur-
rounding country and the direction of progress. Before speak-
ing, I asked if some one would not tell me what made the city,
and the answer came "the back country" and this I knew
to be true. I then innocently observed that, of course, as
prudent business men, they had taken steps to inform them-
COMMERCIAL ORGANIZATIONS AND "BACK COUNTRY." 93
selves of the needs and problems of the back country, of the
best ways to foster a balanced agriculture and to promote its
well-being; that their bankers had intelligent views as to the
credits which should be extended and for what; that they had
taken pains to see that good roads radiated into the country
districts; and, that they had assisted the farmers in solving
their difficult problems of marketing and distribution. I then
asked if they would tell me what had been done; and a deep
and significant silence pervaded the room. This is one of many
experiences and could be duplicated in many parts of the Union.
That there should be a change, or that the change which is
beginning to appear should be rapidly made, you will agree.
What, then, is to be done? Obviously, first of all, a new
attitude must be assumed and a sense of responsibility, even
on the basis of enlightened selfishness, must develop. Business
men and. business organizations must join the other great ele-
ments in society and become effective students of agricultural
problems and efficient instruments in bettering rural life. The
problems are exceedingly numerous and sufficiently difficult to
tax the best thought of the best men of the Nation.
With all the progress made and the progress has been
rapid and vast there continue to be many interesting and
urgent problems of production. There is much to be done for
soil improvement, for plant and animal breeding, for the eradi-
cation of diseases, for improvement of cultural methods, for
better farm management, and for better utilization of labor
throughout the year. The Nation is losing hundreds of millions
of dollars through diseases which can be controlled or eradi-
cated, and under better conditions the meat supply of the Na-
tion can be greatly increased with reasonable profits to the pro-
ducers and distributors. That this is essential may be sharply
indicated by the mere statement that while in the last fifteen
years we have gained 24,000,000 of people, the number of our
beef animals has decreased 6,000,000, sheep 10,000,000, and
hogs have increased only 11,000,000.
Not less important, and even more urgent, are problems of
distribution. It is one thing to produce commodities and an-
other thing to distribute them economically and profitably.
There can be little doubt that in this phase of his enterprise
the farmer has been at a marked disadvantage. He has been
without banking machinery to serve his particular needs as
94 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
the merchant and manufacturer are served ; without established
standards for staples for use in market transactions and with-
out systematic knowledge of the markets themselves; without
ability to command the requisite transportation facilities ; and
without the requisite contact with the machinery of distribu-
tion. No one can estimate the losses arising because of these
defects. Many drawbacks exist because the farmers' opera-
tions, as a rule, are on a small scale. The average cultivated
farm in the Nation is 75 acres, and in some sections only 35
acres. This points to one conclusion, that cooperation for not
only marketing, but also for production, is essential in the in-
terest of the producer as well as of the consumer.
But even if each farmer were an efficient producer and
community arrangements were developed for efficient market-
ing, the problems would not have been solved. There is much
that individuals and groups of individuals may do in every
community. In fact, they must always do the larger part.
Self-help will be the rule in the future as it has been in the
past. Nevertheless, there are certain undesirable and unjust
conditions which no amount of private effort can overcome.
Such conditions legislation alone can correct.
In the field of production, national and state agencies for
a number of years have been rendering effective service, but,
to the second half of agriculture involved in distribution, no
systematic attention had been given or provision made up to
two and a half or three years ago. Even the economists of
the Nation had shown a singular indifference concerning prob-
lems in this field. They had been busily studying the econom-
ics of industry, banking, transportation, public debts, inter-
national payments, corporation finance, economic theory, and
the economic systems of the medieval and ancient world, but
a mere handful had shown any appreciation of the difficulties
which vexed the six million farmers of the Nation in spite of
their knowledge of their strivings against them. In the minds
even of the few there were grave doubts as to the lines that in-
quiries should follow and as to the possibility of securing re-
sults within a reasonable time.
Some Recent Federal Legislation
But things have moved rapidty. An office of markets to
make investigations in all directions was organized in 1913,
COMMERCIAL ORGANIZATIONS AND "BACK COUNTRY." 05
was rapidly extended, and today possesses a large trained per-
sonnel with a budget of approximately a million dollars. It
has accumulated a great mass of valuable information, and has
extended aid to farmers and communities in many directions
and particularly in the field of the marketing of perishables
through a market news service. Certain of the investigations
of the office will require time. Many facts must be secured and
conclusions reached before effective action can be taken. But
certain things needed to be done. It was not necessary to await
a long course of inquiry to begin doing them. The present
generation needed service. A program was marked out and
has been completed, in large measure, by the enactment of
singularly carefully framed legislation. The national banking
law was so amended as to permit banks to lend money within
safe limits on farm mortgages and to recognize the peculiar
needs of the farmer by giving his paper a maturity period of
six months. The Federal Farm Loan Act was passed, creating
a banking system to reach intimately into the rural districts,
to operate on terms suited to the farmer's needs under sympa-
thetic management, to introduce business methods into farm
finance, to systematize and to reduce the cost of handling of
farm loans, to place upon the market mortgages which will be
safe investments for private funds, to attract into agricultural
operations a fair share of the capital of the Nation, and to lead
to a reduction in interest rates. Then there were enacted the
Cotton Futures Act, providing standards for cotton, for the
supervision of the operations of the exchanges, and for placing
the trading in cotton on a sounder basis ; the Grain Standards
Act, to establish standards for grain, to remedy certain in-
justices and undesirable practices ; and the \Yareliouse Act,
providing for licensing bonded warehouses and making pos-
sible an easily negotiable warehouse receipt, the better stor-
age of farm products and the more orderly distribution of
farm products. Not less important for farm operations is the
Federal Aid Road Act, excellently conceived to safeguard the
expenditure of $100,000,000 arising under the act over the five-
year period, and certain to secure better results from the
$280,000,000 or the equivalent now annually expended in the
Nation for good roads.
Preceding these measures was the Agricultural Extension
Act, one of the most significant educational measures ever
96 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
adopted by any government. Its terms you are familiar with.
Like the road act, it provides for a very significant thing, for
cooperation between expert state and federal agencies. It
undertakes to bring home to the people the best scientific and
practical knowledge bearing on production and distribution.
It provides for the most effective way of disseminating knowl-
edge, the old way, through personal contact. It will reach its
full development in 1922-23, when there will be expended under
its term from state and federal funds alone f 8,680,000 in the
direct education of the farmer and his family, and probably
from other federal and state community funds from three to
four millions more. With increased local support this will
permit the placing in each of the 2,850 rural counties of the
Nation two county agents, in most cases a man and a woman,
with the assistance of district supervisors, all working with
the aid and direction of the great forces of the land grant col-
leges and the Department of Agriculture.
What Organized Work Involves
I have indicated these problems, this legislation, and this
machinery for the very simple reason that if you undertake to
cooperate in agriculture, you must know what you are coop-
erating in and for, the conditions under which work must be
done, the machinery through which it must be accomplished,
and to suggest to you, and through you to business men, that
these things must be assiduously studied if efforts are to be
effective. Obviously, you must know the problems and the
forces if you are to work intelligently. One of the great prob-
lems confronting us is how to educate the business man and
secure his effective participation. The department and the
land grant colleges are frequently embarrassed by ill consid-
ered and unwise proposals from individuals and business or-
ganizations ; and not infrequently friction and ill-feeling is en-
gendered. The business man is occupied with his immediate
concern and no effective plan has been devised for reaching
him. The metropolitan press has not yet fully conceived the
part it might play in this great field. Agricultural activities
are important but furnish little of the stuff commonly regard-
ed as news, and it is seldom that you find on staffs of city
papers men either interested in these matters or possessed of
the requisite training to discuss them. Is there not suggested
COMMERCIAL ORGANIZATIONS AND "BACK COUNTRY." 97
here a high opportunity for the useful direction of your ef-
forts and influence? It is especially essential that the busi-
ness world should have at least a sympathetic appreciation
of the difficulties under which the farmers of the Nation labor
and a basis fo'r forming an intelligent judgment on construc-
tive and remedial economic and legislative proposals. One of
the discouraging things is the resistance by many business in-
terests, based clearly on ignorance, to greatly needed and sound
legislation. Many of the discussions in the metropolitan press
and in the trade journals of such proposals are frequently, to
say the least, not creditable to them or helpful to their read-
ers. I might refer, for instance, to current discussion of the
Farm Loan Act and the Federal Aid Road Act. I have seen
very few adequate discussions of either of these measures in
the larger dailies, and have seen much that was misleading
and distorted. I need not suggest that if we are to have gov-
ernment by public opinion, facts must be presented, be fairly
interpreted and correct conclusions courageously faced, no
matter where they may lead or what prejudices they may run
across.
What Commercial Organizations Can Do
Looking at the matter more narrowly, there are many
things that commercial organizations arid business men may
well consider. Each urban community might well, in coop-
eration with leaders in the surrounding districts, undertake a
careful survey for the purposes of better production and better
organization. It may assist in the securing of a good county
agent where there is none and effectively cooperate with him.
Business men arid business organizations may help work out-
better wholesale and retail markets for farm products, farmers'
community buildings may be planned and established, and good
roads radiating into the back country may be promoted to
mutual advantage. Bankers in many parts of the country may
be brought to see that by their wise use of credit will be de-
termined the question whether or not the rural districts shall
have a well-balanced, prosperous agriculture. Not a few of
them are learning the lesson, and in some states the banking
associations have intelligently and effectively organized state
committees, composed of a member from each county, for the
betterment of rural life. A peculiar opportunity is afforded
for the sympathetic and constructive assistance of the banker
98 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
and the business man in connection with the inauguration of
the Farm Loan Act and the formation of local associations, and
in the furtherance of cooperation among farmers for the bet-
terment of production and marketing.
Another thing you in particular can do. Lack of stability
and uniformity in agricultural conditions is one of the explana-
tions not only of unsatisfactory financial arrangements but
also of inadequate marketing facilities. Even after we have
done the best we can for marketing and finance, there will be
difficulties growing out of rapid agricultural changes, of shift-
ing of population, in short, out of the continued pioneering of
the Nation. Certain results expected from financial or mar-
keting studies and legislation can be secured only with a stable
and balanced agriculture. Some of the most pathetic failures
arise in regions where farmers have settled under alluring in-
ducements. Not infrequently they find novel conditions and dif-
ficulties of production, but more frequently difficulties of mar-
keting through lack of planning or through remoteness from
markets. Much of the responsibility for such misfortune lies
at the door of the real estate agent and of the town which is
overanxious to build itself up. Obviously, some sort of re-
sponsible oversight and direction would be desirable and help-
ful, and I can think of no agents better adapted to render as-
sistance in this direction than the membership of this body.
False advertising and lack of provision or of previous planning
is shortsighted in this field as in others, and in the long run
defeats the objects and ambitions of the advertisers.
CHAPTER V.
Traffic and Transportation Bureaus
By FRANK BARRY
Transportation is a vital factor in commerce and produc-
tion. This fact is now recognized by all commercial organiza-
tions of importance which conduct transportation bureaus in
connection with their activities.
Prior to 1887 the railroads of the country were operated
without governmental regulation. Rates charged were gener
ally based upon "what the traffic would bear and move." Rules
and regulations were dependent only upon the volition of the
carrier and the influence that the shipper could exert. As a
result, preferential rates and discriminations were rife.
The enactment of the law to regulate commerce, February
4, 1887, was intended to establish the right of the shipping
public to reasonable charges for transportation, equal rates
to all and adequate service by common carriers. For a brief
period beneficial effect resulted. Time and the courts, however,
modified the operation of the law and nullified the powers
that were supposed to have been vested in the Interstate Com-
merce Commission.
After persistent effort by organized shipping interests of
the country, continuing for about four years, the Interstate
Commerce Law was substantially amended on June 30, 1906,
and subsequently on June 18, 1910, so as to give the commis-
sion definite powers of regulation.
With this effective governmental regulation of common
carriers came a realization of the advantage, if not necessity,
of a traffic organization or bureau, as an integral part of the
commercial association, to guard the lawful rights and promote
the interests of the shipper.
Prior to 1006 but few business organizations conducted
traffic bureaus. Since that time there has been a large and
rapid increase in their number. Today practically every pro-
gressive commercial and manufacturing organization of im-
portance has its transportation department.
99
100 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
At first the railroads did not look with approval upon these
associations, deeming their existence and action an undue in-
terference with the business of the carriers. Gradually this
feeling has been overcome, until most railroads consider the
industrial traffic bureau a valuable assistant and auxiliary to
their work, affording cooperation in transportation matters
\vhich could not otherwise be obtained, and saving the rail-
roads a vast amount of labor and expense in furnishing neces-
sary information required by shippers.
The evolution of the traffic bureau has been gradual, and
accomplished upon lines adapted to the ideas and necessities
of many communities and individuals.
Business organizations in the larger communities have
generally provided strong, efficient traffic bureaus under the
management of capable men, who usually have had long ex-
perience in transportation. Cities of 200,000 or more popula-
tion, requiring extensive service, are able to afford the neces-
sary financial support for a strong traffic bureau, while cities
of smaller population have been obliged to "cut their garment
according to the cloth" and feel that they are not justified in
employing a high salaried manager with clerical assistance
necessary to afford comprehensive service.
The cost of maintenance of a traffic bureau in about 120
cities of the country having a population of 100,000 or more,
varies from about f 5,000 to $40,000 per annum, and averages
|10,000.
Owing to the varying conditions and the methods adopted
for maintenance of traffic bureaus, also the differences in na-
ture of the service required, it would be difficult to classify
or draw comparisons between the various associations operat-
ing In commercial and manufacturing centers.
In some of the larger cities, the traffic bureau is main-
tained entirely at the expense of the business association, and
all members are entitled to the entire service afforded by the
bureau. In others, the expense of maintenance is borne in
part by the members who most need the service, who pay for
its support annual dues of from $50 to $100 per year, or are
willing to pay a larger assessment, as a contribution, and the
deficit in cost of operation is made up by appropriation from
the parent organization.
In other communities the traffic bureau is made self-sus-
TRAFFIC AM) TRANSPORTATION BUREAUS. ' "101
taining, its expense being borne entirely by the "membership,
and its accounts being kept separate from those of the parent
organization.
There are almost as many different methods of financing
traffic bureaus as there are associations with which they are
connected.
The service afforded by traffic bureaus differs according to
the desires and needs of the community. This service may be
classified as individual in character, or for the benefit of the
member, and in general, affecting the interests of the commu-
nity.
It is customary for all freight bureaus to maintain a
tariff file, to afford service in the quotation of rates and routing
of shipments, tracing of delayed shipments, advice with regard
to claim matters, decisions of the Interstate Commerce Com-
mission, the state commission, decisions of the courts and ad-
vice regarding many questions that arise in traffic matters.
Switching rates and rules, electric line express and parcel post
rates, passenger service, rates and rules, steamship rates and
service, as well as export facilities, are also within the scope of
the traffic bureau's work.
Other traffic bureaus undertake to check and audit freight
bills, though this has been found impracticable in many in-
stances where attempted, owing to the volume of the service,
the expense of employment of necessary clerical force, and the
unprofitable results. Where this service is afforded there is
usually imposed an additional charge beyond membership dues,
based upon the fee of about two cents per expense bill checked,
or a commission of from 25 per cent to 50 per cent for the
amount of overcharge discovered and collected.
Some bureaus undertake to collect for members' claims 1 for
overcharge and loss and damage. Others act in such matters in
an advisory capacity.
Most traffic bureaus handle complaints, conduct or assist
in classification and rate adjustments in behalf of members, and
perform a very valuable and highly appreciated service in this
field. Tariff issues are carefully scrutinized and members kept
informed as to changes that may interest them.
Traffic bureaus in the larger communities perform a very
useful function in conducting cases affecting the interests of
the community before governmental agencies, the Interstate
102 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
Commerce Commission, the state commission, and local au-
thorities. They also strive to promote local transportation
facilities such as through merchandise car loading, the enlarge-
ment of local stations, the conduct of stations, teaming, electric
railway and motor truck service.
Many of the larger industrial concerns throughout the
country now conduct a traffic bureau in their own interest, and
while such concerns are frequently members' of the traffic
bureau attached to the local manufacturing or industrial as-
sociation, the details of necessary traffic service are attended
to by their own bureau.
Traffic bureaus and departments throughout the country
have generally become allied and cooperate with each other
through membership in the National Industrial Traffic League,
which, through its various committees, and united action in
transportation matters, has accomplished many benefits for the
shipping public.
Transportation Problems How Shall They Be
Dealt With?
By D. P. CHINDBLOM
The commercial organization that is ambitious to exert the
greatest possible influence in the community cannot afford to
delegate these important questions to another body or to com-
pete with it.
The commercial organization has in its membership, if it
is truly representative, the very men who must back the traffic
organization that is entitled to recognition as representative of
the community. This is an unnecessary duplication and often
results in a divided community. The commercial organization
should be able to deal with these questions in a manner that
will make the other agency unnecessary, avoid the duplication
and unify the community.
There is need for handling these questions in a construc-
tive way and on a sound economic basis 1 . Selfish aims and tem-
porary advantages bring no permanent result that is beneficial
to the community. This does not argue that an exclusive traffic
organization is not capable of such a view. A real commercial
TRANSPORTATION PROBLEMS. 103
organization, properly advised, will deal with every question in
t'hat manner.
The fact that so many other problems of the commercial
organization that arise cannot be properly handled without
proper information on transportation is another reason for
handling transportation questions within that body. We have
in mind the pertinent example of the location of new indus-
tries.
Finally, the reasons for a separate traffic organization are
really two : The failure of the commercial organization to take
up this work, or its failure to truly represent the community
and get its support. The latter situation is a real challenge to
the existence of the commercial organization.
Relation of the Traffic Department to the Organization
A discussion of how to deal with transportation problems
within the commercial organization would not be complete
without a consideration of the relation that the traffic depart-
ment should have to the entire organization. This question only
arises when there is such a separate department in charge of a
traffic manager, commissioner, etc., and merits careful atten-
tion.
On this question let us speak frankly in the interest of
the cooperation that must exist in order to get the best results.
The traffic manager who measures up to the requirements is
a man of special training and technical information gained
by years of experience and application to the study of these
questions. Naturally, the more qualified he is the more he is
certain to have very definite opinions on the problems that
come to him. The secretary, however, is the executive re-
sponsible for the general administration of the work of the
entire organization and supervision of every department.
What is often needed is mutual recognition of the qualifi-
cations and position occupied by the other. The traffic man-
ager can get much assistance in securing support for his sug-
gestions by keeping his secretary informed and by working
with him. At the same time the secretary is in a much better
position to successfully direct the work of the organization,
secure necessary data, and fortify himself in dealing with his
officers and membership by consulting with the traffic man-
ager. This proposition is workable.
104 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
Cooperation with the Carriers
Cooperation with the carriers brings up one of the impor-
tant and difficult questions for the organization. It is a mat-
ter of regret that there has been too little cooperation in the
past and too much antagonism. The fault has been a mutual
one. Shippers have not always been willing to admit when
they were wrong. On the other hand, the carriers have not been
as frank as they might have been.
The commercial organization should endeavor to secure an
increasing desire on the part of the carriers to inform the ship-
per and confer with him, and to develop a greater willingness
on the part of the shipper to be convinced that the carrier is
sometimes right.
It will always be a fact that the commercial organization
will be recognized as more definitely representing the shipper
than the carrier, because the carrier serving many communi-
ties cannot have that intimate interest in a particular commu-
nity that the shipper has. It is the duty of the commercial or-
ganization to see that this local interest of the shipper is exer-
cised in a fair and reasonable way.
When an agreement cannot be reached nothing has been
lost by frankness and discussion. If there is a willingness to
cooperate, conflicting views can be presented to the properly
authorized tribunal for decision in a much better spirit of honest
difference of opinion.
We are told by both shippers and carriers that nothing is
gained. The answer is that nothing is lost, and certainly noth-
ing is accomplished by refusing to cooperate.
What the carriers can accomplish by securing the coopera-
tion of shippers has been recently demonstrated in the matter
of car efficiency. Without tariff restrictions voluntarily a large
increase in the heavier loading of cars has been secured.
Appointment of the Transportation Committee
To properly deal with transportation problems the appoint-
ment of the transportation or traffic committee is an important
matter. The members ought to be business men big enough to
see the problems of the carrier as well as those of the shipper
men not afraid to acknowledge when the carrier is right, and
with courage to insist upon a solution of their problems when
they are right.
TRANSPORTATION PROBLEMS. 105,
It is not necessary or helpful that representatives of the
transportation companies should serve on these committees. As
a practical matter, submitting any problem to a committee so
constituted means that the shipping members and the carrier
members will confer among themselves and the meetings of
the committee will only be joint conferences. We may as well
be frank about the situation, appoint the committee of repre-
sentatives of the shippers and then have all the joint confer-
encces desired, in fact, insist upon them.
Educational Work
The work of education is an important one and should in-
clude the general public, as well as the membership and those
employees of the membership who directly handle their trans-
portation matters. It is deemed helpful to accept every oppor-
tunity offered to reach the public outside of the organization
in an effort to get as wide as possible a dissemination of infor-
mation. The opportunities for doing this with transportation
problems are not as numerous as with more popular subjects,
nor do they lend themselves as well to this method of handling.
The real work is with the membership. It is important that
they be informed as to what your problems are and the solu-
.tion proposed. This is accomplished through your publica-
tions, circulars and the public meetings of your organization.
Particularly in public meetings there is room for more discus-
sion of transportation questions.
There is an important educational work to be done with
the transportation committee. The committee must be free
to reach its own conclusions if it is to have a real part in the
work. The members of the committee, however, can not be
expected to have sufficient information on these matters and it
is up to the traffic manager to keep the committee informed.
If this view is impressed upon the member of the staff handling
transportation problems it. Mil be helpful to successful work.
The committee should be given the necessary data and sugges-
tions, but the idea of education of the committee should not be
overlooked. There are many matters of local and general trans-
portation conditions that are not necessarily subjects for action
by the committee, but of which its members should be informed.
A phase of education through the commercial organization
in transportation matters that is more generally recognized is
106 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
the work done with traffic managers and shipping clerks of
individual firms in the community. In some organizations only
the shipping clerks are reached and in others both groups. In
the purely educational work of this character we are trying
out the experiment of including representatives of the carriers.
Questions are brought up for discussion and we have had the
benefit of getting the views of both. sides expressed to mutual
advantage.
The topics for discussion with the traffic managers are
necessarily different from those taken up with the shipping
clerks. The traffic managers discuss rate adjustments, han-
dling of tariff files, preparation of claims, rulings of the Inter-
state Commerce Commission, etc.
With the shipping clerks we have covered in detail such
questions as the proper description of commodities, packing,
marking and billing of shipments, principles of routing, etc.,
emphasizing the relation of these matters to proper, prompt
and safe delivery and the assessment of correct transportation
charges. Many shippers and their shipping clerks do not ap-
preciate the importance of these simple matters to a determina-
tion of the cost of shipping, nor the extent to which their ship-
ping methods set at naught their best advertising and salesman-
ship efforts.
This kind of education is important because it prevents
trouble and that should be the purpose of the commercial or-
ganization. Proper transportation facilities, rates and service
may be available and not intelligently used.
Examples of the points emphasized follow :
Describing a commodity by a trade name not contained in the freight
classification which may result in a higher rating. We had actual illustra-
tions of that being done.
Failure to fully describe the contents of a box by omitting some article
taking the highest rate of any in the box, thus violating the law and being
subject to penalty if it should be discovered.
Giving a description of an article without designating the state of manu-
facture, whether a crude or other than crude commodity where that infor-
mation is necessary, omitting to state whether liquid or dry, which some-
times makes a difference.
Using the term box. barrel, crate or bag indiscriminately.
Shipping articles as a complete article when they could be separated, or
shipping them set up when they could be knocked down, causing excess
charges.
Failing to remove old marks from boxes resulting in shipment being
forwarded to wrong destination.
TRANSPORTATION PROBLEMS. 107
Omitting the name of the county when there are two towns or cities of
the same name in the same state.
Routing in a manner that does not take advantage of the cheapest route.
The above illustrations indicate the variety and practical
nature of these questions. These are matters of everyday ship-
ping transactions. The number of claims, the overcharges, the
unnecessary correspondence, the friction caused, are not theo-
retical. They are actually happening right along. Where pos-
sible to do so we have given actual cases. We have also used
the stereopticon in showing the condition of packages due to
improper packing, use of old cases, or failure to properly close
a box. This kind of work is carried on by many organizations.
Specific Services Rendered
The specific services rendered in the regular work of the
department are simply stated but cover a verj 7 wide field. These
services divide themselves into two general classes, specific
service for the individual shipper and the service for the com-
munity as a whole.
Speaking of the former, first attention may be called to
the giving of specific information in answer to inquiries. These
questions include rates, routing, classification rules and descrip-
tions, what to do in some particular case of a shipment lost,
damaged or delayed, handling of claims, etc.
Answering these questions requires the maintenance of a
more or less extensive tariff file of the steam and electric rail-
roads, and of boat lines, decisions of the Interstate Commerce
Commission and state commission, rulings of courts and con-
siderable other similar information.
These questions are often complicated and difficult to
answer. They require for a proper answer not only informa-
tion but a large measure of diplomacy. Many of these questions
come to the traffic department of the commercial organization
as a last resort. The traffic manager must be fair and honest in
his judgment, ready to insist upon the rights of the shipper, but
willing to tell the shipper when he is in error. Many of these
difficulties arise from a failure on the part of the shipper to do
the right thing in the first place and lack of information as to
how to file his claim for any loss sustained.
Examples of how some of these matters must be handled
may be given as illustrative:
108 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
Shipper called up and complained because the carrier had requested copy
of the original invoice on a shipment where that was the proper evidence of
the value of the shipment. He wanted to know if he. was obliged to furnish
it. He was asked how else he proposed to satisfy the carrier of the amount
of the claim. He stated that the invoice did not show the amount he was
entitled to because he had given a lump sum in his claim, part of which was
an extra amount added for the trouble of preparing the claim. He was told
very promptly that this was not a legitimate item.
A shipper routed several cars of freight via a line over which a through
rate was in effect to destination. The cars were loaded on the line of another
carrier by the shipper who had a private sidetrack. It was intended that the
oar should move in switching service to the line over which routed. Shipper,
however, delivered the bill of lading to the switching line without any further
directions. That line, therefore, took a haul to a junction point with the line
specified in the routing. The through rate did not apply that way. However,
there was a lower combination via another junction than that via which ths
shipments moved. In this case the shipper had to be told that he had made
an error in delivering the bill of lading to the switching line without any
further directions and that this line was justified in taking a haul. The
railroad, however, was told that it must not apply the combination which was
charged but the lower combination.
A shipper forwarded two shipments on the same day to the same destina-
tion, one by express to insure its delivery that day, and the other by freight
to make delivery by the next morning, the purpose being to get a portion of
the goods to the customer that day to carry him along until the balance should
arrive in the morning and at the same time not pay express charges on more
than a portion of the shipment, Express company did not make delivery until
the next day and after the freight shipment had been delivered. Shipper re-
fused to pay express charges. ' He claimed he had net received express serv-
ice. Shipper had to be advised that while it was true that the express com-
pany had failed to make proper delivery, as a matter of law he would be
obliged to pay the charges.
Shipper received a shipment of a commodity sold by weight. In weighing
the shipment on scales in his warehouse he discovered that there was a con-
siderable loss and filed claim. Carrier claimed the loss was due to evapora-
tion of moisture. The matter was taken up with us and we secured scale
weights of the custom house, this being an import shipment upon which duty
was paid. Using these weights and deducting the possible shrinkage we in-
sisted upon payment of claim. The carrier had agreed to make only a par-
tial settlement. We secured practically full settlement on the basis of th9
figures submitted.
Cases of this kind could be multiplied showing how the
traffic manager must endeavor to determine each case on its
merits. The specific services rendered the community are not
as numerous as those rendered the individual, but they often
involve a great deal more and are of the utmost importance.
The larger communities generally confine their work to
these community problems, giving information in a limited
way, and only advising with members on claims and other
such matters. The smaller communities, on the other hand,
TRANSPORTATION PROBLEMS. 109
emphasize the specific services to the individual to a much
greater extent. In most organizations there is a tendency
imvard extending these specific services as required. No rule
can be formulated to govern the policy in this respect. Local
conditions and the demands of the membership must determine
this question. In handling these problems the organization
should guard against this work deteriorating into mere collec-
tion of claims. The work should be conducted on a broad basis
as genuine traffic service and with a view of preventing the re-
currence of errors that can be avoided.
Under the heading of the services to the community come
all of the important questions of protecting a community in its
relative adjustment of rates and service as against competing
centers, improving and extending local facilities, securing sup-
port for the passage of necessary state and federal statutes
and preventing the passage of unnecessary and unwise laws.
When these questions come up the community that is rep-
resented will get its- viewpoint considered whether before com-
missions or carriers. It is not always the things that are se-
cured in these proceedings that are of the greatest importance,
but what is prevented may be as important. Locally the ex-
tension of switching arrangements, additions to freight-house
facilities and similar matters should be given attention.
Illustrations of the effect of rate adjustments could be re-
ferred to, but I desire to emphasize just one point. A discrimi-
nation of only a few cents per hundred pounds amounts to a
considerable amount in total for a community in the course of
a year. However, it is not only that but the fact that business
may seek other communities that must be considered.
Without discussing the merits of the particular case which
may be familiar to many of you, I have in mind an instance
where an effort was made to divide a certain defined rate terri-
tory and secure the application of a lower basis of rates to a
portion of it. That this action would have been favorable to
the one portion and a disadvantage to the other is apparent
without argument, whatever the actual result may have been
because of other considerations. A case was decided some time
since in which a rate adjustment to a community of not many
cents per hundred pounds gave to that community the full
benefit of certain power developments which had been largely
offset by the previously existing adjustment.
110 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
In certain instances of commodities that are particularly
responsive to the rate situation, the territory of distribution is
almost entirely controlled by it. In these matters the services
of a trained traffic official with a knowledge of the general
rate situation throughout the country and its development is
essential.
The Small Community vs. the Large City
There is a great difference in the application of the methods
referred to in the community organization that employs a
traffic official and the organization where the secretary must
handle these problems. Every organization that can find a
way to do so should secure the services of someone familiar
with traffic work. There is no other real answer. With a view
of bringing the subject up for discussion, however, I will at-
tempt to make a few suggestions that may be helpful to the
secretary in dealing with these problems.
The first suggestion is that the secretary should be a close
student of a standard traffic publication. Much information
on other subjects is gained in that way and much can be ob-
tained through that source by transportation subjects provided
the publication consulted is one that covers current events.
Many small communities have some industry that has a
traffic manager or another official more or less familiar with
transportation matters. Draft him into the service. Keep in
touch with the local railroad representatives and encourage
them to consult with you and inform you of changes.
By developing a habit on the part of your members of
bringing to you their problems and giving them intelligent in-
vestigation, a great deal of information will be obtained. In
investigating these matters discuss them with other shippers,
with representatives of the carriers, form the acquaintance of
your neighbor organization that has- a traffic official; he will
be glad to assist to a reasonable extent; you will get more
out of this than you expect. This kind of investigation will
bring out some of the real problems of your community. You
will probably find a number of members having the same diffi-
culty and that will lead you to something that needs attention.
A strong transportation committee of men who come in touch
with these matters in their own business will develop much in-
formation in a discussion of these problems.
The question has been asked what could be accomplished
TRANSPORTATION PROBLEMS. Jll
by the employment of a railroad rate clerk in the organization.
For the routine matters of answering many of the inquiries
made and furnishing the secretary with information, such an
assistant can be of much use. Care should be exercised in
getting someone intelligent enough to get the organization
viewpoint. There are some excellent traffic men who lack this
requisite of organization training and Avho w r ould not be success-
ful in this work.
The more important the city, the more important its prob-
lems and the necessity for a high-grade man, but there are many
communities where the organization is sufficiently strong and
the needs of the community important enough to warrant se-
curing the services of a traffic official if the members could
only be made to see the benefits.
Cooperation With Other Organizations
There are questions that are not strictly local and that
should be handled through cooperation with other organiza-
tions. In this connection I wish to refer to the one national
organization which has the support of commercial organiza-
tions, namely, the National Industrial Traffic League. It has
in its membership the traffic officials of many of the commer-
cial organizations of the country. This organization has been
very helpful to organizations that have no traffic officials
through answers to inquiries submitted to its headquarters
and through the information contained in its circulars and
the printed proceedings of its meetings.
It has carried cooperation with the carriers to the extent
that it is frequently in conference with committees and repre-
sentatives of the American Railway Association. This rail-
way association and the league have been recognized as the
national representatives of shippers and carriers by the Inter-
state Commerce Commission.
Conclusion
The Chamber of Commerce of the United States sent out
auite a complete questionaire as to the traffic bureaus in the
different organizations in its membership. The result of tMs
investigation was published and distributed in pamphlet form.
It is worthy of your careful reading.
Particular points emphasized in this paper are:
112 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
Necessity for commercial organization viewpoint in deal-
ing with transportation problems.
Importance of transportation problems to the organiza-
tion.
The commercial organization the unit in the community,
aiid the traffic bureau a department of the organization.
Reasons why these problems should be dealt with within
the commercial organization.
Relation of traffic department to the organization as a
whole.
Cooperation with the carriers.
Personnel of the transportation committee.
Actual handling of transportation problems, (a) Educa-
tional work, (b) Specific sendees rendered.
1. To the individual.
2. To the community.
Suggestions for handling these problems in an organiza-
tion that has no traffic official.
Cooperation with other organizations.
CHAPTER VI.
Retail Trade Activities
Organization Service for Retailers
By LEE H. BIERCE
111 discussing this topic one condition must be kept in mind
and that is the fact that in the smaller cities practically the
entire organization is built around the retail merchants and
those closely associated with them; while in the larger cities
the retailers form but a committee, bureau or department of
the organization. In the smaller communities even the secur-
ing of new industries, good roads, regulation of charities, the
betterment of train schedules, etc., are retail activities. In the
larger organizations these activities are handled by separate
committees or bureaus far removed from retail interests and
are never looked upon as retail activities.
In the general cycle of merchandising there are four
groups of business interest involved: The producer of the raw
product, the manufacturer, the wholesaler and the retailer.
To illustrate : In the manufacture of breakfast foods we have
the man who raises the grain, the manufacturer of the food,
the wholesale grocer and the retail grocer. Should the retail
grocer fail in business he owes his bank and the wholesaler;
should the wholesaler fail he owes the manufacturer, and should
the manufacturer fail he is indebted to the producer of the raw
product. The reverse of the situation is not true. The pro-
ducer is never indebted to the manufacturer; the manufactur-
er does not owe the wholesaler, and the wholesaler never owes
the retailer. Therefore, the most important man in modern
merchandising is the retailer, for upon his success depends the
entire success of all the other groups. The retailer should be
the strongest mentally, financially, and in every other way;
He should be the big man of the community, the one who leads
in all matters of civic pride and activity. However, we know
this is not the case and that men of small means, limited educa-
tion and limited aspirations drift into retail merchandising
113
114 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
Therefore, it becomes necessary for the banker, the wholesaler
and the manufacturer to do a lot of thinking for the retailer;
it is necessary for them to solve the retailer's problems for him.
In other words the commercial organization finds more to be
done for the retailer than for any other class of membership.
Dependency of Retailer
Again, the retailer is dependent upon the community for
his very existence. He is dependent upon better conditions in
the community for better conditions in his business 1 and the
development and growth of the community for a development
or enlargement of his business. Then he is the one man who
should be more concerned over the future progress and pros-
perity of the community which he serves than any other class of
membership in the commercial organization. He should pay
more and work harder. As an illustration, permit me to say
that one per cent of the furniture manufactured in Grand Rap-
ids is sold at retail in that city; a wholesale drug house there
has several thousand customers but only seventy of them are
located in Grand Rapids. Therefore, the furniture manufac-
turer and the wholesale druggist are less concerned about the
future development of the city than the retailer w'ho disposes
of all his merchandise to the citizens of the very community
which he serves. Whether the retail merchant of your city is
the one who pays the most for his membership and is the mem-
ber who is the most active in the organization to make your
city a bigger, busier and better one may remain an unanswered
question. Nevertheless, the fact still remains that he is the
man you do the most thinking for; he is the man you work the
hardest for and are the most concerned about.
Whether the service rendered for the retailer by your or-
ganization is handled by the secretary, a separate executive or
a fully oraganizd bureau is a condition which depends largely
upon the size of the organization and the city served and is of
little moment at this time. We are proceeding on the assump-
tion that there is either a bureau, department or committee or-
ganized for the purpose of considering the problems and activi-
ties of the retailers and that this committee is in session waiting
to be told what to do. Some of the principal activities of prac-
tically all commercial organizations, activities of interest prin-
cipally to the retailers, are as follows :
ORGANIZATION SERVICE FOR RETAILERS. 113
Activities of Interest
(1) The investigation and endorsement of charitable and social welfare
organizations; the selling of tickets and soliciting of advertising should be
regulated and controlled by the commercial organization for the benefit of
the retailers principally. While all classes of membership are interested in
this particular activity, the burden of supporting these institutions falls
heaviest upon the retailer and if your retailers are awake they will see to
it that this work is efficiently done by the commercial organization and in
turn they should support this work the strongest.
(2) Every city of five thousand population or over can and should sup-
port a credit rating bureau for the use of the retail merchants. In the smail-
er communities it is possible to build up and hold together a commercial
organization by maintaining a commercial rating bureau. This one activity
is sufficient excuse for a commercial organization to exist. In some of the
larger cities these bureaus are operated privately. It is the general opinion
that this condition is satisfactory provided the private concern operates effi-
ciently and in close harmony with the retail interests. If not, then the com-
mercial association should take over, perfect and maintain the rating bureau.
While such a bureau is operated in the interests of the retailers, its moral
influence upon the entire community should not be underestimated.
(3) The securing of conventions is of vital interest to the retail mer-
chants. This is a work that can be best handled by the commercial organ-
ization. In the larger cities separate bureaus are maintained for this par-
ticular activity and in some cities separate organizations, such as the Detroit
Tourist and Convention Bureau, exist. The securing of conventions is con-
ceded to be one of the very best forms of municipal advertising from which
both direct and indirect benefits are derived and the retailers are the mem-
bers of the commercial association most concerned and frequently this activ-
ity is made one of the retail merchants' division.
(4) Spring and fall openings and fashion or style shows are rapidly
developing into important annual events and are, of course, strictly retail
affairs. They can best be conducted by the commercial organization and
should not be allowed to get into the control of newspapers or private par-
ties. All the general arrangements such as the joint publicity, decorating of
the retail district, fixing of the dates, securing of band music, etc., should be
made by the retail bureau of the commercial association.
(5) Dishonest advertising injures the entire community. It destroys
confidence and drives trade away from the city. The honest retailer suffers
with the dishonest one, and so long as the latter remains in business the
honest retailer is at a disadvantage and handicapped in the proper conduct
of his business. The commercial organization should stand behind the honest
merchant and uphold him at every turn of the road. This shouM be done
even if the association loses the membership and support of the merchants
who employ dishonest advertising and selling methods. Proper city, state
and even federal legislation should be enacted into law seeking the elimina-
tion from the retail field all dishonest merchants, and the commercial organi-
zation should make it one of the activities of its retail division to not on'y
secure but have such laws rigidly enforced.
(6) The commercial organizations sKbuld see to it that proper state
laws and city ordinances are passed seeking to safeguard the retailer against
the itinerant merchant, peddlers and trans-ient trader ; also legislation con-
trolling auction, bankrupt, creditors, railroad wreck and other kinds of sales.
116 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
In doing this the organization is protecting the consumer against fraud just
as much as it is protecting the legitimate merchant against unlawful competi-
tion. After these laws are passed the enforcement of them should be part of
the service rendered the retailer by the commercial organization.
(7) Special trade days such as "dollar days" and "suburban days"
should be events promoted and controlled entirely by the commercial or-
ganization for the benefit of the retailers. If railroad fares are to be re-
funded, special trains operated, or general advertising of the event conduct-
ed, it should all be done by the organization. These events are more suc-
cessful and mcire permanent when fostered by the commercial organization
than by the newspapers or other outside interests.
(8) In the smaller communities the commercial organization should
decide what days are holidays on which the stores will be closed all day
and the ones on which but a half-holiday will be observed. The organization
should also determine what evenings the stores should be open. Then the
matter of Saturday closing hours has been handled by the commercial or-
ganizations in the larger cities. It is frequently necessary for the retailers,
to work in harmony with the manufacturers so the stores will be open on
the evening of pay-day. This is a situation frequently developing in the
smaller cities and should be worked out by the commercial organization.
(9) A careful study or survey should be made by the commercial or-
ganization of the delivery systems used by the retailers with a view of de-
termining the cost and whether or not a cooperative system would be an
economy and at the same time maintain adequate delivery service. In one
small city seventy-two independent delivery rigs were displaced by twelve
cooperative rigs with an addition of four on Saturdays. In all probability
approximately the same reduction in the number of rigs and the same cur-
tailment of expense could be effected in almost every city.
(10) In several of the larger cities the returned goods evil was well
under control months, and even years, ago. This matter has now been
brought forcibly to the consideration of all commercial , organizations by
the Board of Economy of the Council of National Defense. This condition
and many others brought about by the war will have to be considered by
commercial organizations in the interest of their retail members. It is an
ill wind that blows nobody good and there will be many profitable lessons
we can learn from the present conditions thrust upon us on account of the
war, and that city which gives the most careful consideration to these prob-
lems is the one that will reap the greatest benefit, and the live commercial
organization will handle all- these problems as they develop and do so in
the interest of the retail merchant and the trade he serves.
(11) The study of retail salesmanship is rapidly developing as an
activity in which retail merchants are 'taking a greater interest. It is almost
impossible for the retailer to employ trained help unless he secures it from
his competitor or fellow r merchants. Commercial organizations should assist
the retailers in correcting this situation and they can do so by bringing to
their cities sales experts to address both retailer and employee. The con-
ducting of classes in salesmanship in the night schools, business colleges and
Y. M. C. A., courses should be encouraged. It is also conceded that proper
retail salesmanship will greatly reduce the volume of returned merchandise
and indirectly assist in solving that particular evil.
(12) Several organizations report that they are now assisting their
members in preventing shop-lifting and the passing of fraudulent checks.
ORGANIZATION SERVICE FOR RETAILERS. 117
Information is circulated quickly from one store to another warning against
persons of a certain description. This information is also sent to nearby
towns for the purpose of protecting the merchants of those communities.
Systems have also been adopted whereby information about clerks is circu-
lated among the members of the retail divisions of some -of our larger or-
ganization?. This information is for the purpose of preventing inefficient,
drinking and dishonest clerks from getting another position. Clerks who
quit without giving sufficient advance notice are also included in the list.
It would be practically impossible to furnish such service except through the
commercial association.
(13) The retailers in many cities have acquired the habit of giving
si>ecial discounts to certain people such as ministers, teachers, actors, clerks
from other stores, employees of city institutions, etc. Now many of these
merchants would like to get out from under this habit. The matter can
best be handled and the problem solved by an agreement among the retail
members of the commercial organization. Again we discover a desired result
almost unobtainable without the assistance of a commercial organization.
(14) The practice of granting a discount of ten per cent to dressmakers
is one that has been very largely indulged in by the dry goods and depart-
ment stores of many of our larger cities. That this practice was being great-
ly abused is revealed by the fact that when one commercial organization
brought about the ruling that only those dressmakers employing two or more
helpers were entitled to the discount the number enjoying this privilege
dropped from two thousand to 15O. This is strictly a service to be ren-
dered by commercial organizations for the retail members.
(15) While the improvement of the highways, or in other words, "good
roads," is seldom looked upon as an activity in which the retailers should
be especially interested, nevertheless it is that division of your membership
that reaps the greatest reward through the construction of better roads.
Many retailers have confessed that good roads have not only helped to
increase their business but have made it easier for them to combat mail
order competition. With the general use of automobiles on the part of the
farmers it is now more essential than ever before that all roads leading
into your city be improved and properly maintained and the retailers are
the ones who should interest themselves in this movement. Signboarding
and the proper posting of the roads are also important.
(16) Many of our cities have boulevard lighting systems in the retail
districts and invariably this improvement was secured by the retail divi-
sion of the commercial organization. The proper lighting of the retail
district is very important and certainly should be looked after by the re-
tailers themselves working through their organization. Other problems of a
municipal nature frequently interest the retailers, some of these being the
proper routing of street cars; the size and position of outside display cases
and advertising signs; proper schedules on suburban trains; the cleaning of
sidewalks in the downtown district, etc.
(17) Trading stamps are now looked upon as an uneconomical factor
in merchandising and their extermination should be sought. This is, of
course, a matter of legislation and a difficult one at that, but the time has
arrived when all unnecessary factors entering into the sale of merchandise
should be eliminated. These would include the giving of trading stamps,
voting contests, the giving of premiums and the extension of credit on too
liberal a basis. The desired results can be obtained only through the co-
118 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
operation of the retailers and this cooperation would be impossible without
a commercial organization or the forming of a new organization which
amounts to the same thing.
There is unquestionably more lost motion, less efficiency
and more waste in retailing, as it is conducted by a vast major-
ity of the retail merchants of this age, than in any other phase
of business. Delivery systems overlap, are cumbersome and
too expensive; credit is frequently granted in a very unsatis-
factory and unscientific manner ; salespeople are poorly trained
and unqualified; advertising is misleading and frequently dis-
honest ; competition being keen, trade evils and abuses are prac-
ticed on a large scale and, all in all, retail merchandising is
on an absolute unsatisfactory basis. Manufacturers maintain
retail service bureaus and wholesalers conduct merchants con-
gresses with the sole purpose of elevating retail merchandising
methods. Picture if you can a group of retailers getting to-
gether and conducting a meeting for the purpose of elevating
wholesale merchandising methods. The truth is that the manu-
facturers, wholesalers and others are trying to solve the retail-
er's problems for him, they are thinking for him. Under these
conditions the deduction is apparent that not only must the re-
tailer be exceedingly active in the commercial organization but
the commercial organization must be exceedingly active for the
retailer even if it has to be done through a manufacturers',
bankers' or jobbers' committee.
CHAPTER VII.
A Plan for a Temporary Exhibition
By JOHN M. GUILD
When a secretary is moved to initiate a home products
exposition or his organization undertakes one, what should be
the first step, and what should be the entire program? It is
the purpose of this paper to provide specifications.
There are two kinds of home products expositions the
temporary and the permanent. This paper deals only w r ith the
temporary. It has no bearing whatever on the permanent dis-
plays of home products that many cities have, especially in the
south and on the Pacific Coast. There are two kinds of tem-
porary expositions the kind gotten up for entertainment and
possibly for profit, and the kind gotten up for trade promotion
and for education. The first invariably attracts great throngs
that carry away not much more than the pleasant taste of a
good time, whereas, the other, properly planned and managed,
becomes as it should be a valuable, long remembered and im-
portant event in local history.
Why should time and effort be invested in a hastily gotten
up glittery thing, when careful preparation will bring forth an
exposition that will be not only creditable to the organization
back of it, but will promote greater recognition of the organi-
zation's leadership, greater confidence in it, greater knowledge
of home products, more business and, therefore, better times?
But there are two classes of people, those that want to be en-
tertained and those that seek knowledge. Both must be inter-
ested. All are purchasers or consumers, and greater home
patronage is one of the cardinals of such an exposition. There-
fore, in planning an exposition, the necessity for striking a
medium between the t\vo extremes is important.
The main essentials are three. . There must first be a good
reason for having an exposition. This involves not only the
object sought to be attained, but the timeliness. Whether or
not manufacturers can afford to put on the right kind of exhi-
119
120 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
bition must be taken into consideration. The second is a good
show. It must be that in these days of twentieth century per-
fection. The third is a good attendance. With a good purpose,
a good show and a good attendance an exposition successful in
every way is assured.
So much for general principles. Now for details and a plan
of campaign which, for purposes of simplicity, have been classi-
fied into five main headings: Purpose, organization, prepara-
tion, operation, results.
Under purpose are five sub-divisions that cover the prin-
cipal reasons for an exposition. These are promotion of trade,
education, cooperation, advertising, profit.
As a general proposition, the first purpose is the promo-
tion of trade, unless the exposition is being promoted by travel-
ing professionals. The exposition is, therefore, intended to
show the home people first everything made in their town. The
average citizen, yes, and the average business man, keen though
he may be, has little conception of what is made behind his
neighbor's factory walls. He is so engrossed with his own af-
fairs that he couldn't, to save his soul, tell whether or not some
common article of use, that he himself doesn't handle, is made
there. If that is true of home people, it is more so of strangers
and an exposition should aim to also reach the outside trade.
To promote trade, the displays are supplemented when-
ever possible by the distribution of descriptive matter and fre-
quently samples. The latter is more common in the case of
foodstuffs, but in paper, metal and wood working lines, attrac-
tive little souvenirs, often the articles in miniature, are given
out. The value of these depends on the articles advertised, its
merit, class of people reached, etc. The practice of giving out
something is recommended, especially for its power in drawing
a certain class to the exposition. Although drawn there largely
by the attraction of something for nothing, they cannot attend
without some good resulting.
A survey of expositions held shows but few cases where the
articles on exhibition are confined strictly to home products.
The first step away from that rigid classification is to permit
the exhibition of articles of outside manufacture that do not
compete with a home production. The next and commonest
procedure is to allow any bona fide manufacturer, jobber or
merchant to show anything made or sold there, in the regular
A PLAN FOR TEMPORARY EXHIBITION. 121
course of business. This of course lets in the retailer, the auto-
mobile dealer and other classes, not only desirable but frequent-
ly indispensable if the exposition is of any great magnitude.
One thing invariably prohibited is the selling of anything
from the exhibits, and it should be. An exposition is meant to
be promotional of interest in the goods shown, and if exhibitors
want visitors to try their wares they should furnish free
samples. Booths are not intended to be selling places, and it
is somewhat to the discredit of the exposition management that
permits such sales. The average exhibitor will be satisfied to
show his goods and take orders. This, of course, is independent
of concessions.
Educational
If the purpose of an exposition is along the lines so far
indicated, the educational value to the community will be very
great. To impress home people with what is made in their
town, get them to try the home-made article, whether cornmeal
or a washing machine, impressing them with the quality or
superiority to the imported article and thereby get them to
talk it among themselves and to outsiders, means an invaluable
ally to the other recognized advertising methods. All of this
means a greater home consumption, and there is no better ad-
vertisement than the general use of a home product. This use
unconsciously develops a home pride and creates a natural con-
fidence in everything else made there. It makes a citizen more
readily responsive to other calls for civic patriotism. It knits
the community more closely together and develops a better-
spirit in every way, one that may be capitalized to almost any
extent by the local commercial body.
4 '
Cooperation and Advertising
If another purpose of the exposition be working up a spirit
of cooperation, this is a splendid medium. In the average
community manufacturers are prone to work along independ-
ently, bear their own burdens, fight their own fights, overlooking
the fact that this is the day of cooperation. An exposition
brings the different exhibiting interests together, and, being
for a common purpose, creates a closer fraternal and commer-
cial spirit, even among trades widely different.
If the purpose of the exposition is community advertising,
no city or town can have a better medium. As the big national
122 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.'
and international expositions, held years apart and in different
parts of the country, are milestones of progress in manufacture,
science and art, so is the local exposition a positive evidence of
the progress in that community. The effectiveness of it as an
advertisement depends on how widely it is advertised, whether
only locally, in very nearby towns, in all trade territory or
bej'ond.
Profit or Deficit
If the purpose of the exposition is financial profit, that
will, to some extent, detract from the reputation and dignity of
the proposition. Fortunately, profit is generally of secondary
consideration and means to guard against a deficit rather than
gain a profit. But in estimating the probable expenses and
income, it is well to figure on a safe margin so that contingen-
cies will be provided for. No profit should be made from the
exhibitor in any way. He is a partner in the enterprise. With-
out him there can be no exposition. He must be treated right
and given everything possible for his entry fee. Many exposi-
tions plan to open their doors with all expenses up to that time
met, so that if bad weather should ensue, the management will
be mighty glad they did not figure on admissions to meet the
overhead expense. It is noticeable that where there has been a
profit as the result of playing safe, it generally goes to the local
organization to be reinvested for the benefit of the community-
It is well to announce in advance, where there is likelihood of
the question being raised, that this is what will be done. It
can be shown that, whatever the admission charge is, it will be
but a very nominal tax on the tens or hundreds of thousands
of people who attend. The success of the exposition depends
very much on its purpose.
Organization and Plan
Under organization are the sub-divisions, preparedness,
plan, officers, committees, rules and regulations, and building.
Organization means preparedness. If the exposition is to
represent more than just the circumscribed ideas of a commu-
nity, without the benefit of a wider horizon, there should be
gathered from every other exposition recently held, the best
ideas that have been developed in each. If possible, some expo-
sitions should be visited. In any event there should be ascer-
tained and classified such information as where and when held.
A PLAN FOR TEMPORARY EXHIBITION. 123
time of year, number of days, detail on nature of building, area,
how exhibit space laid out, charge for it, kind of organization,
details of admission and attendance, main items of expense and
all other data procurable. In this paper these are treated to
the limit of space and of time.
In planning an exposition the probable demand for it
should be well considered. This means whether or not the
local manufacturers and merchants may reasonably be expect-
ed to support it. Call together those for it and those luke-
warm or cold and "sell'' it to them as a good salesman would
any other intangible thing, but see that it is presented to them
in a definite form. They should, if possible, be convinced at the
outset, no matter if this seems to delay the project. But the
few who still hold out are likely to be won over, as the plans,
if they are what they should be, are developed and worked out.
A canvass shows that the local commercial organization is
the general and natural instigator of such an exposition. That
fortunately insures in the nature of things a good organiza-
tion. A little working body of about eleven men, who become
the governing board and mainspring of the movement, has been
found good. These eleven should be workers. No room there
for any other variety, not even the prominent citizen whose
name would look good at the head of it. The head must be a
live wire and a leader. It is desirable to have a larger body
interested in the project, to back it in a moral sort of way by
the use of their names, and interest them more readily as pros-
pective exhibitors, so an advisory committee of fifty or one
hundred is effective. Of course the responsibility is with the
smaller body and, while the larger may be called "advisory/' it
should be in reality a body to report to and consult with.
Officers and Committees
If, for the protection of the few who have to father such a
job, it is deemed wise to incorporate an industrial exposition
company, and this is recommended, it calls for the usual offi-
cers, instead of chairman, etc., and instead of an executive com-
mittee, a board of directors. In choosing officers, choose them
for their fitness, each to assume the chairmanship of a commit-
tee and to carry the responsibility of a fixed piece of work.
As in a commercial organization, so in an exposition or-
ganization, a number of committees is necessary but these
124 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
should, however, be kept down to a minimum. Not more than
ten are recommended. It is suggested that there be, in addi-
tion to the executive committee or board of directors,, a finance
committee, of which the treasurer should be the chairman. To
one member of the governing body should be assigned responsi-
bility for exhibits. This means selling space and securing ex-
hibits. Of this there should be a sub-committee to look after
installation of exhibits which later is a job in itself, especially
to induce exhibitors to get their stuff to the building and into
place. The booths committee is an equally important one. To
it should be delegated responsibility for all general construc-
tion work inside the building. The publicity committee is a
veritable keystone of the Avhole thing, because, without ample
publicity, the best laid and executed plans would be like the
light under a bushel. Admissions and check-room should be
one committee's task, concessions another's, entertainment that
of another, and there should be one committee exclusively for
safety and comfort. That makes ten, including the governing
body.
Under organization comes preparation of rules and regula-
tions. These should be specific. In addition to covering other
details, they should at the outset, declare who are eligible to
exhibit, whether just the local manufacturers or also those
who sell outside made goods. The charge for space should be
announced and what such charge shall cover in the way of
decoration, light, power, water, etc., all of which should be
included in the charge for space. The rules should also de-
termine the status of concessions, lotteries, smoking, etc.
Building
One of the first steps is to determine where the exposition
shall be held, whether or not there is a suitable building avail-
able, and if not, what must be done to meet that need. One of
the essentials to success, especially in larger cities, is a central
location. In smaller places it seems to make little difference
where an exposition is held but a central and easily reached
location is an important factor in large cities, involving as it
does, accessibility from the business district, on foot and by
transportation lines.
It has been found that where a big enough and well located
building does not exist, a new factory building answers the
A PLAN FOR TEMPORARY EXHIBITION. 125
purpose splendidly. In fact, there is a marked relation be-
tween a tine new factory and an exposition project, A new
factory building, of proportion sufficient for an exposition, is
indisputable evidence of business prosperity and expansion.
It, therefore, proves the timeliness for putting on an exposi-
tion. If the use of such a building is contemplated the sugges-
tion is made to get in touch with its owners about the time
the first brick is laid. I>y thus taking time by the forelock and
working up the exposition while the building is going up, an
exposition much better than if hastily planned is assured.
Preparation
Under preparation must be treated, exhibits, booths,
finance, publicity, service.
In order to make the exposition comprehensive, represen-
tative and still popular, some preliminaries must be noted.
One of the first steps in preparation is for the governing body,
working with the finance committee, to prepare a comprehensive
budget. This is based on the estimates of the chairmen of com-
mittees, to show what amount of money is likely to be needed
by each committee. This determines what will have to be
charged for space. At the same time should be determined the
charge for admission. This ranges generally from ten to
twenty-five cents, with the smaller charge in greater favor.
Dates for the exposition should be decided upon as well as
what day of the week it shall open, whether in the day time
or evening, and the hours that the exposition will be open each
day. It is recommended that the exposition be opened on an
evening toward the latter part of the week. This will force
completion of all work, and the end of the week will see in-
stallation fully made. In conducting an exposition Sunday is
invariably respected.
Under no circumstances should the installation or the
changing of exhibits be permitted during open hours. The
rule should be rigid, and if the exposition is not opened until
ten o'clock of each day, and this hour is recommended, with the
closing hour of eleven P. M., this affords sufficient time for
rearrangement of exhibits and all changes.
Exhibits*
Exhibits should be classified into different floors or sec-
tions. There should be well defined classifications, such as
126 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
machinery hall, automobile show, electrical exhibit, floral hall
and others.
Experience shows the most successful expositions to have
furnished free power, as an incentive to use it in putting on
"live" exhibits. The same should be done with gas and water.
Instead of penalizing those who use these it should be the other
way, as an inducement to make the exposition fairly hum with
life. This is one of the difficulties of all expositions however,
and a canvas shows more or less disappointment with the num-
ber that do take advantage of free power, gas and water. In
many instances where a "live" exhibit is not possible, inter-
esting exhibits are made by showing goods from the raw ma-
terial to the finished article or processes of years ago compared
with processes of today.
As a help in working up attractive exhibits, the employ-
ment of an expert, possibly some ex-window dresser, as a super-
intendent of exhibits, is recommended. This for the reason
that many imagine that they have little to exhibit, and that
more or less unattractive. Thisi man will work out with them
something satisfactory and will prove a good investment in
helping to sell space.
Regulation of the height of exhibits is an important thing.
That depends on the height of ceilings, of partitions, and other
physical conditions. Harmony with adjoining exhibits should
be compulsory so that the general plan and decorative scheme
will be preserved.
Booths
In determining floor plans, the size and shape of booths,
width of aisles, etc., an architect is recommended, if his services
can be secured as a member of the booths committee. Great
care should be exercised in laying out the space so that. a maxi-
mum will be available to sell, but that spaces may be so shaped
that they will be most acceptable to exhibitors. It has been
found that a greater frontage than depth is desirable, in the
ratio of about four to three. Exhibitors want all the frontage
on the aisles they can get.
A rigid plan for booths for the entire exposition is unwise.
The dispenser of food products wants a very shallow booth, a
wide front with a counter, whereas the automobile man wants
half an acre if he can have it, and will take it in almost any
shape. In this connection, while a fixed rate per square foot
A PLAN FOR TEMPORARY EXHIBITION. 127
should be used for the whole layout, it should be used only as
a basis. A booth rate should be established. This means snow-
ing on the floor plans, the layout and exact dimensions of every
space, with the price for eacn booth. It means also charging a
premium for the more desirable spaces and selling the less
desirable at something below the standard price. Spaces should
be reserved, as may be necessary, for exhibits of charitable or-
ganizations, schools, art collections, etc., and for these no
charge is made.
Wide aisles, much wider than seem necessary, should be
provided. Provision should be made for maximum crowds.
Aisle widths depend on the shape and area of the building.
Where the building is long and comparatively narrow, the most
practical for the handling of crowds, a double row of booths
down the middle, back to back, is a splendid arrangement, with
the aisles around the walls. But, if the building is too wide to
be used in that way an additional row of booths around the
walls is the next suggestion.
It is recommended that a good contractor be employed to
build all booths, furnish all material and labor, and later re-
move booths. To insure the work going along on schedule time
the employment of a superintendent of construction to keep in
touch with the different committees, the architect and the con-
tractor, is a good investment.
Booths should be built on a uniform plan for each section
or floor. Where there are a number of floors or sections, the
same general scheme may be followed but with variations in
partition details and color scheme. The booths committee
should be the authority on all decorations. It should establish
a harmonious color scheme and furnish all booths ready for
occupancy. Uniform signs should be provided free by the man-
agement. Signs in the aisles, or elsewhere than within the ex-
hibition space, should be prohibited.
Provision should be made for the installation of electrical
power, natural or artificial gas and vents for same, water and
provision for wastage wherever needed, preferably giving all
of this service gratis and charging only for any unusually ex-
pensive installation. Wall space can readily be made useful
for flat exhibits. These may be fastened on artistic panels with
good effect instead of on the walls.
128 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
Finance and Publicity
The finance committee should be responsible for insuring
the exposition coming out clear, without a deficit. It should
have charge of all bookkeeping, and the responsibility for insur-
ance of all kinds, liability, elevator, fire, etc. Fire insurance
is considered unnecessary in a fireproof building, provided
proper precautions are taken, and for this reason few exposi-
tions assume fire risk on exhibits.
Publicity should be comprehensive. It should start from
the time the first announcement is made. That announcement
should be attractively gotten up and be a prospectus that will
tell the purpose, plan and general details of the undertaking.
Newspapers at home and in nearby trade territory should be
used and plenty of paid space taken. This is considered the
best medium of publicity, but it should be supplemented by a
judicious use of billboards.
Poster stamps, by the hundreds of thousands, are an at-
tractive advertisement at home and away from home. Ex-
hibitors and citizens generally are ready to use them in great
quantities, provided they are furnished without cost. Cards
in store windows and surrounding railroad stations, big poster
signs in local depots, hangers in street cars, cards on wagons
and arrow signs on poles, pointing the way to the exposition
building, are all good.
Advance sales of tickets in stores is somewhat helpful, but
the issuance by exhibitors of complimentary tickets to their
customers, mostly out of town people, is one of the best schemes
devised. This is done through an attractive ticket-invitation
with the name of the firm on it, charging just what they cost,
and billing back against the firm for those later taken up at the
door. Special "days'* for surrounding towns or local organiza-
tions are common. A new feature is the making of exposition
Aveek "guest week" and interesting the whole people of the com-
munity to bring visitors and friends during that week.
Decoration of the outside of the exposition building, with
lights and flags, with search-lights on the roof, to be flashed
during the evening hours of the exposition, are splendid fea-
tures and help intensify local interest. The provision of an
official photographer and the regulation or issuance of pro-
grams come under the publicity committee's management, as
will the securing and publicity of reduced rates on transporta-
tion lines.
A PLAN FOR TEMPORARY EXHIBITION. 129
Service
Plans are generally made for furnishing, without extra
charge, reasonable wiring of booths and exhibits and furnishing
current to make exhibits well illuminated and attractive, charge
for this being also included in the charge for space. The build-
ing must also be wired inside and outside for its illumination.
Under preparation must come wiring of the booths and exhib-
its, necessitating space in the contract blank for exhibitors to
show what current they are likely to need. Another thing,
occasionally extra street lighting is needed in the vicinity of
the exposition building. This makes more or less of a "white
way" leading to the exposition, makes it safer for traffic, and
better protection to automobiles where parking space might
otherwise be poorly lighted.
Under operation are reasons for seven sub-heads : Opening,
director, admission, information, selling, entertainment, safety
and comfort.
The opening of the exposition under proper auspices and
with the right kind of enthusiasm, necessitates some kind of
exercises. These may be elaborate or simple. It is urged that
where it is not necessary to have parades for advertising pur-
poses, that they be very brief and at the main entrance to the
exposition. Whatever they are they serve merely as a publicity
handle or as a sort of "kick-off" for the exposition. But if in
larger communities, the governor of the state or some person
of importance may be secured, that adds still more to the ad-
vertising value.
To insure the best management during the actual hours
of the exposition, one man should be made director and be put
in general charge. He should be one \vho has been very closely
connected with all of the details. Through him all plans and
policies should be carried out. He should be constantly on the
job, and available to the exhibitors, with headquarters in the
exposition.
Admission and Information
Adequate facilities should be provided fo<r the biggest
crowds expected. There should be a good lobby into which the
people may pour, no matter what kind of weather on the out-
side. A corps of good ticket sellers, with fast working vending
machines, and another corps of ticket takers, are necessary, as
well as men near the entrance to direct people in the right
130 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
way. Should the building used be of several stories and
equipped with elevators, it is recommended that visitors be
taken directly to the top floor, and allowed to pass down
through the building using the stairways from floor to floor.
This avoids congestion on the first floor.
The admissions committee should have charge of the check-
room and should handle it itself, to insure best treatment and
greatest protection, and also benefit by whatever profit is made.
There should be an information bureau with one or more
in constant attendance, equipped with full information re-
garding the exposition, as well as the city generally. With the
information bureau should be a telephone exchange, telegraph
offices, mail facilities for handling incoming and outgoing mail,
a lost and found bureau, and, if possible, a joint railroad agency.
If headquarters, office of the director, etc., are in close proxim-
ity to the information booth, so much the better. It makes
that point the heart of the whole exposition, to which and from
which come and go all authority and information.
Concessions
It is recommended that concessions be few and that the
few be reliable. In order to fill space or derive a revenue, from
outright sale of space or on a commission basis, concessions are
sometimes sold to professional concessionaires in the business
to make the biggest profit. When these are permitted to do
business, it is at the expense of the reputation of the exposition.
It is, therefore, urged that concessions be let only to local well-
known or reputable outside concerns. Better convert space re-
served for a concession into a smoking room or a rest room
than to fill it with something that will cheapen the exposition.
A good restaurant for those connected with the exposition and
those of the public who want to patronize it should be provided
as a great convenience.
Safety and Comfort
For the safety and comfort of everyone connected with or
attending the exposition, ample provision should be made. If
elevators are used, capable men should be in charge of them
and there should be a director at each. There should be plenty
of signs directing the movements of people. Exits should be
plainly indicated. Fire stations should be established in every
section with a fireman and apparatus at each. There should
A PLAN FOR TEMPORARY EXHIBITION. 131
be police at the entrance and exits. There should be plenty
of parking space provided for automobiles, and watchmen to
look after them. There should also be watchmen in the build-
ing to look after exhibits, both day and night, although in the
day time it is not as necessary, if the rules and regulations pro-
vide, as they should, for someone to be in charge during ex-
position hours. Provision for drinking water should be made
as well as for regulation of heating and ventilating, especially
in the winter months.
There should be rest room and toilet facilities on every
floor or section and these should all have attendants. Benches
for those who tire should be scattered just as thickly as the
public space will permit.
A day nursery for children, with attendants, and a hospital
with doctors and nurses ready for any emergency, are found in
every up-to-date exposition.
There should be a large janitor force for day and night
service. In the daytime aisles must be kept cleaned up. In this
connection the exhibitor should be responsible for sweeping
out and dusting his own exhibit space, so that janitors will
not have to go inside the booths. Janitor equipment must not
be overlooked, including a sweeping compound if the exposition
is held in a new building with cement floor. This is a brief
summary of what may be done in providing for the visitors'
comfort and convenience.
Entertainment
What entertainment is necessary is a question for local
determination. In the smaller communities it is found that a
lot of entertainment is generally provided, everything from
vaudeville performance to high diving. For the real exposition
it is recommended that lecture halls be provided wherever pos-
sible and so arranged that they may be darkened for moving
pictures. Exhibitors will be glad to furnish their own reels
and lectures, and will use the facilities provided to an astonish-
ing degree. The exposition management can, by judicious
choice of films, give very interesting and educational exhibi-
tions. All motion pictures should, be without charge. Assur-
ance should be secured that the pictures are wholesome and that
the lecture is instructive.
Music is an essential, plenty of it, but consideration must
132 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
be given the exhibitor who finds it difficult to impress a pros-
pective customer with the merits of his wares, with the "Hun-
garian Rhapsody" floating around him or "Tipperary" jarring
his nerves. He wants the band or orchestra as far from him as
possible. Whatever entertainment is furnished should be in
keeping with the basic plan and the standard of the whole ex-
position.
Results
These specifications are a summary of the things done in
connection with the most successful expositions. Results will
depend on how well they are carried out. Results may be cred-
ited to four different parties, the public, the community, the
exhibitors, the promoters.
By attendance, the public will show the extent of their
interest and approval. Barring unfavorable weather condi-
tions the attendance is cumulative. It increases from day to
day, as the result of favorable advertising given by each day's
attendance. As a general thing the attendance from out of the
city averages around ten per cent, depending, of course, on the
nature of the exposition and the amount of outside advertising.
Attendance is the index so far as the public is concerned,
and if confidence in the leadership of the organization that
promoted the exposition is lacking, it is due to a disregard of
some of the foregoing suggestions. The exposition should close
with a marked advantage to the organization for having suc-
cessfully put on and conducted an exposition that pleased the
public. This can be done. It should be done.
If the exposition accomplishes what it was intended to, the
community spirit will be strengthened and there will be a better
pull-together disposition than ever. The revelation of home
products will be a great education to every citizen and particu-
larly the school children. These will learn whether their city
is a producer of implements, cereals, fine machinery or varied
articles. They w r ill see in such a display a magnificent and dig-
nified testimonial to labor and the work of man's hands. They
will also see the results of twentieth century industrial effi-
ciency and progress.
The exposition will promote a greater patronage of home-
made goods. This will mean more business for everybody and
consequently better business conditions. The community will
also have become favorably advertised on the outside, through
A PLAN FOR TEMPORARY EXHIBITION. 133
the best publicity medium a city can have. The value of such
publicity will be immediately apparent, and will also be perma-
nent.
Exhibitors
The exhibitors, as one of the principals in the project, gen-
erally report fine advertising at a minimum cost, great num-
bers of new friends made, and lots of orders taken. Exhibitors
tell of introductions to prospective customers that they could
not possibly have reached in any other way. They report success
in the introduction of new lines by getting the attention of the
public all at once, and they are generally ready for another
exposition.
The results to the promoters of the exposition should be
something of a total of the benefits to the people, the commu-
nity and the exhibitors. If the exposition has been a success
for them that is a sufficient dividend for the promoters. But,
in addition to that, the exposition should be to the public a fine
example of unselfish community work, and if a nice cash bal-
ance is left on hand, that is a further evidence of good manage-
ment on the promoter's part. If, on top of this, a financial
statement of all receipts and expenses is published, this means
taking the public into further confidence and helps the organi-
zation in the next big thing it undertakes in its work of build-
ing up the city.
Bear this in mind : The public is often indifferent to the
work of an organization, and even some of its members are.
Directors and secretaries may slave for them day and night and
accomplish great things, but the result of an exposition in the
community will surprise in the way it will please the people
It is a spectacular thing, a dress parade proposition, in which
they can all participate and which, compared to other work,
they can all see. An exposition will awaken them as nothing
else will.
CHAPTER VIII.
Conventions and Publicity
r.onventions, Their Cost and Value
By L. H. LEWIS
Conventions unquestionably are a known factor in develop-
ing the transient population of a city and in giving a commu-
nity direct advertising. Every convention is of some value to a
city, but the e} 7 e of an expert usually is required to determine
fully what it is. Only the expert can tell in certain cases
whether the cost was greater than the value. Surface condi-
tions do not always indicate the correct value of a convention.
It is a grievous error to estimate the complete value of a con-
vention by the money spent by the delegates. There are spend-
thrifts in the convention business, and there also are men em-
ployed who get excellent returns on the money invested. The
actual cost in dollars and cents of financing a convention rare-
ly, if ever, determines its worth. The convention business, as a
w r hole, is exceedingly profitable, but there is a great need for
standardization. Much money and effort are wasted. Compe-
tition for conventions is as keen as in any other branch of com-
mercial organization work.
Possibly the greatest value of the convention is the pub-
licity given the city where it is held. Any city with a spark of
progress invariably seeks to advertise its advantages broadcast.
Publicity for a city of the most valuable kind often comes free
and unsolicited because of conventions. It is frequently inspi-
rational and usually does not have to be paid for in dollars and
cents. One of the best mediums for obtaining this highly de-
sirable publicity that is so different from any other brand of
advertising is through the convention.
A satisfied convention visitor to any city is a walking ad-
vertisement for that municipality. Shrewd advertisers select
the publications that reach the greatest number of persons with
w r hom there is a probability of doing business. The cost and
the quality of the subscribers to those mediums, of course, are
134
CONVENTIONS, THEIR COST AND VALUE. 135
controlling factors in the selection. Practically these same fac-
tors must be considered if satisfactory results are to be obtained
in the convention business. There are some mighty good and
there are some very bad conventions meeting regularly through-
out the United States. There are more brands of conventions
than colors in the rainbow. Some cities have been injured more
than benefited by the conventions they have entertained. One of
the best kind is that which helps local business generally. The
convention that, in addition to demanding a bonus and all op-
crating expenses, disturbs local conditions, is a mighty poor one,
and should be labeled "not wanted." My own experience, along
with the information I have gathered recently, convinces me
that to obtain the greatest results in convention work, there
should be the highest type of organization. Use should be made
of the most modern business methods, and efficiency should be
the motto of the organization. The convention business is one
of the greatest and most important branches of commercial
organization work. It concerns practically every commercial
organization in the United States.
Municipal publicity can hardly be separated from conven-
tion work. They are closely connected in innumerable ways.
Many commercial organizations have seen the necessity and
wisdom of organization and system in handling convention
work and quite recently there have been established bureaus
and departments whose activities are devoted exclusively to this
field. Results naturally come with the establishment and opera-
tion of a compact, well-oiled organization a committee, a di-
vision, a department, a bureau that is continually in service.
I have failed to find the organization or the individual who
professed to knoAv all about the convention game. It really is a
game, and the players must continually keep in training if they
stand well in the percentage column. Experience gathered in
handling one convention is usually helpful in dealing with
another. The successful convention bureau keeps records and
files that are of almost inestimable value.
No rules have ever been established and no fixed methods
devised for either obtaining or handling conventions. What
might be a satisfactory arrangement in one city would not
work well in another city. The question of handling conven-
tions by cities, particularly in entertaining them and in perfect-
ing local arrangements, resolves itself into the fact that each
city has a course of individual treatment.
136 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
Some Conclusions About Conventions
It is not my purpose here to lay down a definite plan for
convention work, but I have made several observations that
caused me to reach the following conclusions :
Commercial organizations that make especial provision for
convention work get the greatest results from their efforts.
Buying conventions is a bad practice and one that should
be stopped. A convention that has to be bought really is not
worth having. The general tendency among cities now is to
offer a meeting place free of charge, assist in making the local
arrangements with members of the organization meeting in
convention, and help in advertising the convention. It is in-
variably a mistake for a city to try to get a convention when the
local members of the organization are not interested.
Obtaining conventions is nothing more than a high type of
salesmanship. A successful convention man is a diplomat
skilled in the art of disposing of his goods at the best possible
price for the organization he represents.
A small convention frequently benefits a city more than a
large gathering. The greatest possible amount of care should
be exercised in selecting a convention so as to eliminate the
undesirables. This can only be done through proper organiza-
tion and system for which sad experiences usually pave the way.
More satisfactory results in convention work usually are
obtained by having a budget so that those in charge will always
be acquainted with their financial condition. Financing con-
vention work has been a mighty big problem with many cities.
The general public sometimes fails to appreciate the value of
conventions. This also is true in a measure of those who are
directly benefited when the convention comes to town.
It is a fatal mistake for any city to endeavor to entertain
a convention when it does not have the proper facilities to do so.
There is a wonderful contrast between the satisfied and the
disgruntled convention visitor. Both always remember their
treatment. One is chanting in praises, while the other is con-
tinually bellowing in disgust over his treatment. The success-
ful merchant endeavors to wrap satisfaction up in every bundle
while the most successful convention organization endeavors
to satisfy every convention visitor.
There is a certain class of conventions that is continually
watching the horizon for easy prey. There are parasites in the
CONVENTIONS, THEIR COST AND VALUE. 137
convention field more than willing to take all and give prac-
tically nothing in return. It is this class of conventions that
the experienced convention man will not touch. The unsophis-
ticated led astray by the glowing accounts of the number of
delegates and the money they will spend during the convention
usually pays the price but once and no more.
Competition between cities for conventions is very keen
and has developed some tendencies that are unquestionably
bad. Representatives of some cities have painted a picture of
their town that never did nor could exist. This probably has
caused some conventions to accept with a grain of skepticism
the statements made by some convention men. Probably this
is why some conventions ask for almost everything from an ap-
propriation of several thousand dollars to a free meeting place
and really expect to get only a small part of what they ask.
Many commercial organization executives in the past few years
have remarked that conventions have been spoiled. I myself
think there has been ample ground for this belief, but I think
present conditions are decidedly improved.
Considered from every standpoint the convention that is
really worth while to any city, if properly managed and ob-
tained through what are recognized as approved methods, is
one of the best community developers on the market. More
conventions mean more hotels, more new money and a brand of
advertising that money can not purchase. Many cities would
not have coliseums had they made no effort to get conventions.
Their transportation lines would not be modern had they re-
mained out of this field. Many cities would be without some
of their best citizens and largest manufacturing concerns had
they not acted the part of convention host. The price of real
estate and property rentals would not be as high in many cities
had no conventions been held there.
The Value of Conventions
There are many values to the ordinary convention that can
hardly be estimated definitely. A few cities over the country
confine their efforts to certain classes of conventions, but the
larger cities especially can not do this with any degree of suc-
cess, for reasons that are obvious. These cities that specialize
endeavor to obtain conventions which they believe will give the
most benefit to certain lines of business represented in their
138 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
town. One of the values of a convention that is difficult to
compute is that wrong impressions about a city frequently are
corrected when the convention visitor comes to town and en-
joys its hospitality. False opinions disappear when the visitor
sees with his own eyes a thing that had been pictured to him
in a different way.
Here is one of the educational features of the convention.
The educational value of the average convention is one of its
most important assets. The most improved business methods
frequently are taken up for discussion on the convention floor.
This invariably acts as a stimulant to local business. An-
nouncements often are made of the latest discoveries in the
scientific world. A city neglects golden opportunities when it
fails to impress its advantages in every way upon the mind of
the convention delegate.
There are about five thousand organizations meeting in
convention in the United States. Experts figure that the aver-
age convention visitor will spend about six dollars a day. Some
cities calculate to spend from fifty cents to two dollars a day
for entertainment for each delegate. Most cities follow the
plan of either sending a representative or asking the local mem-
bers to present their invitations to the convention itself or to
the committee in charge of selecting the next convention city.
Most commercial organizations usually let local members take
complete charge of the arrangements for the convention because
the expenses usually are kept down to the minimum when this
plan is followed. This would not apply, of course, when there
are not enough local members to shoulder the burden.
All forms of entertainment are provided through the in-
genuity and the fertile brain of the convention man. The means
at his disposal usually governs the scope of the entertainment.
Some cities can entertain a convention successfully with one-
half the expense required in another city because they have the
facilities and the natural advantages.
That the convention business is profitable is shown by the
fact that the convention industry in the state of Colorado ranks
fourth. In 1913 it was figured that in that state the conven-
tion business amounted to $25,000,000, which was larger than
its gold output. In several cities the city administration regu-
larly makes contributions for conventions, thus throwing the
burden upon every citizen. Several cities maintaining highly
ADVERTISING BY COMMERCIAL ORGANIZATIONS. 139
successful convention bureaus spend about one per cent of the
total amount raised for entertainment. The funds in some
cities are raised by the hotels and restaurants giving one-fourth,
the commercial organization one-half and the public generally
one-fourth. About seventy- five per cent of their funds are
spent in obtaining conventions. Many commercial organiza-
tions annually set aside a certain amount for convention work,
but only a limited number keep any record of the amount spent
for entertainment and a record of the visitors brought to their
cities each year by conventions. Most commercial organiza-
tions always endeavor to obtain funds for convention work
from outside sources. They endeavor to raise funds for each
convention in this manner when they do not have a special
fund for the work.
A word of warning would seem to be in order now. The
secretary who knowingly disseminates wrong information about
a convention to a fellow secretary is guilty of high treason. It
is far better to give no information at all than to lead an in-
quirer astray. Give every inquirer the most reliable informa-
tion, for who can tell when the tables will turn. The practice
of charging exorbitant hotel rates because of conventions is a
question that probably will demand the consideration of legis-
latures in more states than one during the next few years.
This is without the control of the average convention organiza-
tion, but the convention man will be doing an honorable service
if he communicates the views of the ordinary delegate in the
premises to the hotel proprietors.
City Publicity
Portion of a Report on Advertising by Commercial Organizations
By CARL DEHONEY and
THORNDIKE DELAND
Note : The following constitutes the deductions made from voluminous
material on the subject gathered, as the result of an exhaustive questionaire,
from all parts of the United States.
A review of the facts brought out in our survey together
with other experiences and data on- the subject lead us to sug-
gest that the dominating features of the situation as it exists
today are :
140 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES:
That commercial organizations have as yet only scratched
the surface of this great question; have only begun to realize
its vast importance both for their own development and the
development of their cities; that out of the present confusion
and conflict of opinion there will eventually come an approach
at least to a more scientific handling of the problem.
That, while there is marked difference in the problem of
advertising a commercial organization or a city and advertising
a commercial product for sale and consumption, yet there are
sufficient points of similarity to enable the municipal adver-
tiser to profit by the more standardized experiences on the pro-
curing of commercial advertising.
That some of the difficulties met in organization and mu-
nicipal publicity differing from those of commercial advertis-
ing are:
1st The publicity manager of a commercial organization being re-
sponsible to a larger number of individuals than in the case of the business
corporation is frequently badly hampered in carrying out in full his plans
along proper lines.
2d That frequently not haying, or appearing to have perhaps, tangible
products or things for sale, it is more difficult to demonstrate actual results.
3d The frequent changing of personnel of governing boards and com-
mittees resulting in changing of ideas, often prevent the full carrying out of
campaign and render abortive what otherwise might have splendidly suc-
ceeded.
These are difficulties which the publicity manager and his
committee must succeed in overcoming.
Some of the points of similarity in advertising a commer-
cial organization or a city and advertising a commercial product
are:
First: The absolute necessity of thoroughly developing a
complete plan based upon a thorough analysis of the whole
situation and including not only the first steps leading up to
the campaign and the campaign itself, but full provisions for
adequate follow-up to take full advantage of results.
A commercial advertiser, before spending any money, must
analyze his product, his competition, his distribution, his mar-
ket, and the various methods for bringing product and market
together. In a similar way a city, before advertising, should
first thoroughly analyze itself, study its strength and its weak-
ness, its competition in different directions, its market, its facili-
ties for bringing its market in closer touch, such as transporta-
ADVERTISING BY COMMERCIAL ORGANIZATIONS. 141
tion facilities, etc., and the best method for producing the best
results.
Second : That the nearer the commercial organization can
come to offering a definite thing to sell, the more certain will an
advertising campaign succeed. If a city has a good definite
real estate proposition, if it offers definite opportunities for
new settlers and the investment of new capital, definite ad-
vantages for the location of particular classes of industries,
recreation and tourist advantages, a definite market situation
differing from its competitors, it can hope for success in a pub-
licity campaign. If you study the campaigns which have suc-
ceeded you will find they involve some definite proposition
which, after all, is only a logical business proposition.
Third : That cities which take up successfully the question
of publicity, must first make sure they are themselves "right"
when subjected to the acid test. If not, they must make them-
selves right, and the first step is to arouse the citizenship gen-
erally to a greater knowledge of the city's advantages and re-
sources and greater enthusiasm for its development. This has
been the basis of "Know your city" campaigns and industrial
surveys.
If the people of a city can be aroused to the necessity of
doing things for themselves, they can often bring more prestige
and publicity to the community than all the advertising experts
and committees in the country can produce. A notable instance
is Cleveland. It spends no money in the national organizations
on trade papers, apparently sends out little publicity matter,
does little along convention lines, yet no city has received more
favorable publicity within the past few years. Active Cleve-
landers have done it.
In this feature of the work the progressive chamber of
commerce can capitalize this sentiment to "sell" its member-
ships and increase its revenue for work, and, therefore, this
whole question of advertising the association is only another
phase of the question of membership and revenue, without which
no organization can live. Here is where the commercial or-
ganization has a definite proposition it can hook up with ac-
cepted advertising principles.
In its local work, the commercial organization finds its
best publicity medium in its daily newspapers, as evidenced so
generously in the facts brought out by this survey, showing that
142 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
commercial organizations in the United States receive publicity
which would cost at reading matter rates over five million dol-
lars a year. The commercial organization will find paid space
in these papers profitable if it has some definite project to put
across, or to retain and increase its support.
In municipal advertising, the viewpoint is veering away
from the procuring of miscellaneous free publicity, and while
cities will and should continue to get all the free publicity they
can, they will come more and more to consider buying what they
want from the mediums experience has shown most capable of
results.
In municipal publicity, just as in commercial advertising,
great value can be created for an attractive and logical slogun
or design, corresponding to the commercial trademark, by using
same throughout all kinds of publicity, and hammering it home
persistently until it comes to stand in the public mind for that
city.
If a city has made itself "right;" if it has an enthusiastic
citizenship in touch with its aspirations and organized to fur-
ther its plans ; if it has a definite publicity plan and proposition
(a good slogan or trade mark will tell the truth and keep on
telling it in season and out of season) it will deliver. the goods
whenever called upon, and will follow up its prospects it will
win through publicity.
CHAPTER IX.
Trade Extension Tours
The Mission of Trade Extension Journeys
By WILLIAM GEORGE BRUCE
It may not be amiss to discuss the purposes of annual
trade extension journeys, conducted under the auspices of com--
mercial organizations, describe the attitude of the visiting job-
ber and manufacturer towards the inland retailer, and point
out the benefits to be derived by all the factors involved.
The larger and average sized commercial centers of vari-
ous sections of the country have in recent years engaged to a
considerable extent in socalled trade excursions or merchants'
trips. Their value, or at least their popularity, is established.
But, it may also be well to analyze more closely just wherein
and to what extent the trade extension journeys are beneficial
to the business houses that engage in them and to the city that
promotes them. The benefits or advantages derived from them
may be summarized as follows :-
First : They promote the spirit of friendship among those
who participate in trade extension journeys. Business men are
afforded an opportunity to become more intimately acquainted
with their competitors, learn to appreciate one another as man
against man, with the tendency to substitute wholesome compe-
tition for unfriendly rivalry.
Second : The members or managers of a business firm who
participate in such trips have an opportunity :
(a) To meet their customers in person which is usually
appreciated and which tends to strengthen the business rela-
tions existing between the firms and their customers.
(b) These trips are apt to prompt immediate orders or
pave the way for future orders. Frequently a sufficient num-
ber of orders are secured by business men, the profits upon
which cover the cost of several trips.
(c) The visiting merchant is afforded an opportunity to
see his customer in his home environments and under condi-
tions which furnish an answer .to the questions : "Is this a
careful business man? Has he a good store, centrally located?
Does he keep his stock in good condition?" In the adjustment
143
144 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
of credits it is important to know something about his custom-
er's methods of doing business and the reputation he has at
home.
Third: Affording an opportunity to those who have no
trade in the region visited to study its business possibilities.
It has frequently developed that business houses have found it
to their advantage to place salesmen in a field after visiting
the same that had before such visit seemed unpromising. Thus,
many new trade accounts have followed as the result of these
trade extension journeys.
Fourth: A distinctive gain is made for the city that en-
gages in these trips. If the firms and individuals engaging in
them did not derive an immediate benefit, there is still an ad-
vertising value which goes to the city. It adds a prestige to
such city which could be gained in no other way.
From the Standpoint of the Cities Visited
Experience has taught that the expressions of good will
and friendship showered upon trade emissaries of this character
along the routes traveled are usually of the most sincere and
cordial character. The personal expressions as Well as the
numerous speeches made, taken in their entirety, reveal the
elements of genuine hospitality, geniality and goodfellowship.
While the attitude of the smaller centers of population is not
entirely selfish in character there is usually a reciprocal spirit
which forms an important stimulus towards strengthened busi-
ness relations.
The basis for the friendly attitude on the part of the small-
er town is usually found in the following :
First: A local pride in the thought that an important
trade extension train honors the town with a visit. Such events
are comparatively rare.
Second: A satisfaction in being afforded an opportunity
to point to the home town's achievements and possessions.
Whether the local commercial, industrial or institutional in-
terests are large or small, the resident citizen is always proud
to dwell upon them.
Third : The authorities usually recognize the fact that hos-
pitality is a virtue which applies to communities as well as to
individuals, and that hospitality manifested on occasions of this
kind denotes also the enterprise and public spirit of a people.
THE MISSION OF TRADE EXTENSION JOURNEYS. 145
Fourth : That trade relations between the larger and
smaller cities ar6 reciprocal; that the products of the farm
which maintain the small city must find their ultimate outlet
for consumption in the larger centers of population; that the
manufactured article of the large city is, in turn, essential to
the life, activities and comforts of the farm and the small city.
Attitude of the Visiting Merchants
The responses usually made by the executive officers and
members of the trade extension journey may be summed up in
the following thoughts and expressions :
First: That commerce knows no limitations; that state
lines are created for purposes of government only; that an
interstate commerce is consistent with the American idea and
conducive to the welfare and prosperity of the whole country ;
that we are one people, under one flag, with one and the same
destiny.
Second: That the progressive merchant of the large city
believes in the integrity, mission and purposes of the smaller-
units of population; that the smallest villages alike with the
great metropolis performs a function in the economic, civic,
educational and moral welfare of the nation.
Third: That the price list, quality of goods, taste and
personal contact and the element of friendship cannot be ig-
nored or overlooked.
Fourth : That honesty and integrity are a permanent and
self-accruing asset in business and that the merchants come
with honorable motives, with clean hands and clean intentions.
Fifth: That the commercial and industrial center means
to compete aggressively with other markets; to apply enter-
prise, energy and industr}^ in developing its possibilities.
Sixth : To tell the world what their city is, what it has,
and what it stands for ; to tell of its natural advantages, its
geographical location ; its commercial and industrial achieve-
ments, its hopes, its aspirations and its future.
Administration and Management
The trade extension journeys heretofore undertaken have
been uniformly successful in the ends and purposes which they
have aimed to serve, namely to promote and strengthen the
business relations between a given commercial center and the
outside world. They have also been conducted upon a self-sus-
14G EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
taining basis. The expense has been almost wholly borne by
those who have participated in them.
In order, however, that the greatest degree of service be
attained in point of participation, in the selection of an itin-
erary, in securing a reasonable rate of per capita cost, in secu-
ring an efficient train service, in prompting a cordial reception
and in attaining favorable publicity in the towns to be visited,
the merchants' trips have been planned with discriminate care
months in advance and with a supervisory care on the part of
committees, executive officers and board of directors. More
especially must this be done if the trips are to be made self
sustaining in point of cost and effective in desired results.
The committees entrusted with the immediate and detail
arrangements are apt to become engrossed in certain phases
of the trip and lose sight of the larger problems involved and
the ultimate outcome of the financial end of the project. Here
action, which shall be timely enough so as to make the veto
power of the board effective and practical both as to the itiner-
ary and the cost involved, is recommended. The following
suggestions are usually observed :
First: That all trips are planned with a view of making
them self-sustaining in point of cost.
Second : That the committee plan its itinerary during the
month of January of each year for the trade excursion to be
undertaken during the month of June following, and that a
list of probable participants be prepared and acceptances be
secured as early as possible.
Third : That the committee present to the board of direc-
tors a report on the next merchants' trip, the itinerary and date
for same, the number of prospective participants, the arrange-
ments for transportation, specifying cost for mileage, meals and
sleeping car service, accompanied by estimates as to the total
receipts and expenditures involved.
Trade Extension Through Excursions
By WALTER S. WRITTEN
In the serious business of city, state and empire building,
the trade excursion or trade trip is as new as it has proved
important. It is to the city what the drummer is to the indi-
vidual jobber. In short, the trade trip is the city's drummer.
SHORT TRIPS FROM A JOBBING CENTER. 147
Yet, the city's drummer dift'ers from the jobber's drummer in
one respect while the latter takes orders, the former only an-
ticipates them.
It should not be the aim of the excursionists to write
orders. On the other hand, they should avoid it entirely. The
business of the excursion is larger. It is, first of all, to plant
the seed; the harvest, as in the course of Nature, should come
later.
If an attempt to take orders is made, it leaves a lasting
impression in the mind of the other fellow that you were "after
something." Such an impression would be fatal to the object
of the excursion. It should scatter broadcast the idea of reci-
procity between merchant and merchant. In other words, we >
a city, have something to offer you, namely, unexcelled trans-
portation facilities, a market of wider scope, this or that which
you cannot get elsewhere. You gain a psychological vantage
point when the fact of your offering is emphasized.
Leave as much as possible behind to serve as a reminder
of the fact that you have been there. This includes trinkets
for the school children and high class advertising, such as a
tastily gotten up pamphlet containing views of the city and
descriptions of its places of interest in short, an advertisement
with the advertising idea not too obtrusive. Such literature
will probably adorn a desk or a counter for months, and, before
it reaches the waste basket, be picked up and read by hundreds.
And, of course, there is always the advertising of the individual
firms.
Short Trips From a Jobbing Center
By E. H. CLIFFORD
In most cities which maintain a commercial organization,
one of the important functions of that organization is to ar-
range trade extension trips which afford the members an op-
portunity to repay to the towns in their trade territory the
visits made by the merchants and citizens of the town. It is
also a method by which they extend their trade relations and
in various cities different plans have been evolved to attain this
end. It is generally conceded that trips of this kind are worth
while that the item of expense is a legitimate charge to adver-
148 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
tising, and the members of commercial organizations take great
interest in them and usually cooperate in suggesting the places
to visit. They promote a feeling of good fellowship and many
acquaintances are formed that are lasting and agreeable.
Towns visited always plan some kind of a reception, gov-
erned by the length of the stay with them, so the members mak-
ing the trip return home, in most instances, satisfied that it
has been worth the time, trouble and expense involved.
Long Journeys
Pittsburgh in 1912 visited a great number of cities in the
Middle West and created quite an amount of interest by their
special train which contained models and exhibits of their
various manufactories. They had quite an attractive train
and a large party. A few ladies were in this party, which is a
new departure in trade trips as usually only men take part in
them. In the cities of the Middle West, up to this time, nothing
so elaborate has been tried, as the length of time consumed on
the trips is usually one week.
The Alaska Bureau of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce
made an 8,000 mile tour through Alaska and the Yukon, which
is considered to be the longest tour of Alaska. Some Great
Lakes cities have used lake steamers and call their trips
"cruises." Several cities have tried automobiles. The plan is
usually governed by local conditions, but the details are nearly
always the same, as the object is to satisfy the travelling party
and make things as pleasant as possible for them during the
trip, and to create a favorable impression in the cities visited
Music is always one of the first things taken into considera-
tion, as it is generally admitted that a good band is one thinjr
that will liven up the members of the party and also attract
attention in the towns visited. Other means of entertainment
are usually provided, most parties having among their mem-
bers a few who will make up quartets and double quartets.
Souvenirs are expected, and it is customary for the members
making these trips to provide themselves with something that
will be retained by the people in the towns visited. This, of
course, is a detail, and is worked out by parties making the trip.
Badges are worn by members. Some sort of a uniform or cap
is sometimes suggested.
SHORT TRIPS FROM A JOBBING CENTER. 149
One-Day Outings
Most of the commercial organizations plan trips of a
week's duration, traveling many miles from their home city,
and to a different territory each year, having on their train a
diner and sleeping cars. In St. Joseph we followed this plan
for a number of years, but for the last two years our members
wishing us to offer them something of a different nature, we
have adopted the idea of a one-day trip leaving St. Joseph in
the early morning, making our destination some point about one
hundred miles from home, returning the same night, taking
dinner and supper at towns en route. This plan has met with
sucli universal favor with our members that we are of the opin-
ion it will be quite a long while before they will call upon us
to arrange for the week trips for them, as we have found that
it is much easier for our members to lay aside their business
for one day five or six times a year than for them to plan
for a week's absence. It also enables a larger percentage of
our members to make the trip, as the cost is nominal, as for
the five trips whicli were planned last year, any one of our
members who made all of them, was only called upon to spend
$32.50. We have discarded the diner and commissary car from
our trains, as our plan for taking care of the meals en route
is for us to suggest to the ladies of some church in the town
where we wish to take dinner or supper, that they serve us,
we guaranteeing them that we will pay for not less than 150
meals, at an average price of 50c each, and for whatever num-
ber there are above our guarantee. Our experience has been
that this plan is satisfactory to both the ladies of the church
and to our members and we have been fortunate in having some
very fine meals served to us under this plan. We much prefer
this to going to a hotel for the service is much quicker, and as
most of the supplies and labor are donated by the ladies of
the church serving the meal, it leaves with their church treasury
a nice sum, and also affords our members making the trip an
opportunity of meeting with some of the best people in the town
we visit.
We plan our trips to make our last stop in the evening
about 5 :30, trying to arrange it so that this visit will be at the
largest, or one of the largest, towns in the territory, spending
about two hours there, and we are usually entertained by the
local commercial club. It takes us about three hours to get
150 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
back home, as we plan no stops on the return trip, this part of
the trip being devoted to the social entertainment of the mem-
bers of our party, and with this in view we call our trips "Get
Acquainted Trips," as we find that a great number of our mem-
bers wish to meet with one another and this affords them that
opportunity.
We do not carry a commissary car on the going trip, as we
have found this to be an objectionable feature to a great many
of the towns visited, and it is also objected to by quite a few
of our members. Whatever liquid refreshments are desired are
sent to the end of the line, and upon the return trip as there
is only our own party in the train those of our members who
wish it are then served. We have found this a very satisfactory
w T ay of handling a very difficult proposition.
We do not limit the members of our party to any individual
line of business, believing that a trip given by our club should
be open to any of our members in good standing, and although
at first there was some criticism at bringing the jobber and re-
tailer together in visiting the different towns, this has been
overcome, as there are so many in the party that the business
identity of the member making the trip is lost sight of.
Trade Extension Trips Methods and Results
By LEROY M. GIBBS
While trips of this character are more or less common to
all sections of the country, the development of the United
States from the East to the West has resulted in the eastern
section becoming primarily a manufacturing section, selling
its product largely through the jobber. The central and western
sections, with less manufacturing, with great distributing
houses wholesaling the products of many mills and factories
throughout a vast territory given over in the main to agricul-
ture, mining and forest products, with fewer cities, are con-
cerned with selling goods to the small town retailer. Owing
to the fact that in the eastern states, cities and towns of con-
siderable trade importance are located in close proximity to
each other, the trade territory or sphere of influence covers a
comparatively small area ; that is, while in a given area might
be located a great city enjoying a nation-wide trade, there
TRADE EXTENSION TRIPS METHODS AND RESULTS. 151
would be perhaps half a dozen cities within a radius of one
hundred or two hundred miles enjoying a considerable jobbing
business. In the central and western states with their vast
areas and the greater distance between cities there are many
points which become, through various forces, distributing cen-
ters for great stretches of country, these centers, in most cases,
being situated at such distances from each other as to necessi-
tate an over-night journey.
One secretary has said that the average trade territory is
in the form of an ellipse, with the interested city located in the
eastern end of the ellipse. This is, of course, particularly true
of the jobbing territory of the western city and is the direct
result of the adjustment of freight rates. Perhaps this applies
more to cities situated Avest of Mississippi River valley points
which meet rates based on water transportation.
It is self -evident that favorable inbound freight rates are
of the greatest importance to a city as a jobbing center. Equal-
ly important are the outbound rates enabling the city to meet
competition. Freight service, so arranged as to provide prompt
delivery of goods, satisfactory prices and a friendly interest
and acquaintance with the merchant and the territory served, is
an important factor in building up trade.
The Importance of Trade Trips
Such information as I have been able to gather indicates
that there are 75 cities carrying on annual trade trips, going
out for a week and covering anywhere from 1,000 to 2,000
miles, while there are a still greater number of smaller towns
with restricted territory going out by automobile for one or
two-day trips.
In general, a trade extension trip has as its object, not
only the increase of trade that may result to the individual
jobber or manufacturer through meeting his customers and
possible buyers, but the strengthening of the city as the logical
center of that section not only as a trading point, but the com
mercial, social and educational center in short, the "big
town" to its constituency.
Four General Methods
^
There are perhaps four general methods of trade extension
trips :
152 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
Those by train and ordinarily covering a five or six-day
or possibly a two-week period, in a more or less extended trade
territory.
By automobile and usually of not more than one or two
days' duration, covering nearby towns.
Trolley trips ordinarily limited to one day.
Trips taken by a few great cities w r ith enormous manu-
facturing interests and in which only the larger towns or
cities are visited, what we may term, a major geographical
section.
Some of the Great Lakes cities and some coast cities make
trips by boat, but these for the most part are more in the nature
of pleasure excursions, but none the less valuable.
The Objects of the Trips
While some hold that, trade being the major purpose of
the institution, the advantages of the home city should be
dwelt on at all times. The preponderance of opinion seems to
be in favor of establishing friendly relations and that trade
will follow as a matter of course.
Only in a comparatively few cases is an effort made to
solicit, and some organizations absolutely prohibit the carrying
of order books. The tendency seems to be, however, to leave
this to the judgment of the individual with few efforts being
made to actually take orders on such a trip.
A feature that appeals to me, as of considerable value and
yet adopted apparently by few cities, is that of sending an ad-
vance man over the territory to be visited. This man calls upon
the representatives of the commercial organization or the town
officials, arranges any program that is to be carried out, and
other details. He also sees the leading merchants, and, while
advising them of the contemplated visit, gets their viewpoint,
learns where they buy the greater part of their goods, why a
competing city may be favored, what deliveries are made from
his city, and of any misunderstandings that may exist. Upon
his return he makes a report which is published and a copy
furnished each member of the party for use during the coming
trip.
Many business men have come to realize that the thing of
greatest importance is the economic development of the country,
and as a result have carried out through trips of this nature
TRADE EXTENSION TRIPSMETHODS AND RESULTS. 153
campaigns of education, preaching in regions subject to drouth
where corn is a 'precarious crop, the growing of kaffir. milo
maize and sorghums, which are better adapted to such condi-
tions; in a one-crop section, diversified farming; in a stock-rais-
ing country, the breeding of better stock; in a fruit section,
better grading, packing and marketing, such subjects always
being handled by experts carried for the purpose. I have in
mind a case where through such propaganda, carried out over
a period of years in a trade territory, hundreds of cars of
peanuts are now being raised where previously they were an
unknown crop.
Methods for Conducting Trips by Train
Some organizations seem to favor the appointment of a
considerable number of committees to handle the various de-
tails, but I am inclined to favor one strong committee which
handles the entire matter. The question of first importance
is the arrangement of the itinerary, that the train may move
on schedule, that there may be time enough in the principal
trade centers and not too much at the less important stops.
There is a growing sentiment, however, against merely rushing
into a town and out again, leaving in the minds of the men vis-
ited only a confused idea as to the identity of the visitors. It
is necessary that the schedule be lived up to, and that the night
stop be reached not later than five or five-thirty. The best prac-
tice seems to be to delegate some one man as train master, whose
duty it is to handle the train.
It is important that advance information be given in towns
to be visited through the commercial organization or some
official and to the local newspapers, advising the date of the
visit and the hour of arrival and departure, the information
given the newspapers being in nature of a write-up, which
naturally lends itself to local treatment.
It is also good practice for the member making the trip to
write his trade of the intended call.
The number of men carried on such trips seems to run
from seventy-five to one hundred and fifty, and too much em
phasis cannot be laid on the necessity of a house being repre-
sented by the principal or an official of the firm. The local
merchant sees traveling salesmen frequently but feels honored
by a visit from "the big boss."
]54 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
There is some question as to the advisability of inviting re-
tailers to join the party, and some cities do not permit this
practice. In case the retailer is carried, it would seem wise
that he give out no advertising matter or do anything to cause
conflict with the small town retailer, who is naturally jealous
of his trade territory and regards the city retailer, with his big
advertising, as his strongest competitor.
Equipment carried is, of course, dependent on the number
of men making the trip, as in almost every case the excursion-
ists live on the train. The average equipment consists of two
baggage cars, one being used as a lunch and soft drink estab-
lishment, two diners, three or four Pullmans, one or two tour-
ist sleepers, and a combination library, buffet, or observation
car. The cost, including transportation, meals and tips, aver-
ages approximately $100 for each member for a five or six-day
trip.
The men making the trip may be divided into two classes :
Those who retire early with the desire for sleep, and the owl
squad who never sleep. The secretary who knows his men can
easily arrange matters so that these men occupy different cars,
much to the satisfaction of those who wish rest.
Almost invariably a good band is carried and appreciated
in the small towns where they seldom have the opportunity of
hearing the better band music.
Short talks are usually made in the towns where the time
will warrant, with more elaborate programs in the evenings,
the evening program in most cases consisting of an informal
reception or smoker. One city adopted a pleasing form of eve-
ning entertainment by giving a band concert in conjunction
with motion pictures thrown on a screen stretched against a
building. Care should be taken, however, in the selection of
speakers, each speaker understanding what subject or subjects
he is expected to cover and the time that he is to talk, otherwise
there is the danger of a program becoming long drawn out and
tiresome.
In speaking in the open air it is much easier for the speak-
ers if the crowd be so grouped as to allow the speaker to face
the wall of a building unobstructed by awnings. Trying to
speak from a corner with a crowd all about is an almost im-
possible situation for a speaker; it breaks his voice and few
can hear, resulting in inattention and disorder.
TRADE EXTENSION TRIPS METHODS AND RESULTS. 155
Some favor the carnival spirit and seem to believe that this
breaks down formality and is appreciated in the small town. I
am very much in favor of the dignified educational trip and
think it has a much better and lasting effect.
I do not mean to imply that I am opposed to fun, but any-
thing of this nature should be incidental and not the major
part of the program.
In almost every case the trade trippers are supplied with
uniform hats, caps or dusters, buttons or ribbons showing tht.
name of the man and the firm represented, and march to the
center of the town visited, led by the band.
Souvenirs are carried on all such occasions, but usually
by the individual firms, although some organizations give out
well-printed advertising matter of their city, order books or
other matter.
In working up an itinerary it is well to include even the
"tank towns," although the visit be short, for often these towns
take themselves seriously and resent any apparent slight.
The Conduct of Automobile Trips
The advent of the automobile has served to greatly increase
the retail territory of the larger cities and towns, in many cases
shoppers driving twenty-five, fifty or even one hundred miles
to trade, the territory, of course, being affected materially by
the class of roads leading to the city and the location of com-
peting centers. In this connection too much stress cannot be
laid upon the necessity of good roads.
The automobile trip is popular in many towns and cities,
and is particularly well adapted to trips where the number
participating does not warrant the running of a special train
and for comparatively short trips into immediate trade terri-
tory. It permits of much greater flexibility and does not call
for the outlay required by the more pretentious train trips.
As a rule it is more local in character and in its make-up
generally includes men representing both wholesale and retail
establishments. Frequently such excursions are almost wholly
community boosting trips get-together, get-acquainted propo-
sitions, and are, no doubt, of value both from the standpoint
of a knowledge of the immediate surrounding country, crop
conditions and trade.
The better organized trips have a definite schedule and
156 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
program such as the more ambitious train trips, the benefits
in territory covered being comparable to the extended excur-
sions.
A danger to be guarded against in the automobile trip is
that of its degenerating into a road race and consequent for-
getfulness of the real object of the trip. When this occurs it is
likely to do more harm than good.
Benefits to be Derived
Benefits derived from trade extension trips may be classi-
fied into four general heads :
To the individual making the trip.
To the merchant visited.
To the section visited.
To the market.
The individual benefits are almost as varied and as nu-
merous as the men making up the party. The credit informa-
tion obtained by seeing a stock of goods and the merchant's
way of looking after business in many cases is worth more than
the cost of the entire trip. He sees the manner in which goods
are kept neatly displayed or merely thrown on the shelves.
In fact, dozens of little things which indicate the stability of
the business and which do not find their way into commercial
reports.
Then there is the opportunity of straightening out the little
difficulties and misunderstandings that sometimes arise and
that cannot be adjusted through the salesmen, but are easily
solved when the principals get together.
The jobber or manufacturer can determine if he is getting
the amount of business he should get on the territory, and has
the chance to judge if he has the real live account in the town
or is tied up with the less desirable merchant. He is enabled
to study at first hand the needs of his trade and to determine
whether he is giving the sort of service his customers have a
right to expect.
Incidentally it gives him a check on his sales force in the
territory. One jobber told me of a case where one of his travel-
ing salesmen had charged regularly in his expense account for
a drive to reach a certain town. What was his surprise in
chatting with the customer to find that his representative had
TRADE EXTENSION TRIPS METHODS AND RESULTS. 157
not visited the merchant in two year's, but had called him on
the telephone.
Freight deliveries are worthy of study on such trips, and
often information gained has resulted in the working out of
more advantageous schedules with resultant increased trade.
The educational value is a very real one. No wide awake
business man can make such a trip without gaining a much
more comprehensive idea of the country which he serves, its
resources, and its possibilities for development.
The acquaintance between jobber and merchant makes for
a better understanding, a better spirit, and closer cooperation ;
for business in the main is done on quality, price, preference
and confidence; but these being equal, good will is often the
deciding factor.
There is undoubtedly a selling value to the individual busi-
ness man who does business in a town that is known to be very
much alive and hustling for business, as well as giving a good
impression of progressiveness.
The follow-up, and here is a problem many a business man
has pondered over! The trade trip follow-up is worthy of
thought. It is not new for the business man to sit down after
a trip and Avrite the men he has seen. It is hard work when
the desk is piled high after a week's absence. But it pays. But
pays only when the follow-up is made with the right sort of
letter. The ordinary stereotyped sort won't do. As well give
the girl stenographer a copy of the catalog for reading at the
seashore. It should be a good, red-blooded letter, with a punch,
a personality, a message from the man who takes his pen in
hand and affixes his signature at the end.
Then again, a piece of printed matter is sent out by the
organization expressing appreciation an invitation to visit
the city and become better acquainted. More likely than not
this carries a list of the men who made the trip. Properly pre-
pared, such matter should be worth while.
The suggestion has been made that a trade trip might prove
of value to the merchant if a retail efficiency expert were car-
ried to aid the small town merchant. It is my judgment that
such a man could do little in a town in the time at his command
and that this matter can be much better handled through a
merchants' week or short cpurse with which many of you are
familiar.
158 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
Sometimes we unconsciously overlook the human equation ;
we forget the human element in business. We forget the value
of the personal touch. 1 believe you will all agree, however, that
you have a different feeling in writing a man you know and can
visualize as you write and put more of yourself into the com-
munication. The same is true in the ordinary commercial
transaction. The merchant feels the human element in writ-
ing the jobber or manufacturer whom he has seen ; he is a flesh-
and-blood reality to him rather than a vague abstraction, and
the distributor or manufacturer writes with a different spirit
when he sees in his mind's eye the customer he is literally talk-
ing to and knows his surroundings.
Some Results from Trade Tours
There is a very real value to the merchant visited. It is
his opportunity to show the jobber or manufacturer that he is
worthy and entitled to a line of credit. He has the advantage
of being "at home ;" he can point out his favorable location, his
well displayed stock of goods, and his efficient store service.
He can call attention to the prosperity of his section of the
country, the big barns, the fine herds of cattle and the crop
possibilities.
The worth of such a call to the town visited may be a very
genuine one. It is a big possibility for advertising and the
wide awake town takes advantage of it. The men making the
trip are usually trained observers. They are quick to see busi-
ness opportunities, the resources of a town and where there
may be an opening. Many times this results to the advantage
of that section. The big business man knows someone who is
seeking a location and sends him there. It helps in municipal
improvements the town wants to sell bonds and there are men
in the party who can handle the proposition. Better mail serv-
ice, better freight deliveries, a re-arrangement of the passenger
schedule, a hundred and one things the small town wants come
to the attention of men who can and are willing to help.
While it may be difficult in some cases to trace direct
benefits, such trips are unquestionably of great value to a mar-
ket, and there is no doubt that many cities have developed a
strength that would have been impossible except through such
methods.
Cities, like individuals, are frequently misunderstood;
TRADE EXTENSION TRIPS METHODS AND RESULTS. 159
especially is this true of the big city in a given territory. The
trade trip is often the medium for removing misconception,
eliminating suspicion, and clearing the way for mutual under-
standing.
A publicity value also attaches to such an undertaking,
as it is usually given much favorable comment by the press
throughout the entire trade territory.
The home influence is invaluable, for one of the greatest
benefits of such a trip, if not the greatest, is the opportunity
given a man of getting acquainted with the business men of his
home city.
Rubbing elbows, thrown together for a Aveek with men they
have merely had a speaking acquaintance with in the past, has
a beneficial effect. Men in knowing each other lose suspicion
and learn cooperation. They cease to be violently competitive
and begin to sense the value of working together. They do not
fight among themselves but unite to meet the needs of their
trade territory through better service. They go back to their
desks ready to help each other, with a broader vision, a kindlier
feeling, a better spirit, and with more charity toward both
customer and competitor.
CHAPTER X.
Charity Endorsements
Charity Endorsements and the Prevention of Fraudulent Solicitation
By HOWARD STRONG
A generation ago the average commercial organization
would have considered ridiculous the proposal that it assume
the endorsement and supervision of the charitable organizations
and activities of its community.
Each one of you accepts the new conception of the com-
mercial organization as a body which includes every civic, social
and commercial activity making for the common welfare. Such
an organization recognizes the propriety of the demand of busi-
ness men for protection against frauds of various kinds, and
assurance of economy and efficienc}^ in the charitable and phil-
anthropic agencies which call upon them for support.
The assumption of this supervisory function by a commu-
nity organization is based upon the fundamental principle that
the charity which receives its support from the public, is in a
sense, a public institution, and that the public has a right and
a responsibility, therefore, to know its methods and to demand
its conformity with an accepted standard. Asa result, the com-
mercial body or some other representative agency, in most of
our large communities, has assumed the responsibility of repre-
senting the contributors, in supervising the collection and ex-
penditure of funds for public charity and relief.
In many instances this has been only the first step in the
process and there have been taken on additional functions which
I shall endeavor to discuss.
It is unnecessary to convince you of the propriety of cre-
ating an endorsement committee, or in detail to discuss the
advantages resulting from its activities. A questionaire mak-
ing detailed inquiry as to the existence of such a body was sent
to sixty-six cities. Replies were received from fifty-seven, and
out of these forty-five have already undertaken a plan of en-
dorsement, and five are planning to do so, leaving only seven of
160
CHARITY ENDORSEMENTS AND FRAUDULENT SOLICITATION. H51
the number replying-, who are not definitely undertaking it. I
assume that you are all in sympathy with the general purpose of
the plan, and with its accomplishments. I take it that you will
prefer a discussion of technique, methods which have been found
successful, and the results which have been attained through
these various methods.
Answering Essential Questions
Let me approach the question from five points of view.
First By what organization should charity supervision
be undertaken?
Second What activities should be included in this super-
vision?
Third What should be the specific relationship between
the supervising body and the charities under its jurisdiction?
Fourth By what method should the conclusions of the
supervising body be brought to the attention of the contributing
public ?
Fifth What should be the relationship between the en-
dorsing body and similar bodies in other communities?
First: What organization should assume the responsibil-
ity of charity supervision? The early tendency was toward the
performance of this function by the central charity organiza-
tion of the city. It has been argued that such a society has a
better understanding of the work of various charitable organi-
zations than any other group can have ; that it is in closer touch
with their problems, and that it can in a greater degree com-
mand the services and judgment of those familiar with char-
itable activities. It has been almost universally found, how-
ever, that charitable organizations themselves resent the as-
sumption of a supervisory attitude on the part of one of their
own number. The right of this organization to set itself up
as a mentor over other similar organizations is questioned, and
the judgment of those representing this body is in danger of
being affected by their peculiar and special interest in certain
phases of the charity problem.
Further, because of an entirely unwarranted, though preva-
lent suspicion on the part of business men, that people active-
ly identified w r ith charity organizations are theoretical rather
than practical, the decisions of the body representing the charity
organization are not infrequently discounted. At present, only
162 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
four of those replying to the questionaire conduct bureaus in
this manner, clearly indicating a tendency away from this plan.
A modification of this method is found in the creation of
a joint committee, representing both charity organization, soci-
ety and commercial body. This combination gives added weight,
in the minds of the contributing public, to decisions of this
committee, but fails to eliminate the suspicion and distrust
engendered on the part of the organizations coming under
supervision. Only four cities conduct the bureau according to
this plan.
Some years ago the endorsement body, as a money-making
proposition, was popular. This was conducted purely for per-
sonal gain and was subject to such abuse that it has practically
disappeared.
Task for Commercial Bodies
The plan under which the commercial organization itself
assumes the entire responsibility of supervision is gaining in
favor. The committee representing the commercial body is
usually made up of men of high business standing who are
thoroughly conversant, and usually connected, with the activi-
ties of various charitable organizations. Their experience in
administering successfully the affairs of these philanthropic
activities insures the soundness of their judgment in such
matters ; their breadth and recognized standing in the commu-
nity commands the respect alike of charity organizations and
the contributing public; while their right to refuse approval
of unworthy methods and to demand efficiency, because they
represent the contributors of the community, is freely recog-
nized by almost every agency subject to supervision. I think
this will soon be the universally accepted plan.
Second : What activities shall be included under the direct
supervision of the commercial organization? Some supervis-
ing agencies confine themselves to a consideration merely, of
solicitations for local permanent charitable organizations, but
no such agency, if it is alive to its responsibility, can stop with
a consideration of these demands upon the community. There
are myriads of soliciting schemes which are presented for the
consideration and support of the giving public religious and
labor organizations doing some charitable work, temporary
appeals for specific purposes, appeals for individual relief, for
philanthropic purposes in other cities, and for national move-
CHARITY ENDORSEMENTS AND FRAUDULENT SOLICITATION. 103
ments of various sorts, requests for advertising for semi-philan-
thropic purposes as well as straight commercial advertising
which promise returns for value received, and, of course, the
ever present opportunity for every conceivable character of
business investment. I believe that the commercial organiza-
tion can well assume a direct supervision over most of these
types of solicitation. I see no reason why every one should not
be included if the organization has the means to undertake the
responsibility and the influence to make its decisions effective.
The average business man has little opportunity to study the
genuineness of the many appeals which come to him each day.
He is anxious to support those things which make for the up-
building of his city, or which mean a legitimate profit for him-
self. But he does not want to be bunkoed. His organization,
which exists for the good of his community, can well undertake
the function of protecting him against useless or worse than
useless appeals and recommending to him those which it believes
are for the common welfare.
If the commercial organization is so disposed, it may even
employ experts who are competent to investigate the commer-
cial feasibility of various advertising plans which are presented
and the soundness of proposed business investments. One state-
wide commercial organization has definitely undertaken this re-
sponsibility. It has organized an investors' league as one of
its departments, which will endeavor to ferret out dishonest
promoters and wildcat investments, and to inform its members
as to their true nature. It will endeavor also to promote and
educate a public confidence in legitimate investment. The com-
mercial organization which can perform all of these functions
successfully will unquestionably render a great service to its
members and to the community.
A Constructive Supervision
Third: Perhaps the most important phase of the whole
problem is the degree of supervision which the endorsing body
shall exercise.
Some supervisory bodies act merely as rating agencies.
The simplest and least effective, but apparently the commonest
method, unfortunately, isanalogous to the function performed
by Dun's or Bradstreet's agency. The endorsing committee
investigates the various applications for approval which come
164 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
before it. Those Avhich are worthy and legitimate are given
some form of endorsement or favorable report. The unworthy
applications are refused and the matter ends there. The or-
ganization which performs no other function than this, however,
is making little contribution to the constructive philanthropy
of its town. It usually does not have the cooperation of the
charitable organizations of the city, and more often than not
finds itself without influence and its decisions little regarded.
The endorsing body which would be really effective must
assume a definitely constructive and supervisory capacity.
Such an organization gains the confidence and cooperation of
efficient charitable organizations by cooperating with them in
the standardization of their methods, in suggesting improve-
ments and in assisting them to bring their needs before the
public in the most favorable manner, and further by taking
action against unworthy organizations which are diverting
funds from their support. The endorsing body confers with
organizations which are endeavoring to fill a real need, but
which are ineffective or extravagant, and it becomes eventually
the controlling influence in making these organizations serve
fully the purpose for which they exist, This committee sys-
tematically studies the whole charitable field, it eliminates
duplication and useless effort, it secures cooperation among
organizations performing similar functions, it assists in creat-
ing new agencies to meet needs not already cared for. If its
work is done wisely and without prejudice it becomes the princi-
pal factor in the elimination of destructive charity and in the
development of a truly scientific and independence-producing
philanthropy.
It goes further than this it concerns itself more or less
directly with every unsocial condition in the community. It
has a part in the removal of these conditions, thus helping to
eliminate the necessity for the curative charitable agencies
which must now be supported by the public. Housing, public
health, recreation and a score of other activities become its
vital interests, either through its own activities or through its
cooperation with bodies which are dealing with these problems.
The supervising agency thus becomes the sponsor for
all of the constructive philanthropic and charitable activity
of the community. In some cities where the program has been
worked out most successfully, the committee holds itself, and
CHARITY ENDORSEMENTS AND FRAUDULENT SOLICITATION. 165
expects the community to hold it, directly responsible for the
efficiency and economy of the various social agencies coming
under its supervision. No such committee can assume this
degree of responsibility without the employment of a staff of
trained charity experts, for intelligent supervision of this char-
acter requires intimate understanding of the actual problems
and management of charitable organizations. The commercial
body which assumes this responsibility and discharges it con-
scientiously becomes a mighty force in the civic and social up-
building of its town.
Methods of Endorsement
Fourth : The method by which the conclusions of the en-
dorsing body are brought to the attention of the public is im-
portant. In some instances, the endorsing body gives no formal
certification for any kind of solicitation. It informs itself as
to the worthiness of various appeals, and any contributor who
wishes to learn with reference to an appeal must call upon or
write to the endorsing body for information.
In other instances lists of approved institutions are pub-
lished by the endorsing body from time to time, and distributed
to its members, and, in some cases, to the general public.
Sometimes a formal letter or certificate of approval, usual-
ly covering a limited period, is issued to every sort of an agency
making a legitimate appeal, while in other cases such endorse-
ment is issued only to local worthy permanent charitable or-
ganizations, and a verbal or written report is made upon re-
quest for all other appeals. The plan by which a report upon
request is given without formal endorsement is, I think experi-
ence has shown, comparatively ineffective. This plan provides
no direct means for bringing to the constant attention of the
contributor the fact that there is an organization which is ready
to serve him. The availability of this service, as a matter of
fact, occurs to a very small proportion of the contributors who
are called upon, and as a result, the approval of the endorsing
body is not at all an essential element in securing funds. The
endorsing body consequently has little influence in endorsing
its requirements upon the institutions which it seeks to influ-
ence. I do not think a single endorsing body which follows
this plan, has attained an influence which makes its endorse-
ment essential to the support and success of every charitable
360 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
organization in the community, and which is, therefore, in a
position to enforce high standards of efficiency.
I am very strongly of the opinion that the most effective
method, from the standpoint of efficiency in the charitable or-
ganization, education of the contributor, and protection to the
community, lies in the use of some form of an endorsement
card or certificate, supplemented perhaps by the occasional pub-
lication of a "white list/- at least for permanent local bodies.
Every solicitor who carries a card of this kind is certain to
present it as an additional argument for a contribution. The
contributor in a short time comes to realize that there is an
organization which is constantly serving him and when the
card is not presented he insists upon the endorsement of his
organization before he makes a contribution. Thus every char-
itable organization comes to recognize the tremendous influence
and value of having the official endorsement, and makes every
effort to comply with the standards insisted upon by the en-
dorsing body. I know of several communities in which the ap-
proval of the endorsing body is practically essential to the con-
tinuance and success of the charitable organizations.
Endorsement Cards Issued
On the other hand, it is frequently argued that the issuance
of a card of endorsement results in the absolute reliance of the
contributor upon the judgment of the endorsing body and that
support of the philanthropic activities of the community be-
comes mechanical instead of resulting from an intimate knowl-
edge of and interest in the w T ork of these organizations. As a
matter of ,fact, I think experience has clearly proven that the
use of the endorsement card stimulates personal investigation
and inquiry on the part of the contributor, and that in those
communities where this plan is followed, the giving public has
attained a more intelligent understanding of and greater
sympathy with the work which it is supporting than has been
attained in communities which employ other methods. The
endorsement bodies which have been the most potent factors
in the education of their communities to a responsibility for
the charitable work of those communities are in general the
ones which have followed this method.
A modification of the endorsement card has been tried in
one community with some success. Solicitors are given a large
CHARITY ENDORSEMENTS AND FRAUDULENT SOLICITATION. 167
certificate sheet. The endorsement is at the top, together with
the amount of money which the organization may collect during
the current year, and space is left for the names of. subscribers,
with the amount which they give. Contributors are urged to
give only w r hen a sheet of this kind is presented, and to record
their names and contributions on this sheet. This makes it
possible to determine at all times the amount which is being
raised and insures against the solicitor's appropriating a part
of the money which he receives.
In some communities the card of endorsement is given in-
discriminately to every sort of solicitation which is considered
legitimate. This is dangerous, for it is an almost impossible
task for any group of men to become absolutely certain as to
the worthiness of appeals for some forms of advertising, for
solicitation for individual relief, and particularly for activities
outside their own communities and in other cities. The re-
sponsibility which is implied by the issuance of a card should
not be assumed without this certainty.
Fifth : What relation should exist between the endorsing
body and similar bodies in other communities? The endorse-
ment committee plan has become a national movement. Prob-
ably upwards of seventy-five or one hundred cities are now more
or less effectively performing this function. Methods are be-
coming standardized as we gradually work out those practices,
which are the most successful. Furthermore, there are a great
many appeals which are nation-wide in character. Certain
national bodies performing national functions send their so-
licitors throughout the country. There are local bodies, such
for instance as educational institutions, soliciting in various
cities and states. Again, there is that vast host of itinerant
solicitors, with various questionable schemes, happily decreas-
ing in number, which appear in various cities.
CHAPTER XL
Commercial Arbitration
By T. C. HUFF
In 1768, when the New York Chamber of Commerce was
formed, a provision was incorporated in its Charter that it
could arbitrate business disputes. This organization has made
four attempts to form a mechanism for conducting arbitration.
The first three were failures. The first failed because there
was no method of enforcing the award; the other two, because
they attempted too much, for the promoters had in mind a
court of commerce, exclusively for merchants, fashioned after
the Old World Handelsgerichte and the Tribunaux de Com-
merce. Differences in laws, customs and viewpoints made such
a scheme impracticable in our country. The fourth and last
plan, later to be described, is a more modest attempt and seems
in order and quite within the realm of practicability.
In 1801 the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce composed
of merchants of Philadelphia provided in its by-laws for an
arbitration committee to settle commercial differences arising
among its members. We find many early attempts to form
strictly trading bodies. In nearly every case, arbitration o?
disputes among members, was an essential part of the work.
In 1836 when the Boston Chamber of Commerce was founded,
it had only two committees, the committee of inquiry and the
committee of reference. It is not stated what their functions
were, but the latter was probably a board of commercial arbi-
tration. The arbitration committee and the committee on ap-
peals held a very important place in the Boston Board of Trade
in 1854, when it was founded.
In preparation for this study of the present status of this
form of chamber of commerce activities, a questionaire was
sent out to 39 organizations from which 28 replies were re-
ceived which told of the activities and how they were conduct-
ed. Most of the material 'in this study was secured from sixteen
of the organizations reporting this character of work.
168
COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION. 160
Early in the investigation it became evident that there
must be a division of this study into two parts, one considering
commercial arbitration in bodies which conduct or supervise
trading, and the other considering commercial arbitration in
such bodies as do not engage in this type of work. A trading
body is usually an organization of business men in one particu-
lar industry or trade. A commercial association of the non-
trading type, on the other hand, is a voluntary organization of
business men engaged in various lines of business. In a trading
body an arbitration committee is an essential part of the trad-
ing equipment of the organization. Its function is to seUle
business disputes which frequently arise and which usually are
of so technical a character as to make difficult any settlement
by persons not familiar with the technicalities of the trade. In
this study the main characteristics of the trading body arbitra-
tion work will first be pointed out. After this there will follow
a similar discussion of some of the main points of difference
between arbitration committee work of commercial organiza-
tions and the operations of the trading bodies.
Selection and Control of Arbitrators
It is characteristic of the arbitration methods of trading
bodies that they do their arbitrating through standing commit-
tees. The chief exception is the New Orleans Board of Trade,
Ltd., which has both standing and special arbitration commit-
tees. One of the standing committees of this body, for example,
arbitrates maritime matters. Arbitrations are also provided
for, however, before special committees, to be' appointed by the
chairman of the standing committee, having jurisdiction over
the commodity at issue. For instance, if there is any difference
between two members dealing in hay, a special arbitration can
be had before three arbitrators, appointed by the chairman of
the hay commit'tee.
The selection of arbitrators presents few variations in
method. In all cases they are selected from the membership
of the organization. Three organizations do not allow a mem-
ber of the board of directors to serve on the arbitration com-
mittee. The number who may act on the committee is defi
nitely limited in all cases. v In practically all instances the rules
specifically provide that if an arbitrator is even indirectly in-
terested in the dispute he cannot serve on the arbitration com-
170 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
mittee. In two organizations the disqualified member or mem-
bers are replaced by appointment by the president and one by
the secretary. In five cases the majority of the committee, a
quorum, can hear the case and decide it. In one instance, the
man is replaced by a mutual agreement of the disputants.
There is comparative uniformity also in delimiting the
scope of the arbitration. Legal questions are considered by
only one body, while the financial, mercantile and commercial
disputes are specified in most cases as the field to which arbi-
tration must be confined. One association undertakes to settle
all kinds of disputes. As a general thing business disputes in-
volving money, are the great class of differences settled. Only
questions of fact are decided by seven bodies and both fact and
law by one. These cases are decided between members of the
organization or, members and outsiders by all of the bodies but
one. Before taking 'up a case, conciliation is attempted in four-
bodies. Seven of the associations require that each of the dis-
putants fill out a written form and file it with the secretary of
the association before the case is taken up. The other two re-
quire only a written agreement.
There is little uniformity as to the methods of selecting
arbitrators. The Baltimore Chamber of Commerce and the
Master Builders' Exchange of the city of Philadelphia have a
plan, whereby the disputants each select a member of the or-
ganization and these two choose a third. Four organizations
permit only the committee to act, while the Indianapolis Board
of Trade and the Memphis Merchants' Exchange permit only a
committee to arbitrate, but if the disputants cannot agree on
the regular standing committee, they may choose another com-
mittee to decide the dispute for them, this committee having
the same delegated powers as the regular standing committee.
Only three bodies, the Master Builders' Exchange of the
City of Philadelphia, the Indianapolis Board of Trade, and
the Chicago Board of Trade permit the arbitrators to decline
to consider a case for good and sufficient reasons. In Chicago
this reason was "want of jurisdiction only." All the other or-
ganizations reported that, "It is the duty of the committee to
hear and decide all cases that may be brought before it." Most
of the organizations will not consider unimportant or trivial
matters.
COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION. 171
Methods of Procedure
After having once taken up a case, in only three instances
is the procedure informal. In two cases, the arbitrators do not
have discretionary power to follow or disregard rules of law,
but must follow certain well-defined state statutes. In the other
cases, the decisions are based on equity and justice. The men
who give these decisions are generally sworn in before a notary
or justice of the court. The same process is also gone through
with the witnesses. Some official on the exchange swears in the
men on the New Orleans Board of Trade, Ltd., while in the
Chicago Board of Trade, the chairman of the committee acts
in this capacity. For the purpose of securing evidence, four
bodies allow the disputants to subpoena witnesses, and compel
the production of books and papers, as in a court of law. While
the Master Builders' Exchange of the city of Philadelphia does
not give this privilege, the New Orleans Board of Trade, Ltd.,
can subpoena a witness but cannot compel the production of
papers and books.
The penalty for failing to appear before the committee
varies with the different organizations. The various answers
were as follows :
"At the discretion of the committee."
"Fine, suspension, or expulsion."
"Fine."
"Ne\er occurred."
"Fine not exceeding one-half of the fee, and the board can insist on no
postponement."
"Postponed, too many hearings would result in ex-parte hearing."
"If the plaintiff, the case fails; if the defendant, judgment is against
him by default."
These various answers show that there is little uniformity
in dealing with this situation.
All of the proceedings are taken down by a stenographer
in five organizations, in two if it is desired, and one does not at
all. The action of the committee is not secret to members of the
association, except in the case of the Chicago Board of Trade.
If a member wishes to see the award of the committee, he can
do so upon application to the secretary. In reaching these
awards, all cases are settled on their merit and are not gov-
erned by precedent.
172 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
The Decision and its Force
The decision of the committee is binding in five cases and
subject to appeal in the New Orleans Board of Trade, Ltd.,
the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce, the Chicago Board of
Trade and the Indianapolis Board of Trade. The statutes of
the state in which the above organizations are located provide
that the awards be binding in four organizations.
The New Orleans Board of Trade, Ltd., has a rule that an
appeal will not be permissible, unless the amount in dispute
exceeds five hundred dollars. Among the trading bodies, ap-
peals are infrequent, unless the amount involved in dispute is
a large sum. After a case is taken to the committee on ap-
peal, its decision is generally always final and binding. The
time limit in which an appeal will be allowed differs greatly in
the different organizations, varying from eight hours to thirty
days.
Revocation of the decision is allowed in only three bodies,
the St. Louis Merchants' Exchange, the Memphis Merchants'
Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade. In St. Louis the
penalty is "paying such expense as has been incurred." In
Memphis, if a revocation occurs, it is the duty of the secretary
to prefer charges, the penalty being censure, suspension or
expulsion. In none of the bodies is the right to revoke ever
waived. A submission to arbitration in the Chicago Board of
Trade can be revoked by either party after the allegations and
proofs of the party have been closed and the matter finally sub-
mitted to the arbitrator for decision, but it has never been done.
By mutual agreement, the case can be dropped, in the St. Louis
Merchants' Exchange and the New Orleans Board of Trade,
Ltd. None of the organizations has any requirements for the
revocation of an award. In case of revocation, the other party
to the submission can maintain an action for all the expense
that he has incurred in preparation for the arbitration unless
otherwise agreed to, in the St. Louis Merchants' Exchange.
This matter is left to the decision of the committee in the Balti-
more Chamber of Commerce and the Chicago Board of Trade.
There is no requirement in any of the organizations that
the award shall be filed with the court. The losing side must
fulfill the requirements of the award with the prevailing side
at once in one organization, within a reasonable time in two,
six days in one, and ten days in three organizations. In the
COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION. 173
majority of cases if this is not complied with, the award can
be filed with the court, and it will see that the award is en-
forced.
The fees are fairlj* uniform for all the organizations as
shown in the appendix. In five organizations they are on a
sliding scale but of stated amounts, governed by the amount in-
volved in the dispute. This plan is used more in the larger or-
ganizations. It is generally paid to the secretary, who divides
it among the arbitrators. The fee for the committee on ap-
peal is generally the same as that for the arbitration com-
mittee, while for non-members it is, as a rule, always some-
what higher.
The Work of the Trading Body Arbitration Committees
Many thousands of disputes have been settled in this;
country by these arbitration committees. The Memphis Mer-
chants' Exchange has settled about three thousand cases. About
fifteen years ago, the Exchange began numbering the cases and
the last one is number 1,740. The Chicago Board of Trade
has arbitrated many hundreds of cases during its fifty-seven
years of existence. All of the bodies report that the work of
the committees has been uniformly successful and satisfactory
to both parties. The Chicago Board of Trade reports that,
"The committees are highly regarded by members and non-
members in the grain trade."
This, in general, is the gist of the matter of the workings
of the arbitration committees in the trading bodies of the
United States. Arbitration is an essential part of a trading
body, as the organization is formed simply for business pur-
Commercial Organizations
The idea of commercial arbitration by American chambers
of commerce is not new. We have already seen that as early
as 1768, the New York Chamber of Commerce incorporated
in its charter, given by King George, a provision for arbi-
trating business disputes. The New York Chamber of Com-
merce is the leader among commercial organizations regard-
ing arbitration.
The origin of the "New York plan is of a very complex
nature. As earlier stated, four attempts have been made. The
first three were unsuccessful. The last and final plan is based
upon the past history of the New York Chamber of Commerce.
174 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
European commercial courts, stock exchanges, trading bodies;
the London Chamber of Commerce, Canadian Chamber of Com-
merce and eleven American chambers of commerce and boards
of trade were studied before this plan was evolved. Few of
them were suitable examples that could be followed to any great
extent. The committee then examined the past records of
the New York Chamber of Commerce. Profiting by past mis-
takes and basing the arbitration proceedings upon the New
York Statutes, the present plan Avas formed. The European
commercial courts could not serve as a guide due to differences
in laws and customs. The London Court of Arbitration was
followed to a certain extent because of a likeness of their
customs and those of our own. The plan, which was worked
out, is comparatively simple.
Selection and Control of the Arbitrators
First of all, is the standing committee on arbitration which
is appointed. It has complete supervision of all matters con-
cerning arbitration referred to the chamber of commerce. This
committee compiles from time to time, revises, and keeps a
list of qualified persons willing to serve voluntarily, as arbi-
trators. All names in this list, are members of the chamber
of commerce. The list is known as, "The list of official arbi-
trators of the New Y'ork Chamber of Commerce."
This list of official arbitrators in a strictly commercial or-
ganization is necessary. In a trading body, a committee can
easily be selected, which is familiar with the terms of that par-
ticular business or trade. This is not true for a commercial
organization, where many different kinds of business are repre-
sented. Hence it is easily seen that where a committee may
be able to arbitrate all cases which might arise in a strict
trading body and every member be familiar with the technicali-
ties of the business, it would be practically impossible for a
committee of suitable size to be able to handle all contentions
which might arise in a commercial organization.
The disputants can select the standing committee, one man
from the official list, or each choose a man, who in turn chooses
another and all three serve as a committee. A member of the
board of directors or a man even indirectly interested in the
dispute cannot act as an arbitrator.
The arbitration committee has power to disregard trivial
or unimportant cases. The great bulk of cases considered are
COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION. 175
those dealing with financial and commercial differences. Legal
questions, as a rule, are taken to the courts.
Conciliation
This work of conciliation of disputes is in all probability
the most important branch of work of the arbitration commit-
tee. Many disputes are settled in this way and hence never
appear before a group of arbitrators. This is preferable to arbi-
tration, if possible, as the good-will of both parties is retained,
and their business connections still exist as before. This part
of the work does not make a show, but is invisible and exceed-
ingly important.
Method of Procedure
In the case of a dispute, the disputants sign a written form
of agreement "consistent with the existing provisions of law,"
stating which of the three forms of arbitration they wish to use,
and that they will abide by the decision of the arbitrator or
arbitrators selected by them.
After the submissions are turned in, the parties are then
notified of each following hearing as to the time and the place.
All hearings are informal, which greatly aids the dispu-
tants to get into closer touch with each other. They are not
public unless at the request of the contending parties.
The power of subpoenaing and swearing witnesses is given
to the arbitrators. Before evidence can be taken "the arbi-
trators must be sworn by a notary or other officer authorized
to administer oaths, faithfully and fairly to hear and examine
the matter in controversy and to make a just award according
to the best of their understanding."
Before taking any outside evidence, the -arbitrators first
read the two submissions and then ask each side to state for
what it is contending. During the hearing, all evidence that is
material and important, must be considered. At the request
of either party, all books and papers must be produced. Cross-
examination of witnesses is allowed to a reasonable extent. A
competent stenographer is employed to take down all evidence.
The Decision and its Force
The contending parties "agree to stand to, abide by, and
perform any and all decisions, awards, order or orders, and
judgment that may be made by the arbitrators."*
*Pamphlet on Commercial Arbitration of the New York Chamber of Com-
merce. pp. 51.
176 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
The arbitrators, iii reaching their decision, can either fol-
low of disregard rules of law. If the rights of either party
are dependent upon a rule of law, the arbitrators decide the
point at issue. If the point of law is too strict to be reason-
able, it can be set aside and the case determined upon an equi-
table and common sense basis.
The disputants, in the submission, waive the privilege "to
withdraw, or revoke the submission, after the arbitrator or
arbitrators have accepted their appointment."*
These decisions have the weight of court decisions, and are
as binding. One might take a case to a court and get a deci-
sion based upon a previous decision of the arbitrators. The
successful party can take a decision of the arbitrator or arbi-
trators and file it with the Supreme Court of the State of New
York. The award will then have the same power as a supreme
court decision. The court will set aside an award if any of the
following defects are present :
1. "The award has been procured by corruption, fraud, or other undue
means.
2. "There was evident partiality or corruption among the arbitrators or
either of them.
3. "The arbitrators are guilty of misconduct in refusing to postpone the
hearing, upon sufficient cau?e shown, or in refusing to hear evidence perti-
nent and material to the dispute; or of any other misbehavior by which the
rights of any parties have been prejudiced.
4. "The arbitrators exceeded their powers, or so imperfectly executed
them that a mutual, final and definite award upon the subject matter sub-
mitted, was not made."**
These records of the cases and the decisions are available
at all times to the members of the New York Chamber of Com-
merce and outsiders as well, but only upon a written order of
the committee on arbitration.
The New York Chamber of Commerce is a very strong advo-
cate that precedent should be followed in all subsequent simi-
lar cases. In its "Handbook for Arbitrators" by Mr. Cohen,
he says; "A series of commercial precedents has a very im-
portant value to the business community and the certainty of
knowing how important questions will be answered, will serve
*"Handbook for Arbitrators" of the New York Chamber of Commerce.
Prepared by Julius Henry Cohen of New York City.
**"Handbook for Arbitrators" of the New York Chamber of Commerce.
Prepared by Julius Henry Cohen of New York City.
COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION. 177
to prevent controversies in the future/' As a result, the arbi-
trators write an opinion for each case as do the courts.
Each party to the subjnission must pay to the clerk the
sum of $60.00 and a larger one if the committee deems it neces-
sary. Each arbitrator receives f 10.00 per day or part thereof,
and the stenographer gets the usual remuneration. The costs
to non-members is the same.
Work of the Committee
Since the inauguration of this system, numerous conten-
tions have been settled to the extreme satisfaction of both
parties. In practically every case the defeated party has ac
ceded to the award. Cases involving both large and small
sums have been settled. Cases concerning almost every con-
ceivable kind of merchandise have been taken up. From every
case, that has been arbitrated or conciliated, comes the report
of quickness of action, equity of judgment, and inexpensiveness.
The plan of the New York Chamber of Commerce has been
adopted, almost to the letter, by the Rochester Chamber of
Commerce and the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce. A few
minor changes were made in each case. This educational branch
of the work is considered very important by the New York com-
mittee. In its own words it says, "Its largest opportunity, as
its most important duty, is to inspire increased regard for the
principles of arbitration the world over." This educational
feature of the work, the New York Chamber of Commerce is
over-anxious to extend. This organization is the best adapted
and equipped of any organization in America for educating
other organizations to the great value of arbitrating business
deputes. Other Plans
The other plans occur among smaller organizations. In
these organizations the plan is not so strong as that of the New
York Chamber of Commerce. Witnesses are seldom sworn, ex-
cept in the Easton Board of Trade. In only one organization,
are there any fees, and these are the actual cost expenses. The
main weakness of all these smaller organizations is that the
decision of the arbitrators is not binding upon the contending
parties. One organization reports that the decision is binding,
if the disputants agree that it shall be so, before the arbitration
of the dispute.
There is a great field for the arbitration of business dis
178 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
putes by the smaller organizations. Before arbitration will be
a success, the decisions of the arbitrator or arbitrators must be
binding.
An arbitration plan, similar or like that of the New York
Chamber of Commerce, can be put to use in a town of any size.
All that is necessary is to have men in the town who are of
good report, and "fair and square" in all their dealings with
other men.
The idea of arbitrating commercial and financial disputes
is becoming international in scope. This movement has been
brewing for some time. In June, 1914, the Sixth International
Congress of Chambers of Commerce, was held at Paris. On this
occasion, the American delegates presented an outline for in-
ternational commercial arbitration under the direction of com-
mercial organizations. Their plan was adopted by the con-
gress. The intervention of the European War prevented the
special international conference on this matter.
In May and June, 1915, a Pan-American financial confer-
ence was held in New York City. International arbitration of
commercial disputes between business men of the United States
and Argentina was very seriously discussed. These meetings
inspired a group of representatives of Argentina and the United
States to formulate a plan of arbitrating business disputes.
This plan covers such disputes as, compliance w T ith orders and
damages due to poor packing, quality of merchandise, etc., etc.
No governmental supervision is called for in any case.
The settlement of contentions is done by means of a tribunal,
formed by the chambers of commerce of each country. The
arbitration of disputes is voluntary.
This plan is ready to be studied, and if it is satisfactory,
to be ratified by the Latin-American countries. If Argentina
ratifies it, it will be tried first between Argentina and the
United States. It is hoped that if this plan gets into operation
between the United States and Argentina, that it will be an
incentive to the other Latin-American countries to adopt the
same or similar plans.
The main advantage that will accrue from this step is, that
it will greatly increase the Latin-American markets, now open,
to American manufacturers. It will tend to alleviate the dis-
trust that each holds for the other, and create a better and more
wholesome business spirit toward each other.
COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION. 179
Appendix
FEES OF THE TRADING BODIES.
Baltimore Chamber of Commerce :
Each member of the Committee is entitled to Three ($3.00) dollars for
each sitting. If the amount at issue is over $1,000.00 the fee may be in-
creased to five ($5.00) dollars for each sitting.
Chicago Board of Trade :
Where the amount in controversy shall be under $500 $10.00
Where from $500 to $1,000 15.00
Where from $1,000 to $1,500 20.00
Where from $1,500 to $2,500 ; 25.00
Where over $2,500 and upward 50.00
Indianapolis Board of Trade :
For each award under $500 (in value) $10.00
For each award from $500 to $1,000 12.00
For each award from $1,000 to $1,500 18.00
For each award from $1,500 and upward 25.00
Memphis Merchants 1 Exchange
W'here the arbitration is not based on the determination of grades or quality,
If under $1,000 $15.00
If $1,000 or over Ij4% on amount of award
If the arbitration is for the determination of grades as shown by samples the
fee varies for the different articles.
Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce:
Same as the fees of the Chicago Board of Trade.
Neiv Orleans Board of Trade, Limited:
$5.00 for each case.
New Orleans Stock Exchange :
Each disputant shall deposit with the treasurer $25.00 before a case is taken
up. Each man on the committee receives $5.00.
Philadelphia Master Builders' Exchange:
Each member of the committee of three shall receive five ($5.00) dollars for
each sitting. Outsiders shall each pay $25.00 to the Exchange for the
use of it.
St. Louis Merchants' Exchange:
Less than $1,000 $10.00
From $1,000 to $2,000. 15.00
From $2,000 upward 20.00
COMMERCIAL ORGANIZATIONS.
Springfield, Mass. ; Winona, Minn., and Fort Dodge, Iowa, make no
charges for their arbitration.
The Easton Board of Trade charges only the actual expenses of the case.
New York Chamber of Commerce, Rochester Chamber of Commerce, and
Cleveland Chamber of Commerce:
Each party to the submission must deposit the sum of $60.00, or at the
discretion of the committee, a larger amount, all of which pays the necessary
expenses as the arbitrators' fees of $10.00 per day or part thereof, stenog-
raphers' fees, paper, etc.
CHAPTER XII.
The Chamber of Commerce of the United States
By MERLE THORPE
Less than eight years ago every first-class country in the
world had its national federation of business except two-
Turkey and the United States. The business men of Great
Britain, France, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and Belgium had
been organized for nearly a quarter of a century, Holland and
Germany for a hundred years.
In the spring of 1912 a group of business men met with
the President of the United States and the Secretary of Com-
merce and Labor and laid the foundation for the United States
Chamber of Commerce. Today this national federation, with
its 1,256 trade and commercial organizations and their under-
lying membership of 670,000 men, is the largest in the world.
President Taft, in his message to Congress in December,
1911, urged the importance of coordinating the local commer-
cial organizations, trade associations, etc., into a central body
for the purpose of increasing their efficiency and extending
their usefulness, and of encouraging commerce between the
states and insular possessions of the Union and foreign
countries. The suggestion found favor and resulted in the
President directing the Secretary of Commerce and Labor to
initiate a movement for the creation of a national commercial
organization.
Commercial bodies throughout the United States were ac-
cordingly invited to send representatives to a conference in
Washington, April 22, 1912, to set the necessary machinery in
motion. The sessions lasted two days, and the outcome was
the Chamber of Commerce of the United States, with Harry
A. Wheeler Vice-president of the Union Trust Company, Chi-
cago, as its first president.
Mr. Wheeler held the presidency two years, and was suc-
ceeded in 1914 by John H. Fahey of Boston, who also held
the office two terms. K. Goodwyn Rhett, President People's
National Bank, Charleston, S. C., was elected in 1916, and re-
180
THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES. 181
elected in 1917. Harry A. Wheeler in 1918 was again called
to the presidency, and in 1919 was succeeded by Homer L.
Ferguson, President of the Newport News Shipbuilding Com-
pany, Newport News, Va. Elliot H. Goodwin was appointed
general secretary when the office was created in 1912, and still
holds that position.
The steady growth of the National Chamber is shown by
the following table :
Organizations States Associate and Individual Members
April 1913 326 43
April 1914 549 47 1954
April 1915 646 47 2724
April 1916 737 48 3490
April 1917 919 48 5716
April 19181041 48 7447
April 19191177 48 10193
Dec. 19191256 48 11900
Embraced in this membership are organizations and indi-
viduals in every state in the Union, and in Alaska, Hawaii,
Porto Rico and the Philippines ; also the American Chambers of
Commerce in London, Buenos Aires, Paris, Havana, Naples,
Constantinople and Rio de Janeiro.
The New Nationalism in Business
What has brought about this new development in Ameri-
can life? What common impulse lias stirred this great re-
sponsible body of American business men?
Any movement that has behind it 670,000 people is preg-
nant with significance. When in eight years it can enlist
670,000 business men who direct and control the principal en-
terprises in the country, it strikes deep at the roots of Ameri-
can life.
It is no longer enough that a mere handful of men, the
leaders of the world's affairs, shall be concerned with the na-
tion's business. Our collective problems have become our indi-
vidual problems. Business men have felt the want for some
central organization that would promote a broader understand-
ing of business in its national phase, that would apply to the
industry of the nation the same, principles of cooperation that
have done so much for their own business. They subscribed to
the chamber of commerce idea : A unity of purpose and of ac-
tion on the part of business men.
182 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
Addressing the first annual meeting of the national cham-
ber, President Taft said :
"This organization has been perfected at a time when it
can be especially useful. I have been surprised in going about
the country to find that there is no town and no village so small
that it does not have either a board of trade or a chamber of
commerce. Now there is not any reason why those associations
should not be units that go to make up together, with the
larger organizations of larger towns and cities, where there is
a real trade and real commerce, the constituency of this great
federation; and I speak of the movement for the purpose of
showing the power that this national federation has by refer-
endum to all those member organizations to gather from them
the best public opinion that there is, in order to influence the
legislation of the country, so far as that may be properly in-
fluenced."
Two years later President Wilson, addressing the national
chamber, said:
"I have followed with a great deal of interest the work of
this association. You are beginning to know the other parts of
the country just as well as you know your own part of it;
and, better than that, you are beginning to know what the
other parts of the country think as well as what your part of
the country thinks. And it will often happen, I dare say, that
you will find that other parts of the country have an idea or
two. And very few instrumentalities are, or will be, more
serviceable than yours in this digestion and comparison of
views, this frank assessment of the opinion of business men,
at least, of the country, with regard to all great matters of
public policy. I congratulate the country upon having such an
instrumentality, and I think your own committees will testify
that they have a broader conception of what this association
can do than they had before, and that they have this as their
leading conception, that the life of this country does not reside
even chiefly in any center of population of the United States."
Determining Chamber Policies
Policies of the national chamber are determined by the
referendum of a two-thirds' vote of the member organizations,
and in annual or special meetings by a two-thirds' vote of the
delegates from the several organizations. The former method
THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES. 183
of ascertaining- business opinion throughout the country is
growing in popularity among business men, and the force
of their views thus registered is felt in the country's
general commercial and industrial progress. Members of
Congress and of legislatures have expressed appreciation
of these declarations by business men because through
them they are able to size up situations from an angle
not afforded by any other source. Included in the referendum
vote are the organizations in the small city as well as those in
the greatest metropolis so that when the returns come in the
national chamber has the opinion of all elements in the world
of business, and not merely the opinion of a single group or
section.
Before a question is submitted to the organizations for a
vote, the committee having the problem in hand makes a care-
ful investigation and reports its findings and recommenda-
tions to the board of directors of the national chamber. If the
board decides to submit the recommendations, arguments are
prepared for and against them, and they are sent to the mem-
ber organizations, which have forty-five days in which to give
them consideration. The national chamber is committed by a
two-thirds' vote. Failing to obtain a two-thirds' vote, the prop-
osition is lost. Every member organization, however small in
numbers, has one vote. No organization, however large, has
more than ten votes.
Senator Charles Curtis, a recognized leader in Congress,
discussing the referendum plan of ascertaining public senti-
ment, said :
"Congressmen evidently were impressed by the national
chamber's referendum on the railroad question, it being plain
that action was taken after the business men of the various
organizations had given the subject careful attention. A state-
ment by folks with whom, we are acquainted of a conclusion
reached as the outgrowth of study for a period of days, or
weeks, carries weight. When senators and representatives
learned of the action of local commercial organizations on the
proposed railroad legislation, they appeared eager for all the
information available, and gladly gave consideration to the
principles advocated. Even those who were not in harmony
with the national chamber's railroad platform had respect for
the manner of its creation. The national chamber presented no
184 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
bill. It left that feature of the proposed legislation to Con-
gress. Its simple declaration of principles appealed to all who
had been trying to frame legislation, and I find that several
things the national chamber stands for had been incorporated
in both the pending railroad measures. Regardless of the out-
come of the proposed legislation, the Chamber of Commerce of
the United States has set an example of how to present helpful
information to Congress which others engaged in similar work
could follow with profit."
National Chamber Activities
Perhaps the national chamber's greatest service to the
country was in directing war activities. Recognizing the tre-
mendous task of mobilizing all the resources of the Nation for
the successful prosecution of the war, and the special duty of
business men to aid in every possible way, the national chamber
placed at the disposal of the government all the facilities of its
organization for any use to which they could be employed. The
first call came through the Secretary of War, when he asked for
the appointment of local committees throughout the country
to cooperate with the district quartermasters in the purchase of
war supplies. These committees, speedily brought into being,
rendered valuable service.
The war service committees, organized to act with the gov-
ernment's war industries board, performed highly important
tasks the last year of the war, and were doing their best work
when the armistice was signed.
The national chamber called a war convention at Atlantic
City, and put into operation a program which brought every
business interest in the United States solidly into line for ev-
erything the government wanted done. The convention said to
the Government: "You name it, and we will go over the top
with it." And there was no faltering on the part of American
business men while the fighting was in progress.
' After the armistice, a great reconstruction convention was
held at Atlantic City which set in motion the machinery for
pulling the country together industrially.
The latest achievement of the national chamber was to
bring about a conference at Atlantic City of representative busi-
ness men of Belgium, France, Great Britain, Italy and the
United States for the purpose of making plans for reopening
THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES. 185
the channels of commerce. It has been regarded as the most
important meeting of business men since the signing of the
armistice.
Membership Qualifications
Ever} 7 commercial or manufacturers' association not or-
ganized for private purposes is eligible for membership in the
national chamber. Such organizations are of two classes
designated as folloAvs: First Local or state commercial or
business organizations whose chief purpose is the development
of the commercial and industrial interests of a single state, city
or locality. Second Local, state, interstate or national or-
ganizations whose membership is confined to one trade or group
of trades.
In addition, persons, firms and corporations holding mem-
bership in any organization admitted to the national chamber
are eligible for election as associate and individual members.
These members receive the regular publications of the national
chamber and may avail themselves of the facilities of the na-
tional headquarters, may attend all regular and special meet-
ings of the chamber and, subject to the rules of such meetings,
may have the privilege of the floor; but they are not entitled
to vote except as duly accredited delegates of organization
members. The purpose of creating associate and individual
memberships was to secure the direct and continuous interest
rn the work of the national chamber of the business men in
pvery aggressive section of the country who represent in their
organizations and in their communities leadership and con-
structive ideas.
An association affiliated with the national chamber having
twenty-five members is entitled to one delegate and one vote,
and for each two hundred members in excess of twenty-five, one
additional delegate and one vote; an association of less than
twenty-five members may be admitted to membership if in the
judgment of the board of directors its importance justifies it,
and is entitled to one delegate and one vote, but no association
is entitled to more than ten delegates and ten votes.
The rate of dues for each organization member is based
upon the scheduled annual income from membership fees and
is approximately one-half of one percent of such income; pro-
vided, however, that no organization member shall pay annual
186 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
dues of less than $10, or more than $700. Associate members
pay annual dues of $100 ; individual members, $25.
How Governed
The national chamber's board of directors is selected by
districts to represent all sections of the country. Twenty-five
members are active and hold office for two years, thirteen being
chosen at the annual meeting in one year and twelve in the suc-
ceeding year. The board has supervision of the affairs of the
national chamber, selects the officers a president, four vice-
presidents and a treasurer, who are ex-officio members of the
board. An executive committee of eleven members of the board,
with the president ex-officio, acts for the board in the interim
between its meetings. The directors are nominated by a com-
mittee selected by the national councillors.
The national council is composed of one representative
from each organization member in the national chamber. It
was created for the purpose of bringing about continuous co-
operation with the board of directors of as many able business
men as possible in every section of the country, and it acts in
an advisory capacity to the board. It is the duty of the national
councillor to bring to the attention of the national chamber all
matters that come to his notice in his own locality which might
be valuable to the members of the chamber.
Much of the work of the national chamber is carried on
through standing and special committees which report to the
board of directors. It is particularly necessary that all com-
mittees should be broadly representative and that the conclu-
sions reached should be national in character. These commit-
tees include :
Budget and efficiency; federal trade; international com-
mercial arbitration; railroads; statistics and standards; Argen-
tine arbitration; ocean transportation; highways; public utili-
ties; employment of soldiers and sailors; cost accounting; fire
waste and insurance; finance and budget; building; financing
building ; incorporation of chamber ; reorganization of chamber ;
revision by laws; war service executive; federal taxation com-
mittee ; postal facilities ; publicity ; national defense.
A Business Service
Through its Washington office, the national chamber pro-
vides direct service to its members in response to requests for
THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES. 187
information, and also through its publications. A general bul-
letin issued weekly gives its members prompt and accurate
notice of all activities of executive departments affecting busi-
ness. Legislative bulletins of the national chamber, also issued
weekly during the sessions of Congress, constitute a thorough
digest of current national legislation affecting commerce and
industry.
A special division of information is maintained at the na-
tional headquarters under the direction of business and legal
experts. Members are furnished direct with advice and data
obtained from official and other first-hand sources available in
the government departments, the Library of Congress, or else-
where in Washington. Information and assistance is also fur-
nished to members who apply personally at the national head-
quarters.
The Nation- s Business, the official magazine of the national
chamber, is published monthly, giving a careful and readable
interpretation of the business news. This is the editorial con-
fession of faith of the Nation's Business :
"To create a national viewpoint for American business, breaking down
provincialism and narrowness.
"To stimulate at the same time community development.
"To advocate foreign trade as a natural and necessary growth, making
stable our domestic trade.
"To emphasize the value of organization of teamwork in business.
"To serve American business by furnishing:
"A perspective of the world's commercial activities with their interpreta-
tion.
"A clearing house of the new ideas in organized business.
"An intelligent report on current relations of government and business.
"To temper all with a serene belief in the idealism of American business.
"To find in all business the romance and the enthusiasm which each man
finds in his business.
"To be human in the way that business is to business men.
"In this faith we shall strive to express the sanity, the integrity, and the
stability of American business.'
Organization Membership Service
The organization service bureau of the national chamber is
equipped to furnish commercial and trade organization mem-
bers with data in regard to their organization structure, meth-
ods of work and activities. It is a clearing house for such in-
formation and affords a means for making the successful meth-
188 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES. :
ods and achievements of one organization the common property
of all.
Information is largely acquired through correspondence
and questionaires, from oificial publications of organizations
and direct study on the ground. It is dispensed through let-
ters in replies to inquiries, news-letters and pamphlets, and
through personal visits of the chief of the bureau to organiza-
tions.
Through its semi-monthly news-letter to secretaries, the
bureau brings at regular intervals to the attention of commer-
cial organizations new phases of the work of particular organi-
zations in the field. It is a valuable instrument also in carry-
ing on investigations of any problems or line of endeavor which
may at the moment be paramount. The bureau's pamphlets
incorporate the results of its special inquiries and cover to date
the following subjects: Organization structure and method;
traffic bureaus ; community advertising and publicity ; agri-
cultural bureaus and committees; industrial development; Avar
activities of commercial organizations ; commercial organization
credit bureaus, and building a modern chamber of commerce.
The chief of the bureau devotes a large part of his time
responding to requests for the bureau's field service. On such
visits to organizations the chief of the bureau confers with
their boards of directors, committee chairmen and members re-
garding their local problems, and addresses their memberships
on subjects pertinent to commercial organization work and
aims.
It is the purpose of the organization service bureau to
continue gathering, testing and classifying information to the
end that there will always be available to the organization
members of the national chamber a. fund of data as to how the
several organizations have met and solved their problems.
A Program of Expansion
Experience has demonstrated that the time has come when
it is necessary to expand the national chamber's organization
to accord with its increasing responsibilities and obligations,
and to assure representation for every division of commerce
and industry. With this situation placed before them, delegates
to the annual meeting at St. Louis recommended that the board
THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES. 189
of directors proceed to bring about such structural changes as
are needed.
The plan of operation under which the chamber has con-
ducted its affairs proved well adapted to conditions arising at
the time the chamber was established and during the period
prior to the war, but the war brought new conditions and the
changes contemplated will change the structure from one of
general character to one of divisional operation and responsi-
bility. In making such changes all activities of the chamber
will be so coordinated that each will be related to the whole in
a manner to guard all policies and precedents that have char-
acterized it during its seven years of life.
The structure of American business, if cross-sectioned, is
found to consist of the following definite and distinct depart-
ments, and it is, therefore, proposed to reorganize the national
chambers machinery to conform to these natural divisions by
the creation of departments to operate for and in their inter-
ests:
Industrial production embracing manufactures, mining
and even perhaps agriculture, if agricultural interests some day
should desire to federate with organized business.
Domestic distribution embracing all wholesale and retail
distributors of merchandise.
Foreign commerce embracing organizations that have to
do with exports and imports.
Transportation and communication embracing associa-
tion related to railroad operation, telephone, telegraph, public
utilities and water transportation both ocean and inland.
Finance embracing all association of banks and bankers.
Insurance embracing fire, life, casualty, liability and ma-
rine associations.
These six departments include virtually all of the elements
of commerce and industry. A seventh within the chamber
would be that of civic development, which would constitute a
clearing house for beneficial activities in this field as differen-
tiated from commercial development, which latter would be
abundantly cared for in the other divisions.
National Chamber to Build
The national chamber has bought a property in the very
heart of Washington where it will erect a home for
190 EFFICIENCY AND CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES.
American business. It is just across Lafayette Square from
the White House. Washingtonians know it as "the old Cor-
coran place." The lot is at the corner of Connecticut Avenue
and H. Street. The new building will be erected where former-
ly stood the house that was at different times the home of
Francis Scott Key, Daniel Webster, and Mr. Corcoran, founder
of the Corcoran Art Gallery. The structure, five stories high,
will cost approximately $2,500,000.
PART II.
Methods of Organization and
Operation
191
CHAPTER XIII.
Membership
Democracy as a Factor in Chamber of Commerce Membership
By HOWARD STRONG
The average commercial organization has during the past
ten years assumed an entirely new form, and in this new form
has made a new assumption and taken on a new responsibility.
The old board of trade was essentially an organization for
the protection of property rights. It was as a matter of fact a
board of trad ition. It was primarily, perhaps exclusively,
interested in the promotion of the business interests of the com-
munity. It did not pretend to concern itself with anything out-
side of these interests. This was, of course, perfectly proper.
The organization was not sailing under false colors, as long as
the promotion of the business interests the protection of prop-
erty rights was its declared intention. But, was the organi-
zation democratic?
Democracy, I think, implies activity in the interest of the
whole people. We all recognize, of course, that the development
of the business of a city is essential to the welfare of every
man, woman and child in that city, but a large proportion of
the citizens of any community are not interested, or think they
are not interested, in retail credits, in traffic facilities, in grain
inspection, and other activities which were characteristic of
the old board of trade. And, is it not true that the average man
of the community felt that the board of trade was essentially
and legitimately for the promotion of business interests, and
that he had no vital concern in it or its doings?
The Organization of Today
The new organization has broken away from the old con-
ception. It is called usually the association of commerce, but
all of us are proud to think of it and designate it as an associa-
tion of citizenship, which takes up every vital question of in-
terest to the whole people. It is an organization for community
193 7
194 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
service. In other words, it makes the clear assumption that it
is no longer an instrument for the benefit of a certain group of
the community, but that it exists for the promotion of the wel-
fare of the whole community. Since this assumption is unmis-
takable, is not the responsibility for community service, which
means democracy, equally unmistakable, and must not our
present-day organizations become democratic if they are to sail
under true colors?
Democracy, as I see it, is a matter of dimensions, vertical
and horizontal. True democracy requires that the vertical
dimensions be unbroken, that the interests of every class, of
every strata, be represented. True democracy requires, as well,
that the horizontal dimension be complete, that every section,
every neighborhood, have proper consideration.
In our struggle for democracy we start with a prejudice to
overcome. I think you will grant that in every community
there is a suspicion abroad that we, the big central commercial
organization of the city, do not represent every strata and class
of society. This is a natural suspicion. In the nature of the
case, because our support must come largely from the employ-
ing class, because this class is most vitally interested in our
commercial and industrial activities, because our forebears,
the board of trade, represented this class, we can hardly expect
anything else. Furthermore, we must acknowledge that some
of our members still have this conception, and that they think
our activities are legitimately for the benefit of this single group
alone.
The Time for Action
It is our first duty to correct this misapprehension. Pri-
marily we must avoid the appearance of evil. It is certainly
wise, and I believe it is usually possible for us, as secretaries, to
keep our organizations away from the consideration of ques-
tions upon which their attitude is certain to be misunderstood.
In my mind it is almost universally a mistake for the commer-
cial organization to take active part in labor questions. No
matter how sincere may be our conclusions, if we align our-
selves with the one side or with the other, we shall be misunder-
stood and our motives questioned. The best way to democracy
that I know of is through democratic action. If the right is
upon the side of the public service corporation, act fearlessly
and make the fullest possible statement of your reasons. If
DEMOCRACY IN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE MEMBERSHIP. 195
it is on the other side, act with equal fearlessness, and you will
probably find that the public service corporation, which is
usually made up of reasonable men, like the rest of us, will
acquiesce and perhaps respect you the more.
When it is necessary to take action with reference to some
public question upon which the community is divided, it is fre-
quently possible to clarify the problem in the minds of your citi-
zens, and materially to assist in reaching a solution without
necessarily aligning yourselves with either faction.
The Necessity of Bigness
We are all familiar with a charge that our organization
represents primarily the jobbing interests, the retail interests,
the manufacturing interests or some other special group of
business men. The best way that I know of to meet this criti-
cism, is so to distribute the activities of your organization and
the attention of your directors and officers, so to keep the bal-
ance, that there can be no question as to your equal interest in
every group and its activities. Another suggestion: It is an
excellent plan, if it can be arranged, for the same man to act as
secretary both of your jobbing committee or division and of
your retail committee or division, for here is where the greatest
controversy is likely to arise. I know one organization which
has avoided much acrimonious criticism between these two
groups by having the secretaries of their retail and wholesale
merchants boards with desks in the same room. When two men
fill their pipes from the same tobacco pouch and swear at the
same steam radiator all winter long, it is going to be difficult
for them to have a serious disagreement in their work, and the
attitude of the secretary finds its reflection in the attitude of
the board or the committee for which he is working.
Again, in the larger cities, there is a constant tendency to
suspect the central organization of working for the down-town
interests in opposition to outlying districts. Even though some
of the larger improvements may seem more fundamental, it is
well worth while for the central organization to give a consider-
able share of its time to local improvements. Jump at the first
chance to decide anything in favor of an outlying section of the
city in opposition to the interest of the down-town section, and
you have done more to convince the whole community of your
196 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
honesty and to secure the support of the community, than years
of protestations of sincerity can accomplish.
Much as the secretary should endeavor to stay in the back-
ground and to keep his officers and directors and committee
men in the limelight, it is nevertheless true that, in the mind
of the ordinary citizen, the attitude of the secretary reflects in
a large degree, the policy of his organization. Perhaps no one,
therefore, is in as strong a position as the secretary to convince
a community of his organization's desire for democracy.
CHAPTER XIV.
The Best Method of Sustaining and Increasing
Membership
By BYRES H. GITCHELL
When the subject was first assigned to ine I proceeded to
prepare a questionaire covering all of those questions which
anybody could possibly ask who is thinking of the membership
problem of a commercial organization.
I succeeded in making up a list of forty-eight questions and
had about decided to send them out to all the members of these
organizations with the request that each answer all of these
questions frankly and fully. I laid the questionaire aside for
ten days and when I took the matter up again I found that if
this questionaire were submitted to me by any other member of
the association I could not answer more than eight or ten of
the questions in any way that would be helpful in preparing
for the discussion of the subject assigned to me.
Therefore, I decided to write up a paper presenting the
case in favor of the employment of membership solicitors in
the light of our own experience in Detroit.
Experience in Other Cities
The paper was written and then I had before me Mr.
Mead's injunction not to present local experiences only. In
order to ascertain the experience of secretaries in other parts
of the country, I submitted copies of my proposed paper to
eight or ten commercial organizations whose membership prob-
lems were much similar to those which we in Detroit were still
trying to solve. I asked these gentlemen if they would read my
paper and criticise it.
To seventy-seven other members of the American and Cen-
tral associations I did not send a copy of my proposed paper,
but I did ask them if they would write me a letter outlining
their views on this subject, making it a point to answer the
following five questions:
197
198 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
1. Do you employ a membership sales force in your organization; if so,
how large is it; how is it operated?
2. What results has this department been securing as a whole?
3. What do you consider the greatest objection to the employment of
membership solicitors by a commercial organization?
4. What do you consider the best argument in favor of their employ-
ment?
5. What plan would you recommend that a commercial organization
should pursue in sustaining and increasing its membership?
To those secretaries to whom I sent copies of my proposed
paper, I asked that they should state what they considered the
weakest point in the operations of the membership department
of the Detroit Board of Commerce.
Our queries brought many opinions by no means in accord
with our own. Out of forty-one answers, thirty never tried the
employment of membership solicitors ; six, exclusive of Detroit,
were using* them and were satisfied with the results ; two had
tried and abandoned the idea, one because they felt that the
memberships so secured were "not well sold" and the other
because "a situation developed where it was practically impos-
sible to get our own members to solicit new members."
After considering all of the replies very carefully, I had
come to the conclusion that I could serve you gentlemen best
in the time allotted to me if I would devote it entirely to a dis-
cussion of my own paper in the light of the forty-one letters
which I had received on this subject from brother secretaries
in answer to my five questions.
Something to Sell
If we should go into a manufacturing plant and ask the
manager if he considered it worth while to employ salesmen, he
would probably excuse himself for a minute and telephone for
a doctor or for the police. A star salesman was once asked
what he considered the best asset of a salesman. His answer
was: "Something to sell." That's the question for us. Have
we anything to sell that is worth selling? If we haven't then
our organizations are charitable institutions and our salaries
are gifts. If we have, then the natural thing to do is to sell it.
Comparatively few business men are in business for their
health, and it is likewise safe to assume that the average com-
mercial secretary has riot chosen his vocation for recreational
purposes. We're all after results ; and efficiency is merely the
ability to get them. The day has gone by when commercial
METHODS OF SUSTAINING MEMBERSHIPS. 199
organizations have to defend their right to exist. The commu-
nity admits that we have a contribution to make to civilization
a service to render, a product to sell. But that doesn't mean
that they are all buying it. There's a limit to what any man
will buy of his own accord. Beyond that limit he's got to be
sold. It doesn't make any difference whether it's a bible or a
piano, there are a lot of us who will think we can get along with-
out it until we're shown we can not, and sometimes, in the
language of the old darkey, "It takes a heap o' showin'." But
it's generally true that the most precious stones are brought
to light by hard digging. They aren't lying around on the
ground. Also, a miner wouldn't think much of going after
them with a trowel. He wants a full-fledged spade.
If we want the solid good type of men in our organization,
we've got to have the best equipment we can get. The miner
who is digging in sand can get along with a spade, but if he's
moving rocks, he'll have to take his crowbar. So must we have
our equipment equal to any demand.
Some Sales Arguments
There are rules and rules as to what constitutes a sales-
man, but Webster's plain definition beats them all "one who
sells goods." As the "goods" vary, so must the salesman. The
commercial organization is turning out a product which, though
not as tangible as that of the manufacturer, is nevertheless as
real. That product is community service. The chief market is
the membership, and as that market expands, so expands the
usefulness of the organization. It requires a peculiarly high
type of salesmanship to sell that product. Samples can not be
carried along in a grip. The membership solicitors in the De-
troit Board of Commerce are not theoretical salesmen. They
have all passed the apprenticeship stage. Each day brings
some experience that demands the utmost of their selling abil-
ity. A while ago "A" went to see Mr. Brown, a local theater
manager, about his resignation. Mr. Brown's statement was:
"Oh, I never get around to any of their meetings, or get any
benefit from it. I haven't even been in the building. It's no
use to me. That's all there is to it." Wherupon "A" replied:
"See here, Mr. Brown, if a man came to your theater here, and
bought a ticket and went in and sat down and went to sleep
while the show was going on, would you give him his money
200 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
back?" Mr. Brown is still with us. In another case, "B" went
to call on a fiery old German who had also resigned. "B"
stated his business, and by actual time, the next five minutes
were consumed by Schmidt in consigning the Board of Com-
merce, and all connected with it, to a realm analogous to Sher-
man's description of war. When he paused for breath, the
salesman began to laugh and said that, "being a Universalist,
he wasn't in the least offended." Then he started in on a ready-
made sales talk. When he left the shop, he carried Schmidt's
check for six months' dues in advance.
These are but two instances. A novel would not include
them all. Every such case would be lost by the novice. They
are saved only by the experienced salesman who regards nega-
tives and frowns as merely incentives to action. But results
are not obtained without careful planning. A sales organiza-
tion, not thorough, is unworthy of the name. Our aim in De-
troit is to develop the department to the highest possible de-
gree of efficiency, and we employ every available means to this
end. Our staff is composed of four men : three solicitors, and
one man to handle resignations and delinquents. The member-
ship secretary keeps a file of "prospects" upon which the solici-
tors work. Staff meetings are held each morning, and the day's
work carefully mapped out. Reports are made each night show-
ing the results per salesman, and every individual case consid-
ered at the next morning's staff meeting. Before any prospect
is interviewed, he has received literature, and a letter, both cal-
culated to prepare the way for the salesman. The. resignations
and delinquents are handled in a similar way, and no effort
is spared that can avail to bring them back, in good standing,
to the organization.
Service Men
When a membership solicitor secures an application, he
ceases to be a salesman in that particular case, and becomes a
"service" man. His duty to the new member is not completed
until that member has entered into the activities of the or-
ganization. Even the arguments used in making a sale are the
objects of careful study, and are threshed out in conference.
For example, the secretary will say to a staff salesman:
"George, I am a real estate dealer, with plenty of means, but
I am ''sore' at your organization because I think you are giving
my competitors tips on business. Sell me." Then George starts
METHODS OF SUSTAINING MEMBERSHIPS. 201
in, with the rest of the sales force critically watching. The
hardest arguments are used on both sides and a snappy dis-
cussion follows.
Once a year we plan a campaign in which everyone joins.
"Teams" of members are made up, and considerable publicity
secured. The results have been gratifying, but such a cam-
paign can no more replace the steady, consistent plugging of
our membership staff than a manufacturer can employ a fresh
force for the rush season and lay off entirely for the rest of the
year. The campaign is merely the harvesting season.
The final test of this, or any other system is, however, the
results. The theory is worth nothing if we can't back it up.
The membership staff was acquired in January of this year.
When we asked the directors for a trial, we promised them an
average of seventy-five members a month for all save the two
quiet vacation months of July and August, when business is
dull.
The records show that in January we secured 92 mem-
bers, and collected $647.00 of delinquent dues; in February,
98 new members, and $796.00 in dues from delinquents. Be-
ginning in March, the staff did organization work for the
campaign, and their services in this connection were invalu-
able. The campaign brought us 725 new members 92 more
came in April, and 60 in May. In June we held our annual
cruise, and in this connection again, we enlisted the member-
ship men for organization work. But little of their time was
given to selling. Even at that, however, we secured 40 new
members. July, one of the discounted months, brought us 50
more, and August, 59.
The collections, also, were steadily improving, and in
August with business conditions as they had been during the
summer tAvo men collected over $6,000.00 of delinquent dues.
But there was another result. The sage has said: "As a
man thinks, so is he." The maximum is likewise true of an
organization. The enthusiasm of the salesmen influenced the
entire staff. The argument we advanced to others kept clearly
before our minds what we professed to be. Conviction is neces-
sary to sell, and conviction, like enthusiasm, is contagious.
202 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION. .
Plans for Committee Organization
We had now formulated plans to establish a number of
standing committees from our members to work with the sales-
men for about two hours one day a \veek. The idea is to have
a committee for every day in the week. Mondays, Bill and Tom
will go out with the salesmen for about two hours. Tuesdays,
John and James, etc. In this way we expect not only to in-
crease our efficiency in the work, but also by "reflex action"
to keep our members interested.
We had eight months of trial of our methods, and these
eight months covered the "slack" time as well as the rush sea-
son. The membership staff stands or falls on a record some-
thing like this:
1216 new members in eight months.
Over eight thousand dollars of delinquent dues collected.
An increase in our annual revenue of over $30,000.00, at a total expendi-
ture of less than ten.
An average of eighty new members a month, excluding the months of
July and August, and also the month of the campaign.
An average of 152 new members a month, and $1,000.00 per month of
collections, from January to September.
The cancellation of about 50 resignations, and the rekindling of enthusi-
asm all along the line as the result of analyzing our assets.
A certain optician in Detroit has a very pertinent sign in his window. It
reads : "I charge for examining the eyes. Did you ever get anything good for
nothing?" We believe that our organization needs the best men it can get
to handle its membership the source of both income and influence. We
invested in them, and they, in turn, produced results satisfactory to us, in
proportion to the amount invested. * * * *
Experience of Large Cities
Following are a few typical letters from men who were
actually confronted by the same problem that we were con-
fronted with in Detroit, and they were expending just as much
time and just as much energy and substantially as much money
in trying to find the answer to the broader question that we
were trying to answer for ourselves in Detroit. Their mem-
bership methods are exceedingly interesting to me, and I know
that they will be to you. Richard C. O'Keefe, the General
Secretary of the Buffalo Chamber of Commerce, writes a long
letter, the interesting part of w r hich is this :
"We have never maintained such a force in this organization, and I was
unprepared to reply intelligently to your various questions. It occurred to
ine, however, that to assist in determining the value of your argument from
our viewpoint, it would be well to give the plan a try-out, which I did, and I
METHODS OF SUSTAINING MEMBERSHIPS. 203
am pleased to report that in one week's time three members of my office
staff secured twenty applications. Needless to say, I am very much inclined
to continue the work, and believe that we can substantially increase our
membership by this means.
"For the actual work of each committeeman we have devised a plan
which makes it absolutely necessary on the part of anyone participating to
do his share of the work, or indicate to every other member of the committee
that he has neglected it. We have prepared a very carefully selected list of
over 3,000 prospects. These prospects are arranged on cards in triplicate,
filed alphabetically and then submitted. This file of prospects is taken before
the membership committee and read off one after another.
"Supposing that prospect 1296, Mr. W. J. Keller, is taken by Mr. E. P.
White ; the card is removed from the file and handed complete to Mr. White.
He writes his name on card number three following the words 'Taken by,'
and returns card number three with card number one to the secretary, keep-
ing card number two. Card number one is again filed in the prospect file,
and card number three signed with Mr. Whitens name, indicating that he has
agreed to see this prospect, is placed in another file behind his name as a
record that he took the prospect. You will see at once that our file, having
been completed with a great deal of work, is not spoiled by giving it away.
You will also see that because of the fact that the duplicate and record
cards have been torn from card number one, we know that the prospect has
been taken ; and you will also see that Mr. White has gone on record as having
taken prospect 1296 and must report upon it to the chairman. The further
value of this complete prospect list, record of prospects, and the check upon
it, is that all of the work done by the membership committee throughout the
year accumulates, and is a record and resource to the chamber for future
membership committees. This prospect card is the writer's device, and has
already proved its worth beyond question. For the further assistance of the
membership committee in their work we use a little booklet briefly outlining
the purpose and activities of the chamber of commerce, and enclose you
herewith a copy of that."
The letter of Mr. Hubert F. Miller, the Business Manager
of the Chicago Association of Commerce, was a very interesting
one:
"Your letter of the 8th has just been received. I have not read the en-
closure, but will answer your questions in the order asked, as follows :
"1. We maintain a membership sales force of two regular employes, en-
gaged exclusively on membership solicitation. We have two other men who
work on collections and reinstatements of resignations, and these two men
also secure membership applications, in addition to their regular work. The
department is conducted under the immediate supervision of the head of the
accounting department, who is one of the two men who works on collections
and reinstatements and looks after the detail of membership work as well.
We also have a stenographer in the office who keeps the records and minutes
of the membership committee meetings. He is secretary to the membership
committee, but he is not the 'membership secretary,' as we have no such office.
The management of the membership work is under the general supervision of
the business manager.
"2. The result of this arrangement or department is entirely satisfactory.
It is based on several years of experience and experimenting, and our records:
show that the two employes who give their entire time to soliciting member-
204 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
ships secure almost as many applications as all other sources combined. If
we add the number secured by other employes, the total would be considerably
in excess of the number credited to the membership committee and all other
volunteer effort. Please remember our membership committee is appointed
annually and its members are chosen from our best volunteer workers in the
membership field. The work of this committee is supplemented by various
auxiliary membership committees. It holds weekly meetings.
"The committee tries new plans each year and does a lot of good work
and secures a large number of applications. The total from all sources aver-
ages 5CO to 1,000 a year. I believe, however, that more than one-half of all
the applications from year to year are credited to the paid solicitors.
"3. We have tried plans similar to yours and find them quite satisfactory.
We try to invent new schemes or plans annually. Just now we are holding
frequent meetings called membership conferences. These attract about fifty
of our best workers each week. We have good speakers on association topics
and usually have a good dinner and some entertainment. We furnish enough
of the goodfellowship feeling and enthusiasm to last the men another week.
We foster a spirit of friendly rivalry by dividing the active workers into two
bands or teams to compete for leadership. Formerly we had five or six di-
visions, but find it works better to have but two.
"Our membership solicitors and other membership employes attend all
meetings of the volunteer committeemen and help them a great deal with, sug-
gestions. All of our employes have been with us several years and are men
especially adapted to the work. We have tried out perhaps fifteen men who
have failed to make good although they were splendid men of established
reputation as salesmen in other lines. It requires a particular gift of per-
suasion and diplomacy, as well as tact and business ability, to make a good
membership salesman.
"4. I see no objection to employing solicitors. I do not believe, how-
ever, in paying commissions. We have tried out that system repeatedly and
abandoned it finally. I believe a great many organizations throughout the
country are suffering now from results of membership campaigns conducted
on a commission basis. There is always danger that such memberships are
not "well sold," and, therefore, will not stay sold, and a flood of resignations
results at the end of the first subscription period.
"5. The best argument in favor of paid solicitors for membership work
is in the results obtained. A good membership man, well trained, with a
thorough mastery of the talking points in favor of his organization, work-
ing industriously and continuously, can outsell at least two or three ordinary
volunteer workers. A volunteer worker has other business to do ; he can not
concentrate on membership work. It is a "side line" with him, and after
he has worked all his friends and acquaintances he runs out of material and
finds it very hard to sell strangers.
"In conclusion. I am thoroughly convinced that salaried solicitors are a
necessary part of association work, especially in larger cities."
New York's Membership Experiment
Here is a very interesting letter from Mr. S. Cristy Mead,
the Secretary of the Merchants' Association of New York, in
which he says:
"1. A and B. When our membership bureau was created last June a
year ago, under the supervisory jurisdiction of a small membership commit-
METHODS OF SUSTAINING MEMBERSHIPS. 205
tee to maintain and upbuild the membership, the city was divided into six
sections, each large in area, and a corps of six solicitors was selected, each
being assigned to a district after being thoroughly grounded in the benefits
flowing from commercial organization work, as well as the association's
achievements.
"C. Each canvasser was given a file of the prospects in his district,
the membership committee having previously determined that each was
eligible to membership. On a printed card, which indicates the form of
the eligible membership file given to each solicitor, initial and subsequent calls
were noted. Our daily report form (of which a copy is submitted) showed
each day's work. The canvasser's cards and the reports were carefully ex-
amined by the manager of the membership bureau, who not only discussed
with each solicitor the canvass of certain prospects, but also personally gave
or secured such assistance as could be requested to promote early and favor-
able action on the membership invitation extended by our field representa-
tive on behalf of either the membership committee, one of our officers or
directors, or a member. The entire field force was frequently called together
in conference by the bureau manager, to discuss difficulties encountered, to
review recent work, or to be instructed in detail on some important activity
in which the association may have engaged, of vital interest to a part of or
the entire membership. These conferences are instructive to the men. help
membership upbuilding, and often result in the writer learning, for instance,
how various interests regard phases of our work, or subjects of concern to
certain trades or industries, or the names of men particularly qualified to
render committee service, etc. The conferences lasted from an hour to an
hour and a half, being held Saturday mornings when, under the conditions
existing in the city, canvassing is difficult, if not impossible.
"The districts were so arranged that they could be easily and quickly en-
larged or decreased in area, dependent upon the size of the fluctuating field
staff.
"2. As a whole, the soliciting force secured excellent results. Notwith-
standing the heavy initial cost in organizing and equipping the bureau, the
first year's work of the bureau showed a profit of more than $7,500. Our
directors approved the view of our membership committee that the work is
profitably conducted, even though the cost of obtaining a new member repre-
sents the first year's dues, $50, as in the past the average life of membership
is eight years. As a matter of fact, the cost of securing new members has been
about $25.
"3. A. What I would consider as a weak point in your method, namely,
the approach of the prospective member, will be largely met, if not entirely,
by standing committees of your members working with your salesmen for
about two hours one day a week. If any appreciable number of your mem-
bership will continually and systematically give such valuable service, yours
will be the best plan of membership upbuilding, for it will combine the can-
vasser's intimate knowledge of your activities and the personal interest and
influence of a member in extending a membership invitation. It will make
certain an effective approach at great economy of time and under the best
possible auspices, for the merchant or professional man will show some ap-
preciation of the compliment paid by the call of one of his number, even though
it be only to listen to the argument, and if that opportunity is afforded, in-
terest in the work will be aroused sooner or later with resultant member-
ship. Failing personal call, letters of introduction from members for the can-
vassers to present to others in the same or other industries, carry great
206 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
weight, especially if the latter highly, though briefly, commends the activities
of the organization, the benefits accruing therefrom and urges membership.
B. Would not the efficiency of the salesmen be increased by the time
given to collection of dues being devoted to membership soliciting? We have
one man, one of our regular force, devoting his entire time to collections.
Although membership dues represent a debt just as much as that incurred in
buying merchandise, at the same tune the efforts to collect can only be fol-
lowed up to a certain point, and in this work we find other qualities than
those usually possessed by the high class salesman are required.
The Membership Solicitor
"4. There can be no real valid objection to employing membership
solicitors any more than to the merchant using salesmen to market his pro-
duct, other than that the task of fche first named is the more difficult because
membership is intangible. Members might question the policy of spending
large sums to increase the enrollment, but there is no ground for reasonable
criticism if membership upbuilding is self-supporting. Without the aid of
members, however, membership canvassing is not productive of results worth
while for the effort expended.
"As you so clearly state, the membership solicitor must be a man of
intelligence and tact, and possess the highest degree of salesmanship. Men
of that type can earn more in mercantile pursuits than in our field, hence the
personnel of a successful canvassing force changes frequently, as the men
engaged therein come in contact with better opportunities. Such has been
our experience. The cost of maintaining a membership field force is high,
therefore, as it takes at least a month's training before a canvasser can
effectively present membership and become even passingly familiar with the
prospects.
"5. Commercial organizations, especially those in the large centers,
spend large sums in issuing literature, in publicity work, and in advertising in
one form or another. While they are absolutely necessary, the paid mem-
bership solicitor is the best possible means of calling attention to the or-
ganization's aims and achievements, for he comes in direct contact with the
principal the person your literature may or may not reach and if the field
representative is of the right type, a favorable impression has been given,
or a misconception concerning the organization has been removed, or sugges-
tions have been obtained worth many times the cost of the canvass, even if
the solicitor is not successful in securing the membership.
"A paid soliciting force of necessity must become acquainted with a
large part of the membership, and in time nearly all the eligible members,
with the result that such solicitors can be used to great advantage, not
only in intensive campaigns, but in interesting or arousing part of the mem-
bership on any question of importance on which quick action is required.
"In addition to different form letters, 'Greater New York,' our weekly
publication, our Year Book, leaflet 'Things Done,' the 'Eligible Membership
Directory,' a circular quoting city officials in praise of our work, and a leaflet
containing commendatory press comments on our varied activities, are used
to good advantage in maintaining and increasing the membership.
Membership Arguments
As to the work of "soliciting" I might say, gentlemen, that
we have changed our plan within the last six weeks, so that
METHODS OF SUSTAINING MEMBERSHIPS. 207
the men seeking new membership have nothing to do with
resignations or collections; we have a separate staff to handle
that work one man being engaged in calling on delinquents
and looking after resignations, and two men devoting their
time exclusively to sales work. Mr. Howard Strong, the Sec-
retary of the Minneapolis Civic and Commerce Association,
has this to say :
"It is difficult to criticise your paper on the Detroit method, because
after all has been said and done, you 'sold the goods,' and that is the thing
which all of us are seeking. I will, however, make a few comments which
may be a bit suggestive. And yet while we all talk of 'selling the goods,' as
a matter of fact the selling of memberships is quite a different proposition
from the selling of the average commercial product. It is the business of the
salesman to prove to the man to whom he is trying to sell that he is going to
get something tangible out of the sale for himself. On the other hand, our
answer to the man who asks: 'What am I going to get out of this?' 1 is: 'If
you are that sort, we don't want you in the organization ; the question is :
'What can you put into it for your town?' Now, it is more difficult for a
paid salesman to say to a prominent business man a thing of that kind than
it is for another member to say it. A member can go to a business, 5 man and
say : 'I am giving my time without cost, because I believe the organization is
a good thing for our town. I believe you owe support to this organization and
to the town, and if you are big and broadminded you will recognize that any-
thing which means the development of our town means a return to us. It
is up to you to come in, not for what you can get out of it, but for what you
can put in, and show that you are broad enough to recognize that your own
growth depends upon the growth of the town.' It is very easy for the business
man to turn down a salesman whom he knows is paid for what he is doing,
while it is hard for him to turn down a member who occupies the same rela-
tion to the community that he does, and who is giving his time because of his
loyalty to his town.
"It is true that you got 1,200 members in eight months, and you had a new
building with club facilities as the strongest basis of appeal. Your total cost
was $10,000. On the other hand, we got 700 members in less than six months
at a cost of something less than $1,000, and as a byproduct we gave a very
considerable education in civic affairs to our members who were on our
membership committee, which, in my mind, is an important consideration.
Nevertheless, neither your figures nor ours are conclusive. The second, third
and fourth years, I think, would tell the story more completely. It is quite
possible that you can keep on getting members at a faster rate with your
method than we can with our method, and I am not tat all sure but that at
the end of the four years you would show a record ahead of ours. In other
words, it is difficult to judge on one year's record for either method. We
have a new organization and have not exhausted our field, therefore, the
number which we secured this year is perhaps larger than the number which
can be secured within the next few years. You have a new club house, and
this is a very strong basis of appeal. Neither of us is making a normal
appeal. Three or four lean years would give a better comparison of methods
than the comparison of a single fat year under the two methods.
"My general inclination is toward the joint plan which you suggest, that
is, the plan by which you propose to send out members with your solicitors.
208 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
This enables the business man who is a member to put it up to a man who
is a non-member on the basis of loyalty to his organization and town, and
at the same time it gives him an opportunity to fall back upon the expert
salesman who knows the game and who can give an answer to every con-
ceivable objection. I am coming to the notion that this, perhaps, is the ulti-
mate solution.
"I agree with you absolutely in the matter of delinquents. Except in
unusual cases, members should not be asked to call upon delinquent members ;
that should be left for employees of the organization.
"To answer your questions specifically :
"1 and 2. We have two or three men on our staff who do some member-
ship solicitation. These men, however, see a very small proportion of pros-
pects and the work is only incidental to the work of the membership com-
mittee.
"3. The weakest point in the Detroit plan is the financial cost of secur-
ing new members. This is justified, however, if it can not be done for less.
Another weakness may appear in the course of a few years if it is found
that the members who were secured through 'salesmanship* do not retain
their membership, as well as those who are 'sold' by members. This may
or may not appear.
"4. I do not see any specific objections to the employment of member-
ship solicitors, provided they work largely in conjunction with members.
"5. The strongest argument in favor of the plan is the fact that you got
results, and that you can probably continue to get results, because your so-
licitors are absolutely under your control and can keep at work while mem-
bers are attending to their own business.
Mr. Roland B. Woodward, the Secretary of the Rochester
Chamber of Commerce, says:
"First. We do maintain a membership secretary. He has no assistants
except what would be given to him in an organization like this at a time
when a campaign is on. He is backed by a strong committee, the members of
which he is supposed to get to work to aid him in every possible way.
"Second. Up to date, this -work has not been satisfactory except in the
campaigns that have been put on where the whole energies of the chamber
have been turned to that end.
"Third. The danger of your program and policy is that it may after a
time lead the membership to believe that they are not actively to do that work
which is being so competently done by a staff of employes.
"Fourth. The greatest objection to membership solicitors is that they are
likely to affect adversely the strong feeling of volunteer service, which is the
best quality of many of our chambers.
"Fifth. The very best argument in favor of membership solicitors is that
they give direction to and train the general membership to efficient selling.
"Your program has gone on so successfully that you must not be misled
by its success and eliminate the many strong factors which your organization
had at its service, namely, the inspiration of a new building, the best in the
country ; the inspiration of great industrial and mercantile growth in the city,
and the combination of forces that had not hitherto worked together."
Mr. Munson Havens, the Secretary of the Cleveland Cham-
ber of Commerce, savs:
METHODS OF SUSTAINING MEMBERSHIPS. 209
"Were you to ask me, however, for a categorical answer to the question,
'Is the employment of solicitors practical?' I would hesitate. I believe there
is no department of an organization more governed by conditions peculiar to
if. than that of membership, and incidentally, few chambers give the matter
the consideration it, the 'business' side, should have.
"For small organizations I am opposed to the employment of solicitors, on
the ground that the smaller the community the wider the personal acquain-
tance of the organization members and the better the esprit de corps obtainable
through membership work by them rather than paid solicitors. The point of
cost is also important with small chamber?, as the number of new members
each year is necessarily limited by the size of the city. The number, secured
bj* solicitors, who could not otherwise be reached, would be too small to offset
the expense of the soliciting department.
"I have that same opposition, though in a less degree, to the employment
of solicitors by larger chambers. There must necessarily be a lessening of
interest in the actual campaign for new members when that campaign is car-
ried on by other than the membership itself, and sooner or later, perhaps when
your solicitors have thoroughly canvassed the city, the loss of that feeling of
personal responsibility may be felt. Perhaps I am much too conservative.
Certainly there are at once two classes of chambers where solicitors may rea-
sonably be employed, one, for example, the Merchants' Association of New
York, where the size of the city puts a premium on the securing of members
through personal acquaintance, and the other, chambers so long in existence
that the city has been canvassed and recanvassed by the members themselves
until the demand upon their time for such work is too great to be expected.
"Yet, as opposed to this latter situation, we have the example of Boston,
where an enthusiastic membership committee has developed a new plan of
a small central unit, each member of which attempts not only to secure new
members by the regular methods of personal solicitation, but also to interest
a 'sales force' of other members working for him (a plan which promises
excellent results), and where no paid solicitors are employed.
'But what actually counts are results, and your corps of solicitors seems
to be producing them. Besides your statement of a $30,000 annual ineomo
secured at a cost of $10,000, and in addition a lessening of loss through
delinquent collections, theoretical arguments fall flat. Even though you were
to accept the theory of possible danger in such a method over a longer period
than you have employed it, your income would have been materially benefitod
through its adoption.
"Even considering that it is necessary to secure only four hundred mem-
bers by our method to equal, in net income to the chamber one thousand
secured by yours, and with the probability that your yearly total will in
another year fall to that, there is left the gain through withdrawn resigna-
tions, through delinquent collections, and through the psychological factor of
an annual addition of one thousand names to the roster. The results of your
eight months' work present a very strong argument for the employment of
paid solicitors.
"There is one other point which occurs to me, namely, the personality of
the solicitors themselves. I can see where many attempts to increase mem-
bership would not only be fruitless in themselves, but would react against the
organization because of the short-sighted economy of securing inexperienced
and low-salaried salesmen.
"I think I have answered in a general way all of your questions, but for
convenience will give them in order :
210 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
"1. The Cleveland Chamber does not employ paid solicitors. There is
appointed annually a committee on membership admission, 25 to 35 members.
One of the assistant secretaries gives about one-third of his time to member-
ship work.
"2. Our method is moderately successful. Frankly, the chamber has
reached a point where an increase in the annual number of new members is
necessary, but it is my belief that the membership committee will decide to
adapt the Boston sj'stem to our use rather than to employ solicitors.
"3. With your records of results it is hard to point to a weakness in
the method. I have outlined my feelings regarding the method in general.
In your case at least objection would have to be theoretical.
"4. The two greatest objections to the employment of solicitors are, to
my mind, the loss of a feeling of personal responsibility on the part of the
membership for the growth of the chamber, and the very great difficulty of
securing solicitors who satisfactorily combine personality and efficiency.
The next letter is from Mr. James A. McKibben, the Sec-
retary of the Boston Chamber of Commerce. Mr. McKibben
says :
"1. Our plan seems to us to have been pretty successful, inasmuch as it
has succeeded in building the membership of the chamber up from 2.693 in
1909 to 4.617, the present membership of the chamber. In fact, it would be
entirely fair to say that it had succeeded in building up the membership from
1,464 to 4,61.7, because at the time when our committee on membership started
on the work the combined membership of the Merchants' Association and of
the former Chamber of Commerce (which was consolidated in 1909) was only
1,464.
"3, 4, 5. Every chamber or board of commerce has in its membership
men who are more efficient salesmen, both because of greater ability as sales-
men and because they make the approach from a very much better angle than
any membership salesman you can hire at a salary. It ought to be possible
to utilize this resource of the chamber, and not resort to paid solicitors. Be-
sides, human nature is human nature, and it is never eliminated in a member-
ship salesman or anybody else. If a man is selling books or goods or member-
ship in an organization he would not be human if he did not strain a point to
get results. If he does this by representations, which the organization would,
if it knew all about them, perhaps not be quite willing to stand back of and
the paid membership solicitor is prettj 7 likely to do this to some extent the
result is inevitable. You have a disgruntled, dissatisfied member whose only
asset to the chamber is the annual dues which he pays, and you are likely not
to continue getting that many years.
"We have recognized that danger in the work in Detroit, and not less fre-
quently than twice a month, we invite all the new members to a luncheon
conference, at which time the secretary, or some member of the chamber
meets with them and tells them frankly just what we expect of them as new
members, and what the work of the organization is, as well as what the work-
ing organization of the new members is expected to be.
"If, on the other hand, he is able to induce a man to join by his magne-
tism and his skill in presenting the case, that is pretty sure to be a temporary
state of mind on the part of the man. And beyond all this, is not a man much
more likely, with the presentation of the same arguments and facts, to agree
to become a member of an organization if these arguments and facts are pre-
sented by a member of the organization who is giving his time purely as a
METHODS OF SUSTAINING ME3IBERSHIPS. 211
matter of public spirit than if they were presented by a man whom the man
knows is paid to do so? And is he not much more likely to remain longer as a
member of the organization?
"Our experience with membership committees has shown us that very
frequently there is some weakness in their method of approach, because the
membership committee goes out, and many of them do not present the argu-
ment at all. They merely say : "I say that the chamber of commerce is a good
thing; now, take my word for it; sign your name on the dotted line, right
there." "And they get the signature on the dotted line and away they go. Our
experience is that our new members are better sold, and the proposition is
explained more fully to a larger percentage of the new members secured by
solicitors than is our chamber of commerce work explained by volunteer
workers, going out as committees, although I don't for a minute want to be-
little the work of membership committees.
"I congratulate you on the attractive statement of the case for the paid
solicitor which you have made. It is interesting to note, however, that the
cost of the 'increase in annual revenues to over $30,000 was about $10.000.'
In other words, the paid solicitors did business at a cost of 33 per cent of
the gross receipts."
Minimum Results Maximum Cost
I was only too glad to get a "rise" on that figure, because
we purposely put the figure high. We have stated minimum
results, so far as new members were concerned, and maximum
cost, so far as expense was concerned, and we didn't take into
account that the $30,000 of new revenue was new revenue from
dues only. We have an entrance fee in the Detroit Board of
Commerce of $25. 00, and each one of the 1,200 new members
secured since the first of January has been called upon to pay
that $25.00 entrance fee, and the dues besides, and we figured
our cost on the percentage which it bears to the entrance fee.
This is what Mr. Will L. Finch, the editor of "Town De-
velopment," says:
"Taking up your questions seriatim, and answering without very mature
consideration, I should say that I see no points in the method employed by
the Detroit Board of Commerce that could be classed as weak. Your most
difficult task will be to get a sufficient continuity of service from your com-
mittees who are to go out with the solicitors to make it as efficient in practice
as you would wish.
"Your second difficulty is to have these committees taken seriously.
"I have never been able to see any objection to employing membership
solicitors by organizations having a sufficient membership, sufficient funds
and sufficient efficiency to make a membership in the organization a salable
quantity.
"Third. The argument in favor of their employment is first that a secre-
tary should not be permitted to solicit memberships, because he is paid for
doing a more important work. What is everybody's business is nobody's busi-
ness, applies to this as well as to every other human endeavor. A member-
212 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
ship solicitor has a specific work to perform, and will give his entire time
and thought to the work.
"Fourth. In this question you have stated the crux of the whole mem-
bership question. It is not likely that so long as the members of a commer-
cial organization are human that that organization will ever sustain an in-
creased membership year in and year out. Too much depends upon the per-
sonnel of the administration forces of the organization, and too much de-
pends upon the inclination of men to be apathetic about everything except
their business.
"No artificial means, even the employment of solicitors or the constant
work of the membership committee will ever sustain the membership of an
organization unless that organization is actually doing things and unless the
membership is first made and then kept sufficiently appreciative, first, of the
need of an organization, and second, of the necessity of the individual mem-
ber giving of his time and service to the work of the organization.
"Inasmuch as I have been thinking and working for the last fourteen
years on the questions you have raised, I feel that any reply I could make to
your inquiries in the confines of a letter must be woefully inadequate. It
is a tremendously big subject, and in fact is the very essence of commer-
cial organization life."
Lucius E. Wilson, of the American City Bureau of New
York City, says:
"After reading your statement there can be but one answer to the ques-
tion so far as it applies to the Detroit Board of Commerce. Facts indicate
that the employment of solicitors has been successful. However, the plan is
not safe for adoption in all cities. The Detroit Board of Commerce is an old,
well established, respected organization with a magnificent club house. It has
established "something" to sell to prospective members. Its position is al-
most unique among commercial bodies. I can not recall another commercial
organization in the United States that possesses the same combination of
civic activity, plus complete club accommodations. This is a sort of answer
to question number one in your letter.
"Question number two says: 'What do you consider the greatest ob-
jection to employing membership solicitors?' The fundamental trouble with
the plan is this: 'The solicitor does not have back of himself the tjremen-
dous influence of an aroused enthusiastic public opinion focused upon board
of commerce enlargement during a specified time. In other words, the em-
ployment of membership solicitors who peg away throughout the year can not
produce the results that are obtainable by a well -organized membership
campaign. In your own case, seven hundred and twenty-five members came
into the organization during the month of March. The warmth, enthusiasm
and encouragement generated in that campaign disseminated itself through
the business public of the city. It made boosters for the board of commerce.
It put the organization definitely and persistently in the public eye. It laid
the foundation for the success of your membership solicitors.' Another diffi-
culty to overcome in the use of membership 'solicitors is the human problem
of finding the right sort of men. I personally think the field representative
of an organization like the board of commerce ought to be a highly trained
man, competent to impress his personality on the biggest business men in the
city; Such men are scarce and high priced. I don't believe that the produc-
tion of a certain number of new membership applications is in itself a suffi-
cient justification of the employment of a solicitor. I would want to know
METHODS OF SUSTAINING MEMBERSHIPS. 213
just the impression he left among the men whom he failed to sign as well as
among those he landed.
"Question number three asks : 'What do you consider the best argument
in favor of their employment?' Their use as collateral to the general re-
habilitation campaign is the best argument for them. In a city of the size of
Detroit it is always necessary to have some man or men as membership
secretaries who will adjust threatened resignations and other misunder-
standings with members.
"The fourth question, 'What plan would you suggest that a commercial
organization should pursue in sustaining and increasing its membership year
in and year out?' demands a book on the subject of managing chambers of
commerce. From me it would bring forth a 'dream' that I am entertaining.
Some day it is going to be realized. It will be a chamber of commerce that
will so completely serve the needs of the community that normal-minded men
will support it as naturally as they do their own families. To that end cham-
bers of commerce must (a) At regular intervals make big plans that will re-
quire the cooperation of the whole city.
"(b) Through a medium of a well-organized campaign focus the city's
attention upon one plan in such a way that it will lead to accomplishments.
"(c) Not depend upon the secretary and his assistants to perform ex ;
traordinary or unusual tasks, but to employ expert outside assistance to carry
through big movements like charter reform, charitable and philanthropic
movements in connection with the business public, industrial or commercial
surveys, municipal research, city planning movements, vocational education,
together with the articulation of the employer and the employe, etc. The
secretary would, under this arrangement, be the administrative head of the
great organization that would determine the order in which large public move-
ments would be presented to the city. He would tell whether municipal re-
search should precede an attempt at charter reform, etc. He would dictate
the order of community procedure. In short, he would be a man of supreme
influence in the community instead of being a clerk. When this conception
of community leadership finds its way into the minds of secretaries and di-
rectors of chambers of commerce, they will have advanced to a point where
they can justly claim that the management of a commercial organization is a
profession and a science.
C. S. Whittier, Membership Secretary of the Boston Cham-
ber of Commerce, says :
"All of our bills go out on January 1, so that is the natural starting
time for the new committee. It has been the usual custom to begin with a
small number of men, some of whom are brought over from the committee of
the year before, and the first few meetings are intended to be almost wholly
of an educational nature. Some of the officers or directors meet with the
committee, tell them what the chamber has done in the past year or two,
why it took such and such a stand on important matters, and answer all
questions which occur to the new members. This is continued frequently
throughout the year.
"Furthermore, I have plotted curves, showing the progress of our mem-
bership work since 1909, the comparative number of new members, compara-
tive number of resignations each year, etc. All of this preliminary work is
just what you would do if you were in the manufacturing business and were
putting a new crew of salesmen on the road. You probably would take them
to the factory, show them just how the product is made, just why certain
214 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
policies have been adopted, tell them how much business you must do in a
year, and give them each their quota.
"A word or two about the committee itself. We have been very careful in
the selection of the chairman. We have had the cashier of one of the largest
banks in New England, the vice-president of one of our large public service
corporations; a very prominent lawyer; two prominent insurance men, who
were great personal producers, and the sales manager of the second largest
bakers' supply house in the United States. Each of these chairmen has been
a most excellent salesman himself and has been able to 'drive' the other mem-
bers of the committee, who also have been salesmen, primarily.
"There are three things which the committee can do. First, get new
members: second, bring back members who have resigned; third, in a very
quiet and careful way help the membership secretary in collecting unpaid
dues. The including of these last two functions in a statement of a member-
ship committee's work may, of course, be open to argument Often the best
salesman loses his enthusiasm when he is continually running up against
'grouches' and dissatisfied customers. Therefore, we have been careful not
to ask some members of the committee to handle resignations. We have to
be still more careful in the case of unpaid dues. Only where a committeeman
knows the delinquent very well and would have more influence with him do
we ever ask his help.
"An effort is made to keep the committee stirred up by contests among
themselves, and new additions are made throughout the first year as new
members develop an interest in the membership work, so that when fall comes
we have a fairly large committee, all of whom are w T ell grounded in the prin-
ciples and work of the chamber and ready for a quiet and persistent extra
spirit at the end of its year's work. For this the secretary has prepared the
usual prospect list, while the committee has suggested and planned the neces-
sary literature and follow-up letters.
"It has always seemed to us that where such a committee was in the field
the secretary should do as little personal solicitation as possible. If a good
prospect is turned in it is very easy to find someone who knows him or whose
place of business is near him. This prospect feels that the chamber has a
greater personal interest in him if a member gives up his time to talk things
over with him. In the case of resignations, however, the secretary oftentimes
is in a better position to look up the trouble or to present different points of
view to the resigning member, and in the case of unpaid dues, takes almost
complete charge of the work with the assistance of the cashier in the treas-
urer's office. Speaking in general terms, our resignations are handled by the
committee and Secretary jointly, and the unpaid dues almost entirely by the
Secretary.
James Reilly, Secretary of the Newark, New Jersey, Board
of Trade, objects to the employment of membership solicitors
on the ground that it has a tendency to take away from the
prestige and commercialize the value of membership and im-
pairs the standard of a commercial organization. He states :
"Our board of directors maintain a standard by restricting membership
so that when a man is invited to become a member he feels that an honor
has been conferred."
That sounds like a "silk stocking" organization. Mr. C.
METHODS OF SUSTAINING MEMBERSHIPS. 215
R. Green, of the Hamilton, Ohio, Chamber of Commerce, be-
lieved that new members should be secured through the work
of the membership committee, working once or twice a year
in short, snappy campaigns.
Through an experience of several campaigns conducted in
Binghamton and Detroit, I found that when the campaign was
over there were a great many business men who had been
called on by the membership committee, and while these men
were in a favorable frame of mind towards the chamber of
commerce they did not sign applications. I never found a
membership committee that was willing to take care of this
follow-up work after the close of the campaign, and it is my
experience that some paid member of the staff of a commercial
organization should be definitely assigned to the work of fol-
lowing up the work of the campaign committee that was left
only half finished.
Mr. F. G. Morley, Secretary of the Toronto Board of Trade,
answering the question as to the best method of sustaining
and increasing membership, writes :
"I know of no better plan of sustaining and increasing the membership
than the one you have adopted in Detroit, viz., giving members semi-club
privileges. This board has adopted the plan and we hope to get into our
new quarters by January 1. I might add that since our intentions were
announced new applications to the number of 150 have been sent in prac-
tically unsolicited, and I feel sure that when our membership committee
opens a short campaign in November we will likely get more members than
we require and open a waiting list."
J. Will Kelly, Secretary of the Commercial Club of Topeka,
Kansas, makes a criticism on the employment of membership
solicitors that represents the views of many of those who wrote
letters in answer to my baby "questionaire."
"The greatest objection that I feel could be offered against it, is the
fact that people would be inclined to say that your soliciting committee or
soliciting secretary was working entirely for his salary and that about all
the commercial club was doing was raising money to pay its officers. This
objection, I know, is offered against a secretary who makes any personal
efforts to collect dues."
For several years I entertained the same feeling, but I
never yet have had any experience to justify the feeling. I
have talked personally with many of the new members secured
by our solicitors. I have talked confidentially with them, try-
ing to secure criticism from them in regard to the method em-
ployed. I have also had men follow up and call upon some of
216 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
the prospects against whom unfavorable reports had been
turned in by our solicitors, and every man has looked upon our
solicitors with the same respect that he would receive and listen
to and give an order to the credited salesmen and representa-
tives of any commercial organization approaching him with
some article for sale. In Detroit, at least, I am absolutely satis-
fied that the business men look upon the employment of mem-
bership solicitors as a perfectly logical thing for the Detroit
Board of Commerce to have.
All of our business men recognize that it costs something
to secure business, and they recognize that it will necessarily
cost the Detroit Board of Commerce something to secure new
members.
Particularly in the smaller communities I believe that the
secretary who is master of his job gives more to the community
than he is paid, and that no man need be ashamed, apologize,
or be over-conscious in his dealings with members because of the
fact that he is on the payroll of a commercial organization.
A great many secretaries will sympathize with Mr. F. N.
Yorston, Secretary of the New Brunswick, N. J., Board of
Trade, who says :
"Will answer your first four questions by stating that we do not maintain
any membership solicitors outside of the membership committee, which com-
mittee has never been of any real value along these lines."
Mr. Thorndike Deland, the Secretary of the Denver Cham-
ber of Commerce, makes a significant comment, saying:
"I am in favor of the employment of men on the staff of a commercial
organization to look after the membership, as this is just as necessary as a
sales force in connection with any business establishment and the chamber
of commerce should be the model institution of the city."
E. M. Clendening, the General Secretary of the Kansas
City Commercial Club, writes that not long ago he made a
strong recommendation to his directors for the employment of
a membership clerk at a regular salary, not for the purpose of
doing away with the membership committee, but to utilize him
in certain office work connected with membership. He desired
a man of good address so that he could be sent out to visit
concerns when they located and thus pave the way for the mem-
bership committee. He states that he has been successful in
having his recommendation adopted. He believes that in cities
of over 150,000 commercial organizations could well afford to
METHODS OF SUSTAINING MEMBERSHIPS. 217
employ one, and perhaps more, membership clerks who could be
made use of in a good many ways.
I like the idea of II. L. Lewis, the General Secretary of the
Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce, who suggests the follow-
ing as the best plan for sustaining and increasing the member-
ship of a commercial organization. He says:
"I can hardly recommend any plan for keeping and increasing the mem-
bership of a commercial organization that will make a membership solicitor
of every member of the organization. With every member in the roll of a
solicitor, satisfactory results are sure to follow."
On this subject Daniel Casey, the Secretary of the Haver-
hill, Mass., Board of Trade, says:
"Moses, Methuselah and Napoleon, with Caesar and Cleopatra thrown in
for good weight, do not, I will bet a half shilling, know that is the best plan
for sustaining and increasing membership."
Mr. Casey clinches the argument in favor of membership
solicitors with the following:
"You are probably aware that some organizations are criticised because
they devote considerable time to membership work, and the statement is made
that they should lend their time to other channels. A professional solicitor
would eliminate such criticism."
Judgment of Smaller Cities
Mr. J. R. Babcock, of the Dallas Chamber of Commerce,
writes :
My experience is that the best solicitor a commercial organization
can send out is the boss man himself. I believe that the secretary can
have better success than a committee, and am very sure that he can have
better success than any other man in the office force.
"However, as it is impractical for the secretary to spend his time solicit-
ing and handle the work in the office, it becomes necessary to delegate his
authority to others, either to the membership committee, or to a paid man
on the staff. Between these two methods, as a general proposition, I believe
the better result can be obtained from sending a man from the staff provided
the man sent is in close touch with the work of the organization.
"This latter requirement, in my opinion, can not hold where a regular
solicitor is put on. The greatest objection to employing a regular member-
ship solicitor is that he, of course, can not be in as close touch with the work
of the organization as is some man who spends the larger part of his time in
the office and is close up to the head man.
"In a wholesale house a traveling salesman needs to know his goods. He
needs to know something of the general policy of the house, but this does not
change from time to time ; at any rate, the changes are not great. On the
other hand, the man who goes out to sell a membership in the chamber of
commerce has nothing to offer in direct return for the prospective member,
and can only sell that member a patriotic interest in the growth and pros-
perity of the town, and at best only a limited amount of direct service. As
218 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
this amount of direct service will vary with each individual member, it is
essential that the membership solicitor shall know with a fair degree of ac-
curacy what the policy of the head or secretary of the organization will be
towards this prospect after he becomes a member.
"For these reasons it is next to impossible for a paid solicitor to secure
members on the right basis unless he be very closely associated with the head
of the organization and in close touch with the policies of the organization.
We have sent out paid solicitors, had one man employed for six months, who
has been president of the old commercial club some fifteen or twenty years
ago. During the first few weeks he brought in good results from soliciting
among his friends of former years. After this limited field was worked he
was able to do practically nothing in the way of securing new members.
"We have also tried the membership solicitation plan of having large
committees with a great deal of enthusiasm, and while we secured a great
many new members during these campaigns, have found that the percentage
of holdovers was very small compared with the members that have been se-
cured by the secretary direct or one of his men in close touch with the work
of the organization."
Mr. W. T. Corwith, Business Secretary of the Lynchburg
Chamber of Commerce, says:
"The chief danger is that an over-enthusiastic solicitor who desires to
make a good showing will be tempted to overwork the local material, and
in order to get them to sign up will hold out inducements which are not
based upon a sound footing. The members secured in this way are sure to
make trouble later on."
We in Detroit had our membership solicitors work from a
very carefully compiled list of prospects. Morning conferences
are held between the secretary and the solicitors, and instruc-
tions are given in reference to the method of approach which
solicitors are to make to certain prospects with whom the secre-
tary is acquainted.
The solicitors make individual reports verbally at these
morning conferences in reference to the talks which they have
had with each man whose application they secure, and also
with each man whose application they fail to secure. In this
way we keep very closely in. touch with the sales arguments
being used, and do not allow solicitors to hold out inducements
not approved by the secretary.
We have another check on this by holding two or three
times a month conferences between the secretary and new mem-
bers whose applications have been secured by the membership
men, and then there is a frank talk between the secretary or
other officers of the board with these men in regard to their
relationship to the working part of the board. They are told
what they can expect and what they can not expect. If there
.METHODS OF SUSTAINING MEMBERSHIP. 219
are any cases where the solicitors have made any promises
whatever, we endeavor to draw this out from the new members
at these conferences, and we have not as yet found any instance
in which we have been able to criticise the salesmen for the
arguments they have used.
When we first organized the work of our membership so-
licitors we had them devote a certain portion of their time to
collecting dues and calling upon members who had resigned.
Very quickly we had to abandon this, as we found it greatly
reduced the efficiency of the salesmen in securing new members.
We then took one of the salesmen who had shown the greatest
ability in handling collections and resignations and assigned
him exclusively to this work. This proved to be an improve-
ment over the old plan, but was not entirely satisfactory, be-
cause in our morning membership conferences we found the
salesmen not particularly interested in the reports and discus-
sions between the secretary and these collectors. Recently we
have entirely divorced the two, and the solicitors devote their
time exclusively to securing new members, and their depart-
ment is entirely distinct from the department handling collec
tions and resignations. Our experience in this respect is the
same as that of the Merchants' Association of New York and
the Association of Commerce of Chicago.
When Do Solicitors Pay?
How large a city has to be to make the employment of mem-
bership solicitors profitable for a commercial organization is a
problem I have considered in connection with this question.
Kalamazoo, a city having from 40,000 to 50,000 population,
made a three months' experiment with the employment of mem
bership solicitors and found it successful. They were particu-
larly fortunate in getting a man especially qualified for this
kind of work, but were unable to hold him. Their experience
covered too short a period to justify any conclusions.
Any secretary in considering the application of this method
in a city under 100,000 could determine for the purposes of ex-
periment whether it would be likely to be worth while or not by
carefully preparing a list of the membership prospects in the
city and studying the rate of growth. With this knowledge a
secretary can estimate the percentage of sales that could be
made if the commercial organization's message could really
220 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
be delivered to each of these men. It is possible for a man to
interview from five to fifteen men a day, out of which a good
salesman should be able to secure from one to three applica-
tions. Any salesman who consistently secures one new member-
ship a day at $25 per year is doing good work. Sometimes they
average better than this. In the summer months it is not pos
sible to do as well. With this knowledge it is not difficult to
determine whether or not it would be possible to keep one man
occupied on this work on a paying basis for one year.
In Detroit we started out with a list of about 6,000 reason
ably promising prospects, in addition to which some 3,000 in
habitants are being added to the population of Detroit each
month. The Detroit Board of Commerce already has a member-
ship which constitutes a little better than one-half of one per-
cent of the city's population. Therefore, out of 3,000 new
people added to the population each month, we ought to se-
cure over fifteen new members. With these figures in mind, it
was not difficult for us to determine that we could keep from
two to five men engaged in this work the year round with profit
to the organization. The same reasoning can be applied to any
city, no matter what its population.
Now the question put up to me was this : "Is the employ-
ment of membership solicitors practical?' 7 I just want to tell
you what my conclusions have been after our one years ex-
perience in Detroit, and with the light of these different sides*
of the proposition laid before me by other secretaries, as they
are now laid before you. As I have said, we don't consider that
question the most important question. The question that we
are really trying to answer in Detroit is: "What is the best
method of maintaining and increasing our membership?" But
answering just the question asked specifically, I am strongly
of the opinion that the employment of membership solicitors is
practical in the larger cities of the country. One objection has
been raised by a number of secretaries, and that objection is,
that they thought the cost too expensive. Again, I would like
to emphasize my belief that salaries paid to membership so-
licitors and to membership secretaries should not be considered
as an expense, but as an investment from which definite results
in proportion to the investment are expected; and when the
results do not justify 'the expenditure the trouble is with the
men and the management and not with the idea. We did riot
MEMBERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND MAINTENANCE. 221
consider the matter of expense in Detroit. We didn't charge
up that ten thousand dollars to expense. It was an invest-
ment, to be judged entirely by the results produced. It has
not been a liability to our organization it has not been an
expense; it has been a source of income; without it we could
not have succeeded this year in our annual program.
Solicitors or Campaigns Which?
NOAV, I do believe in membership committees; I do believe
in the value of volunteer effort; I do believe in campaigns. I
feel certain that the employment of membership solicitors alone
is not the best method of maintaining and increasing the mem-
bership of a commercial organization. What we are seeking in
Detroit and what we hope to be able to answer during the
coming year is the best method of combining the work of mem-
bership solicitors with volunteer effort sustained throughout the
year and culminating in a membership campaign either at the
end or at the beginning of each new fiscal year. And that is the
conclusion that I have tentatively reached in regard to this
question that the next method is one that will some day be
followed by membership departments of commercial organiza-
tions, and that will combine the use of membership solicitors
with the volunteer efforts of a membership committee, and the
enthusiasm and spirit engendered by an annual campaign. I
thought you might be interested in knowing the conclusion
that I have personally reached on the subject.
Membership Development and Maintenance
By G. W. LEMON
Membership, to quote from a letter I recently received
from one of the older secretaries, is the "veritable foundation
stone of every commercial organization and how to build it up
and how to maintain it, so that the organization shall have
the three essentials that every organization must have, is the
question. These three essentials, as I need hardly remind the
trained secretary, are: Numerical strength, adequate financial
resources and personal service. To these three some associa-
tions have aimed to add a fourth, democracy"
Leaving entirely out of account any consideration of mem-
222 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
bership campaigns conducted by local or professional workers
I shall treat my subject under two heads :
(1) How shall we secure members all the time member-
ship development?
(2) How shall we retain them once you have got them
membership maintenance?
I do not flatter myself that anything I shall say will be of
the slightest value to executives who represent the large or-
ganizations in our great cities. My point of view is frankly
that of a man of somewhat limited experience who has spent
the major part of his secretarial life trying to serve the small
city organization.
How membership is to be built up that is our first ques-
tion. Securing members during a well-advertised "revival"
campaign is not much of a job. The enthusiasm of the "teams"
is contagious. The band wagon looks a lot more cheerful and
inviting to the average citizen than the secluded corner and
consequently scores of men join the know not what, for reasons
they could not tell. And there you have your first big problem
the uneducated member. What an army they would make
if we could only "draft" them out of our several organizations.
And if some genius should succeed in "mobilizing" them I will
give you one guess as to where the average secretary would
assign them for duty in these stirring times. Camp or can
tonment would not have them very long, I venture to say.
Converting the Unregenerate
These men who do not know the first rudiments of modern
commercial organization work; who do not understand the
difference between a trade organization and one which seeks
to serve the community; these men have bought and paid for
something your membership and they demand value re-
ceived. How are you going to give it to them?
"Do something get busy put something over for the
town," that is what the average secretary will tell me. It is
the stock advice. And it is good so far as it goes but it does
not go far enough. Unless this man is shown is "converted"
if you will unless you can broaden his vision to include the
other fellow all the "things-done-for-our-town" stuff, will not
count with him one iota.
"But why bother with him," another secretary admonishes.
MEMBERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND MAINTENANCE. 223
(He is the secretary who is always seeking the easy way out.)
"Let him go and bend all your efforts upon getting in new
members who Avill more than make up for this croaker."
Ah, there's the rub ! Getting new members so long as those
nnregenerate fellows are knocking you is some task is not
that true? They are undermining your organization. They are
helping create an atmosphere of captious criticism. Member-
ship development depends, in the first place, upon good will;
your croaking member is a source of ill-will, of disaffection.
Convert him at all costs! How? Well, try getting him to
work. Some one has said : "If you want to make a man like
you, get him to do something for you." Certain it is that no
man is a real member of the chamber of commerce until he has
performed for it some deed of useful service.
The Next Step
Having tried to create an atmosphere of good will and un-
derstanding so that the organization's attempts to accomplish
things shall not be discounted at the outset by ignorant an-
tagonism having cleared the ground, what is the next step?
The next step, I believe, is to make big plans for your
city and your organization. Let your young men dream dreams
and your old men see visions of the city of their desire. Most
men like to be connected with something big and worth while,
not to say heroic. May I illustrate what I mean?
A wealthy manufacturer was approached by the secretary
of a worthy philanthropic agency which was in need of funds
for a piece of definite and much-needed work. The caller asked
the rich man for $200.
"No/ 7 said the manufacturer. "I am not interested." The
social worker was nonplused for this man had been one of his
chief patrons and he began mildly to expostulate.
"What will that building you are planning cost?" the
manufacturer suddenly asked.
"Five thousand dollars."
"What nonsense to build a shack that will have to be
torn down in a few years. Now look here you go to your
board and tell them to put $50,000 in their budget for that
building and I'll send you a check for half that amount. But
you'll get none of my money for a poor, little measly proposi-
tion such as you put up to me when you came in."
224 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
If you have a broad program a strong platform and are
offering opportunity for individual effort, the men of your com-
munity, who are not members of your organization, will want
to come in. We must make our organizations the center of
life and activity in our respective cities. If our commercial
organization is alive and active we need not fear the forma-
tion of duplicating organizations such as manufacturers' asso-
ciations, retail and wholesale associations, traffic clubs, build-
ers' exchanges, etc. ; organizations which would distract the
attention of our members, taking both their money and inter-
est. Anticipate the need for such organizations, wherever pos-
sible, and provide them within, or at least in association with,
the chamber of commerce.
Some Methods
The various methods of securing members are so well
known that I doubt if much that is new can be advanced. Se-
curing members by "revival" campaigns, by paid solicitors,
membership committees, etc., these things have been present-
ed before and threshed out at our conventions. But accepting
the dictum that "men need not so much to be instructed as to
be reminded," let us briefly review and examine some of the
methods in vogue.
In the case of organizations in cities from 50,000 to 125,000
where an assistant secretary is employed, I believe he is usual-
ly entrusted with the task of securing new members. As a rule
the assistant secretary works with the bookkeeper on "prospec-
tive members." A duplicate OF triplicate file is made and, when
ready, the membership committee is called and the list very
carefully gone over. Dave Dickinson's name is given to com-
mitteemau John Woolman but (one or two) copies of the card
remain in the office to show what disposition has been made of
the prospective member. The assistant secretary makes daily
calls in the morning or afternoon for an hour or two either by
himself or with a member of his committee. If the "right man"
to reach Dave Dickinson is not on the membership committee,
then some one else is drafted may be an officer or director or
the secretary. Some secretaries in the smaller organizations
have, I fear, the wrong idea about personal solicitation of mem-
bers. I have heard men remark that, it wasn't dignified for a
secretary to solicit members or go out and try to convert a re-
MEMBERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND MAINTENANCE. 225
calcitrant member. I cannot agree ! When occasion demands I
believe that the secretary ought to jump right in and do his
bit for membership, not tyiifg himself up with the details, but
ready to help out upon extraordinary occasions.
From this survey one may deduce the following: Gather-
ing all of the membership committee activities or "stunts"
into one compact whole it is found that our composite mem-
bership committee will meet at regular intervals, generally at
luncheon; that it will receive and exchange membership pros-
pects and swap experiences; that it will discuss new methods
of reaching "hard ones;" that it will plan new arguments and
improve old ones and go at it again with renewed vigor.
It has been found wise to occasionally limber up the ora-
torical guns and have membership luncheons or dinners. Bring-
ing a fellow secretary to speak works out finely if the said
fellow secretary is tactful, forceful, and above all, brief. I
will venture to say this: That the average business man will
not listen intently to any address for more than 30 minutes.
Many a fine occasion has been killed by talk. Always choose
an athletic toastmaster with more physique than eloquence
who can be trusted to keep every speaker strictly to the time
limit. It is a good plan to put forth a little evangelistic effort
at every public meeting. Extending the invitation to join will
seldom result in a zero mark on your membership book, granted
that your members have formed a commendable habit of bring-
ing a friend or associate to every social event of the organiza-
tion.
But we must press on to the second part of the subject :
How to Keep Members When You Once Have Them Member-
ship Maintenance.
Membership lapses may safely be taken as the pulse of the
organization. A certain shrinkage is inevitable, but when the
rate is seen to be increasing it is time to stop, look and listen ;
it is time to subject the organization to a searching enquiry
and to seek for the disease of which the resignations and with-
drawals are merely a visible manifestation.
Recapitulation
To recapitulate. The problem has been divided into two
parts. In the first part building up the membership is dealt
with under the following heads :
226 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
(1) Converting the unregenerate member.
(2) Planning big things for the organization and city.
(3) Various methods of handling membership work; (a)
Paid solicitors, (b) Standing and special committees, (c) Sec-
retary and assistant secretary.
In discussing the second part of the problem, how to keep
members when once you have secured them, the following points
are emphasized :
(1) Make the organization truly democratic.
(2) Work constantly to increase man power.
(3) Do not allow your board to usurp the functions of
the committees.
(4) Stick to the primary purpose of a house organ.
(5) And most important of all, set your members to
work.
Elements of Membership Conservation
By ROBERT B. BEACH
Whiti is the weak spot in your chamber of commerce? I
am leading off with a frank question. Having the first op-
portunity to answer, I will give an equally frank reply. The
weak spot is the membership. You may disagree with me. It is
my guess that you do. It is also my guess that I am right.
There is no more important problem that comes to any of
us than what we are pleased to call membership conservation.
The resources, the man-power and the success of every chamber
of commerce are bound up in it.
There are just two reasons why most of us fail to give mem-
bership conservation the attention it deserves. One reason is
because it is in fact though not in importance a secondary
matter.
The first proposition is to build a chamber that is alive and
on the job and does things. If that is done the membership will
conserve itself. The other reason is that the problem of mem-
bership conservation is exceedingly difficult. It is a whole lot
easier to evade the issue than it is to meet it. It sometimes hap-
pens that secretaries, like other physical phenomena, follow
the course of least resistance. The selling of an association to
its membership is a most undeveloped and under-rated science.
ELEMENTS OF MEMBERSHIP CONSERVATION. 227
Wastage in this department represents a loss of energy that
would wreck any ordinary business enterprise.
Usually the so-called normal losses are too high and the
reason they are too high is that a disproportionately large
amount of effort to bringing a man into the chamber is made
and a disproportionately small amount of effort to holding him
there when he is secured.
It is good to get members, but it is better to keep them.
The getting of members is accomplished by effective salesman-
ship ; the keeping of members is accomplished by delivering the
goods and just a little more.
Why Members Resign
Why do your members resign? Did you ever catalog the
reasons? 1. Because they get nothing out of it. 2. Because
they cannot attend meetings. 3. Because they haven't time to
be active. 4. Because they are not interested. 5. Because they
have a grievance. 6. Because they object to action taken. 7.
Because they cannot afford it.
Put all these reasons together and they reduce to one that
contains them all : "I am out of touch with the chamber and
the chamber is out of touch with me."
That accounts for the grievance, and even for the "cannot
afford." Because men forget grievances when they are in touch
and they can afford the things they really want.
Suppose for a moment we review the situation positively
instead of negatively. Why do members retain their member-
ships? What are the particular features of the chamber's ac-
tivities that hold a member to the organization? There are
five:
1. Achievements The big things you are doing. A cer-
tain part of your membership is content to forget the other
things, expecting no individual benefits, seeking no individual
activity. These members are willing to give financial support
as long as they are persuaded that good work is being done in
their behalf.
2. Service The direct aid you give to your members. To
some this is the real basis of membership. They are not the
altruists of your enrollment, they are practical men inclined
to measure the value of the chamber by the frequency they have
228 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
occasion to make demands upon it and the promptness and
liberality of the response.
3. Meetings Source of inspiration and acquaintance. To
not a few, meetings are the association. Other benefits may
be intangible, but the meetings are real. Personal contact cre-
ates personal interest, the root of membership stability.
4. Activity A personal part in the work of the chamber.
There is no need to sell the chamber to the active worker. He
measures the value of the chamber's work by the work he him-
self puts into it. As long as he labors for the joy of doing and
feels that his labors are productive, you can put him down as a
man who himself is thoroughly sold and who in turn will sell
others.
5. Contact with the chamber. Kot all the members can be
employed at one time. Not all can or will attend meetings.
But there are other points of contact. Those members who
cannot or do not share personally in the day-to-day activities,
are called upon for advice ; they are given special assignments ;
they are kept informed; they are made to feel that they are
necessary to the chamber. So long as that feeling continues,
they are fixtures. So soon as that feeling ceases they become
floaters and are in danger of drifting away.
How Members Are Retained
Using these five principles as a basis for our deductions,
the elements of membership conservation may be expressed very
simply in this way:
1. Keeping your members informed. 2. Keeping your mem-
bers satisfied. 3. Keeping your members interested. 4. Keep-
ing your members busy. 5. Keeping your members in touch.
Membership conservation is an idle occupation unless there
is back of it an effective organization and real achievements.
We are assuming, not unreasonably, that each of our chambers
is well organized, well managed we admit that and is per-
forming a worth-while service in the worth-while way.
Let us imagine that you, in the spirit of candid explora-
tion, are making a little journey into the life of a compara-
tively inactive member. At .the outset for all members must
begin you are urged very strenuously to join the chamber.
You are flooded with letters, pamphlets, and a variety of print-
ed appeals. You are beset with telephone calls and personal in-
ELEMENTS OF MEMBERSHIP CONSERVATION. 229
terviews. You sign up. Suddenly this vast interest ceases.
You are notified of your election by a stereotype form. At
regular intervals you receive bills for dues.
You receive printed notices of meetings, which since you
are not in the habit of attending are glanced at and laid
aside. You receive copies of bulletins, the contents of which
you soon take for granted and "approve without reading."
You receive an invitation to the annual banquet, which, because
it is somewhat out of the ordinary, you accept. You put on your
dinner coat and go. You are greeted at the door by a recep-
tion committee, whose cordiality is vigorous but impersonal.
You find that most of the people you know have table parties
of their own and you are turned over to a group which with
every intent of being sociable still has interests that concern
themselves more than they concern you.
When you receive notice of the annual election you refrain
quite properly from voting because it is more or less of a for-
mality and the result a foregone conclusion. When you see the
chamber mentioned in the morning paper you are reminded not
unpleasantly that you are connected with it. You have never
had an impelling desire to sacrifice time and effort and are
reasonably complacent in being let alone in the matter of com-
mittee service. You have a vague idea that there are a lot of
young fellows who do the running about because they like that
sort of thing.
Occasionally you get a request by form letter to go out and
get a new member. You mentally resolve you will comply when
favorable occasion offers. The occasion does not happen along
and the matter slips your mind. You are not displeased or dis-
satisfied. Probably you are happy that the chamber makes
such slight demands upon you. You had apprehended that it
would be more exacting.
Sometimes there come to you matters of public moment
that are not as they should be. You wonder why somebody
doesn't do something. Perhaps you wonder why the chamber
doesn't do something. It may be that you are impelled to offer
a suggestion which you forward by letter. In a few days you
receive a profuse note of thanks from the secretary, who is
doing his blessed best to be appreciative. The suggestion he
tells you has been referred to a committee for consideration.
Time slips by. You forget about it. So apparently does the
230 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
chamber. You take all this as a matter of course. You go on
paying your dues. You are a member in good standing. Ev-
eryone is content.
The Unknown Member
Here is a member who, so far as your records may show,
is as good as the best on your books, yet who unbeknown to
you and unbeknown to himself, is in a. dangerous condition. If
exposed to the contagion of discontent he would quickly con-
tract the disease. He is an element of weakness, not a source
of strength.
This member is summoned by the president of the chamber
to serve on a committee that is to receive a distinguished guest
of the city. The secretary drops him a line, tipping off a busi-
ness deal that he may be interested in following up. He is in-
vited and responds to an invitation to "sit in" with the board
of directors at a conference that has to with the chamber's
program of work, and he comes away feeling that he has hail
a glimpse of the inner works. A member of the booster com-
mittee calls him on the 'phone and gets him to bring a mutual
acquaintance to mid-week luncheon. He finds springing up
within him a desire to have more to do with the chamber of
commerce and its activities.
How can you make the individual member an inseparable
part of the chamber and its work? The answer is repeating
what we have called the elements of membership conservation
by keeping him informed, satisfied, interested, busy, in touch.
But how keep him informed? How r keep him satisfied? How
keep him interested? How keep him busy? How keep him in
touch? By studying every possible point of contact. By choo-
sing those which seem practical. By laying out a program
which we may dignify by calling a program of membership
conservation and making that program the basis of your re-
lationship with your members.
I do not maintain that one program will meet the needs
of all chambers. T am inclined to believe that one program will
meet the needs of but one chamber. In no two particular or-
ganizations are conditions just alike, but I do believe that the
same principles, if sound, will work under all conditions and
that a program can and must be developed for every chamber
that will demonstrate its value by the acid test of dependable
results.
ELEMENTS OF MEMBERSHIP CONSERVATION. 231
\
Consider for a moment the possible ways of keeping in
touch with the member. By meeting him the most desirable
form of contact. By telephoning him possibly next best to
seeing him. By letter personal, of course. By printed com-
munication, impersonal, but direct. By general printed mat-
ter bulletins and the like. Through the press. And in the
mass, through group meetings large and small.
Observe, there are various avenues. Answer for yourself
the question how many avenues are you employing. How ef-
fectively are you using them? As a matter of fact you could
take almost any one of these means letter writing for example
and so develop it that it would accomplish all five of the ele-
ments of membership conservation.
Program of Membership Conservation
I. Signing the Member.
a. Selling campaign based on service of chamber to com-
munity.
b. "Why you should be a member/' printed, helpful to the
man who sells and the man who signs.
c. Send him between time of application and his election
the graphic story of the chamber what it is. how
it works, told in charts something he will observe
because it is different and will understand because
it is clear.
II. Introduction to Chamber.
a. Three letters following election : One from secretary,
one from chairman of membership committee, one
from president.
b. Definite appointment to visit headquarters not an in-
definite "sometime. 1 " Appointments may be grouped.
c. Luncheon appointment at meeting of chamber with
representatives of personnel committee.
d. Personnel record indicating what he is interested in
and what he is qualified for based on interview
above.
e. New members' conference, arranged when ten or a
dozen new members can be brought together with a
few old-timers and members of the board. A busi-
ness meeting to discuss chamber activities and gen-
erate ideas.
232 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
III. Keeping Him Active.
a. Personnel record should be supplemented with service
record. The two may be combined. Service record
keyed, so that committee assignments can be made
with the view to giving the largest number an op-
portunity to work.
b. Special assignments a variety of "small" jobs dis-
tributed as widely as consistent.
c. Record of attendance with a round-up of absentees, say
four times a year (or oftener if you like) with a
personal reminder, not of their non-attendance, but
of the particular reason why they are wanted at a
particular time.
IV. Information.
a. A monthly news-letter not the usual bulletin some-
thing different an intimate letter concerned solely
with the chamber, but with the brevity and direct-
ness of news. Four pages, no more. Need not con-
flict with the weekly or monthly journal if the cham-
ber prints, one.
b. At convenient and rather frequent periods devote five
minutes of a general meeting to the report by a com-
petent speaker of some specific achievement, coupled
with message from membership committee.
c. After completed tasks, a letter to those particularly in-
terested both on membership list and permanent
prospect list.
d. Also the usual publicity channels, including the press.
V. Consultation.
a. Periodic membership conferences limited groups, gen-
eral in character ; discussion of current and proposed
activities with well-informed discussion leaders.
Such conferences may well have the definite purpose
of contributing to the general program of the cham-
ber.
b. A systematic plan of writing to members for expres-
sions of opinion, advice, suggestions. Some of these
expressions may be published to advantage as inter-
views.
ELEMENTS OF MEMBERSHIP CONSERVATION. 233
c. An annual or biennial referendum chamber activities
not recommended in all cases, but highly advan-
tageous in some.
d. Sub-committees of personnel committee, who will sit
down at frequent intervals in groups of two or three
with members who have "ideas." Never regard ideas
lightly something may occasionally come of them.
VI. Service.
a. Determine by record what portion of membership fails
to use various services which chamber performs. Re-
gard these as "service prospects" and organize a
mildly insistent campaign (correspondence prob-
ably) to get them coming to the chamber for what
it can give.
b. Business "tips" to members advance information they
use to advantage is outstanding evidence that the
chamber is on the job.
c. Advertise "privileges of membership," referring pri-
marily to service. The reaction on the secretary is
good ; it may lead to improving facilities for service.
VII. Terminations.
a. A resignation card so devised that you will have an
absolute record of the effort made to reinstate, to-
gether with reasons and dates the basis of effective
follow-up. Accept no resignation without a com-
plete record that shows justifiable cause or a hope-
less case.
b. Where the cause might have been corrected, take pre-
cautions against a "next time," and thus profit by
your loss.
c. The only termination that the secretary may regard as
fully justifiable is termination by death. A member
who dies in good standing has given to his chamber
the "last full measure of devotion" and is entitled to
a becoming obituary.
There, gentlemen, is a program. Not necessarily a pro-
gram for you ; not necessarily a program for me. Nevertheless
a program which will get results.
234 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
Membership Methods in Small Organizations
By J. P. HARDY
Second cousin to the financial nightmare of the chamber of
the small city is the difficulty of interesting and getting the
active cooperation of its members. Many of the causes that
make financial problems difficult of solution are responsible
for this difficulty also. The manager of the branch office, whose
real interest lies many miles away in the home office, is usually
a difficult subject; he is a salaried employee and owes his duty,
and too often only duty, to the corporation which pays his
salary. He probably joins the organization as a member and
when his dues are paid is satisfied that he has done his full
duty nor is he alone in this respect in a small city. The
average business man having so much detail to attend to in
his own affairs finds little or no time to devote to the affairs
of the community; that is to say, the real big men in small
communities are very apt to limit their support of the chamber
to the payment of dues.
In response, however, to the question, "What do you regard
as your most difficult task?" six cities say, "Getting successful
committee meetings," seven say, "Keeping members interested,"
one says, "Keeping retailers interested," two say, "Satisfying
the knocker." This I submit as evidence of abundant lack of
cooperation and, therefore, of personal service.
Some of the answers to my inquiry throw, I think, some
light on this matter of personal service. There is evidence
enough to demonstrate the fact that in small communities the
intimate acquaintance existing between the members of the
organization often acts as a hindrance to really efficient com-
mittee work. A knowledge of the limitations of your neighbor
often prompts you to belittle his efforts or refuse to sanction
his appointment for committee service, believing him incap-
able of delivering the goods. Again the answers to the query
relative to cooperation on the part of the city government is
illuminating on this question of personal service. Eleven cities
admit that this cooperation is lacking in small communities.
The individual is generally in close touch with the affairs, poli-
cies and sentiments of the city administration and aligns him-
self closely with one or the other wing of the city government
a specie that usually has at least two wings as a result of
MEMBERSHIP METHODS IN SMALL ORGANIZATIONS. 235
which questions affecting civic improvements, or any matters
affecting the policy of the city administration, too often find
the commercial organization hampered in its effort to effect a
reform or promote an improvement, because of the individual
alignment to which I have referred. These, in brief, are to my
mind the real difficulties of the small city organization.
Let us now turn our attention to the constructive problems
that engage their attention and which must be and are being
solved despite the obstacles above referred to.
Demands of Members
Now a few words as to the demands that members make
on their organization. It is, I think, an invariable rule that
those who give the least personal service are the loudest in their
demands for organization accomplishment. Small cities usual-
ly have insatiate appetites for growth ; the quickest method of
inducing growth is undoubtedly that of bringing in manufac-
turing enterprises. The usual and most insistent demand,
therefore, is for factories a demand that is extremely difficult
to satisfy and one that it is not always wise to heed too close-
ly. The demand for protection is probably next in order. This
demand is negative in its make-up one that asks of the associa-
tion that it make no effort to bring in competitive business.
This, though not usually as common as the other, yet is, I think,
one presenting greater difficulties of solution. Let me illus-
trate: You have, we will say, one wholesale grocery house;
you and your committee know that the field is large enough for
two, and that the second will stimulate the business of the older
house, rather than discount it, on the theory that the larger the
market the more buyers, but you can't expect the old house to
see it that way. And here you have a real job one calling for
a fearless policy of progression. Go ahead and get your second
house the management of the old house w r ill thank you some
day if you succeed. These two are, I think, the demands that
we have with us all the time. There are, of course, many others
infrequent in their recurrence but just as troublesome. There
is the demand for service to the member purely personal
often impossible, and generally unreasonable. The demand I
mean of the fellow who wants to be the first to be let in on a
deal or who won't join a movement unless he is afforded some
special privilege that if given him must be denied to others
236 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
This variety of demand requires careful handling, a lot of
diplomacy, and above all firmness.
These demands on the association are, I believe, more acute
in proportion to the size of the membership and the population
of the toAvn the smaller the town the greater are the difficul-
ties along this line and the bigger the task of solving them.
Finally there is, I believe, no panacea for the relief of or-
ganization troubles any more than there is any unfailing recipe
for working out its problems local conditions vary to such a
degree that the rule which works well in one place will fail in
another. The chief task, I believe, of the secretary of a small
town organization is largely that of educating his people; to
strive to do all that is expected will usually spell failure the
selection of the effort that will produce real good to the commu-
nity and laying stress on that one effort in other words, lay-
ing out a small program and doing it well and thoroughly, while
it may not appease the appetite of the average member during
the constructive period of the work will, when the job has been
accomplished, yield a greater return than that of the ambitious
program that keeps everybody on their toes for awhile and final-
ly lets them down when it fails.
Sustaining the Interest of Members
By JAMES A. McKIBBEN
We tried in Boston in 1913 one experiment, devised by our
versatile membership committee and assistant secretary Whit-
tier. We had been conducting a limited number of industrial
excursions that is, "tours" of members through notable in-
dustrial establishments in and around Boston. They conceived
the idea of conducting some "industrial trips through the works
of the chamber."
Perhaps a very brief description of the situation which
made the committee on membership think this experiment ad-
visable would be interesting to you. The position which the
chamber and which certain officers of the chamber (not always
with the authority of the chamber) had taken in regard to a
certain important matter was strongly resented by certain
members not only because it was against their ow T n personal
interests, but because they sincerely believed that bad judgment
MEMBERSHIP METHODS IN SMALL ORGANIZATIONS. 237
had been exercised, and that the position taken was not in the
interest of the public as a whole. When this feeling was at
its height, the time for electing directors arrived; and there
was a strong opposition ticket, with a strong and active group
of members of the chamber back of it, put into the field. The
prophet of calamity for the chamber was abroad in the land,
and there was real anxiety as to the final outcome.
The situation was one which might very well discourage
any committee on membership; but the effect on our committee
was to make it decide that the time had arrived to put on a
little more steam. We do not believe very much in member-
ship "campaigns" in Boston, but the situation at that time
seemed to the committee on membership to make one advisable.
Its members refused to be drawn into the controversy in any
way ; but instead of going on in the normal way, the committee
instituted a campaign for new members, and in two weeks se-
cured the applications of 307 men and without the payment
of a single cent to paid solicitors.
Now, these men came in, in December, and, joining as they
did at the end of the year, it cost them a very small amount;
but a bill for the whole of next year's dues would in the natural
course be sent them promptly on the first of January. The
committee on membership had noticed that if a member under-
stood the objects and field work of the chamber and knew what
it was doing, he was not likely to drop out of the chamber. It,
therefore, wanted to get them informed about the chamber, and
conceived a plan for doing it. These new members were asked
how many of them would be interested in making "tours"
through the chamber of commerce. Over 200 wanted to. They
were divided into groups of 25, and an old member of the cham-
ber put at the head of each group. Each "tour" consisted of
a meeting of two groups at luncheon (never the same two),
so arranged that before the "tours" were finished each member
of any particular group had met the members of every other
group and thus had, within a few weeks, as a result of his join-
ing the chamber, considerably widened the circle of his ac-
quaintance. These industrial excursions differed from the
others, in that instead of taking the men to the factory, ex-
hibits from the factory were brought to them. At each meeting
some officer of the chamber and two chairmen or representa-
tives of important committees gave short, snappy, intimate ten-
238 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
minute talks on the chamber and some of the important pieces
of work upon which it was at that time engaged. The effect
was electrical. Of those secured in this campaign, a much
larger percentage stayed in and paid their dues than we had
expected.
The prophet of calamity, by the way, did not "make good."
Our resignations this year, instead of being enormously larger,
as had been predicted, were 25 per cent less than the preceding
year.
The Fourth Essential to Sustained Interest
All of these latter features are valuable, not only as a means
of conveying information to your members, but because when
the members who take part in them get in with the crowd, they
have a natural tendency to go along with the crowd, and also
because they are to some small degree examples of the fourth,
and remaining, great main support of a strong and lasting in-
terest on the part of your members.
Granted an efficient organization, a correct understanding
of its proper function and field of work, and efficient agencies
for keeping in close touch with your members and of keeping
them informed of what the organization is doing, the fourth
and last essential seems to me to be to get just as many of your
members into the work as you can every single one of them, if
possible.
Practically every member of an organization wants to take
part in its work or thinks he does. Experience will convince
you that a large portion will not do anything which involves
much time or effort on their part ; but they will come to a dinner
or luncheon, or perhaps an outing or an industrial excursion.
If that is the most you can get them to do, get them to do that
and then indulge in what the military men call "sniping"
(picking off the exceptional man as he is observed here and
there), the only difference being that they kill the man off, and
you, instead, make him a "live one." Many valuable recruits
for real, active service on working committees can be obtained
in this way.
This fourth fundamental seems to me quite as important as
any of the other three which I have* mentioned possibly the
most important of all. People appreciate things in this world
very much in proportion to the extent to which they put them-
selves into those things. There are in every organization many
REBUILDING AN ORGANIZATION. 239
inen never discovered by its management, who are willing, even
anxious, to do real work if they are given the opportunity to
tackle some object in which they are interested, and believe
they can produce results commensurate with the time they put
into it. No organization utilizes more than a fraction of the
"man power" available in its membership. I have pointed out
only one of many ways in which men of this character may be
discovered.
Rebuilding an Organization
By PAUL V. BUNN
"What is a chamber of commerce, and what is it for?" I
have tried to write down one paragraph, giving as well as I can
what the proper definition of a "chamber of commerce" should
be. "It is an organization of business and professional men,
who, as individuals, believe in their town and their commu-
nity, and who are, therefore, willing to support the organiza-
tion with their knowledge, their personal sendee and their
money."
"A chamber's sole excuse for existence lies in doing the
greatest good for the most people, in civic, commercial, indus-
trial production and transportation affairs; in rendering serv-
ice which will help the community, whether it knows it or not:
and in handling matters of general interest, which ordinarily
no individual would attempt, and which he could not handle
if he should attempt."
That is what a chamber of commerce should do in order
to obtain the greatest success^ Now in carrying on its work
any chamber is liable to fall into, or unwittingly drift into,
some sort of a rut, which may impair its usefulness as a cham-
ber, and that had better be avoided. What are the principal
kinds of these ruts? I have listed seven of them.
The first one is that a chamber may serve only a limited
group ; Second, the chief aim of a chamber may be to pile up a
surplus. I do not see that a chamber of commerce needs any
surplus. Third, it may have a small income; its membership
(or contributing forces) may be "tight-wads" who love incom-
ing money but have no respect for spent dollars ; men who pay
no attention to the human element. Fourth, it may take biased
viewpoints on all sorts of popular questions. Fifth it may
240 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
require all its work done by its office staff, instead of having
a staff that gets its members to work, thus educating them to
community affairs. Sixth, it may be merely a booster club,
shouting what a fine town it has, whether it has a fine town or
not; inducing industries to move in regardless of their subse-
quent fate. Seventh, it may strive to get, instead of to serve.
There may be dozens of other ruts, but those to my mind
are the principal ones that affect the commercial organization
that fails of success. If these are the worst ones and if the
definition above given of a real chamber of commerce is the cor-
rect one, how can we become the one by avoiding the other.
Here is where we leave the abstract, and get down to the situa-
tion as it developed in St. Louis. It w r as, rightly or wrongly,
popularly held to be a close corporation, run and controlled
by a limited number of firms or individuals and people were
becoming more and more restive about it, and felt less confi-
dence in it as a helper of their own community affairs. It was
regarded as a self -perpetuating institution. It was even pub-
licly stated that one man had named the president for ten
years successively ; and it was felt that the membership it had,
did not have a look-in at all.
Democracy Established
But, a reorganization followed. Democracy was estab-
lished. Soon the public began to realize that the chamber doors
were wide open for service. We moved into new quarters twice
as large as the old, established three new bureaus: Member-
ship, publicity and industrial, the last of which had previously
been a part of another department ; and we began to deal with
important business matters of the community not political
which hitherto had been deliberately sidestepped.
It may be interesting to know something of the traffic on
the Mississippi River, for the last 28 to 30 years the greatest
body of water in the world that river carries about one million
tons of traffic a year, while the Rhine, but a fraction of its
length, far smaller in width and draining far less territory,
carries fifty million. We went to work to revive that river traf-
fic. We took hold of it progressively with the help of the other
organizations up and down the river, especially at New Orleans.
Under the old regime that would not have been attempted, be-
cause the railroads were against it.
REBUILDING AN ORGANIZATION. 241
The next thing we took up was to remove the so-called "coal
arbitrary." We have the biggest soft coal deposits in the
country just across from St. Louis and the railroads have been
for years hauling this coal from the mines to East St. Louis for
$26.00 a car, regardless of the distance from the mines, but to
get that same car hauled one-half mile farther across the river,
St. Louis has had to pay $10.00 extra tribute money to get that
coal across the river. Imagine fighting that proposition. The
chamber took hold, and I may state confidently that we expect
to get a decision upon this matter before the first of the year.
It is now before the Interstate Commerce Commission with all
the testimony.
The next one of this class of ruts was a strike on the street
railway system. The city officials had done their best to get the
officials of the railway company and their employees together.
They would not speak together. The chamber got them togeth-
er in its offices about 4 :00 o'clock one afternoon, locked them
in, and at 10 :00 o'clock they came out with an agreement. So
the public began to see the chamber was taking up things for
the good of the public. It was easier to get members than be-
fore, when we had to overcome prejudice against our previous
association on the part of the people, who felt it had not been
run for the wider interests of the city.
Later three additional new bureaus were added : The
Junior Chamber of Commerce Bureau, the Safety Council and
the St. Louis Furniture Board of Trade. The junior chamber
is made up of young men eighteen to 28 years of age, and
they are all in business, all interested. The bureau has 700
members, each paying $6.00 yearly in dues. These young men
are going to give the chamber the material in later years to
make good ; and, if the chamber does its duty by them, they will
be better business men.
The tendency of the average man is to think in terms of
the individual, instead of in terms of the community. We have
a habit of mixing altruism and selfishness, and the mixture is
not standardized. Some people are nearly 100 per cent selfish.
I am sorry to say, some 90 per cent, 70 per cent, 50 per cent,
and so on, down to the few who are 100 per cent altruistic.
But there are few in that class. It is an unfortunate fact that
it is always the minority, the few, that will take action in a
way that will benefit the community regardless of their own
personal interest.
242 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
It is easy to find good arguments in favor of the thing
which means dollars to us. That is, perhaps, one of the rea-
sons why the average chamber of commerce has only twenty to
30 per cent of the population who should be eligible pros-
pects. And many of those that do join the chamber are under
a misapprehension. They think that as soon as they sign their
cards they are going to get some business from the chamber,
so that the profits from that business will pay for the dues in
the chamber, and when thev find that out, thev become among
* t' O
those that furnish a large percentage of membership losses.
Perhaps that is not true, but that class furnishes a large pro-
portion of lapses in membership.
The Selfish Member
A man came into my office the other day and said : "I am
not going to renew this membership, because I don't get enough
printing from you. I have got to have enough printing from
you to pay for my membership, in order to keep it up."
"Write out your resignation," I said. He began to see
light, and came back. It showed the trend of his mind. He
wanted a feAV hundred dollars' worth of printing trade, to
make fifty dollars' worth of profit to take care of his member-
ship dues.
Real production is confined to products of the soil, and
the waters, and the mines, and the forests. Everything used
has got to come from those sources. If a man manufactures
axes, he must have the raw ore to make them from ; if he manu-
factures cloth, he must have the raw cotton, raised in the field
and picked and ginned, in order to make his product. Many
times this manufacturer is liable to think he is a producer, but
he is, in fact, a transformer. Likewise the man who distributes,
the wholesale hardware merchant, or the jobber who sells the
axes or the cloth to the retailer, may get the idea into his head
that he is producing something, when he is in reality only a
distributor of the products of the soil, the mines and the for-
ests, put into shapes which he can sell to retailers and con-
sumers. Our banks with their millions of resources what do
they produce? Nothing. They loan you money ; establish debits
and credits on slips of paper. But if it were not for the pro-
ducer, they would go out of business, all of them.
We must teach the producer he must do things better than
REBUILDING AN ORGANIZATION. 243
he has done before; and he must no longer ignore the sources
of supply. When production ceases, our business ceases.
When production is low, our business is low. The manu-
facturer and distributor will have nothing to manufac-
ture and distribute ; the transformer nothing to transform, and
our bankers' debits and credits become worthless scraps of pa-
per. Cities live and trade upon the surplus of the producer.
Down at Wall Street they trade on the surplus made by our
producers over and above what they and their families require.
That is all we have to trade on.
Why dilate on this point? Simply because we are talking
about re-building an organization, and that, among others, is a
thing we have got to take an interest in. Rebuilding an or-
ganization depends on getting the right idea of things and sell-
ing that idea to your community as an important thing to be
done. That is a great deal better than going around begging
a man to join your local chamber because you want him to.
That is the poorest reason in the world why any man should be
asked to join a chamber of commerce ; as S. C. Mead said : "All
membership work is worse than fatal, unless you have the
goods to deliver ; unless you have an organization that is doing
things, and upon the basis of the new membership and the rev-
enue derived therefrom, will continue to do things that are
worth while and useful to your community.' 7 It is a question of
salesmanship ; and the best salesmanship is that which sells the
customer what he really needs.
We have not tried the intensive campaign. But we have
been working along the lines of the "still hunt" campaign ever
since I have been there. We have a membership board, and we
got a heavyweight member of the board to take the chairman-
ship of the membership committee a man interested in it,
and who could afford to devote some time to it. We hired a
live wire, a good mixer. We put a hundred selected men on
the committee, many of them good salesmen, men who want to
increase their acquaintance. A goodly per cent are insurance
men, real estate salesmen, etc. Then, time and money were
spent on preparing a list of three thousand prospects. These
were listed on cards, arranged by location, all in one building,
or one block being assorted together. About fifteen to thirty
people meet at the chamber every Tuesday morning, get fifteen
to twenty cards, and go out in two-men teams. At 12 :30 they
meet at a complimentary luncheon and compare results.
244 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
We kept that up for days, and on no day did we get less
than ten. We gained 453 net memberships last year ; this year
we have gained thus far 847 memberships. Our net member-
ship stands today at 3,521, which is a net gain of 1,300 in 23
months. That would give a yearly increase of f 65,000 in rev-
enue. We deduct ten per cent in figuring here, although that is
too much. The total number of new members to get that gain,
since January, 1917, was 1,958. That is the number we have
brought in in 23 months. Our total losses of all kinds since
January, 1917, were 658, though it was said at the time we
changed the policy of the chamber, that we would lose over a
thousand members.
Service Great and Small
All these big things, these big campaigns all these big
things that you can do, are good and necessary ; but don't make
the mistake of thinking that public approval is not swayed
as much or more by little personal services as by the big things.
If you tell a man you have 'raised ten million dollars in a tu-
berculosis campaign, that is fine ; but if you stop his tooth ache
he appreciates that more than he does your success in your
tuberculosis campaign. When after three years' work, we
rectified the 5 per cent freight discrimination against St. Louis,
people realized we w r ere getting on. But one canner who had
vainly looked several days for a lost car of empty cans, while
his fruit was about to spoil, thought much more of our service
when we found the car and placed it at his door, six hours after
he told us of it.
When another firm got a dozen bales of furs from Japan
at 5 :00 P. M. Saturday, and had to have those tags translated
in two hours, they appreciated the fact that we did it for them,
perhaps even more than they appreciated the revival of traffic
on the river, or the removal of the "coal arbitrary." A man
came into the chamber the other day. He had been a member
for a year. "I want to take out a membership for my secre-
tary/' he said. "That man who takes care of me at the door
treats me so politely and courteously, that I feel that I would
like my secretary to enjoy the privileges of such a chamber as
well as myself." See what a little thing like that will do.
That is the whole story ; and you get my point : That no
matter what else you do, you must go after the things that will
REBUILDING AN ORGANIZATION. 245
meet the needs, that will meet the approval of the people. Go
after them sincerely, get rid of all class distinction. Work for
the community first and the individual second. Keep out of
politics, but in business matters shoot with a rifle, and not
with a blunderbuss. Make your organization democratic, and
make your public feel you are there to render them service.
CHAPTER XV.
Organization Publicity
Keeping Before the Public
By WM. B. WREFORD
The chances are that, if an average bright newspaper man
got access to the work of such an organization, he would have
discussed the subject matter of the ponderous prepared article
with a dozen lines, or at least not gone farther than to make
it the text of a dozen or more periodical paragraphs. In the
case of either treatment, note the difference in the result : The
dozen printed paragraphs would have been breezy and would
have been read, where the ponderous article would have been
overlooked. The dozen printed paragraphs would have kept
the work of the organization before the public for a dozen days,
where the heavy article would not have held attention for a
single day.
The trade of journalism is one which lives on personality.
To begin with, the free-masonry that exists between man and
man engaged in its pursuit is perfect. No journalist falls so
far from grace as to entirely forfeit the sympathy of the more
orderly members of the profession. No callow youth struggling
to mount the ladder of journalistic fame is so crude or so un-
certain of future that some of his fellows do not lend him a
helping hand. No man or woman who has made good in the
profession goes out of it to another sphere of activity that the
good-will of his fellows does not follow him, and magnify his
virtues and overlook his mistakes. The hardest critics in the
world, the journalists, are the kindest observers of the work
of their own fellows.
Recognizing this, commercial organizations can do their
best work by going into the profession of journalism for occu-
pants of some of the places at their disposal, for men who are
in active touch and have personal friendship with those whom
they leave behind them at the newspaper desks and typewriters,
246
KEEPING BEFORE THE PUBLIC. 247
and who can get desirable publicity, where the solemn old dad-
dies who used to make publicity could not get a hearing.
An Official Mouthpiece
The publicity work of a commercial organization should
be solely the work of one man he should be the mouthpiece
of the institution, not necessarily quoting himself, but the
president or chairman of a committee or the secretary, or who-
ever fits the case the best.
The local newspaper, say what one will, is the most gen-
erous contributor to town building that an organization has at
its disposal. It has, or should have, a selfish interest in the
grow r th of its city. A bigger city means, apart from the grati-
fication of honest local patriotism, the more material satisfac-
tions of a greater body of readers, bringing with it a better
appeal to advertisers, and a greater recompense from such ap-
peals. The newspaper receives one of the promptest of the
rewards from the growth, in that every newcomer to one's city
represents a penny or two a day for the publication.
Moreover, journalism has high ideals. It has been striv-
ing for better citizenship, more honest government ; greater ad-
vantages, material and moral, long before our commercial or-
ganizations were born. Well organized commercial associa-
tions come into being, therefore, as handmaids of journalism
in the. achievement of its ideals and are welcomed by it, be-
cause they represent the organized assistance of the commu-
nity in bettering its own material and moral conditions. These
are among the reasons, practical and ideal, why the commer-
cial organization, which is to succeed, must seek and secure
the cooperation of the press in its development and in keeping
it before the public.
Keeping Before the Public
I have referred to being kept before the public. Let us
analyze the necessity. A hermit will never make a politician.
A bird that sits on the nest all the time will never get a repu-
tation for the beauty of its plumage or the sweetness of its
warble. The article of commerce that waits until its merits
are passed around by those who use it, without advertising its
merits, will never make its producer a millionaire. Success
cept burglary. So the success of a commercial organization
and publicity are interchangeable terms in every business ex-
248 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
lies in its being able to so conduct itself that its journalistic
friends will find in its activities constant text for keeping it
before the public.
Advertising Methods of Commercial
Organizations
By FRED CLAYTON BUTLER
The charge has been made that commercial organization
publications survive but a short time. This is disproved by the
fact that practically all of the publications mentioned in the
report of 1914 of this committee are still in existence and fully
twenty-five per cent more have been started during the past
year. It will be noticed, by referring to the exhibits, that many
of these publications are in their fourth, fifth, sixth and even
ninth and tenth volumes.
While, almost without exception, executives now issuing
house organs are strongly of the opinion that they are read and
appreciated by the membership, yet of course no one is able to
advance complete and definite proof. Complaints from mem-
bers failing to receive copies, suggestions regarding the work
mentioned in the publication and numerous and hearty expres-
sions of approval and interest on the part of the members, have
convinced executives that the house organ is filling a definite
need. Stevens of Akron reported a poll which showed "that a
large majority of the members read the publication.
The large and constantly growing number of house organs
issued by organizations is in itself an acknowledgment of their
need. In the largest cities the necessity of such a publication
is so obvious as to need no detailing here. Such organizations
have large memberships, but a small portion of which can be
brought into the activities of the work. The fields of effort are
so numerous and so widespread as to make any adequate men-
tion of them in the daily press impossible. In fact, the mere
recital of the work undertaken and accomplished by a large
organization makes a magazine in itself.
Accepting as a basic premise, therefore, that the success-
ful organization must continually keep before its membership
the story of what it is doing and trying to do, we must admit
Committee: Fred Clayton Butler, Chairman; Thorndike Deland, A. V.
Snell, Howard Strong, O. B. Towne.
ADVERTISING METHODS OF COMMERCIAL ORGANIZATIONS. 249
that the publication of a house organ by associations in the
larger cities is justified from every viewpoint. The question
for discussion, consequently, is whether, in the smaller cities
where almost unlimited newspaper publicity is available, the
the publication of a house organ by commercial associations is
advisable.
House Organ Contents
Without exception, I believe, all publications regardless of
size contain the work of the organization. Some contain noth-
ing else, while others contain items and articles on business,
civics and trade organization.
In the choice of suitable contents for a house organ, opin-
ion differs widely. Gibbs of Olean believed a publication should
contain "clear and concise statements in regard to work being
done by the organization, a few well-selected items in regard
to what others are doing and a few articles which tend to create
civic patriotism." Wadsworth of Youngstown used local in-
dustrial news (not reprinted but worked up especially), re-
ports of committee activities, appeals for cooperation of mem-
bers in the larger current activities, and notes on what other
cities are doing. He believed that "members will not read
through duty. The publication must compete in pure interest
with other reading matter received."
Weller of Erie added that "a small portion of humor and
epigrams or short, snappy quotations" are necessary to make a
publication readable, but Foss of Springfield thought the con-
tents should be limited to "activities of the organization, mat-
ters of special interest to its members, and the welfare of the
town, presented in a simple, direct and dignified manner, omit-
ting jokes and poetry of doubtful literary merit."
Lovelace of Danbury believed in "laying emphasis upon
what other cities are doing," while Holmes of Sioux City raised
an objection to this: "I notice that many of the commercial
organizations are devoting a large amount of space in the house
organs to quotations from the writings and sayings of other
commercial secretaries and presidents some of them very clev-
er and pretty. But it is my judgment, based on such observa-
tion as an old time newspaper man could give, that the aver-
age commercial club member is not particularly interested in
platitudes on what the Podunk Board of Trade is doing." There
is a point in publishing what other organizations are doing,
250 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
however, that is missed by Mr. Holmes. This was well brought
out in a recent article in "Town Development" by Frederick
W. Bender from which I quote :
The commercial organization journal has a two-pronged purpose first to
acquaint the membership with what is being done and second, to prepare the
minds of the members for the things that are to be done. It is a "little mes-
sage" that drops into an office every little while and plants a thought in the
mind of the member, doing .so regularly, approaching the matter from a little
different angle each time, until the member as a result of this persistent
thought suggestion, comes around to a meeting and advocates the carrying
out of the particular "suggested" project.
A commercial executive of many years' experience in commercial organi-
zation work recently stated : "I question the advisability of ever making a
direct statement to your membership about any measure which you propose
to carry out, especially where that particular measure means a departure
from the usual, without first preparing the minds of the memberships and the
community for the thing you propose doing.
Experienced executives generally agree that about 90 per cent of the com-
mercial organization projects that fail to materialize and are lost on the
"table" could have been saved and made realities by preparation. As one
executive recently put it, "plant the thought and then assiduously irrigate
it." The membership and community mind must understand and appreciate
a thing before it can desire it desire always comes from appreciation and
understanding.
Such publications as "Chicago Commerce' 7 and "Greater
New York" of the Merchants' Association, go further than
purely organization news and, in the words of Mr. Mead, "en-
deavor to keep the members informed of important events af-
fecting their business, and to arouse interest in the city and its
welfare." Many other organizations devote considerable space
in their publications to a summary of news regarding the pure-
ly commercial features of their Avork, such as credits, traffic,
exports, etc.
Question of Make-Up
In the matter of make-up there are also two different
schools the magazine and the newspaper. The preponderance
of opinion seems to rest with the newspaper style for reasons
logically set forth by Hillweg of Minneapolis from whom I
quote :
"For two years we published our bulletin as a small maga-
zine attractively printed. We felt, however, that it was failing
in its purpose of keeping the members advised of the activities
of the association. We finally reached the conclusion that a
bulletin prepared in newspaper form should accomplish the
result desired. We reasoned that because of the likeness of
ADVERTISING METHODS OF COMMERCIAL ORGANIZATIONS. 251
our bulletin to a newspaper, the member would be less inclined
to cast it aside to be read at some later date. The first issue
of the bulletin in the new form brought all the proof we de-
sired of its acceptance by our members. While economy
played no part in our change, we find that the new form is
both more effective and cheaper than the old."
Mr. Mead also pointed out that "the advantage of the news-
paper form, lies in the fact that it enables the editor to present
the news in a \vay that is familiar to newspaper readers. It
also makes possible a lively tone which cannot so well be in-
jected into the magazine form."
Casey of Haverill recommended "keeping the articles down
in size; making them short but snappy, in newspaper style,
readable and as interesting as possible.'' While all seem to
agree that the articles should be "lively and interesting" it-
should not be forgotten that to write such articles is a diffi-
cult art. Unless great care is taken, the tendency is toward
flippancy which sooner or later degenerates into the insane-
piffle. There is no doubt that members like to read clever
"joshing" stories such as are often seen regarding trips and
cruises and the more social events of organization Avork, but
the temptation to carry this too far should be religiously re-
strained.
Hillweg of Minneapolis "found it easy and highly desirable
to use illustrations in this form of bulletin," and also found
that "it is possible to epitomize in the head-lines all essential
points of our work and thus impress the record of activities
upon the man who reads nothing but head-lines." This is an
important point. In the smaller 'publications especially, the
tendency is noticeable to avoid long stories and to break an
article if necessary into several small stories each with a head
so that he who runs may read.
The objection that the small organization will not have
enough fresh copy for a regularly issued house organ does not
seem to be a convincing one in the opinion of most executives.
In fact, some point out that a regular publication is in itself
an incentive to keep the organization at a high pitch. Tlie
executive finds himself "trying to make bogie" as it were, and
unconsciously spurs up the entire organization when he thinks
of that monthly resume of activities which must be made.
Some executives seem to feel that it is necessarv for them to
252 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
publish in the house organ, matter which is distinctly news
and which has not yet appeared in print. Others point out that
this is* a false view and that, as a matter of fact, in the small
cities at least, nothing should be withheld from the press in
order to make news for the house organ. Therefore, entirely
regardless of whether or not the organization activities have
already appeared in the newspapers, they should be printed in
the organization publication. Members do not read the news-
papers thoroughly and even though they did, the effort of a re-
peated recapitulation of the organization's work is far more
impressive and lasting than the mere perusal of occasional news-
paper stories.
Frequency of Publication
In regard to the frequency of publication, opinion is pretty
well settled upon the desirability of a weekly for the larger
organizations for reasons which are clearly pointed out by Mr.
McKibben : "It appears four times as often and therefore has
four times the opportunity to make an impression. In report-
ing chamber events and happenings, the weekly, being nearer
to the event, can give a more effective news touch to its story
than the tardy monthly. Each event can be told about more
fully and can be brought to the attention of your members more
effectively, for you only have to cover one-quarter as many
events as you would have to cover in the monthly. The weekly
enables you to give more accurate and timely information as to
those events which could be covered by a monthly, and enables
you to give notice of many events which could not be covered
by a monthly for it is impossible for a busy, working organi-
zation to make up a full and accurate schedule of coming events
a month ahead. In organization work the newspaper is more
valuable than the magazine and the weekly, appearing more
often than the monthly, lends itself more naturally to news-
paper style."
Should Advertising Be Admitted?
In this matter of advertising we find the two schools of
thought most definitely marked. Here there are no half-way
opinions. Executives either believe in securing advertising or
they do not. Needless to say those organizations that are now
publishing advertisements believe in that policy. Of those who
do not accept advertising all but a few condemn the practice.
The lines are so sharply drawn that all that can be done in this
ADVERTISING METHODS OF COMMERCIAL ORGANIZATIONS. 253
paper, is to present the two sides fairly and leave the individual
to his own decision.
While many executives believe with Cotton of Providence
that "the presence of advertising matter in the publication
renders it more valuable," and while they honestly believe with
him that "any and all advertisers will eventually get their
money's worth if they supply the right sort of copy and deliver
the quality of goods they advertise,' V yet it should not be over-
looked that if advertising brought no revenue there would be
none printed. Consequently the question resolves itself into
one of ethics whether or not a civic-commercial organization
is justified in using its publications for profit. Many execu-
tives contend that an organization has no more right to seek
a revenue in this field than in any other of its various activi-
ties.
That advertising is an important factor is shown by the
fact that many organizations report an income equal f:o as
high as 75 per cent of the cost of the publication, a few like the
Milwaukee Association of Commerce make "one pay the other,"
and some pay the entire cost of publication with a profit be-
sides.
One of the strongest arguments against advertising is that
most commercial organizations are today supervising the ad-
vertising propositions presented to their members. Most such
organizations would refuse to sanction the solicitation of ad-
vertising for a publication issued by any other local, civic, fra-
ternal or business organization. Howe of Utica said: "As a
chamber we are absolutely opposed to organ advertising, as we
consider it a species of additional mulcting of our members.
Having a circulation of 1,000 members we have had applica
tions from banks and other sources for advertising space, but
have universally turned them dow r n. My personal view of many
of the organs that come here is that the money is wasted; in
fact, I cannot see how different chambers put over the adver-
tising they do. I make this point because I believe it is im-
possible to give such circulation to these publications as will
justify the advertising. Without any hesitation I may say that
we could get advertising enough in this city to pay for an elab-
orate organ if we desired it but as one of the aims of the cham-
ber at the present time is to cut down the enormous waste of
money given hit or miss to different soliciting agencies, we
254 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
feel that we would not be justified in joining the ranks of such
agencies far better a one-sheet bulletin."
Assistant Secretary McCarthy of Duluth was of a similar
opinion. "We endeavor to protect our members from special
advertising media and the club publication is one such. The
advertising is also an additional tax. It decreases the value
by making it, not a special message to the member, but a com-
mercial proposition. A monthly bulletin large enough to get
into a No. 10 envelope can carry a lot of news and inexpensive
enough for any organization worthy to be classed as alive. "
Deuble of Canton believed that "a house organ is primarily
a factor of information rather than commercial exploitation and
should not carry advertising to be of the greatest effect in its
real mission to the members. A house organ is in the nature of
a confidential communication to the membership and should
not tell them where to buy underwear or plumbing at the same
time. This practically makes advertising a donation to the
associations, because the writer has never experienced any re-
turn from such advertising for others, in seven years' advertis-
ing management. It also would appear very similar to the
souvenir books and programs which advertising is generally
condemned by conservative advertisers as valueless from a busi-
ness standpoint and appreciated only by the exploiting mana-
gers."
In the matter of advertising "Chicago Commerce' 7 has taken
the middle ground. Mr. Miller writes : "The paper is not self-
sustaining and could not be made so without carrying a much
larger amount of advertising than we now carry. It is the
opinion of some of the officers of the association that the paper
should carry no advertising whatever ; others believe we should
carry enough advertising to pay expenses, and we have fallen
into the habit of taking the middle course between the two ex-
tremes, and accept such advertising as comes to us without
much effort on our part."
A few organizations, like the New Orleans Association of
Commerce have refused to permit the soliciting of advertising
on the ground that the association was not in the advertising
business. The Merchants' Association of New York decided
not to accept advertising and Mr. Mead explains that "the
chief reason for this decision was that a publication without
advertising would be more dignified and would make it possible
ADVERTISING METHODS OF COMMERCIAL ORGANIZATIONS. 255
to display the news of the association to greater advantage.
Other considerations are the danger of making members feel
that they are being asked to pay more than their yearly regu-
lar dues for the support of their association, and the possibil-
ity that the newspapers might feel that the association was en-
croaching upon their field."
Important As Means of Communication
A word in regard to expense: Any organization that can
afford to issue a year book could much better put the same
amount of money in some sort of a house organ. An annual
report is as a rule merely glanced through and laid to one side.
A house organ appears repeatedly and is effective through its
very persistence. A four page journal 6x9 can be printed for
as low as f 17.00 monthly. The postage need not be considered,
as the publication will take the place of miscellaneous notices
which would average once monthly. For, to quote Babcock
of Dallas again, "In case an organization cannot issue a regu-
lar publication, a monthly report in the way of letters to mem-
bers is absolutely necessary to keep the organization members
in touch with what is going on."
To quote Editor Gushing of "The Detroiter," "The publica-
tion saves the board many hundreds and even thousands r>f
dollars by making it unnecessary to send out notices of our
Tuesday meetings; inasmuch as we have between 30 and 40
Tuesday meetings a year, heretofore it was necessary to send
out printed literature to each member, all of which is now taken
care of by "The Detroiter," and the saving is quite a large one/'
A writer in a current magazine recommends the use of a
Aveekly post card in lieu of a publication. In doing so, he over-
looks the fact that the matter of postage would be by far, the
greatest item of expense and that four or five post cards month-
ly to a mailing list of fifteen hundred would cost far more than
a well printed and illustrated publication of at least eight
pages. This writer's recommendation does not justify his con-
clusion that "the official organ is a costly method of publicity
in the long run."
The journal can be enclosed with bills and statements and
in this way the matter of postage practically eliminated. As a
rule second class rates are out of the question for small cities,
as they apply only to weeklies.
256 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
There is one form of house organ that can be issued with-
out cost that have given good results in Winona, Joliet and
Minot. This is to arrange with the newspapers to publish on a
certain day each week under a distinctive heading in a certain
location of the paper, exactly the same material that would
ordinarily be published in a house organ. The advantages are
that all the citizens are kept in touch with the work of the or-
ganization and not merely the members alone. The disadvan-
tages are that people as a rule read their newspapers hurriedly
and skip over undisplayed matter. There is also the disad-
vantage of handling a story as a re-write that has already ap-
peared as a news story in another column of the same paper.
Hollenga of Minot is using this plan daily. Not only does
he inform his members of what is going on, but he also gives
little write-ups about interesting happenings in other cities
in fact, exactly the same matter as that which appears in the
usual house organ. The plan is well worth the consideration
of executives in organizations that do not feel that they can
afford the expense of a regular publication of their own.
Furthermore, a large number of organizations are using
their house organ as a means of influencing prospective members
with the worth of the organization while they are, as President
Mead puts it, "in the incubation stage." It should not be over-
looked that this education of prospective members, which will
ultima tely make it easy to bring a large number of them into
the organization, makes the house organ a paying investment.
Many executives feel that an association cannot exist on
newspaper publicity alone, unsupported by regular reports epit-
omizing and emphasizing the accomplishments of the organi-
zation. In other words, it seems to be the opinion that it is
necessary from time to time to lay before the "stockholder-
members" of the organization a dividend balance sheet.
In view of the opinions advanced and the recommendations
made by the executives consulted, there is but one conclusion,
the house organ has come to stay. It is a logical and necessary
complement to a successful community organization. It is a
pulse-beat from the association itself, carrying to every part of
the body its warming, vivifying influence, dispelling indiffer-
ence and misunderstanding, awakening enthusiasm and desire,
creating a civic vision and bringing to the organization that
unanimity of thought and action without which an army is but
a mob.
Promotional Efforts and the Public Press
By ADOLPH BOLDT
We are living in an age of publicity. Advertising is mak-
ing the world go 'round and at a giddy speed ! The merchant,
the promoter, the manufacturer, etc., with an unknown or non-
advertised article for sale, is soon dropped off and left behind
by the fearless operator who takes the bone of advertising and
publicity in his teeth and lets the world know he's in the game.
The same is true of the commercial executive or secretary.
Let him tell the members and the public at large through the
columns of the daily press the activities of his organization
and he will find the people and the press back of him. Let him
cover his activities by a blanket of silence and he'll soon find
out that it's very monotonous to do all the boosting. If we all
hid our lights under a bushel this would be a dark world, in-
deed.
It is said that in Houston three men in a corner can ac-
complish more than 77 mass meetings. True, if one of the three
is a newspaper reporter. By this I don't mean that the press
should have access to everything. We all know that executive
meetings are ofttimes necessary for the good of a proposition.
Yet when the time comes for action, if it is action by the pub-
lic, it is the newspapers upon which we all depend to get it
before them. Then if we approach the press in a half-way man-
ner or in a spirit of aloofness, that might suggest that their
part of the cooperation was only for the paper to be used, we
can not expect the whole-hearted assistance in news columns
and editorial pages which, without any movement with the pub-
lic, will fall flat.
Show Your Newspapers You Trust Them
The honor of the average present day newspaperman is
wonderful and an inspiration. Although he is employed to
gather facts and report them, he will invariably, when asked,
repress such facts until released. Give him your confidence,
show him you honor it and when you release to him your story
and permit its publication, you will find such publication great-
er in prominence, better prepared and a genuine message from
yourself to the public, rather than a brief notice, hastily written
with the facts secured one minute, written the next and rushed
into print.
257 9
258 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
I have known newspapermen who asked that such confi-
dence be given them. If the story or matter is not ready for
publication, let your reporter in on the story as it progresses,
under promise of secrecy, and when the news breaks you will
find your reporter thoroughly familiar with all the ramifica-
tions of the story, its import and purposes and far better pre-
pared to give you an interesting exposition of your efforts, rath-
er than a garbled report or brief secured from quickly gath-
ered facts, he can not in a short time fully comprehend. Try
it, but first know your reporter.
Promotional effort is itself a matter largely of stock selling.
It is a fact that there are few worthy industries seeking a
change of base. When an industry knocks for admittance at
your doors ninety-nine times out of a hundred, there is a string
attached. First it is best to find out why the industry seeks to
move from another town to yours. There's always a reason
behind such moves and it is safe to find out whether the real
reason will be of benefit to your town. If an industry or busi-
ness is a failure in a brother secretary's town, the chances are
it will be a failure in your town and a reported failure is a
demerit against your town.
Again there are few, very few, industries that come to an-
other town seeking entry with, enough finances to carry them
through. Nearly all want to ship in an old plant, and enlist
local aid to reestablish on a new footing. Should the
manufactured article be a patent, remember the investor ap-
praises his article in the millions when the cool-headed investor
will value it in dollars. Like the airbrake the patent may later
be worth millions when its success is fully developed, but you
can safely discount it one one-hundredth at its beginning, as
Vanderbilt did when Westinghouse approached him with his
airbrake and Vanderbilt scouted the idea of applying train
brakes with "wind."
When an industry seeks to move, first find the reason. If
the reason is meritorious and your city's advantages will remove
the barrier the industry worked against in another city, you
have a good prospect to work upon. Find out the condition of
the business, appraise the plant with an expert eye, apart from
the appraisal placed by the owners, hear the plans of the new-
comers and then meet with your manufacturers' committee.
Have this committee consist of manufacturers, bankers and
KEEPING THE MEMBERS INFORMED. 259
capitalists, shrewd business men, but not too conservative.
Have them liberal, yet safe and the advice they will give you
may be depended upon.
Ofttimes they will pick to pieces the plans submitted by
the newcomers. The latter can see but one side success in
the new field with unlimited capital. The committee views it
from another angle can it succeed, will the money be profit-
abty invested, the business well managed and a fair return of
profit yielded? You can depend on the revised plan offered
by the committee. Offer it to the newcomers and stand on it.
Let them take it or reject it. If they don't want it, you don't
want the industry. Play safe, remembering you are acting
for the city with every inhabitant as your client. Don't offer
the people something you wouldn't take yourself and you can
come very near putting over anything you want.
If the revised plan is accepted by the newcomers your line
of cooperation shifts to the newspapers. If the unexpected has
occurred, and the incoming industry has plenty of funds, enlist
the newspapers in giving them a proper welcome and introduce
the goods to be manufactured to the home people. Nothing
will inspire a new manufacturer more than material welcome
in a new city by the people trying his goods. Make him feel
at home, ask the press to comment editorially and make the
newcomer feel you are glad he came. Your good feeling through
the press will kindle a like feeling with the people and the new-
comer, too, will be glad he came.
When the Newspaper is Your Best Aid
But, should the newcomer seek additional capital (and
they nearly all do) and the manufacturers' committee has in-
dorsed his plan or submitted a new one that has been accepted,
the newspaper becomes your invaluable ally.
Before you attempt to place a dollar's worth of stock, have
your projected enterprise well advertised. Let the newspapers
in on the whole scheme and if there is any part of it you do
not want printed, you can rely on them not to print it if you
so request and play fair with them. But if you want the whole-
hearted cooperation of the newspapers take them into your
confidence, unfold the whole plan and show how they can co-
operate. With all the plans before them you will find them
just as interested as you and your path well paved with pub-
260 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
licity, when you go out into the town with your subscription
lists.
If an enterprise is indorsed by the press the people are with
you. They have made your introductory speech, your prospec-
tive investors have been apprised of your proposition in advance
and their opinion is bound to be favorable with press comment
behind it.
If the money is available you will find your task easy.
As subscriptions are secured publicity of this fact will make
your task lighter as the dollars pile up and you will find in
the end that your confidence in the newspapers was not only
well placed, but they practically have done the work for you.
Now in contrast imagine the secretary who hoards to him-
self his industrial plans, and tries to raise $50,000 or more
alone. If he expects to do it all himself and when the work
is accomplished make a newspaper splurge, it is doubtful
whether it will ever come to that point. Raising money is hard
enough in itself and can not be done without cooperation. The
fact that you have created the plan and led the fight with the
newspapers giving it impetus is credit enough all around ; but in
the final analysis it is not credit marks you are seeking, but
something for your town.
Cooperate with the newspapers and they will cooperate
with you. Try to use them and they will have your nose on the
grindstone. They are the moulders of public opinion, without
which your efforts would be nil. Get the newspapers behind
you in all your efforts and half of your battles will be won
before they are started.
Keeping the Members Informed
By JAMES A. McKIBBEN
Granted that you have an efficient organization, and that
your members have an appreciation of the proper field of work
and of endeavor of an organization such as we are connected
with, it does not necessarily follow that you have an interested
membership. These things are merely the foundation upon
which the structure of active, live interest must rest. What
are the essential elements of a strong and enduring superstruc-
ture of sustained interest?
Obviously, one of the main supports of your superstruc-
KEEPING THE MEMBERS INFORMED. 261
ture must be an efficient plan for keeping the members well in-
formed as to what the organization is doing and attempting to
do.
There are, to be sure, successful business men who will
argue with vigor and conviction that any particular effort to
keep your members informed is unnecessary; that all that is
necessary is to do efficient work, and that if the organization
is doing efficient work, its members will find it out. The busi-
ness man who takes that point of view may know all about his
business, but he does not know the first principles of working
with the public, and he does not understand human beings.
One of the fundamental facts about human beings and one
which it is well for anybody interested in carrying on any public
movement to bear in mind is that they are all by nature ego-
tists; and one of the many ways in which that trait shows it-.
self is a man's tendency to assume that what he does not know
about does not exist. If he has not heard about his organiza-
tion doing a thing, he instinctively assumes that it has not
done it; if he has not heard about a thing happening, he as-
sumes that it has not happened; and if he does not know af-
firmatively that your organization is doing efficient work, he
instinctively assumes that it is not.
In any public movement, whether it be carried on by a com-
mercial organization or any other association, your chances
of doing successful and efficient work are very small unless you
keep those for and with whom you are working, informed and
carry them along with you. Most organizations realize this;
most organizations are attempting in some way to meet the
situation; and there is no organization, I imagine, which will
not admit that its efforts have not been altogether successful
and, perhaps, even that the results are sometimes quite dis-
couraging. We in Boston have certainly struggled with the
problem, and are still struggling with it.
Some Ways of Keeping Them Informed
It is just as true in this field as in any other, that no other
agency has yet been devised that compares with the personal
interview, either in efficiency, in surety of results, or in the
quickness with which it produces them. Business men do not
by choice sell goods by mail or by circular if it is feasible for
them to have a good salesman call on the customer. Whatever
262 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
the size or nature of your organization, it is well to take a leaf
out of the book of business experience and utilize the personal
call to the extent to which the size of your organization per-
mits.
It is an easy matter for the small organization to keep in
close and efficient touch with its members through personal
interviews by its officers and directors. They can, and ought
to, make use of this efficient agency to a much greater extent
than they usually do.
In the case of the somewhat larger organization, located in
the medium-sized locality, it is entirely feasible to utilize the
personal interview to a considerable extent; and an auxiliary
agency is almost always at hand in the local newspaper which
can, and usually will quite willingly, devote as much space to
what the commercial organization is doing as the organization
will furnish real good, live news to fill. The yoking of these
two agencies the personal interview and the columns of the
local newspaper gives the medium-sized organization in the
medium-sized community the very best chance of all to convey
its message satisfactorily to its members.
Inquiry as to the extent to which this auxiliary agency has
been used will be likely to elicit some complaint of lack of co-
operation on the part of the publishers of the local newspaper ;
but such investigation as I have been able to make causes me to
have a good deal of sympathy with the publisher. He is not a
magician, and with the very best intentions he can only ac-
complish a very little in the direction of transforming dry,
uninteresting "drool" such as he is too frequently furnished
into live, interesting reading matter. There are always two
sides to a case, and I am inclined to think that investigation
will convince you that where the local commercial organiza-
tion has not the cooperation of the local newspaper, the fault
is not usually principally on the side of the publisher of the
paper.
The difficulties of the problem of keeping the members in-
formed increase as the size of the organization and the size of
the city increases and they increase, not in arithmetical, but in
geometrical ratio; and, unfortunately, while the difficulties
have increased, the possibility of utilizing the agencies which
I have mentioned, has decreased. The number whom you can
reach by personal interviews is very small, and, unlike the
ORGANIZATION BULLETINS THEIR HITS AND MISSES. 263
newspaper in a town or small city where the problem of the
publisher whether he will admit it or not is to get enough
live matter to fill his columns, the pressure for space upon the
management of a newspaper in a metropolitan city is terrific.
A newspaper in a large metropolitan city will not and, frank-
ly, I do not believe can reasonably be expected to give any-
thing like a proportional amount of space in comparison with
the amount which the newspaper in a small city can and will
give. In the case of the large organization in a large city, the
problem is, therefore, immensely more difficult, and the agencies
upon Avhich the small organization can rely are very much less
available.
Type of Organization Organs
As a consequence, most of them have considered it neces-
sary to establish a publication of their own. The first experi-
ment is usually a monthly magazine; and although there has
been a trend in the last few years towards the weekly publica-
tion, the monthly is still by far the most prevalent type of or-
ganization organ.
A good monthly can do a great deal for an organization and
for its city, and it has some advantages over any other form of
publication; but as a means of conveying "live" news, it is
somewhat lacking. If it is of any considerable size, the very
last of the copy will have to be furnished to the printer from
six to ten days before it is delivered to your members and
this means that its freshest news is from a week to ten days
old, and the oldest from five to six weeks old, when it gets to
your members.
On the other hand, a weekly, being smaller in size and dif-
ferent in shape, can be printed and delivered within twenty-
four hours from the time that the last of the copy is delivered
to the printer. It also has some other advantages over the
monthly, and as a consequence, a considerable number of the
larger organizations have adopted this style of publication.
Other Ways of Keeping Members Informed
Reliance ought not to be placed entirely, however, on any
one or all of the three agencies I have mentioned the personal
interview, the local newspaper, and the monthly or weekly
publication. If you expect to keep every member informed,
you must utilize every possible agency; and there are still
other agencies available.
264 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
One other way is to utilize another fundamental fact about
human beings. Men are gregarious animals. The interest of
the members of the organization in it and its work can be
greatly increased by getting them together in a social way
and then utilizing the occasion for informing them about some
phase of the organization's work or some matter in which the
members of the organization are naturally interested. There
is, of course, a danger of overemphasizing the social features of
the organization. Excessive zeal to get a good attendance
and "make a showing' 7 has blinded many an organization and
many a secretary to the fact that getting together a large
number of your members at a dinner merely to hear some-
body make a funny speech does not materially increase their
interest in the organization and its work. The noted orator
or witty speaker may be necessary as a drawing card ; but the
organization which does not utilize the occasion to convey to its
members something which will be of lasting value to the or-
ganization and to the community, has failed to take full ad-
vantage of the opportunity. The combination which we have
found to work best is three speakers, each occupying from
twenty to thirty minutes one a great orator or noted man
with "drawing power," another who will say something really
"meaty," and finally a short, witty speech. Some people like
oratory, and others want "meat" and both these classes (al-
though the latter class will not always cheerfully admit it)
like a little fun, if it is not overworked.
A method of getting the members together which has in-
creased in popularity tremendously in the last few years is
the noon-day luncheon, followed by one or more addresses, oc-
cupying between a half hour and an hour. In fact, it is per-
haps not putting it too strongly to say that this is the com-
mercial organization fad of the present time. Here, again, as
in the case of dinners, the increase in mutual acquaintance and
understanding is of considerable value to the organization;
but these noonday luncheons can be given a permanent and
lasting value by systematic and well-planned attempts to con-
vey to the members a message of real value to the organization
and the community and to the members themselves.
Another method of turning the gregarious instincts of
human beings to the profit of the organization, used more fre-
quently in the West than in the East, is to provide luncheon
ORGANIZATION BULLETINS THEIR HITS AND MISSES. 265
accommodations for your members. The getting of the man
into your building, and especially his acquiring the habit of
coming there from day to day, or at frequent intervals, has
the psychological effect on his mind of identifying him with
the organization and imbuing him with the esprit de corps of
the body. Many business men find the lunch hour the most
convenient time for committee meetings, and good luncheon
accommodations are likely to assist greatly in securing satis-
factory attendance at committee meetings and have a marked
tendency to keep the committees in close touch with the or-
ganization and with its members. The potential advantages
of luncheon accommodations are very great; but left to itself,
a lunch room is likely to be of little value and may even be
a source of weakness, through over-emphasizing the social
side of the organization. It is only by well-planned, systematic
work that the potential advantages may be realized.
Organization Bulletins Their Hits and Misses
By G. W. LEMON
Organization bulletins why have them what type is the
most popular what is the most successful are we hitting or
missing the mark with them are they really worth the time,
effort and money expended? Despite the fact that there are a
few secretaries not yet convinced that bulletins are worth
while, the overwhelming majority of those who answered my
questionaire declare for a bulletin.
Why? "It is the show window of the chamber of com-
merce, doing for the organization what the window display
does for a business establishment.
"It is the direct connection and point of contact between
the membership at large on the one hand, and the organization
and its executive officers on the other.
"Permits the presentation of chamber of commerce news
and views from the chamber of commerce standpoint.
"Drives home its purposes and activities in a way which
cannot be done in the press.
"It allows specific and direct personal appeals to be made
to the individual member.
266 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
"Serves as a check upon the secretary and the board of
directors, making both realize their full responsibility to the
organization.
"The bulletin serves as an alibi when a member complains
that he has not been kept fully informed of activities; he has
no come-back if he fails to benefit by the information given.
"The real purpose of a bulletin is to sell the organization
to the member and to constantly keep him sold. If only 25
per cent of the membership read it, it is worth while."
In fairness a word should be said regarding the objection
to an organization bulletin. It is contended :
"That special reports and pamphlets on specific subjects
are far more effective.
"That by the time of issue, bulletin news is stale.
"That they are not read, one city making a test which led
to the abandonment of its bulletin.
"That newspaper publicity is better and costs less money.
"That a mimeographed weekly letter is more effective.
Character of Publication
Assuming that an organization bulletin is worth while, let
us now discuss its character. Should it be a chamber of com
merce newspaper? A letter from the secretary to the member-
ship? A medium of civic propaganda? A city booster?
Some favor a strictly chamber of commerce publication,
contending that the chamber of commerce bulletin should not
enter the national magazine field, but fill its own peculiar
field, which is not open to any magazine or publication of the
general type. Others favor the pretentious magazine. Still
others differentiate between the bulletins of large and small
organizations pointing out that the pretentious magazine
meets the requirements of the former, while not at all suited
to the needs of the smaller organization.
There are those who believe that the bulletin, while main-
taining the chamber viewpoint, should serve a broader purpose
as a clearing house for general business information and a
medium of expression for leaders in current activities, both
local and national.
Every organization desires to publish as fine a bulletin as
finances will permit; but the bulletin that suits Tulsa, Chicago
and Milwaukee would hardly meet the requirements or the
SOME DANGP:RS OF HOUSE ORGANS. 267
resources of the smaller organizations. No general rule, it
seems to me, can be laid down, but it may be said that, in the
smaller cities, and many of the large ones, the strictly chamber
of commerce house organ remains and will likely continue to
remain the prevailing type. In some of the large cities the
trend is unmistakably toward the pretentious magazine, a
type well exemplified by "Chicago Commerce" and Milwaukee
"Civics and Commerce."
Form, Size and Advertising
A good deal might be said regarding the form, size and
makeup. A large number of secretaries favor the newspaper
form in type, column and headline. Some bulletins have adopt-
ed the two-column form, but a majority favor three columns
to the page. I might say, however, that the answers to the
questionaire clearly indicate that the trend is away from the
4x9 and 5x10 and toward the 8^x11 and the 9x12, or larger.
Convenience in filing and mailing would seem the chief reason
for the popularity of the S^xll size.
We now come to the most debatable part of this subject.
Does house organ advertising really pay the advertiser, or does
he regard it as a donation?
Memphis (Term.), Chicago (111.), Detroit (Mich.), Kansas City (Mo.),
New Orleans (La.), and Boston (Mass.), submit specific proofs that adver-
tising pays the advertiser, alleging that it often comes to them without so-
licitation and remains ; that it is regarded as an investment and not a dona-
tion ; and enables the organization to pay, or partly pay, for the bulletin.
Memphis (Tenn.) Chamber of Commerce submits specific proof that its
house organ advertising pays the advertiser by relating the instance of a
jobber who had to leave his name off his advertisement because he got so
many inquiries from retail buyers for the product he was advertising.
Boston (Mass.) Chamber of Commerce says: "Advertising is very fre-
quently received and renewed without solicitation of any kind. The bulletin
is used as a medium by many advertising agencies, who buy space without
solicitation, and who know, if any do, the intrinsic worth of a publication.
Advertisers frequently declare that the ad brings them substantial returns
and we believe they are getting full value for every dollar spent. It is our
policy to inform advertisers at every opportunity that space is sold solely
on the merits of the publication and that no advertisements are accepted that
are in any sense donations."
The Detroit (Mich.) Board of Commerce states that they have instances
every week of direct results from advertising and that the head of a large
advertising agency has said that "The Detroiter" is "the best medium in the
territory for certain classes of things."
Rochester (N. Y.) Chamber of Commerce submits a 50-50 report, after
stating that the advertisers "let their contracts on the basis of value." One
man in the office, of excellent judgment, an old newspaper and advertising
268 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
man, claims the advertising is not worth a "whoop/' The secretary adds :
"Personally, I am inclined to a 50-50 opinion. I am sure that some of the
advertisers get their money's worth and some do not."
Against Advertising
Montgomery (Ala.), New York (N. Y.), and Peoria (111.), take vigorous
exception to the admission of advertising, claiming that it cheapens the publi-
cation, distracts the attention of the reader and takes away from the value
of the publication.
Los Angeles (Cal.), Kalamazoo (Mich.), Piqua (Ohio), and Wilmington,
(Del.), look upon it as in the nature of a holdup, or at least a donation.
Goatesville (Pa.), and Lawrence (Mass.) state that they cannot in
decency ask help in fighting the advertising nuisance if they accept advertis-
ing in their monthly bulletins.
New York (N. Y.), Toledo (Ohio), Minneapolis (Minn.), and Fall River
(Mass.), fear that the advertiser might wish to dominate the policy of the
bulletin and they declare for an absolutely uninfluenced and unobligated op-
portunity to say what they please.
Bradford (Pa.), Los Angeles (Cal.), Wilmington (Del.), and New York
(N. Y.), feel that the members might consider requests to take advertising
as in the nature of a request for a special contribution in addition to annual
dues.
Dallas (Texas) submits that the entire membership should stand the ex-
pense of publishing a bulletin rather than individual contributors.
Summary
Has advertising in house organs come to stay? Time was
that the great magazines of our country did not carry adver-
tisements. It seems strange to think of it today, but up to
November, 1870, when "Scrilmer's Monthly" began it, periodi-
cal magazines did not print advertising at all. And William
W. Ellsworth tells us that he remembers "listening with star-
ing eyes, while Fletcher Harper, the younger, related that he
had in the early seventies refused an offer of $18,000 for the
use of the last page of the magazine for a year for an advertise-
ment of the Home Sewing Machine."
It is not necessary for me to attempt to draw any conclu-
sion or give a decision upon this "joint debate" on the ques-
tion: "Advertising, is it worth while or is it not?" Is it not
largely a question of circulation? Do you not think that if
any chamber of commerce bulletin will reach the buyers that
a given advertiser wants to reach, that publication will be used
sooner or later, as has been the case with prominent publica-
tions that one time refused to carry advertising?
"Many men, many minds, and not all of the same mind."
Will there not always be differences of opinion and, therefore,
different policies regarding organization bulletins, their size,
NEWS VALUE IN ORGANIZATION PUBLICITY. 269
character, contents, etc.; differences due not alone to the per-
sonality of their editors, but to local conditions and require-
ments and to financial resources? It is to be doubted if the
time will ever come when one standard will prevail, even a
standard for the large city and one for the small.
If the secretary has found his size, make-up, editorial and
business policy adapted to his community, then why not let
him retain it, even though he may be in a minority? At the
same time we must preserve the open mind we must be always
ready to adopt new ideas and there is no secretary who can
afford not to read the publications that come to his desk, for
from them he will glean not only information regarding the
chamber of commerce movement in this country, but up-to-date
ideas for headlines and display.
Few of us realize to the full, as Mead of New York well
says, "the opportunity for constructive service on the part of
organization house organs." We, as secretaries, are practically
in control of a new form of literature. The direction it shall
take, the policies it shall promote, in a word its character and
its purpose, lies in our hands. We must make our house organ
literature serve the highest interest of our organizations, our
community, our country.
Some Dangers of House Organs
By G. W. LEMON
One great factor in sustaining membership is keeping our
members informed. This, of course, immediately suggests a
discussion of publicity through letter-bulletins, special weekly
pages in local newspapers and house organs daily, weekly or
monthly. But the whole question of house organs, their fre-
quency of issue, whether advertising should be accepted or not
all this has been given at former conventions. You may
find it all, as Kipling says, "in the files." But may I venture
a few observations and criticisms upon the contents of some
of our bulletins. What I am about to say has come to me
chiefly from my own experience. I myself have been guilty of
some of the very things which I am now criticizing.
Are we hitting the bulPs-eye with our house organs? The
only excuse we have for spending money on a bulletin is that
270 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
it is intended to keep our members informed as to what we
have done or are planning to do ; to seek to educate the member
in the commercial organization idea and to enlist his active
cooperation in helping to solve the problems which confront
his community. Therefore, a bulletin is primarily for members
only! What do we sometimes make it? Is it not frequently a
collection of more or less interesting photographs, wisdom of
sages, humor clipped from the funny columns of newspapers
or other bulletins, some "boost stuff" about our city with a
few articles which bear directly upon our organization?
While thinking over this phase of the question of worth
while bulletins I reached for a pile of them lying on a table
near my desk. I mention this to show that I did not hunt for
examples they were right at hand. Bulletin "A" contained
seven photos of men who had joined the colors and were re-
porting for active duty. Bulletin a B" gave up one entire page
to a letter by a soldier en route descriptive of life on a (slow)
military train. Bulletin "C" contained editorials reprinted
from the local and from the New York newspapers. Another
secretary-editor devoted an entire page of his publication to
chronicling "Where they Spent their Vacations." And so one
might go on but I have cited these few examples to illustrate
what I mean.
The lure of the "mailing list" has proved too strong for
many of us. We have gotten together material, not so much
for home consumption as for export. Of course, we salve our
editorial conscience by declaring that it is "good publicity for
our city" and stuff like that. I believe the problem of member-
ship maintenance will more easily be solved if we use the great
power of our house organs for the specific purposes as above
outlined.
Second only in importance to house organs as a medium
for keeping our members informed, it is often, I fear, a source
of danger in the hands of a man who sees only the "story" in
a big movement or in a major activity of the chamber. Two
things are to be guarded against : First, publicity of the boast-
ful variety, which would have the public think that the only,
useful, worth-while things emanate solely from the chamber of
commerce. Second, the personal presentation of every activity,
by which I mean that it is a terrible blunder to "give out" news
from your office in which your own name constantly appears or
NEWS VALUE IN ORGANIZATION PUBLICITY. 271
the names of your president, your board or your committee
chairmen. There are times when the use of names is not only
unavoidable, but essential; but in nine cases out of ten the
newspaper story written from the impersonal angle will do the
most good and the least harm.
News Value in Organization Publicity
By H. F. MILLER
I think the most profitable thing we can discuss is organi-
zation advertising as distinguished from municipal. Our or-
ganization is something like nine years old. We began with
ninety-three members. No one believed it would succeed, be-
cause similar efforts had failed. Chicago was the worst disor-
ganized town in the country ; in fact, we did not have anything
approaching a civic organization. We had a number of organi-
zations that had their special place and distinct purpose any
number of them, but none of them were of any great civic value ;
always had some special thing to perform. But when it came
to organization for community interest, the first thing necessary
was to arouse a desire on the part of the public to organize.
We were handicapped by the fact that some of our biggest in-
stitutions did not believe in the idea that towns as big as Chi-
cago or New York should have such organizations ; that it was
a case of every man for himself; that organization plans were
for smaller cities; that commercial organizations in large cities
would not succeed. We had to overcome that. The best
medium we found was the newspapers, so we organized a pub-
licity committee. That committee was made up of our biggest
advertisers. Just as soon as possible we got away from the
idea of asking the newspapers for something, that is, going to
them and begging for space. Very soon we found that the way
to get the space was to trade news for it, and we consider now
that the greatest asset of our organization is its news-pro-
ducing qualities. Our biggest problem is to coin that into prac-
tical results. So we began to pick out the news features. We
found that it was not sufficient merely to say "we have a story"
on a certain subject. We were fortunate in having in the em-
ploy of the association some three or four men who had a great
deal of experience in newspaper work and advertising, so that
212 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
we had the newspaper man's point of view. It developed a new
situation, in that, when they found a piece of news, they might
exchange it for space. They dressed that news up in newspa-
per style and sent it over to the city editor. They soon found
it was a help underrated rather than overrated, and that it
was better to give them a tip in condensed form only the facts
briefly as possible and let the papers play them up in their
own way.
Chicago's News Bureau
So we began to organize what we called the news bureau
under the management of a newspaper man. This newspaper
man took everything that happened in the daily conduct of the
association affairs and tried to make a news story out of it.
We kept that up for two years and the news bureau was suc-
cessful, but it finally became an old story. While we are still
conducting a news bureau, we found that the newspapers did
not come around to see us as frequently as before, so we gradu-
ally switched to some other line. Throughout all of our work
we have tried to get the best out of the one great asset of news
producing. To bring it down to date, we have 78 sub-divisions
in the association. We have classified our memberships in 78
trades and professions. We have the ways and means commit-
tee, of which some of you know, which is really the house rep-
resentatives of the 78 sub-divisions, just as the House at Wash-
ington is the representative of the states in the Union. We
elect five men from each sub-division each year. Sixty-five men
meet once a week and listen to some program. Up to this year
these programs are made up on any interesting subject that we
can find. Whenever we found a visitor in town from any for-
eign land whom we thought had a story to tell, we invited him
to tell it. Some of the most interesting programs naturally
were the result of these meetings. This year we decided to
try the publicity feature. So we invited each of the 78 sub-
divisions to prepare a story, a newspaper article, on their own
line of business. Real estate men write up real estate business
in Chicago, and so on. This was done in the office because they
could get together to discuss what were the news features of
their business. They were asked to tell the story of Chicago
real estate in the most interesting phase possible It was then
submitted to the office, where the two or three newspaper men
in the office took it and dressed it up again and it was re-writ-
NEWS VALUE IN ORGANIZATION PUBLICITY. 273
ten, re-edited to suit them, turned over to a body of men called
the ways and means council of eleven men, carefully chosen
from the 78 sub-divisions, representative of the whole associa-
tion. They were asked to edit it, write it up again carefully,
exclude all questions of politics, etc., and the result was a good
story on real estate. So that story, to the extent of say 1,500
words, was read before the ways and means. A good reader
was selected to read the story. Copies of that article were sent
to every newspaper and to every trade paper in that particular
line of business, while one New York paper took these stories
by telegraph every Sunday, sometimes printing them in full,
and other times paragraphs from them.
The Creation of News
As the result we have written up nearly one-half of all
of our trades in Chicago. This will form a volume at the end
of the year. We will continue that until we have gone the
rounds of the 78 sub-divisions, and go again until we wear out
the subject. As long as we can furnish new r s, the papers will
take it, No matter how dry it may be at first glance, you will
find, if it is carefully written, always something interesting.
A string of figures that is astounding, or a string of facts that
never before were told, if they bear the stamp of association
approval, they are regarded as authentic and they are filed in
the newspaper offices for future reference, so we found it to be
a great publicity "stunt" as we call it. Briefly, out of that
system we have received to date some 2,500 articles of daily
newspapers 500 columns of news space. And you can figure
up what 500 columns of news space would cost you at fl.OO
a line. You will find it runs into good money. I believe the
system can be applied in almost any city because every city
has its strong points. The newspapers want news. If you
give them news, you make them your friends; if you try to get
stuff into the newspapers that is not news, you wear out your
welcome in the newspaper shop, and if you try to put things
over on the city editor you make him an enemy, whether you
succeed or whether you fail; in other words, he will have TJO
further use for that particular source of alleged news. If you
get the newspaper man's point of view and give him what he
wants, it will serve your needs and his.
Now to digress from that particular talk on the newspa-
274 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
per man and speak of some of the other things: We never
overlook any opportunity to present any association matter to
the newspapers that is acceptable to the newspapers as news.
We consider a half -inch of space on the first page of a news-
paper worth more to us from a publicity standpoint than a half-
page of display on an inside page, and the difference is that
the half -inch cost you nothing while the half -page cost you
$500. We have never made it a rule to buy display space in
the newspaper. We have no rule against it and whenever oc-
casion arises where we believe it will be to our advantage to
buy space, we have occasionally done so. On one occasion in
a campaign for public improvement, we spent five thousand
dollars in one day for newspaper publicity, and we never re-
gretted it, but with that five thousand dollars (it was a page
in each of the daily papers), we got columns of newspaper men-
tion which was worth more to us than display. The news cost
us nothing and the display cost us f 5,000. I would have much
preferred one-tenth of the news mentioned to the display.
CHAPTER XVI.
Financing Commercial Organizations
Some of the Problems of Organization Finance
By CARL DEHONEY
Every commercial organization should seek to establish
a thoroughly modern and business-like financial department,
in charge of a competent man, one skilled in the art of getting
money. There are plenty men of ability in other branches of
organization work who cannot earn their salt collecting dues
from weak-kneed members. There are others who cannot make
a speech to an audience, perhaps, but are able to extract money
from the biggest knocker in town, or talk the worst backslider
into paying admission to the mourner's bench. Such a man,
having also a knowledge of businesslike office methods, book-
keeping and the like, is an ideal fellow for financial secretary.
Money gained by proper conservation of revenues, by realizing
every cent possible from membership dues and all incidental
sources of income, by discounting bills for prompt payment
wherever possible, and by getting interest on organization
funds, is just as good, or rather better, than an equal amount
of new subscriptions. Such methods invite respect and con-
fidence from business men and make it easier to develop addi-
tional organization funds.
The survival of the fittest is a rule of life's battle, and it
will be borne out in organization work. All over the United
States cities are bubbling over with enthusiasm for work
through organization machinery. Commercial bodies have been
developed by thousands. The disbursements of these organi-
zations run annually into many millions. Their work, on the
whole, is good, and in many ways is splendid. But in too
many there is a lack of business methods for conserving rev-
enues, keeping costs systems and cutting down waste. There
is as yet no uniform system of accounting. Every organization
has its own system. What is publicity in one is industrial work
in another, and so on. Comparisons cannot be made with ac-
curacy.
275
276 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
Budget System
Every commercial organization should thoroughly classify
its revenues, know its cost and follow a budget made up at the
beginning of the fiscal year as a well regulated municipal or
industrial corporation.
The organization that is going to live and do the most good
in the future is that organization which seeks to make its finan-
cial plan a solid one, that adopts scientific methods in going
after revenue and in conducting its business affairs and at
the same time seeks to produce lasting and practical results in
all branches of its promotion work. We are going to see the
passing of much that is only bizarre and ephemeral in organi-
zation effort, and we must give such food to enthusiasm that
will keep it strong-nerved, steady and fighting on.
The situation in our commercial organizations today in
regard to accounting, cost systems, etc., is similar to that which
has prevailed in the municipal governments of our cities. It
has not been possible in the past to accurately compare the
financial reports of any one city with others in its class. Now,
thanks to the work of the National Municipal League, the fed-
eral government and other agencies, order is beginning to come
out of chaos in American municipal finances. I believe one of
the things this association could well take up and recommend
would be the working out of some plan for standardizing, as
far as possible, the accounting and business methods of com-
mercial organizations.
Sources of Revenue Classified
The revenues of the average commercial body may be said
to come from the following classes of men :
1. Those who expect to receive an indirect benefit from in-
creased property values, increased business and other
results of good organization work.
2. Those who expect to receive a direct benefit from some
specific department, such as a convention bureau, traf-
fic bureau, etc.
3. Those who are interested in the direct benefit from
facilities afforded, such as a club house, a grain ex-
change, etc.
4. Those who contribute entirely from civic patriotism.
It would be seen that the element of self-interest enters in
BUDGETS FOR COMMERCIAL ORGANIZATIONS. 277
throe out of the four classes, or a great majority. We should
remember that self-interest is a different thing from selfish-
ness. The progress of the world has probably been due more
to intelligent self-interest than to any other cause.
The ideal organization, therefore, is one appealing to all
the classes mentioned. I cannot conceive of a better all-around
plan of financing a commercial organization than one which
opens sources of profitable revenue from all of these classes.
Its basis would be a permanent continuing membership, with
annual dues of at least |25 a year, buttressed by funds raised
for special purposes on contracts covering a period of three,
four or five years, given by various classes of members directly
interested in some department. The board of directors should
have power to supplement special funds from the general fund,
but money raised for a specific purpose should be spent for
that purpose.
Refund Surplus Pro Rata
Many organizations make a mistake of not being thorough-
ly honest with their members or subscribers. For instance: A
special fund is raised for the entertainment of a particular con-
vention by a committee on which the organization and the local
interests affected have representation. There is a small re-
maining surplus. Somebody moves to have the surplus turned
over to the chamber of commerce for its general fund, or di-
verted elsewhere. This is not right and it is not good organiza-
tion policy. That money belongs to the subscribers and it
should be returned to them pro rata. If more organizations
would folloAv that method they would not have so much trouble
raising special funds.
In towns having no live organization, or where the work
has been at a low ebb, and it is desirable to organize a new
movement, the best plan is the three-year contract. The rais-
ing of such a fund insures stability for a period sufficient to
show results to procure renewals and lay the basis for perma-
nent income.
Various Methods of Financing
The subscriber is allowed to indicate the class in which
he is willing to be placed for assessment. While this particular
plan has not been worked out, it contains the germ of truth
which may solve the problem. It opens up interesting possi-
bilities in many directions. Somebody, let us hope, will yet
produce a plan to include the holder of larger property inter-
278 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
ests in our cities, who have been made rich by the growth of
these cities, to more readily realize their self-interest in de-
velopment work. Up in Saskatoon, where a million-dollar fund
was recently raised, I arn told that subscriptions of $20,000
each were made by five young men who had gone to north-
western Canada a few years ago and made fortunes in gold in-
vestment and increase in land values due to the city's upbuild-
ing. While we can hardly expect many such contributions in
older and more conservative centres, what a great work could
be accomplished if the men most directly interested, the hold-
ers of the real estate, would come nearer doing their part!
Budgets for Commercial Organizations
By A. HEATH ONTHANK
In these days of efficiency and standardized business prac-
tices it is strange, indeed, that organizations composed of the
leading business men of the communities should be behind the
times in the conduct of their own affairs. It is only recently
that any agitation has taken place to bring chambers of com-
merce to the level of other commercial and industrial enter-
prises in the administration of their finances. Whether it is
because the presumed difficulty connected with the variable
work of commercial organizations, or whether it is because
these bodies have been so busy remodelling the affairs of the
world that they have had no time for their own, it is true, nev-
ertheless, that a great many chambers of commerce, and many
of the foremost ones, have made no attempt to plan ahead the
expenditure of their income.
Today we hear much about budgets for the federal gov-
ernment and for municipalities. The body politic, at any rate,
has become alive to the necessity of a stricter accounting for
the methods of disbursing its moneys, and this wave of public
opinion seems at last to have reacted on commercial organi-
zations, so that they, the usual makers and leaders of popular
sentiment, are now endeavoring to catch up with it in the
matter of budgets.
Budget-making is, in essence, no more than forehanded-
ness, a look ahead to future events and contingencies. A busi-
ness man who sees only a week or month before him has about
as much chance of survival as any individual who at present
BUDGETS FOR COMMERCIAL ORGANIZATIONS. i>79
would trust to the ravens for his sustenance. Why, then,
must c-ommereial organizations feel that they are exempt a
class apart from all others?
Chambers of commerce, boards of trade, commercial clubs,
or whatever they may be called, have two general fields of ac-
tivity short-time projects and long-time enterprises. The
former may take only a week, but perhaps a year or more; the
latter are certain to be carried through a number of years.
In any event, it is clear that there are certain activities which
must be carried along from one fiscal year to another, and for
the welfare of which a certain amount of pre-planning must be
done. Are they to be left alone to pursue their lonely courses
in haphazard fashion, or are they to have definite mile-posts
to reach each year, helped along by a knowledge that there is
a certain amount of monetary fuel which, if judiciously ex-
pended, will bring them to their goals?
There are several very obvious advantages of a budgetary
system which should be stated at this point.
In the first place, budget making causes, ipso facto, pre-
planning. It is quite apparent that if a reason for every ex-
penditure to be made during the forthcoming year must be
given at the start of that period, there must be some sort of
preconceived ideas concerning future activities. A committee
with work just begun must plan the extension or completion of
its labors with an eye to every possible eventuality ; a bureau
or division entering or carrying forward a specific field of un-
dertakings must work out its ways of procedure, their costs,
and their limitations. It is entirely unnecessary to point out
in detail the beneficial results of such pre-planning on commit-
tees, bureaus, and officers.
Secondly, a budget gives to the commercial organization
as a whole, a definite basis of action. The officers know what
is to be accomplished, know that there is the wherewithal to
do so, and are thus free to turn their attention to new plans,
administrative work, or emergencies.
Thirdly, through the "pruning" process of the ratification
body, the work of each committee or bureau is brought into its
proper place in the formation of a well-rounded plan of work
for the whole organization. Pressing activities are given a
clear track; minor projects are sidetracked when and where
necessary. The president who has a "squint" in favor of city
280 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
planning is not allowed to dump most of the contents of the
treasury into his pet schemes when it is much more urgent that
the organization devote all its energies for a short time to a
convention. Thus, the budgetary system weighs all plans in the
balance, and chooses the most beneficial for immediate empha-
sis.
It must not be thought, however, that the budget would
cause work in most lines to be dropped while the favorite
schemes of the moment were being pushed. Per contra, the
fourth advantage to be noted is, that while the more important
plans are receiving most attention, the others are all being
carried along according to a well-conceived plan of develop-
ment. The budget permits a judicious expenditure of income
on the main work, and, at the same time, is nursing the other
enterprises along to the point when they shall become the chief
activities.
Fifthly, if the budget is well planned, it will provide for
emergency actions as well as for preconceived plans.
And sixthly, the financial system of the organization is
put on a firm and rational basis of a proper relation of income
and expenditure. Insol vency is out of the question and the
members are sure that their dollars are being expended in the
most beneficial manner.
Any idea that the system of budget making is applicable
only to large commercial organizations whose incomes run into
the tens of thousands is entirely erroneous. It is true that
where large sums of money are involved strict planning and
accounting are necessary, but it is no more true for an organi-
zation of that sort than it is for a small chamber of commerce,
where the money received must be put to the most advantageous
use in order to see results of any kind. In either case the ad-
vantages as enumerated above accruing from a strict adherence
to a system of budgets are potent factors in the successful com-
pletion of the functions of the organization.
This report, therefore, will aim to set forth methods of
budget-making for commercial organizations which will be
applicable to the small as well as the great.
Present Systems of Budget-Making in Commercial Organizations
The information on which this study was made is based on
a questionaire which was sent out to all organizations which
BUDGETS FOR COMMERCIAL ORGANIZATIONS. 281
were known to use the budget system, a copy of which is pre-
sented herein. ( Exhibit A. ) From these organizations ninety
replies were received, giving results varying widely in their
scope of enlightenment. The result has been, however, to shed
a broad light upon the differing methods of constructing
budgets in these organizations.
A. Income
A great majority of the commercial organizations from
which data were obtained received dues of fixed amounts ac-
cording to special classes of individuals and firms. The dues
varied from nothing at all in which case the organization was
supported by a special city tax or $5.00 annually in the case
of organizations whose members paid dues to as high as |3,000
in the case of a contributing concern which paid what it be-
lieved the services of the commercial organization were worth.
Because of the varying sizes and functions of these organiza-
tions, it would be misleading to endeavor to find the average or
normal rate of dues, since comparability is out of the question.
B. Method of Preparing Budget Estimates.
Methods of preparing estimates for the annual budget vary
widely; there are at least nine different ways in which esti-
mates of the financial needs of organizations come into being.
Over one-half of the organizations which replied to the ques-
tions concerning the preparation of estimates, however, start
the planning of work and approximation of necessary expendi-
tures in the committees or bureaus. The usual routine is for
the committee chairman or bureau head to call a meeting of his
unit for the purpose of laying down plans and estimating the
amounts necessary for their consummation in the coming year.
When this is done, it is often the custom for the committee
chairman to confer with some higher authority, and in such a
case, the higher authority may be the executive secretary, the
finance committee, the executive committee, or even the board
of directors ; practice varies so widely that it is impossible to
lay down any general rule for this custom.
The detail with which these estimates are prepared is again
widely divergent in the reporting organizations. For the most
part, however, the estimate is made out only in a very general
fashion ; only nineteen out of fifty -three organizations claimed
any amount of detail in their estimate. In a great many cases
282 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
it is evident that the extent of the estimates is reached when
fixed charges of salaries, rent, heat, light, etc., are set down.
Most organizations in constructing their budgets base the
estimates on a definite schedule of work for the ensuing year.
These are naturally made out on the basis of the work and ex-
penditures of the preceding year, modified by the work which
is foreseen for the coming year. These vary from being "more
or less" in detail to a rigid and specific schedule of tasks worked
out on anticipated proposals and committee or bureau work in
process of completion. It is the general custom where such
schedules of work are prepared to have them made out by com-
mittees, under the supervision of a higher authority, e. g., the
secretary, finance committee or board of directors.
C. Ratification of Budget Estimates.
When it comes to ratification of the estimates it is again
quite evident that there is one method more popular than any
two or three others, viz : ratification by the board of directors.
Out of sixty-three organizations answering the questions in this
field, twenty-five ratified their budget estimates through the
board of directors; fifteen through the finance committee plus
the board of directors ; eight through the secretary and board of
directors; and five by means of all three of the above named
agencies. In other words, it may be stated safely that it is
general practice for the board of directors to possess the power
of finally ratifying the budget.
The board of directors and its subsidiary part, the execu-
tive committee, also play the chief roles in controlling the ex-
penditure of budgeted funds. Twenty-seven out of forty-eight
organizations thus controlled expenditures, and ten more ad-
ded the control of the secretary to either control by the board
of directors or executive committee.
Over three-quarters of the reporting organizations finance
the work of their special committees out of their general funds
the unappropriated surplus after provision for the budget
expenditures has been made. Several of these chambers of com-
merce, however, are very willing to resort to special subscrip-
tions to eke out the general fund, and quite a few rely on this
method entirely. But few organizations provide a special fund
for financing the work of special committees.
Twenty-six out of sixty-six organizations pleaded guilty
BUDGETS FOR COMMERCIAL ORGANIZATIONS. 283
to the possession of a contingent fund, and it is evident that
among these twenty-six, the uses for that fund are very di-
vergent. Some use it for emergencies and abnormal, extraordi-
nary expenditures; some for payment of small cash expenses;
some as a nest egg; and one even used it as a building fund.
Apparently contingent funds. are not yet in vogue.
It is almost useless to try to find commercial organizations
with special forms of budget accounting or of budget con-
struction. Most of the reporting organizations proudly state
that they have the most approved bookkeeping methods and that
the voucher system is used, which is not to be marvelled at
greatly, considering the character of their memberships.
The conclusions that may be drawn from this questionaire
are that there are many commercial organizations which claim
to run on a budget basis, but for the most part their systems
are those in name only; and there are many, many more or-
ganizations which claim no relation to a budget system whatso-
ever. It is mainly for the benefit of these latter chambers of
commerce that this study of budgets in commercial organiza-
tions is being made, and it is with the hope that the conclu-
sions which are set forth herein will help them to realize the
need of a budget system, and that the methods proposed will
make the road easier, that some attempt is undertaken to throw
more light on this important subject.
Relation of Budgets to Working Plans
A. Income.
Very little difference in construction of the budget is made
by the fact that an organization has either fixed or variable
dues. In either case the income for the future year may be
approximated with a large degree of accuracy, and if any un-
certainty is felt it is easy to slightly underestimate the income.
It is advisable to study the past records of deaths, resigna-
tions, and members dropped for non-payment of dues, in order
to find the rate of mortality in the membership. One organi-
zation is said to write off 10 per cent of the income of its
membership each year. This figure, with an estimate of new
members each year, derived from a similar study of the records,
should give a fairly accurate approximation of income to be
derived from members during the forthcoming year. The same
procedure should be followed in estimating the income from
bureaus, divisions and miscellaneous sources.
284 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
This estimation of the income is a matter for consideration
by the finance committee. It would be well, if the general sec-
retary and the treasurer are not members of this committee,
to have them sit with it when estimates of income are being
prepared.
B. Preparation of Estimates.
Since the committees or bureaus are the chief means of
accomplishing the work of the commercial organization, it is
only natural that they should be the bodies which prepare the
schedules of work for the coming year, and estimate the money
needed to carry out that work. For this reason the primary
construction of budget estimates 1 and schedules of work should
be left to the committees and bureaus.
At this point it is advisable to impress upon all commer-
cial organizations the need and desirability of having a defi-
nite schedule of work for each bureau and committee. In the
first place, the projects which are being carried over from year
to year require constant attention in order that they may be
brought to consummation in the shortest practicable time. If
a certain date be set for the completion of each part of the
work and adhered to as closely as possible, it is much more
probable that the work will be accomplished smoothly and di-
rectly, rather than in jerks and starts, if it is left to personal
inclinations. Furthermore, a small portion of a committee
working steadily on one part of a general scheme of work leaves
the remainder of the committee free to take up emergency work
or new work started during the year. All this can best be ac-
complished by making out a complete schedule of work, on a
time basis, if necessary, and keeping certain sub-divisions of
the committee or bureau steadily at work until that particular
job is accomplished.
About a month before the beginning of the fiscal year, the
chairman of the finance committee should address a letter to
the chairmen of all standing committees, special committees
holding over into the next year, and bureaus, requesting them
to submit before a certain date, a plan of work for the coming
year and an estimate of the amount of funds which will prob-
ably be required for the completion of this schedule of work.
Included with this request should be a list showing (1) esti-
mates for past year in detail; (2) expenditures for past year
in detail; (3) and a place for estimates for the coming year.
BUDGETS FOR COMMERCIAL ORGANIZATIONS. 285
The chairmen of the committees or bureaus should imme-
diately call meetings of their bodies to consider the work to be
done during the next year, and the amount of money neces-
sary. These estimates should be worked out in as great detail
as possible, by considering under each project proposed as an
activity any and all causes of expenditure connected therewith,
and any contingency which may possibly occur. These esti-
mated expenditures should not be thrown together in a lump
sum ; it is very necessary for the guidance of the finance com-
mittee and board of directors that as many items as possible
be classified and divided up. A standard form, for bureaus, at
least, would be advantageous.
When the estimates have been completed, they should be
sent at once to the chairman of the finance committee the
chairman of committees and bureaus retaining a copy of their
estimates for their own use. As soon as practicable after the
date fixed by the finance committee for the submission of esti-
mates, the chairman of the finance committee should call a
joint meeting of the finance committee and of all the chairmen
of committees and bureaus which have submitted estimates.
It would be wise for the general secretary and treasurer to at-
tend this meeting. The finance committee has meanwhile, as
stated above, worked out an approximate statement of the
income of the organization for the ensuing year. The commit-
tee and bureau chairmen should then be requested to state ex-
plicitly their plan of work for the coming year, the estimated
funds necessary, the importance of any or all parts of this work,
and reasons why it should be carried through. The secretary
of the finance committee, should, of course, note down these
facts in full.
This process of joint conference of chairmen and finance
committee has several very important results. In the first
place, all the cards are laid on the table. Each chairman sees
what other committees are doing and what his own is doing
in comparison. All the chairmen get a knowledge of the work
of the organization as a whole, and of the place of their own
committees in such work. It is a very educational proceeding.
Secondly, it should stir up a spirit of emulation among commit-
tee chairmen; not a race as to which can spend most money,
but, if the finance committee handles the situation well, a con-
test as to which chairman will have the most beneficial and
286 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
most substantial plan of work and can make his dollars go
farthest. Thirdly, it allows the finance committee to compare
the ability of different chairmen and committees.
In order that the committee and bureau chairmen may then
understand the financial position of the organization, the chair-
man of the finance committee should also make a report on the
estimated income, and the probable policy to be pursued during
the coming year. In this way the committee chairmen may
see exactly where they stand, and whether their requests for
funds are too liberal or must be cut down. This idea of laying
all the cards upon the table, or blue sky proceedings, seems to
be the best possible method of securing harmonious action, and
is strongly recommended.
C. Ratification of Estimates.
Having secured the plan of work of each committee and
bureau, the estimated funds necessary to carry out that work,
and the reasons therefor, the finance committee is now in a
position to proceed with its function of culling out the more
important projects for emphasis, pruning the estimates, and
fitting expenditures to income. This should be done, of course,
with great care, and with due consideration of several factors:
( 1 ) The necessity of providing for fixed charges and fixed
operating expenses ;
(2) The necessity of emphasizing the most important
functions ;
(3) The desirability of completing certain projects im-
mediately ;
(4) The necessity of carrying along many minor under-
takings ;
(5) The necessity of providing an adequate reserve for
emergencies and special committees;
(6) The necessity of absolute impartiality.
It seems best for the finance committee to be the chief
ratifying body, doing its work so thoroughly that the other
ratifying body, the board of directors, shall have "little to do
but set its stamp of approval on the work of the first named
committee. For this reason it is again preferable for the gen-
eral secretary and treasurer to sit with the finance committee.
This body should have the privilege of calling in for further
conference any or all of the committee or bureau chairmen, for
more detailed explanations.
BUDGETS FOR COMMERCIAL ORGANIZATIONS. 287
When the work of the finance committee has been com-
pleted, the budget should be turned over to the board of direc-
tors for final approval. If the budget has been made out in
detail, as should be the case, the work of the directors should
be easy, and the budget as submitted by the finance committee
should be ratified practically unchanged.
In order that the continuity of committee and bureau work
shall be assured from year to year, and that past expenditures
may be properly coordinated with future estimates, it is highly
advantageous and practically essential that one or two mem-
bers of each committee or bureau hold over on that body from
year to year.
D. Contingent Fund.
It has been stated that a budget system, properly conduct-
ed, provides for emergencies as well as fixed future projects,
and that it is the function of the finance committee to provide
for these contingencies. This is done through appropriating
a "contingent fund."
The contingent fund is the elastic element of the budget
system. One objection to a budget for a commercial organiza-
tion is that such a body must be free to throw the weight and
force of its funds where it will, or into any hole in the dike
which may suddenly occur. Such an objection is not valid in
case a contingent fund is provided. It is the very purpose of
such a fund to provide money to meet emergencies, abnormal
situations, and extraordinary activities. It is not a nest egg,
an untouchable surplus, a building fund; it is a safety valve.
Where such contingent funds have been provided, the
custom has been to make them about ten per cent of the total
income. This percentage must not vary with certain situations ;
it should be larger if estimates are only in very general detail,
or if the organization is in such a position that emergencies
are not extraordinary, but normal ; proper plans of work, how-
ever, ought to care for such variations. The contingent fund
may be smaller in cases of organizations where emergencies
are rare, or the income is small and is all needed for regular
work.
Ordinary common sense and plain forehandedness, how-
ever, demand the establishment of some sort of a contingent
fund in budget systems; and for the general run of commer-
288 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
cial organizations, ten per cent of the total income is a suffi-
cient amount.
E. Special Committee Appropriations.
It is generally the case that during the course of any year
one or more special committees are appointed which need a
certain amount of financing. Naturally, their money cannot
come out of the budgeted funds, for the committees provided
for need their own allowances, and because the budget cannot
be varied at every new change of the weather. How then are
these special committees to be financed?
Immediately after appointment of such a committee the
general secretary should call it together, and should plan out
with it its schedule of work, with the necessary expenses,
known and estimated. The committee chairman should then
confer with the finance committee which should carefully con-
sider all items as set forth above, and make out a budget for
this special committee. This budget estimate should be re-
ferred to the executive committee for ratification, thus ensur-
ing a quicker and easier result.
The money for financing these special committees should be
drawn from the unappropriated surplus of the total income.
It is the province of the finance committee in making out the
budget to allow enough unappropriated funds besides the con-
tingent fund to provide for expenditures of special committees,
to keep the organization solvent and to have a surplus. The
activities of commercial organizations are so divergent, and
their needs so variable that it is impossible to set down a
stated percentage or fixed amount of the total income which
should be left unappropriated. This must be determined on the
basis of past experience modified by future demands and with
an eye to safety and conservatism in the conduct of financial
operations.
Control of the Expenditure of Budgeted Funds
To restrict the expenditure of budgeted funds by commit-
tees and bureaus would be unwise as tending to hinder the
smooth workings of these bodies. Some check must be set.
however, upon too liberal expenditures and upon expenditures
without any great raison d'etre. A simple yet potent control
should be exercised, such as the following :
The committee chairman should be required to certify all
BUDGETS FOR COMMERCIAL ORGANIZATIONS. 289
vouchers chargeable against the appropriation to his commit-
tee, and the voucher should then be referred to the finance
committee for approval. The latter should have the power to
advise with the committees with a view to the wise expendi-
ture of the funds appropriated. The general secretary should
report all unusual conditions to the executive committee, which
must be consulted before a large or unusual expenditure may
be made, even when within the appropriations. The finance
committee in conjunction with the board of directors should
have the power to revise any appropriations during the year,
if necessary.
Budget Accounting
There are several forms necessary in budget bookkeeping
and accounting, all of which will be found as appendices. The
general system may be explained as follows:
An account is opened on the ledger for each of the com-
mittees, bureaus, or divisions having an appropriation, to
which expenditures of the committee are charged when the
bill is incurred rather than when it is presented for payment.
This allows each committee to know the exact status of its
finances at all times, even though bills may not have been
paid at the time the entry is made.
At the first of every month two sets of sheets are made out,
one for the finance committee, the other for each committee or
bureau. A statement of the entire appropriations and expendi-
tures should be submitted to the finance committee at its first
meeting of each month.
Also a detailed statement of the appropriation, expendi-
tures and balance should be made out for each committee and
sent to the committee chairman. This keeps each committee
aware of what it may count upon for the remainder of the year,
and aids in judicious expenditure of its appropriation.
EXHIBIT A
Questions on Methods of Budget-Making
1. Are the dues of the organization
(a) Fixed?
(b) On a sliding scale?
2. What is their range?
3. How are the estimates for the next year prepared?
(a) By each committee or bureau?
(b) By each committee chairman?
(c) Any other way?
10
290 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
4. In how much detail are these estimates?
5. Are these estimates based on a specific schedule of work for the coming
year ?
6. If so, how is this schedule prepared?
7. How are the estimates ratified,
(a) By the secretary?
(b) By the finance committee?
(c) By the board of directors?
8. Who controls the expenditure of the budgeted funds, and how?
9. How is the work of special committees financed?
10. Is there a contingent fund?
11. If so, how is it made up, and for what items does it allow?
12. Are any special forms of accounting used, and if so, what are they?
13. Please enclose any forms used in making up the budget.
Organization Costs and Results
By GEORGE W. GILLETTE
The data which I am about to present were derived from
an examination of 62 questionaires, in general very fully and
intelligently filled out, together with a few letters furnishing
at least a part of the information requested. These data cover
commercial and civic organizations in nineteen cities of more
than 100,000 population, and 43 cities whose populations vary
from 100,000 to 5,000.
As to most of the matters in which the opinions of secre-
taries have been secured, there is a divergence of view, but I
will be able to present in few instances some convincing con-
sensus of opinion.
Membership and Income as Related to Population
While the amount of dues of any organization must largely
affect the size of its membership, a comparison of city popula-
tion with association membership, without regard to dues, is
still significant of the interest existing in any community in
the work of its commercial organization. Out of reports from
61 cities it is found that the average membership constitutes
1.5 per cent of population. The largest membership per cent
of any population is 8.5 per cent, which exists in Minot, North
Dakota, where the dues of the Minot Association of Commerce
are of one class, namely $12.00. The second largest is in Oil
City, Pennsylvania, having 19,600 inhabitants, where the Oil
City Chamber of Commerce, with graded dues of from $2 to
$100, has a membership of 1,400. The Greater Dayton Associa-
ORGANIZATION COSTS AND RESULTS. 291
tion, in a city of 132,000, has 7,000 memberships, whose dues are
$5 each-, the per cent of membership being 5.2. In few cities
of over 100,000 considered, does the per cent of membership
reach the average of 1.5 per cent.
In considering income as related to population, income only
from dues, contributions, and the dues or fees of departments
or divisions of work other than cafes performing a special
service, has been considered. In other words, income from in-
vestments, cafe service, and special enterprises, such as ex-
hibits, industrial funds, etc., has been disregarded, the pur-
pose being to arrive at the amount contributed by communi-
ties to the general permanent work of the respective organiza-
tions dependent upon them for support.
On this basis, from reports on 61 cities, the average amount
contributed per each inhabitant to the city's chief commercial
and civic organization is found to be 25 cents. The highest per
capita financial support reported was in the city of Alliance,
Nebraska, where, with a city population of 5,100, the Alliance
Commercial Club has an annual general income of $5,100, or
at the rate of $1 per inhabitant. The second largest per capita
is found in Minot, North Dakota, where the Minot Association
of Commerce has an annual general income of $10,000, or 98
cents per inhabitant,
A list of the other cities, arranged in order, indicates that
the largest cities do not generally fall in any one class, but
that the results are mixed ; some large cities and some small
ones being near the top, and other large and small cities being
near the bottom.
The Tucson, Arizona, Chamber of Commerce reports an
unusual plan of finance. Under a state statute, enacted
through this chamber's influence, a general tax levy of one-
twentieth of one per cent is made, producing a fund which is
spent for advertising and publicity in aid of the city. Under
a provision of the state constitution, similar to that of most
states, taxing districts are not allowed to turn over funds or
loan credit to organizations. Therefore, in Tucson, the city
manager, one councilman and three of the chamber's directors,
constitute a commission which handles the fund upon the rec-
ommendation of the chamber.
It has proved impossible to secure complete enough finan-
cial statements to classify the per cents of total general outlay
292 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
devoted to various items of administration expense. Perhaps
the most important element of overhead cost, however, was
obtainable. Fifty cities reported the per cent of total general
expenditure devoted to salaries and wages. The average per
cent thus derived is 41, the highest in any case being 80, and
the lowest nineteen. The high figure occurs in a city having
a population of slightly more than 50,000, and the lowest in a
city of 20,000.
Value of Cafe Service
Twelve of the organizations interrogated report the main-
tenance of cafes. These are : The Indianapolis Chamber of Com-
merce, Indianapolis Board of Trade; Washington, Pennsyl-
vania, Board of Trade; Elyria, Ohio, Chamber of Commerce;
Grand Rapids Association of Commerce ; Minot Association of
Commerce; Duluth Commercial Club; Rochester, New York,
Chamber of Commerce; Sioux City Commercial Club; Bing-
hamton, New York, Chamber of Commerce ; Cedar Rapids Com-
mercial Club.
In most of these cities cafes are conducted with a slight
profit, or at least no loss. The daily attendance of members at
luncheon reported, is from a maximum of 200 to a minimum
of fifteen in a small city, the average being about 125. The
per cent of members attending, at least as often as weekly, aver-
aging about 25.
All of the organizations maintaining cafes report this
feature to be of great value. These expressions are used : "high-
est asset," "great value," "very beneficial," "invaluable," "in-
estimable value," "no club complete without," "indispensable,"
etc.
In almost every organization which maintains this feature,
few committee meetings are reported held elsewhere than in
the cafe at the luncheon hour.
The secretaries of most of these organizations report that
a substantial annual appropriation for the maintenance of cafe
service over and above income, if necessary, would be warrant-
ed, the Rochester, New York, Chamber of Commerce stating
that $5,000 a year would thus be well invested. Sioux City,
$1,000 to $1,500 ; Binghamton, $1,000. Only one secretary can
be quoted as stating that the sendee would not be warranted
unless self-supporting.
My questionaire called for an expression of opinion of the
ORGANIZATION COSTS AND RESULTS. 293
abstract value of cafe service to a commercial organization. A
number of associations who now conduct no restaurant believe
the adjunct of value, only three expressing a contrary opinion.
Expense of Membership Work and Loss From Unpaid Dues
I endeavored to secure the per cent of total general ex-
pense devoted by chambers, boards and clubs to solicitation of
new members ; collection of dues and the entertainment of mem-
bers. Twenty-five secretaries furnished figures covering the
item first mentioned. From this information it appears that
an average of 2.28 per cent of general outlay was expended by
the organizations reporting, on the solicitation of new members,
excluding the cost of elaborate campaigns. The highest per
cent reported was eleven, and the lowest none.
In a similar way, out of 34 organizations reporting, the
average expense in the collection of dues is 2.7, the highest
being fifteen per cent, and the lowest none.
Of 34 organizations reporting, the average per cent of total
outlay devoted to the entertainment of members is 2.97, the
highest being 9.75 per cent, and the lowest none.
Forty-one replies were received in answer to the question.
"What was the per cent of loss of total income from dues uncol-
lected by you in the latest fiscal year?" The average of these
replies is 8.2 per cent, the largest being twenty per cent, and
the low r est less than one-third of one per cent. This last quite
remarkable showing was made by the Rochester, New York,
Chamber of Commerce.
In reply to the query, "What per cent of loss would you
consider fair to charge off in a normal year?" the average was
eight per cent, the highest figure given in any one answer being
25 per cent, and the lowest one-half of one per cent.
Budget
In order to determine how generally prevalent is the budget
plan of estimating expenses in advance, and making appropria-
tions for the conduct of organizations on the basis of such esti-
mate, data were secured from 52 secretaries. Of the organiza-
tions represented by them, 28 use the budget plan. Twenty-six
report budgets prepared annually, one semi-annually, and one
quarterly.
Twenty-four report not using the budget. Believing it will
be of interest, as showing a division of opinion with a weight
294 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
of very respectable authority on either side, the names of the
associations which, in the conduct of their finances, do and do
not prepare budgets, are given. Those who do are: Fargo
Commercial Club; Kalamazoo Chamber of Commerce; Madison
Board of Commerce; St. Paul Association of Commerce; Utica
Chamber of Commerce; Cincinnati Chamber 'of Commerce;
Chicago Association of Commerce; Owensboro, Kentucky,
Chamber of Commerce; Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce;
Columbia, South Carolina, Chamber of Commerce; Commercial
Club of Duluth ; Charleston, South Carolina, Chamber of Com-
merce; Rochester, N. Y., Chamber of Commerce; Greater Day-
ton Association; Lawrence, Mass., Chamber of Commerce;
Alton, 111., Board of Trade; Washington, Pa., Board of Trade;
Alliance, Neb., Commercial Club; Kewanee, 111., Civic Club;
Commercial Club of Kansas City ; Bluefield, West Va., Cham-
ber of Commerce; Springfield, Mass., Board of Trade; Erie,
Pa., Board of Commerce, and the Columbus Chamber of Com-
merce.
Those who do not: Merchants' Association of New York;
Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce ; Wilkes-Barre Chamber of
Commerce; Peoria Association of Commerce; Terre Haute
Chamber of Commerce; Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce;
Minot, North Dakota, Association of Commerce; Fairmont,
West Va., Chamber of Commerce; LaFayette Chamber of Com-
merce; Greensboro, North Carolina, Chamber of Commerce;
Rochester, Minn., Commercial Club; Glean, New York, Cham-
ber of Commerce; York, Pa., Chamber of Commerce; Joliet,
111., Association of Commerce; Kankakee, 111., Commercial As-
sociation; Haverhill, Mass., Board of Trade; Clarksburg, West
Va., Board of Trade; Akron Chamber of Commerce; Elyria,
Ohio, Chamber of Commerce; Sterling and Rock Falls, 111.,
Commercial Club; Binghamton Chamber of Commerce; Rock-
ford, 111., Chamber of Commerce; New Brunswick, N. J., Board
of Trade, and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Commercial Club.
Somewhat diffidently, I venture to offer an expression of
personal opinion in this matter. Where the budget plan is
used, I advocate the desirability of preparing, as does the
Columbus Chamber of Commerce, budgets as often as quarter-
ly. This custom makes it possible to foresee and take into ac-
count many expenditures which could not be considered on a
yearly budget plan, and permits a very close scrutiny of ex-
ORGANIZATION COSTS AND RESULTS. 295
penditures which I have found, from my own experience, re-
sults in substantial and proper saving. In addition, the fre-
quent recurrence of the process of budget making keeps finances
constantly in mind, and renders the process of making esti-
mates much less onerous than it would otherwise be. I am also
confident that it makes a comparison of estimated and actual
expenses from month to month much more accurate and sig-
nificant.
Expediency of a Surplus
Two years ago I visited some of the leading organizations
of the country. In one city I learned that its commercial and
civic organization was accumulating, out of an income sub-
stantially in excess of its needs, a handsome surplus. This
made a deep impression upon me. Shortly afterward I spoke
of it to one of the officers of this association, a man whose
opinion is widely respected.
His comment was that the accumulation of a surplus tend-
ed to make an organization independent, and in danger of fail-
ing to respond to the desires of its members. He indicated
that the healthiest condition for any association was that in
which no income should be received in excess of needed ex-
penditures, or, in other words, it was best to feel the need of
making good according to the wishes of the members from
year to year, and thereby to secure from them, currently, the
needed funds.
Having this situation in view, I included in my inquiry
blank these questions "Have you accumulated a surplus?"
"Do you feel that there is a danger of any organization tend-
ing to become too independent in case it has a substantial in-
come from investments?"
In reply to these questions, sixteen secretaries reported the
accumulation of more or less substantial surpluses. Thirty-
eight replies were received to the request for opinion. Of these,
30 stated that in their judgment there was little or no danger
of independence or unresponsiveness due to the accumulation
of a surplus, provided an organization's affairs were wisely
managed. Seven stated that they deemed it unwise to have
an endowment, and in one answer the possibility was recog-
nized without an expression of opinion.
Among the replies, the following are interesting: Mr.
Howard Strong, of the Minneapolis Civic and Commerce Asso-
296 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
elation, says, "There is probably little danger of an organiza-
tion without an endowment becoming financially independent."
Mr. Denis F. Howe, of the Utica Chamber of Commerce,
says, "It is as bad for an organization as for a government to
have a surplus. You are better off if set a hot pace in financial
matters."
Mr. Bruce Kennedy, of the Montgomery, Alabama, Cham-
ber of Commerce, says that the danger of independence from
an endowment is very real, and that his organization aims
never to have one.
Many of the gentlemen reporting no surplus express a
conviction of the desirability of building up one, and express
the intention of doing so in the future.
The weight of the testimony is decidedly against the exist-
ence of a danger in saving and laying aside a balance.
The Ways and Means Plan
In order to test the value of the so-called "ways and
means" form of organization, I sought to ascertain how many
bodies maintained ways and means committees or membership
councils, as they are now more generally called ; an opinion as
to the value of the plan, what per cent of divisions were active
where the plan was used; whether, in the judgment of the men
interrogated, the plan was valuable for a large organization,
for a small one, and whether it was recommended for any new
organization. Out of 55 replies received, the use of the plan
in seventeen organizations was reported, and in 38 its non-use.
The use of the term "ways and means committee" was, in
many instances, objected to as a misnomer, as to me it seems
to be. In many instances the name "membership council" is
used. In one instance, "public affairs committee," and another,
"committee of a hundred."
Secretaries of seventeen organizations employing the plan,
in all except two cases, testify that it is valuable. Mr. Miller,
of Chicago, says : "We do not believe that the plan could fail
of success if carefully worked out in a large or small organiza-
tion."
Mr. Weller, of Erie Board of Commerce : "Decisions based
on the action of our membership council have been well sus-
tained by public opinion."
Mr. Foss, of Springfield (Mass.) Board of Trade: "A
ORGANIZATION COSTS AND RESULTS. 297
comparison of the period since we had such a committee with
that before the committee was formed proves its worth invalu-
able."
Mr. Hackett, of Rochester (Minn.) Commercial Club, says.
"Most important. 7 '
Mr. Ketchuin, of Washington (Pa.) Board of Trade, says:
"Of inestimable value is our initiative and referendum body,
open to the public for kicks and suggestions, and a good 'buff-
er^ for the secretary and the organization."
The other organizations in which the plan is used and
commended are: Merchants' Association of New York; Madi-
son Board of Commerce; Peoria Association of Commerce;
Montgomery Chamber of Commerce; Kansas City Commercial
Club; Grand Rapids Association of Commerce; Commercial
Club of Duluth ; Alton, Illinois, Board of Trade.
Twenty-seven of those not using the plan express no opin-
ion of its value. Five of them condemn the plan, some of their
comments being as follows: "The board of directors should
prevail ;" "The plan might cause friction ;" "The value is ques-
tionable;" "Erects barrier between the directors and the mem-
bership ;" "Very poor, as usually carried on ; wastes much valu-
able time, is not required." Two organizations who do not
use the .plan have tried it, found it wanting, and given it up.
Five who do not have the plan believe in it, and expect to form
membership councils.
Of the seventeen organizations reporting as using this
plan, ten reported on the per cent of divisions active. Four
say all are active, one says 1 nearly all, and another "all in a
way;" one says 98 per cent, another 80 per cent, another 76
per cent, and another 50 per cent.
Ten of the secretaries believe it valuable for both large and
small organizations. Seven are of the opinion that it is of sub-
stantially less value for a small than for a large organization,
the reason, of course, being that with few members it is less
difficult to preserve contact. Seven of the secretaries who do
not use the plan say it is valuable for large, but not so valuable
for small associations. Out of all those replying, seventeen
would recommend the plan for new organizations in general,
and eight would not.
Mr. Ernest H. Rowe, of the Jersey City Chamber of Com-
merce, says he believes the plan a transitional expedient, and
298 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
that we have not yet found the best permanent plan to interest
members.
Mr. Lewis, of the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce:
"Of some value. The Indianapolis Commercial Club tried out
the plan with considerable success, but interest languished."
Mr. Strong, of Minneapolis: "A sort of fifth wheel; use-
ful, perhaps, when it is difficult to keep in close contact with
the entire membership."
Mr. Shafer, of the Bluefield (West Virginia) Chamber of
Commerce, suggests that organizations in small cities "have
ways and means committee as executive committee, the latter
formed from heads of five to seven departments."
In so far as the experience and opinions of the 55 organi-
zations covered by this questionaire are concerned, the de-
sirability of the ways and means plan for large organizations
is unquestionably upheld. As to small organizations the ques-
tion is not settled.
Importance of the Civic and Social as Contrasted with the
Commercial and Industrial
In my preparation I sought to secure as precise and sig-
nificant data as possible, dealing with the tendency wjiich I
believe exists to place a growing emphasis on the civic and
social interests of communities as contrasted with the commer-
cial and industrial. Forty-one correspondents definitely an-
swered the question, "Does your organization spend more
money in civic and social or in commercial and industrial?"
In 21 cases commercial and industrial enterprises have been
favored in financial outlay. In nine, civic; in two, civic and
social, and in nine, the material and spiritual were equally sup-
ported.
In reply to the question, "In which of these fields has your
organization accomplished most for your community?" fourteen
replied commercial and industrial, thirteen civic and social,
and thirteen both about equally.
Seventeen secretaries reported a larger interest on the part
of members in commercial and industrial; seven in civic and
social, and seventeen in both about equally.
This question was asked : "In an ideal organization, which
do you consider more important, the civic and social or the
commercial and industrial, and why?" Eighteen replies advo-
cated a balance in which both should be about equally support-
ORGANIZATION COSTS AND RESULTS. 299
ed. Fifteen definitely say that the greater emphasis should be
put upon the civic and social. Four only, bespeak a first place
for the commercial and industrial. Five insist that the social
should have no consideration, but should be left to independent
bodies with purely social aims.
It must not be forgotten that among the organizations in-
terrogated there is a difference in history, structure, and con-
dition with reference to other associations existing in their re-
spective communities. It follows that the comparison of views,
while interesting, is conclusive only in one respect, namely:
there is a growing opinion that in an ideal organization, the
civic and social should be at least as important as the commer-
cial and industrial, and the tendency is to make it of even
more importance.
Advertising Media
For anyone who has definite and convincing ideas of the
value, both absolute and relative, of various advertising media
for any purpose, I have always had a very high respect. I have
always had a great interest in advertising as an abstract sub-
ject. I have never yet had called to my attention a single
instance in which more than a few persons, out of many con-
cerned, could reach an agreement on a question of this kind,
where the answer did not lie upon the surface.
Believing also that this question was one of practical in-
terest in general to commercial secretaries, I raised certain
questions about the value of advertising media, the answers
to which, I hoped, might result in drawing and recording, for
your benefit, at least a few definite conclusions. In this hope
I have been disappointed. There may, however, be something
of enlightenment in the following data :
Of something over 40 organizations who were good enough
to reply to my query on this subject, 27 stated that they did no
advertising at all. These 27 include pretty generally the larger
cities of the list. The others, that is to say, some fifteen or
twenty, and very generally organizations in smaller cities, re-
ported having spent small amounts, in no case, except one,
exceeding |500, on advertising of various kinds.
Twenty-seven report that their newspapers donate no dis-
play advertising space. In fifteen cities newspapers do give
such space. These cities are Fairmont, West Virginia; Fargo,
N. D.; Madison, Wis. ; Cincinnati and Youngstown, Ohio; Joli-
300 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
et, 111.; Rhinelander, Wis. ; Washington, Pa.; Kankakee, 111.;
Haverhill, Mass. ; Alliance, Neb. ; Indianapolis, Ind. ; Owens-
boro, Ky. ; Jacksonville and Rockford, 111.
Thirty-three secretaries were kind enough to express their
opinions as to the best advertising medium for industrial de-
velopment purposes. Nine favored trade journals; seven, met-
ropolitan newspapers; eight, news stories, which, of course,
are not advertising at all, but none the less interesting as sug-
gestions ; eight, direct communications or negotiation, and one,
traveling salesmen.
This question was submitted : "Briefly, what is your opin-
ion of the value of newspaper advertising for commercial or-
ganization purposes?" While the question is so general that
110 great value attaches to the answers, it may be interesting to
know that out of 34 replies, eighteen definitely recommended
the medium with such expressions as "best available," "good."
"great value," "best," "invaluable," "good for campaigns," etc.
Sixteen denied this value, using such expressions as "n. g.,"
"derned little," "slight," "negligible," etc.
In an attempted comparison of the value of bill boards,
trade papers, display space in general magazines, signs, and
street car placards, the following results were obtained : Bill
boards, eleven say good, eight say no or little good, three fair,
eight do not know,, one "varies according to organization."
Trade papers : One best, fifteen good, six fair, two no good.
General magazine : One best, five good, four fair, eleven no
good.
Signs: Seventeen good, seven no good, one small.
Street car placards : Nine good, eight fair, seven no good
or very questionable.
I sought to secure information concerning trade or other
boards or associations organized as part of commercial bodies,
and having authority in matters affecting their own trade in-
terests. From the data secured it appears that out of 52 re-
plies, 25 organizations report having no such subsidiary organi-
zations. The others, 27 in number, carry on various trade and
other activities in this way. Seventeen secretaries report retail
merchants' boards. Other activities commonly mentioned are:
Traffic, wholesalers and jobbers; farm bureaus; retail grocers;
manufacturers; builders and contractors; bureaus of munici-
pal research ; ad clubs, etc.
CHAPTER XVII.
Meetings
When to Hold and How to Conduct Meetings
By H. V. EVA
The question of meetings when to hold them, how to con-
duct them, how best to dispose of the business is one that
confronts every commercial organization.
The organization without good meetings that is meet-
ings attended by a representative percentage of the member-
ship of the organization or committee is unable to do ef-
fective work. Secretaries who have grappled with the task of
increasing attendance at meetings kno\v the difficulties evolved.
I am going to give you my own experience that is the experi-
ence of the Commercial Club of Duluth.
Like most commercial organizations ours started on the
basis of pure democracy. The constitution and by-laws pro-
vide for a monthly meeting of the club and also an annual
meeting. Also in providing for meetings on call of the president
in this method we encountered the difficulties other organiza-
tions have met. The attendance was not satisfactory. Too
much business came up and subjects were turned into unsys-
tematic discussion. Meetings ran too late and attendance di-
minished in consequence. Committees were appointed as sub-
jects came up requiring committee attention. The personnel
of the committees dealing with related subjects varied, and lack
of stability was the result. Meetings began to lose effectiveness.
We couldn't seem "to do business' 7 as it should be done. We
saw that a change had to be made.
The change was made and it brought representative gov-
ernment. In the large commercial organizations, as in the
nation, pure democracy has proved unwieldy. Manifestly the
people the voters of Duluth or of Omaha could not be gath-
ered together every week to discuss legislative matters and to
adopt resolutions and ordinances. Confusion would result.
In a lesser degree the same confusion arises in a commercial
organization of 500 or 1,500 or 2,500 members. The confusion
301
302 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
destroys efficiency. The commercial organization is a public
institution. It deals with questions of public interest. Usual-
ly they are of such a nature that all men are not familiar with
them with their causes and effects. Almost every question
that arises requires investigation and study. Investigation and
study through the club meeting are not possible. A smaller
body, less unwieldy and less impulsive is necessary though it
should be representative of and impowered to speak for the
whole club. To solve the problem of efficiency at meetings,
we found that three elements were needed system in organi-
zation, fidelity to duties, and stability in committees. We have
all three.
The Public Affairs Committee
The public business of the Commercial Club of Duluth is
now conducted through a public affairs committee. The first
committee appointed about nine years ago, consisted of 40
members. It was increased year by year until now it numbers
150. The chairman of the public affairs committee is named
by the president of the club, who is elected by the members.
The president also names the members of the committee, with-
out making any designation as to sub-committee duties. After
the ] 1st is furnished, the chairman assigns the members to sub-
committees with reference to their fitness for dealing with the
particular subjects to which they are assigned. For instance,
our committee on agriculture is made up of men who have
spent their lives in furthering the agricultural development of
the country around Duluth. Our committee on retail coopera-
tion consists of men prominent in the retail trade. Our educa-
tional committee takes in the President of the State Normal
School and the superintendent of the city schools in addition
to other men interested in educational matters. So it goes
through the list. The harbors and waterways committee is
composed of men familiar with the harbor and with harbor
matters. Every sub-committee is appointed with reference to
the qualifications of the men for dealing intelligently with
subjects that may be assigned to them.
The public affairs committee as a whole meets once each
month on the call of the chairman. We try to have these meet-
ings regularly so that the members may get into the habit of
attending. Furthermore, we have them at 6 :15 in the evening
and they open with dinner. Men are able to go to the meeting
MEETINGS. 303
right from their business, without going home first and hav-
ing the excuse of being disinclined to leave home after once
getting there.
The business of the club is done through sub-committees.
The meeting of the whole public affairs committee is held only
that all may keep in touch with what each sub-committee is do-
ing. The sub-committees report in order. Questions on which
there is need for an expression of the Avhole committee are pre-
sented in the form of recommendations. There is no "gag
rule." Any man may talk on any subject. The meetings are
open to all members of the club and even to the citizens gen-
erally should they care to attend. Our experience has been
that the whole committee, representative of the club, is usually
satisfied with the recommendation of a sub-committee. They
know the members of the sub-committees; know that no report
is made except on a firm basis of knowledge, and are satisfied
to uphold the position of the sub-committee. I say usually, for,
of course, there are occasions when the sub-committee clashes
with the views of other members of the whole committee, but
the clashes are much fewer than they would be w r ere subjects
brought before the club in half-baked form without investiga-
tion or study.
Sub-Committee Meetings
The sub-committees meet on the call of their chairman.
The frequency of the meetings depends largely upon the nature
of the committee, the season of the year and the subjects up for
its consideration. I have known committees to meet daily for
a week when pressing subjects were before them. Also I have
known committees to go some months without a meeting, but
they are very few. We try to have the sub-committees hold
one or two meetings a month, anyway, for the sub-committees
initiate work as well as accept other work by reference from
the public affairs committee.
We find it best to hold the sub-committee meetings at the
noon hour, the meetings taking the form of a luncheon. In
that way the members of the committee do not lose any time
from their business as usually they lunch at the club daily
and the luncheon meeting takes but very little more time than
luncheon alone.
At the monthly meeting of the public affairs committee we
try to have the work done so that the meeting will be over in
304 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
time for the members to go home at a reasonable hour, and
very often the meeting is over in time to attend the theaters.
At each meeting of a sub-committee either the secretary,
assistant secretary or some other member of the club staff is
present and minutes are faithfully kept. In that way there is
no unsystematic losing of subjects or doubt about previous
action. There is a docket kept for the whole public affairs
committee. Every subject goes on the docket, its reference is
noted, its progress followed and we know just what is being
done in every line of work in which the club is interested. The
sub-committee that fails to attend to a subject referred to is
promptly called to account if no report is made at the monthly
meeting.
There you have the systematic organization. There may be
imperfections in the organization, but they are not such as to
make us dissatisfied with the whole. I believe we have as effi-
cient, as simple and as thorough an organization as one could
wish for in a city of the size of ours. It is a business-like or-
ganization, evolved in line with the needs and conveniences of
the busy business men who make up the organization.
The Question of Attendance
The question of obtaining attendance at meetings has been
solved, although it was a long, hard pull. In the first place we
have hammered away on the idea that every man owes a little
of his time and ability to public service, and service is obtained
mainly on that basis. We have made every effort to meet the
convenience of the members. We have furthermore created a
note of personal interest by naming on committees men who
have some special interest in the subjects likely to be assigned.
We arouse his interest through his business or through his
hobby and when a man is really interested in the public work
he is called upon to do, the chances are that he will attend to it.
Then we have the example. The biggest business men in
Duluth are on our committees and are the most faithful and ac-
tive workers. In fact it is usually true that the man of larger
affairs has more public spirit than the man of small affairs.
However, that may be the example, of a group of men who have
faithfully served the public through the commercial club for
many years and it has been a great aid to us in obtaining serv-
ice -and attention to the work of our club.
MEETINGS. 305
Speaking from my own personal experience, I think a mis-
take is made in attempting to conduct the entire business of
a big commercial organization through the general club meet-
ing. It is easier to get a representative attendance of a commit-
tee of 150 members than it is to obtain a good representation
of our members of 1,200 at regular meetings. And when action
is taken by any gathering that is not representative of the or-
ganization, such action loses much of its effect through that
fact.
Where the Real Work Should Be Done
I would advise that meetings be not burdened up with
business. As many matters should be disposed of by sub-com-
mittees as possible. When meetings run too late, interest lags,
care is not exercised and injudicious action is often taken. The
interests of our club, and I think it is true of most clubs in
cities of the size of Duluth, are too numerous and too complex
for every member of the club to be in touch with the intimate
details of each. There is where the sub-committee acts as a
great aid. We have sub-committees on agriculture, building
trades, city history, city planning, educational cooperation,
finance, good roads, harbors and waterways, homecrofting, in-
dustrial, legal aid, legislation, municipal, neighborhood clubs,
parks and playgrounds, publicity and statistics, public health,
remedial loan association, retail cooperation, smoke prevention,
state and county cooperation, summer attractions, street im-
provement, trade extension, traffic, taxation and wholesale co-
operation, besides an executive committee and an advisory com-
mittee. Manifestly it would be impossible for the members of
the public affairs committee to keep in touch with every minute
detail of the work done by these sub-committees if the mem-
bers of the whole committee were called upon to do so ; the club
would soon lose much of its efficiency and influence.
As stated, our constitution provides for one yearly meet-
ing of the whole membership of the club. The annual meeting
is held on the evening of the club election day, and we usually
have a good attendance. That is no doubt aided by the inter-
est in the results of the election, as we always have more candi-
dates for directors than there are places to be filled.
The annual election provides a splendid opportunity of
getting the club's work before the members in concise form in
reports. However, the public affairs committee meetings are
306 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
our business meetings. The fact that they are open to all the
membership of the club, robs them of what might be objection-
able exclusiveness ; they serve the same purpose as the club
meeting, but they have many times the efficiency.
I believe each club should settle the matter of meetings
for itself. Conditions vary and they must be met with a knowl-
edge of the local situation. In some cities the noon meeting is
impracticable. In other cities night meetings fail to draw
crowds. Each club must study its own needs and experience.
There is only one general rule that may be applied in all cases.
If you are not satisfied with your present system, you should
seek for something better. The club without good live meet-
ings, rich in results of benefits to the community, is not doing
the work that should be done by a live commercial organization.
Committee Technique
Conservation of Committee Energy
By S. CHRISTY MEAD
The modern commercial organization, whether of larger or
smaller dimensions, is the expression in commercial commu-
nity affairs of the operation of the law of cooperation and co-
ordination of effort on the part of individual units for greater
efficiency in the accomplishment of results beneficial to the
Community. The operation of such an organization calls into
}lay an influence of peculiar potency, pregnant with great pos-
sibilities for the future development of the community in which
it is located.
Power, however, when permitted to run uncontrolled may
produce incalculable harm, while merely partial control or
mis-control of power results in a waste of valuable energy which
is injurious to the community in the proportion in which that
waste is permitted.
The question of proper control and direction of this energy,
and of the conservation of the human resources from which that
energy springs, is the most important problem in connection
with the conduct of commercial organization work. The solu-
tion of that problem should be such as to produce the maximum
of results with the minimum of demands upon the time and
energy of the members, officers and staff of an organization,
COMMITTEE TECHNIQUE. 307
whereby the greatest degree of efficiency with the least possible
loss of energy and motion shall be secured.
I know of no subject, therefore, more important for study
and consideration on the part of the secretary or administra-
tive officer than that of conserving this energy and thereby mag-
nifying this efficiency.
The Secretary's Function
It is his function primarily, to suggest to his organization
the proper steps for this conservation. His suggestion will be
heeded, however, largely in proportion to the effectiveness with
which he has applied this principle of conservation to himself
and to the conduct of the work which falls under his immediate
and personal jurisdiction, whether it is performed by himself
individually, or through the medium of paid assistants of a
larger or smaller number. Therefore, the application of the
principle of conservation, from the secretary's standpoint,
should be made, in the first instance, to himself and the conduct
of his own work.
He should have a complete comprehension of the nature
of his duties and of the problems in the community in which
he is serving, in order that he may be able to determine how
best to plan for the conservation of the time and energy of him-
self and his employees in performing that work, and to provide
for the greatest possible volume of effective operations within
a given time. Systematization of office methods, coupled with
such a clear comprehension of the task and of the specific prob-
lems arising from time to time, is his prime duty, first to him-
self, second, to his profession, and, third, to the organization
which he serves.
But the secretary and his paid organization merely consti-
tute machinery through which the organization itself is work-
ing. They are the tools of the members composing the organi-
zation, and the secretary who fails to realize this fact and con-
duct his work accordingly stands in his own light and fails to
live up to the standards of his profession. It is not my purpose
here to dwell in further detail upon the application of the prin-
ciple of conservation by the secretary to his own mental proc-
esses and to the conduct of his own technical work, because
in one important phase after another such application is being
discussed in various papers presented by my contemporaries.
308 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
Source of Energy
The vital source of energy in any organization resides in
its membership and not in its paid staff. The ability to con-
serve that energy and to utilize it for his organization with
the greatest degree of effectiveness and with a minimum of
demand upon the time of the business men who constitute the
membership is the most valuable single asset which any secre-
tary may possess.
The main channel through which potential energy stored
in the membership reservoir may be rendered active and effec-
tive is through the committees of the organization, and I, there-
fore, purpose to discuss somewhat in detail my conception of
some methods of applying the principle of conservation to com-
mittee energy.
Two observations should be made as a preliminary to the
discussion of the subject :
1. The limitations imposed upon the secretary through in-
adequate financial and consequent mechanical assistance will
require the modification of any ideal or perfect plan of com-
mittee operation so as to fit it within the confines of the limita-
tion in any particular instance. The ability of the secretary to
adap't the principles to the limitations of a specific case is one
of the tests of his qualifications.
2. Each individual differs in his personality from each
other individual. Committees are merely aggregates of indi-
viduals, and, therefore, the composite personality presented by
one committee differs from the composite personality presented
by another committee. The application of a plan to conserve
committee energies should take this fact into consideration,
and any principles of conserving committee energy, in their
application, should conform or be moulded to the personality of
each separate committee.
Conditions Precedent
The conservation of committee energy is predicated upon
the assumption that that energy exists and can be made avail-
able. This presumes certain conditions conducive to energy and
its conservation.
First and foremost among these conditions is the fact that
the committee must be working in and as a part of a general
organization which, in its method of structure and operation,
COMMITTEE TECHNIQUE. 309
is effective in accomplishing results for its community, based
upon the recommendations which the committee has presented
as a result of its painstaking care in study and investigation.
Effectiveness of the organization in achieving results, and
thereby crystallizing into actuality the recommendations of a
given committee for the permanent benefit of the commerce,
industry, or welfare of the community, greatly stimulates the
interest, activity and energy of the business men who are serv-
ing, without compensation, upon the committee.
Converse!} 7 , ineffectiveness in doing things and accomplish-
ing results cannot fail to discourage the members of the com-
mittee, and thereby to destroy its energy beyond any power of
conservation on the part of the secretary or administrative
officer. The reward for the effort which the committeeman
puts forth lies chiefly in the accomplishment of that which he
has recommended.
A second condition precedent to the conservation of com-
mittee energy relates to the composition of the committee it-
self, and depends upon the selection of the most efficient and
competent members available.
Every committee should be made up primarily of business
men of general intelligence, sound judgment and general ex-
perience, and should include among its members some with
special knowledge of, and special experience in, the subjects
falling under the jurisdiction of the committee. It is always
helpful that there should be among the members of the given
committee at least one man representing each of the parties
affected by the subject falling under the committee's jurisdic-
tion, but it is always better that there should be a preponder-
ance of disinterested businessmen.
The advantage to be gained by this practice lies in the fact
that all phases of the subject are insured careful consideration
in the deliberations of the committee with the result that the
recommendations finally decided upon are made in view of the
rights of all parties concerned. It is much better to have these
conflicting rights thoroughly considered in committee delibera-
tions rather than to have them first come to attention after the
report of the committee has been rendered and is before the gov-
erning body for final consideration and action.
But above all, it is necessary that every committee should
be made up of men of broad mind who will test all proposed
310 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
recommendations by the principle of a square deal ; or in other
words, men who will always conscientiously endeavor to ob-
tain a satisfactory answer to the question, "What is right and
fair for all parties concerned?"
A third condition precedent to the conservation of com-
mittee energy lies in the selection of proper bases of committee
jurisdiction. This jurisdiction should rest upon principles and
subjects not upon business or geographical interests. But
whatever the basis of committee jurisdiction may be, it should
be so clearly defined that each committee may comprehend the
field for which it is responsible in its investigation, so that
conflict of jurisdiction between different committees of the same
organization may be avoided.
Jurisdiction based upon interests, either business or geo-
graphical, almost inevitably leads to emphasis of selfish mo-
tives, and to. the effort perhaps unconscious, but nevertheless
present to attain results through the activities of the organi-
zation for the benefit of the particular interest which the com-
mitteemen represent.
Committee energy and efficiency also bear a close rela-
tionship to the question of length of term of committee mem-
bership. There are two practices in vogue in this matter : the
first providing for a short, fixed term, and the second for a
continuing, indefinite term.
The reason ordinarily advanced for the use of the short,
fixed term is that thereby a greater number of members of an
organization may be brought into active work, and that the
interest of the membership in the organization and its support
is correspondingly increased.
It is fundamentally true that a man takes an interest in
any movement in proportion to what he puts into it in time,
effort or money, and yet the average business man hardly equips
himself to become most useful to his organization as a mem-
ber of a committee before he has served upon that committee for
one or two years.
From the membership standpoint alone, this short term
plan may have some merit, but from the standpoint of efficiency
and the conservation of the energy of a committee, the plan of a
continuing, indefinite term seems to be much more desirable.
By this latter process, the members of a given committee,
the jurisdiction of which is predicated upon principles and sub-
COMMITTEE TECHNIQUE. 311
jects, gradually become technically educated in respect to those
subjects with the result that the organization is, after a while,
equipped with a committee of disinterested experts, serving
without compensation. The continuity of term also preserves
continuity of the work of the committee and insures consistency
in its successive recommendations relative to the same subject.
Facilities for Committee Work
Most of the work of committees is done in committee meet-
ings. Experience differs as to the method of holding such meet-
ings. In some organizations committee meetings are held at
stated intervals, while in other organizations such meetings are
held from time to time, as the subject falling under its juris-
diction becomes active. The meetings under this plan are called
under order from the chairman.
It seems to me that the plan of stated regular meetings
possesses certain disadvantages which do not pertain to the
plan of holding meetings subject to call. If the committee's
jurisdiction is predicated upon principles and subjects, the mat-
ters falling within that jurisdiction do not provide a steady and
continuous flow of work, with the result that at times the sub-
jects will be very active and at other times, for some intervals,
the subjects will practically be dormant.
The operation of the plan of stated regular meetings, ir-
respective of the activity of the subjects falling under the com-
mittee's jurisdiction, seems to be conducive to loss of energy
in two respects; first, in the secretary and his office staff, be-
cause every meeting held or postponed entails time and expense
in the office machinery, and second, and more important, in
the members of the committee, by unnecessarily consuming
their time and attention. The member of a committee is pre-
sumed to be a man actively engaged, and more or less engrossed,
in the conduct of his own personal business affairs. Conse-
quently, any demand upon his time in connection with the com-
mittee meeting, where the subject to be considered is not of
really serious importance, is an unnecessary sacrifice of time
on his part. The unnecessary consumption of his time is sure
to discourage him, and, therefore, to reduce his contribution of
energy to the committee, and at the same time to reduce the
contribution of energy on the part of every other member of
the committee.
312 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
When, however, committee meetings are not 'held at stated
intervals, but are subject to call as the importance and activity
of the subject matter under the jurisdiction of the committee
may warrant, the office work and expense is reduced to a mini-
mum, the time and energy of the committeeman is conserved,
and his interest and effectiveness stimulated.
Under the operation of the plan of meetings subject to call,
the day and hour of the committee meeting should be selected
to meet the greatest convenience of the greatest number of
members on the committee.
Similarly, the place of meeting should be adapted to the
convenience of the committee in order to obtain the greatest
amount of interest and energy on the part of the committeemen.
Preferably, every meeting of each committee should be held in
the headquarters of the organization. It is helpful, both to the
members of the staff and to the membership of the association,
to have a maximum number of members visiting the headquar-
ters on association business as frequently as possible. If it is
inconvenient for a given committee to meet in the headquarters
of the association some other place should be selected, provided
a greater degree of interest and activity on the part of the mem-
bers of the committee may be insured thereby.
In connection with the effective deliberation of the com-
mittee, the character and efficiency of the special assistance is
most important. In the first place, there must be committee
secretarial work. Whether this is done by the general secretary
of the organization or by some assistant delegated to serve the
particular committee, he should be a man of keen intelligence
in regard to the subjects falling under the jurisdiction of his
committee, and must be accurate and efficient in preparing
preliminaries, in tactfully facilitating deliberations, in colla-
ting the results thereof, in formulating, if instructed, clear,
concise and convincing reports and recommendations, in keep-
ing records and minutes of committee meetings, and in realiz-
ing that he is the instrument of, and not the dictator to, his
committee.
To be efficient, he should be tactful, self-respecting, and at
all times alert in keeping watch over the subjects falling under
the jurisdiction of the committee and in advising the chairman
when those subjects require committee deliberation at a meet-
ing.
COMMITTEE TECHNIQUE. 313
Another form of assistance from the staff which is very
effective in stimulating and conserving committee energy con-
sists in carefully preparing a digest, or analysis, of the sub-
jects to be considered at the committee meeting, which digest
best serves its purpose when sent to each member of the com-
mittee for his information before the time of the committee's
deliberations.
This plan requires a skill and ability on the part of the
secretary far greater than required for the mere mechanical
recording duties, but the operation of this plan excites the com-
mitteeman's interest, tends to clarify his ideas, facilitates the
orderly conduct of the committee's deliberations when in ses-
sion, conserves the member's time, tends to increase attendance
at committee meetings, and is conducive to concentration of
thought and to sound conclusions on the part of the committee.
The committees being composed of business men, most of
whom have not the time even if they have the training for ana-
lytical or research work, it is most important that upon many
subjects some machinery should be provided through which
analytical or research work may be conducted which will sup-
ply a fact basis upon which the judgment of the committee may
be exercised and its conclusions may rest. Some of the larger
organizations are able to equip themselves with technical mem-
bers of the staff to perform this service for the various commit-
tees. Many organizations are not able so to equip themselves
and the duty either to do that work himself or to obtain the
cooperation of some public-spirited expert, then devolves upon
the secretary, although in some instances the chairman or a
member of the committee will undertake this rather arduous
work. By whomever this work is done it must be accurate and
comprehensive in order that the committee's judgment may be
sound and its conclusions may commend themselves to the gov-
erning body and to the community which its organization is
serving. This character of research work for the committees
should deal essentially and exclusively with facts, and should
be free from personal opinion or personal bias.
In dealing with subjects of a technical character, it is from
time to time important that technical expert assistance to the
committee should be provided. Where the financial resources
of the institution permit, this expert assistance may be retained
and paid for, but where the financial resources will not permit,
314 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
then again an opportunity for important service opens to the
secretary.
In addition to these fundamental methods of assistance to
the committee, there is, of course, to be expected such steno-
graphic and clerical service as may be needed or as the facili-
ties and financial limitations of the institution may afford.
Methods of Committee Work
The primary function of a committee is to investigate a
subject of importance pertaining to its field of jurisdiction and,
based upon the facts and conclusions drawn therefrom, to make
recommendations to the governing body as to what should be
the attitude of the organization upon the question of principle
or policy involved.
Through the instrumentality of the digest of the subject
sent in advance of the meeting, and through the results of ana-
lytical research work made for or by the committee, its delib-
erations can best be concluded through a process whereby each
member of the committee individually studies and reflects upon
the material prepared, so as to insure on his part a compre-
hension of the subject, a sense of its relation with other sub-
jects, and an understanding of the effect of any given line of
action to be recommended.
If the matter is one of wide interest a very valuable as-
sistance to the committee arises from the holding of committee
hearings at an announced day and hour, at which the members
of the organization or the business men affected may have an
opportunity to narrate their experiences, express their opin-
ions, and declare their individual recommendations.
From the information thus obtained by the two steps al-
ready mentioned, the committee then has a basis for mature
and intelligent discussion of the subject at an executive session,
after which the committee will arrive at conclusions, and then,
either themselves or through their secretary, will formulate an
analysis of the facts and a statement of their recommendations
into a report to be presented for the consideration of the gov-
erning body of the organization.
The operation of the committee hearing is not only bene-
ficial to the committee itself, but it also has a very stimulating
effect upon the entire membership of the organization. It is,
therefore, an excellent plan to foster as much as possible the
holding of such committee hearings.
COMMITTEE TECHNIQUE. 315
But in addition to the investigative and recommendative
functions of the committee, it has a secondary duty of an ad-
ministrative nature. After its report and recommendations
have been considered by the governing body, and the attitude
of the organization to the subject in question has thereby been
determined, it becomes the duty of the organization to endeavor
to accomplish the result thus found to be desirable or neces-
sary.
The modern commercial organization is formed primarily
for the purpose of accomplishing results in the improvement
of business conditions and welfare of the community and in
raising the standards of business morality and ethics. The
earlier stage of committee work concerning any subject is, in
that sense, a preliminary stage, while the latter stage of en-
deavoring to give effect to the conclusions reached is the final
and more important stage.
Herein lies the secondary, or administrative, usefulness of
the committee. Many of the subjects of committee considera-
tion have to do with legislation, others with the conduct of
municipal affairs, as they relate to commerce and industry, and
others with trade practices.
In all these matters the accomplishment of the results de-
termined to be desirable is insured only by cooperation. In
this connection, the committee, with its full knowledge of the
subject derived from careful study and deliberation which it
has given thereto, is usually best equipped to present the mat-
ter in hand to legislative committees and to other business men
in the community.
The opportunity for the secretary, as chief administrative
officer, to marshal and utilize these forces for the accomplish-
ment of results is one of the greatest opportunities which comes
to him. His ability to grasp such opportunities and crystallize
them into actualities to a very considerable extent measures the
degree of his usefulness to his organization and to his commu-
nity.
Conclusion
Summary Conservation of Committee Energies
1. Conditions Precedent.
A. A general organization effective for accomplishing results after com-
mittee recommendations have been adopted.
1. Effectiveness stimulates interest activity and energy in committee-
men.
316 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
2. Ineffectiveness discourages and thereby decreases efficiency in com-
mitteemen.
B. Effectiveness in Selecting Committeemen.
1. Men of general intelligence.
2. Men of sound judgment.
3. Men of general experience.
4. Business men of special knowledge of subject.
5. Business men of special experience in the subject.
6. Men who represent various parties affected by the subject, with a
preponderance, however, of disinterested business men.
7. Men who will test all recommendations by the principle of a square
deal, or, in other words, by what is right and fair for all parties
concerned.
C. Basis of Committee Jurisdiction.
1. Jurisdiction should be clearly defined.
2. Jurisdiction should be based on subjects and principles.
3. Jurisdiction should not be based on interests.
D. Term of Committee Membership.
1. Short fixed term.
(a) From standpoint of membership interest short fixed term has some
advantages.
(b) From standpoint of committee efficiency short term is undesirable.
2. Continuing indefinite term.
(a) Committeemen become trained experts in subject-matter.
(b) Preserves continuity of committee work.
2. Facilities for Committee Work.
A. Meetings.
1. Stated regular.
(a) Entails unnecessary office work and expense.
(b) Consumes committeemen's time unnecessarily.
(c) Tends to discourage interest and therefore reduces committee
energy.
2. Subject to call.
(a) Meetings should be called only when matters of importance re-
quire attention and justify consumption of time of Committeemen.
(b) Reduces office work and expense.
(c) Conserves time and energy of committeemen.
(d) Stimulates interest and energy.
3. Time of meetings.
(a) Day and hour of greatest convenience to committee members.
4. Place of meetings.
(a) Preferably in organization headquarters.
(b) Other place if greater convenience of committeemen is served
thereby.
B. Staff Assistance.
1. Committee secretary.
(a) Intelligent in regard to his committee subjects,
(b) Accurate and efficient.
1. In preparing preliminaries ;
2. In tactfully facilitating committee deliberations;
3. In collating results of committee deliberations ;
4. In formulating, if instructed, clear, concise and convincing re-
ports and recommendations ;
STAFF RELATIONS WITH MEMBERS. 317
5. In realizing that he is the instrument of and not the dictator
to his committee ; and
6. In keeping records and minutes of committee meetings.
(c) Tactful.
(d) Self-respecting.
(e) Alert in advising chairman when subjects require meetings.
2. Digest of subjects of meetings to accompany notices.
(a) Excites interest.
(b) Increases attendance.
(c) Facilitates orderly conduct of deliberations.
(d) Conserves time.
(e) Conducive to concentration and sound conclusions.
3. Analytical or research work to supply basis of fact upon which
judgment may rest.
(a) Accurate;
(b) Comprehensive;
(c) Concise; and
(d) Free from personal opinions or bias.
4. Employment of technical experts as needed.
5. Stenographic and clerical assistance as needed.
3. Methods of Committee Work.
A. Primary or investigative.
1. Personal study and reflection by each committeeman.
2. Committee hearings.
3. Committee discussion at executive session.
4. Committee conclusion.
5. Committee report to governing body.
B. Secondary or administrative.
1. In assisting to accomplish results after committee recommendation
has been adopted and has become the fixed policy of the organiza-
tion.
(a) Securing cooperation of other business men.
(b) Writing personal letters.
(c) Appearance before legislative committees, etc.
Staff Relations With Members
Stimulating the Organization Machinery
By JOHN M. TUTHER
Just as far as it is possible, the directing force the work-
ing force of the organization should be made up of as many
of its members as can be given something to do. There should
be a democracy in the efforts of the commercial organization.
Those in charge of its affairs can do no better thing than to
devote a very large part of their thought in planning how to
bring into its various undertakings just as many of its mem-
bers as can be begged, dragged, shamed, cajoled or drafted into
its service. To retain their interest, we must depend upon as-
318 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
signing them to work on something in which they are interest-
ed, or in which there is good reason to believe they may be-
come interested. Of course, all the members cannot be brought
in, perhaps not even a majority of them. There will always be
the merely contributing member, and I am far from minimi-
zing the useful part these cheerful non-working members play.
It is amazing, though, even to those who have opportunity to
observe, the gratifying number of men who have a desire, or a
willingness at least, to get into the chamber of commerce work
in some manner or other.
Element of Enthusiasm
Those in charge of the organization work must learn how
to deal with enthusiasm. They must acquaint themselves with
the hobbies and the manner of thought of a large part of the
members, so that when one of them brings his enthusiasm and
his strength and his talent to the organization, he may be
helped to gather around him other members whose enthusiasm
runs along the same lines as his and whose tastes are similar.
Then this little group of willing men can be given the sanc-
tion and the blessing of the whole organization, armed and
equipped and sent forth to do the sort of work they are inter-
ested in. They can then have the comforting knowledge that
the conveniences and the assistance, which a well conducted
organization has, is at their disposal. They can have the as-
surance, moreover, that back of them in all of their worthy
work is the full endorsement and the strength of the whole
organization. This group then becomes a part of the machin-
ery, a part of stimulated machinery an auto-stimulated part
of the machinery.
One of the elementary things in the effective stimulation
of the commercial organization, is the proper dealing with the
enthusiasm of its members. It is the bounden duty of a com-
mercial organization to hold itself so that it can use the indi-
vidual enthusiasm and the hobbies of its members. It is the
wrong policy for a commercial organization to lay down a pro
gram of work in cold blood and adhere to that to the exclusion
of all else. There should be a program of some sort. Each year
the organization should set out to do a few big things and these
things held to until they are done. Its policy should be so
formed, its machinery should be so regulated, it should so adapt
STAFF RELATIONS WITH MEMBERS. 319
itself that it can take to itself and give cohesion and shape and
force to an almost unlimited number of public services.
Nothing gives more enthusiasm and therefore stimulation
to the membership than the spectacle of a well working, result-
getting committee, or division, or bureau call it what you
will, doing things, pleasing themselves because they are en-
gaged in something they delight in doing, edifying others, en-
thusing others, stimulating others to the good and happiness
and uplift of all their fellow members. And more than this,
attracting those who are not members to come in and do their
part.
Do Not Withhold Applause
When a committee has completed its task and its mem-
bers are not averse to newspaper publicity, or rather like it
a good many of them do the sagacious secretary just must not
make the ghastly blunder of withholding the applause from
those who deserve it. And on the other hand, those rarer mem-
bers who do things and who do not let their right hand know
what their left hand doeth, those should be shielded from the
publicity which is really distasteful to them. Make not the
mistake, I beg of you, of confusing these two distinct classes.
The working members of this organization and the suc-
cess or failure of the organization itself depends almost entire-
ly upon the proportion of its members who are working mem-
bers should be provided with every comfort and convenience
for doing their work. Those in charge of committees, bureaus,
and so forth, must not be unmindful of the little things that
big men so often set so much store by. The committee rooms
should be quiet, inaccessible to the loafer and the bore. The
clerk of the committee should be tactful and quiet, and compe-
tent and pleasing. Care should be taken, too, that the busy
men of these committees can be reached from their own places
of business quickly and conveniently. I have known the work
of some bureaus and committees to actually fail and become
wholly ineffective, and the committee fall to pieces, because
the men who were giving their time to some activity of the or-
ganization could not feel quite sure that in case of need they
could be reached quickly and surely from their own places of
business.
A thing to be avoided, a practice all too common, is that
of taking up of subscriptions at either general meetings or
320 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
committee meetings. Nothing so dampens enthusiasm, noth-
ing should be so unmistakably tabooed. Say what one will of
the liberality of the members of certain committees; say what
you will as to the spontaneous character of donations, it cer-
tainly does take the run out of many a good worker and it
prevents many a member from attending his committee meet-
ings if he thinks there is a likelihood even of being called upon
to pay money. Not all of them are that way, of course, thank
heaven for that, but many of them are, and it ought to be
understood, thoroughly and unmistakably understood, that ex-
cept for the committees appointed for the specific purpose of
raising money, no member of any committee or any bureau or
any board should suggest that those present at any meeting
chip in for anything at any time for any purpose anywhere.
A Genial Committee Spirit
Experience has shown that there are some committees,
like a membership committee, for example, in whose delibera
tions a certain amount of pleasantry may be introduced with a
good stimulating effect. I have in mind a membership com-
mittee which, having been appointed, of course, for the purpose
of holding the membership, not only does the work for which
it was created but has its meetings so enjoyable they are held
fortnightly that instead of a mere committee of 25 there are
in attendance as the invited guests of the members more than
100. They have a quartette, which, with more or less spon-
taneity breaks into song at the proper time I nearly said the
psychological moment, but didn't. Their meetings are looked
forward to with genuine pleasure by its members and those
who are invited to attend. They not only hold the member-
ship but steadily increase it. Its chairman, of course, is a rare
character, a man full of a desire to serve, a helpful, cheering,
successful man, with a good liver and a pleasant smile and a
hopeful view of every situation that comes up. The meetings
of his committee are affairs of importance and of great so-
ciability and delight functions of good will and good fellow-
ship and other good things. Stories are told and songs are
sung and experiences are recounted and celebrities are enter-
tained, and all the time members are secured, the powers of
the organization are enlarged, the strength of its machinery is
increased and everybody connected with the work is pleased.
Frequent meetings of the full membership are after all
STIMULATING THE ORGANIZATION MACHINERY. 321
the most powerful and yet the most simple of all the stimuli
yet discovered for the commercial organization. Nothing in
my judgment will so conduce to promote the necessary pride
in membership, the sense of being a part of the 'organization, as
frequent opportunity to take part in its deliberations. It acts
like magic sometimes on a membership whose interest is begin-
ning to wane, to hear, not merely read, what has been done by
the commercial organization. I know of nothing more inspir-
ing than to hear the chairman of some active committee- not
the secretary, however gifted and eloquent the secretary may
really be, but to hear the chairman relate to the full member-
ship what he and his associates did in achieving some definite
result. It amounts to, indeed it is, the rendering of a report
of a finished up and complete job. Membership meetings where
advice and criticisms are asked from anybody present; where
misapprehensions and there are so many misapprehensions in
this work may be set right, are not the least of the good re-
sults w^hich come from the town meeting idea of commercial
organizations.
The Man from the Outside
Bringing experts outside of the membership, preferably
from a distance, to address the members on some of the phases
of the work in which they are engaged, is highly stimulating
and beneficial. Indeed, this particular sort of stimulation is
well recognized. It is regarded by those who know, as one of
the most useful means of arousing interest in the work of the
chamber of commerce. The necessity for this sort of stimu-
lation is well recognized by other bodies and has been used for
centuries by the Catholics in their Missions and the Protestants
in their revivals. The skilled expert who comes from a dis-
tance, who brings a message, who knows what he has to say
and says it, has more weight as a general thing than the local
man even though he speak with the tongues of men and of
angels. So, the secretary with understanding will encourage
rather than throw cold water on the suggestion to engage out-
side efficiency experts to stimulate and instruct. If he has
not already had the experience, he will learn that such visi-
tations are good, not only for the members but for the staff
of the organization. He will learn, if he does not already know,
that with rare exceptions a visiting expert is of tremendous
value to him ; that most of them are kindly and well disposed
12
322 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
and skilled and that they are moved by a desire to encourage
and help and make easy the thorny path of the secretary. There
should be no little feeling of jealousy or of fear on the part of
a secretary not quite sure of himself that some of his directors
or members who may be unfriendly to him, may make invidious
comparisons and draw uncomplimentary conclusions.
He who feareth his own job is an unhappy man and verily
he standeth a good chance of losing the same. And then some
of these self-styled experts are really very inexpert. Not. in-
frequently their theories wilt under the strong sun of practi-
cal experience. That secretary, therefore, who has stood
against unwise plans which are unwise notwithstanding they
may be advocated by the experts, will be all the stronger with
his members and directors. So, these experts bona fide and
bogus are useful and as one who has seen both kinds, I say,
may their sturdy tribe increase!
Affability and Good Humor
Ordinary cheerfulness on the part of the secretary is pow-
erfully stimulating. Now, I don't mean that a secretary should
be too darned pleasant. Certainly not of the writhing Uriah
Heep, hand- wringing sort. I mean just an affable, good-hu-
mored attitude of mind on the part of the secretary. Difficult
though it may be, hoAvever, the able-headed secretary must cul-
tivate and get it and keep it and have it on display. Cheer-
fulness, pleasantness, a sustained sympathetic attitude and tact-
fulness, especially for those who may be rather objectionable
and whose ideas are visionary and whose personality may be
displeasing. Just ordinary good-natured cheerfulness, that is
one of the surest ways of stimulating the machinery. Praise
to subordinates when* they need it; not when they need it
either, but when they deserve it. Public recognition before
committees and general meetings of the excellence of some par-
ticular piece of work, of some one over whom a secretary has
authority. An absence from jealousy or small-souled envy.
These things contribute to stimulating and strengthening the
work of the machinery. Though tfulness, kindness, a shrink-
ing from humiliating others or hurting others' feelings ; all of
these qualifications work to make the performance of the duties
of the secretary pleasantly stimulating to most of those with
whom he comes in contact.
Office Administration
The Technique of Organization Administration
By ROBERT WADSWORTH
The answers to a list of questions sent to a hundred and
fifty secretaries, several of whom replied, form the basis of this
paper.
It is assumed that we want more than a tabulation of re-
plies; if from the number of responses to each question, one
method can be selected, which for use in our organization seems
most practicable and most advanced, we want that. Acquaint-
ance with other methods is incidental.
I have been strongly of the opinion that the discussion of
these points is sure to be unproductive if some one does not
select and defend those methods which seem to him to be the
most advanced and helpful; so these arbitrary opinions are
given with the hope of stimulating the subsequent discussion,
in order that, so far as possible, it may be conclusive.
The questions are here repeated and considered in order:
General Questions
Do you make up, at the beginning of the year, a specific
program of Avork? (a) For the entire organization? (b) For
the main committees? If so, please describe briefly the method
of determining it.
While it is agreed that a considerable number of special
activities cannot be planned in advance, yet, with the increase
in demand for efficiency, our organizations, like city adminis-
trations, are being submitted to business tests under recognized
standards of measurements. One such -test is its program of
work. The commercial organization usually has not followed
a definite program, but, opportunist-like, has scattered its ener-
gies according to the whims of its officers. Having no formally
determined aim, there was lack of concentration, and a conse-
quent failure to arrive at any previously determined place at
any predetermined time; for an organization, like an indi-
vidual, has just about so much time, energy and ability, and
must conserve it and apply it with care.
A program of work, covering at least the major activities,
is being introduced in a growing number of organizations, judg-
ing from responses.
323
824 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
In arriving at the program, the principle of maintaining
the interest of supporters by soliciting their counsel is applied.
By various devices each member is asked to state what he be-
lieves the organization should undertake as of first importance
during the ensuing year. Replies, tabulated, after eliminating
the petty and visionary, are approved in principle by the board
of directors, who, through their constituents, have then adopted
a platform for their term in office. This constitutes the major
activities of the year, the guide for the entire organization, al-
though there are always unforeseen opportunities for service.
Previous to the initial meeting of each committee, to which
the various planks in the platform have been assigned (and
the aim is not to have any committees which do not have work
to do, and to make each committee have in mind as definitely as
possible the work which it has to do), the secretary outlines a
committee program: specific as to task, general as to method,
which briefly sets forth the complete job of the committee, and,
so far as possible, suggests the line of action. This is revised,
in conference with the chairman. It is then the task of the com-
mittee to review and adopt this program. It is the sole subject
of discussion at the initial meeting, and until adopted. Each
committee is then expected to progress in accordance with a
schedule or calendar agreed to when it starts work, the various
calendars being consolidated by the secretary of one New Eng-
land organization into a so-called "master calendar," of which
there are two copies, each corrected up to date. One is in the
secretary's charge, and the other in the possession of the presi-
dent. This shows what is due on any particular date.
Not only is a definite goal established, which is necessary
to maximum accomplishment, but, more important, the officers
learn what hopes are closest to the individual member, which
helps to bridge that gap, which all secretaries realize is too
wide, between the officers and members at large. Further, the
very act of writing down and sending in a suggestion, like the
act of electing a board of directors, gives the member an added
sense of participation and identification with the affairs of Ids
organization an attitude of which we all know the value.
The Use of Charts
Is the plan of your organization charted? If so, will you
give the different uses to which chart is put?
OFFICE ADMINISTRATION. 325
This question, I believe, was not precise enough. There
are two kinds of charts; the large size, for wall use, on which
is recorded committee meetings, steps of progress, and the task
in prospect, all of which visualizes to its members the advance
of the organization, and stimulates each committeeman to keep
his own stride up to the pace.
But the chart referred to is the one which shows the ana-
tomy of the organization, and the question meant particularly
to bring out the use that is made of them. Less than ten or-
ganizations make use of such a chart, although more have them.
These are mainly in the very large cities, where a means of
bringing about a better understanding by the members of the
Avorking machinery of the organization is relatively more of
a problem. Among those organizations not using charts, the
leading reason is the fear that the machine and the running of
the wheels will play too important a part in the activities of the
office staff, that the mechanism will be considered as the end
rather than the means. We all realize that if the chart is to
be of most help, it must have some propulsive force.
One organization's chart not only has some flesh on its
bones, but a suit of clothes. This chart is a salesman. The
common form of ruled box for each unit is used. In addition
to its name, however, is printed in each box, in extremely con-
densed form, the accomplishments of that committee, and its
claim to support or at least appreciation. Two examples are
given :
SOLICITING SCHEMES
The Department of Soliciting Schemes continues its work of report-
ing on solicitations for whatever purpose philanthropy bazaars en-
tertainments war relief peace propoganda special editions adver-
tising business directories year books and magazines. It is esti-
mated that this Department saves the business men of Cleveland
$50,000 annually.
PUBLIC SAFETY
This committee, which was instrumental in securing Cleveland's
system of high pressure mains and the high pressure pumping sta-
tion, has been gathering further data in regard to protection from
fire in the Cleveland public schools.
I imagine the initial meeting of this organization's mem-
bership committee is devoted to a lecture on this chart and
its significance. The chart has the visualizing advantage that
all others have, because it shows the organization's structure,
but it is also first aid to the membership solicitor.
326 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
Another organization exploits its chart among members,
affiliated organizations, the city government, and the general
public, to remind them of the facilities which it offers for work-
ing out community problems, which they cannot work out alone.
This organization has found it of great value, preventing dupli-
cation of community energy and money.
Form of Reports
What in general is included in your annual report? (a)
Do you think the tendency is toward a more condensed form?
(b) Toward a more graphic form?
With few exceptions, replies indicate the tendency to con-
dense. In a few more years the common annual report may be
Avithout a copy of the solemnly adopted constitution and by-
laws.
Granted that, so far as members are concerned, the organi-
zation's accomplishments are its dividends, and must be ex-
ploited to the greatest possible advantage, if general interest
is to be retained; granted that the annual report in which
committee work is described in considerable detail is used only
as a reference work ; granted that some account of an organiza-
tion's activities is desirable, but that with few exceptions, the
news in it is read only when fresh, why should not the activi-
ties of the organization be reported monthly? Public interest
is a great deal more liable to absorb them. Accomplishments
can be related more elaborately so that the yearly report need
be only the briefest review of the larger work, for detail of
which reference is made to the various monthly reports; but
with no reference to organization routine or those defensive
arguments and appeals for support on which the occasional re-
port lingers, as if in apology for the secretary's employment,
or even the organization's existence.
The monthly report system has this greater advantage; in
the opinion of one eastern member of the association, "As a
general proposition, we have no standards by which we meas-
ure our own work or the work of the organization. It is this
entire absence of standard, plus the absence of comparative
statements, necessarily made public at short intervals, that
are at the bottom of most organizations' inefficiency. It is
mighty hard to induce us to use devices that measure our daily
work. The unavoidable obligation to make frequent compara-
tive reports works wonders, I believe."
OFFICE ADMINISTRATION. 327
In committee reports of the best known organizations. I
find a full committee list put right out in front. One organiza-
tion uses the chairman's photograph with each committee re-
port, while several put the full committee list in the margin
opposite the text. As a means of extending committee work,
of making acceptance of committee appointments more certain,
and of giving committeemen the feeling of participation in the
affairs of the organization, this method is plainly good business.
Pictorial forms to supplement reports are in favor. These
are splendid for rapid comprehension, usually to explain how
the work and income of the organization is apportioned. Where
the program of work is laid out as mentioned in our considera-
tion of question one, parallel columns are used, the planks in
the platform are the debit column and in the other are credited
the things on the program done and those done which were
not on the program. In this plan the sentences are short and
pointed. This is, in fact, a real trial balance.
In the reports of the organizations which are generally
regarded as most successful, the name of the secretary never
appears, except when necessary. The accomplishments are al-
ways those of the committees and directors.
The Use of Bulletin Boards
Few organizations use a bulletin board, the common rea-
son being that its headquarters have no club feature in connec-
tion. Those which use them find them valuable. They are at-
tractively made and conspicuously placed. Photographs of
municipal, industrial and commercial interest; new buildings;
local city improvements ; matters of more or less general inter-
est, which hardly justify the expense of a circular to members ;
miscellaneous matters of local interest, and clippings and
photos showing what those in nearby cities of similar size are
doing, combine to give the office an atmosphere of interest in
community affairs, and headquarters for general information
concerning it. One organization maintains on its bulletin board
a public events register, on which is kept a record of coming
public events, so that activities planned for weeks ahead, by
different organizations, can be scheduled, to avoid conflicting
dates.
Two organizations, located in upper floors of office build-
ings, have installed attractive bulletin boards on the first floor
328 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
lobbies of the buildings, opposite the elevator, on which mat-
ters of interest even broader than those of the organization
are shown, the display being changed often. These cork bul-
letin boards form the back of an all-glass case, not more than
two or three inches deep. It gives the organization an oppor-
tunity to extend the use of its facilities to strangers in the city,
and in this way supplements the signs of the organization's
hospitableness, often posted in hotels and railroad stations.
Membership Activities
Do you have mail referenda, either in connection with or
as a substitute for the open meeting? What material relating
to the question accompanies the mail ballot?
It is interesting to see with what positiveness a half dozen
of the more experienced secretaries differ on the advantages
of the open meeting and the mail referenda, Those in favor of
the open meeting say that only such a discussion produces new
ideas; more interest is aroused; there is a better opportunity
for individual explanation and joint debate ; that voting by mail
is perfunctory, and that members need the stimulus of the
open meeting to formulate their opinions.
The defenders of the mail ballot say the vote of the man
who thinks the least and speaks the loudest is heard in the open
meeting; the mail ballot is more representative, because the
crank and the interested party have no opportunity of mak-
ing their special plea, and written judgment is in the main cool,
well-considered, and represents conviction.
A Southern secretary states that he has found the open
meeting positively harmful; that on live subjects bitterness is
often threatened ; that it rarely brings out thoughtful discus-
sion by thoughtful men.
A very intelligent mail vote can be taken only if the two
sides of the argument are comprehensively stated in the notice
that is sent with the ballot. It is on the fairness and complete-
ness of this statement that the satisfaction of members with the
mail ballot probably rests. Of course, the mail ballot gives
the two sides no opportunity for answering questions asked by
their opponents. I do not believe this is a question on which
organizations ever will entirely agree. A large portion of sec-
retaries believe in combining the two methods, or in varying
the method to suit the question. Most of us, I think, have
OFFICE ADMINISTRATION. 329
found occasions when one method was better, and others when
the other was.
Getting Acquainted
How is acquaintance-making conducted, especially with
new members? A commendable and common way of making
new members acquainted with older ones and with each other,
seems to be a variation of this program : To follow the mem-
ber's notification of election with a friendly note from the ac-
quaintance committee or some member of it. One organization
apportions its new members among the members of the acquain-
tance committee, and a few days before the next noon luncheon
the cominitteeman writes the new member, putting himself at
the new member's service for that occasion, inviting the new
member to meet him fifteen or twenty minutes early, at the
place where the meeting is to be held, and then devoting him-
self to that new member before and during the meeting, intro-
ducing him as widely as possible.
New members, where there are not too many of them, are
frequently asked to introduce themselves in open meetings. A
few organizations place cards at the tables, asking members to
introduce themselves to those near them. It is frequent prac-
tice to tag members with name and business connection.
One organization has a series of six cards which it places
at all plates. Three samples follow :
"All of the other fellows at the table are interested in the growth
and betterment of Minneapolis, just as you are. Get acquainted with
them. Introduce yourself. Minneapolis will advance more rapidly
if you fellows work together than if you try to go it alone. The
growth of Minneapolis means profit and satisfaction to each of you.
It's worth something to know a lot of folks, anyway."
Acquaintance Committee.
"Friendship is the keystone of success. If you are going to be a real
help in building up Minneapolis, you must form friendships with the
'good fellows' right here at this table. Obey that impulse. Grab
your neighbor's hand, and tell him who you are. Ten to one he is
thinking of grabbing your hand right now. Beat him to it."
Acquaintance Committee.
"If a friend were to come to you now, while you are sitting here
and say, 'would you like to do something right now for the Civic &
Commerce Association?' you would say, 'You bet I would; what is it?'
"GET ACQUAINTED WITH THE FELLOWS AT THIS TABLE.
"We can't get the results of which this Association is capable unless
we all pull together, and strangers make poor teammates. Won't
you introduce yourself?" The Acquaintance Committee.
330 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
Specific Entertainment Features
Do you have any specific entertainment features at mem-
bership meetings? With the exception of music at meals, there
seem to be few widely accepted entertainment features. Most
secretaries report that members want all work or all play. This
question was meant to cover only business meetings and noon
meetings with speakers.
From what sources do you maintain your list of prospec-
tive members? This question is a minor one. Secretaries re-
port everything, however, from city directories to maternity
hospitals as sources of information.
Do you have a system for registering and following up for
solicitation, guests who attend your luncheon meetings or social
affairs? Few organizations are getting the names of guests
who attend luncheon meetings and social affairs. Those who
do use it find the list of prospects a preferred one.
Can you suggest any unique membership campaign meth-
ods? This question, although very important, should not have
been included, as the subject cannot be presented in abridged
form. A high percentage of organizations has determined
definitely to eliminate future impulsive campaigns with spec-
tacular features;, in which the prospective member receives the
impression that he is being invited to join the organization
merely to help some one win a hat or an annual baseball pass.
One secretary after another states that the member who does
not know what the chamber can and cannot do for him and
does not understand what he is expected to do for the chamber,
will be neither a valuable nor permanent asset.
The campaign method is not going out, of course. It never
will, I suppose, for we know that it is not natural for the in-
dividual or organization to plan very much in advance of ac-
tual need. The average member, content to be passive while
affairs are running prosperously, will arise nobly to a crisis if
the organization will create that crisis for him and put it up
to him plainly.
The proportion of new members secured in a campaign
who later do not qualify is probably due not so much to the
flurry during which they came in as to the lack of assimilative
effort made by the organization during the first year or two of
his membership when his mind is in a particularly impression-
able attitude toward the organization.
OFFICE ADMINISTRATION. 331
Arrears and Delinquents
Do you permit members to resign while in arrears? Prac-
tically all organizations say "in theory, no; in practice, yes,
after means of persuasion have been exhausted." Two organi-
zations have used and collected, but too recently to state with
what collateral results.
Will you state your method of procedure with delinquent
members? The responses show no one method which is praise-
worthy enough to be mentioned in detail, although practically
all secretaries report that the number is greatly cut down by
personal calls, not to collect, but to clear up possible misunder-
standings. In some organizations these are made by members
of the staff, in others by members of a special committee ap-
pointed and trained for the purpose. In collection letters the
emphasis is laid on what the organization is doing, not that
it needs the money.
How often are bills for dues sent out? Bills for dues in
different commercial organizations are mailed out in a great
variety of intervals. The question is more important than is
customarily supposed. I believe there is a great advantage in
having bills mailed out yearly, and no oftener. I heard an ex-
perienced secretary once say that "A bill for dues was a psy-
chological invitation to resign; 77 at least it will be agreed, I
believe, that the receipt of a bill puts a man on the defensive.
It is gently, but actually, asking him to sign a new contract.
A man usually feels as if he is depriving himself if he doesn't
take this occasion to consider what the organization has done
during the period since his last payment that displeased him
or what it failed to do that he strongly favored.
Let us take the case of an organization that bills its mem-
bers four times a year, and let us assume that the typical mem-
ber is not typical, and that he pays his dues for each quarter
promptly and without a second notice. At the end of a year he
has received at least four bills for, let us say, $6.25; he has
made out four checks for $6.25, and has received four receipts
for $6.25. One organization's experience actually proves that
men feel that their financial support of the organization is
greater than if once a year they got a bill and signed a check
for twenty-five dollars. The average man who is billed four
times a year (and this is one-half as true of the semi-annual
plan) will receive a bill for the next period so soon after re-
332 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
ceiving the receipt for the previous period, even if he pays
promptly, that a feeling of annoyance results. This statement
is not meant to apply to the more difficult collections. There
is the additional advantage of simpler bookkeeping in favor of
the annual plan.
Do committees, through their chairmen, have authority to
incur minor expenses in the conduct of their work without
specific authorization from the board of directors? The pre-
dominant practice is against expenditures except those appro-
priated in the budget. In spending this, committees are cus-
tomarily given full authority.
Who Appoints Committees?
Two organizations have tried the experiment of a commit-
tee on committees to which the selection of all standing and
special committees of the organization is referred. The sug-
gested appointments are then made by the president. The
theory is that a committee of five, chosen with discrimination,
will, in selecting committees for various purposes, have a larger
field of acquaintance among the membership, and, because it is
their one responsibility. w T ill act with more deliberation than a
president and board of directors, whose tendency is to make
and confirm such appointments hastily and from closest asso-
ciates.
How are committee-men selected? (1) From general repu-
tation for zeal and adaptability? (2) From previous record of
committee service? (3) From a requested expression of the
nature of work most interesting to them?
Replies show a combination of the three. Previous records
for good committee service are a splendid source, but an effort
should be made to get as many untried members into the work
as possible.
A statement by a member of what particular division of the
organization he is interested in is a valuable starting point,
but if relied upon solely or largely in making appointments,
the results are apt to be disappointing.
A New England secretary states that his organization
"tried the experiment of asking members what committees they
would be willing to serve upon, and found that method de-
cidedly unsatisfactory and objectionable. In most cases, a
member had no particular qualifications for the committees
OFFICE ADMINISTRATION. 333
named by him, and frequently there were circumstances which
made his appointment on some or all of the committees selected
absolutely impossible. A dealer in fire extinguishers or fire
alarm apparatus or fire-proof material is very likely to say
that he is willing to serve on the committee on fire prevention,
and usually he cannot see why he should not be appointed, and
when you have asked a member what committee he would be
willing to serve upon, and he has told you, and then he is not
appointed, he is very likely to be deeply offended." A man will
naturally do better work, however, on things in which he is in-
terested, and a knowledge as to what class of activities he is
particularly interested in is valuable as one, but only one, of
the facts upon which a decision should be based.
Most Effective Unit
The tendency is toward smaller committees ; five and seven
are commonly mentioned. An interesting tabulation by one
secretary shows that the percentage of attendance at meetings
is greater in a committee of nine than in committees of any
other number. As the size of the committees increases, the at-
tendance percentage decreases.
Many are in favor of a committee containing about nine
men. If the committee is smaller than that it is not represen-
tative, and one man with strong views is apt to control it.
When a committee becomes larger, the sense of personal re-
sponsibility of each member decreases.
If a decision is to be reached on a question which affects
many people in different ways, and if there are a number of
different points of view to be weighed and considered, the com-
mittee should be large enough to make it representative, what-
ever that size may be.
Is there a tendency to increase the percentage of standing
committees, or vice versa? The tendency to increase the pro-
portion of special committees is marked. The argument be-
hind the tendency is common and unnecessary here.
Have you a regular procedure for replacing men who give
unsatisfactory committee service? The majority of organiza-
tions do not change the personnel of their committees during
the year, a few replace committeemen whose attendance record
is unsatisfactory, but for no other reason. The most diplomatic
way to do this seems to me to be to enlarge the committee by
334 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
a number equal to the inactive committeemen. The inactive
men remain on the committee nominally for the year, but the
committee is filled up with active men.
Retaining Committee Interest
Do you have a method for retaining interest in the work
of the committee on the part of committee-men who miss one
or more consecutive meetings? More active organizations con-
sistently send copies of the minutes, or at least the leading
portions of them, or verbal reports to absent committeemen
so that their interest in the work of the committee is retained
and they feel that they were missed at the conference (although
one secretary does report that this means of rewarding com-
mitteemen for absence has not worked out in practice with him ) .
This plan seems to be the best known one of keeping committees
intact.
Do you have a system for following up work of the com-
mittees or committee chairmen? One secretary writes all com-
mittee minutes in duplicate, giving a book to every chairman.
This personal minute book has printed on the outside the name
of the chairman and the name of the committee ; being thus dis-
tinctive the chairman often refers to it, the secretary finds, and
keeps the work well in mind.
The use of a wall chart on which meetings and progress
of work are recorded, referred to before, stimulates competi-
tion among the committees. A few organizations make up on
a large sheet an analysis of the work to be done by the commit-
tee. A copy is given to the chairman, one is kept by the secre-
tary. The complete analysis is read at the first meeting and
kept up-to-date.
Are new matters referred to standing committees by the
secretary direct, or after presentation to the directors? This
question is handled in both ways, although the argument seems
to be in favor of the secretary's referring new matters to com-
mittees if already appointed. Inasmuch as the directors must
pass on committee reports before being made public, the method
of referring to committees direct greatly relieves the pressure
of time in director's meetings.
Do committees ever make reports public before submitting
to directors? Almost unanimouslv "no."
OFFICE ADMINISTRATION. 335
Securing Committee Attendance
What is your procedure for calling and reminding commit-
tee-men of meetings? Practically all organizations have the
same usage regarding mail and telephone notices, so that no
further comment upon general methods is worth while. One
western organization uses a striking post card with colored
bands (colors changed weekly) along the upper and lower
edges. On one side is printed, in contrasting colors, "The pros-
perity of Spokane means much to you. Your efforts should
help make that prosperity." On the two bands of the reverse
side, "The Committee has business to do for Spokane. Your
help is needed to do that business."
Will you send, or describe, unusual devices you have found
valuable: (a) To supervise progress of director's and commit-
tee's work? (b) To expedite secretary's personal work?
(a) One secretary mails two or three days before each di-
rectors' meeting a summary of the matters which should come
up for consideration at that meeting, a copy of committee re-
ports which are to come up for action, and a copy of the min-
utes of the last directors' meeting. He finds that a number of
directors keep a file of these minutes and value this feature,
which also makes it unnecessary to listen to the reading of the
minutes, in which instead of directors present, is officially re-
corded the list of absentees. A second copy of the program of
business is also typewritten and laid at the director's place,
which hastens matters, each director being able to see at a
glance how much more work there is to come before that par-
ticular meeting. It is well worth while as a means of elimi-
nating that unnecessary and irrelevant discussion, which the
secretary finds so exasperating. The president's copy shows
in detail the status of each question and other significant in-
formation. At the close of the meeting, an extra copy of the
minutes is made and cut up, the action taken in reference to
each report, letter or memorandum is attached to it and dis-
posed of properly. Matters not acted upon are put in the di-
rectors' live file for the next meeting.
(b) A Pacific Coast secretary says he has found it valu-
able when some important piece of work is first undertaken,
to have made, besides a special file in which all matters relat-
ing to it are kept, a general record sheet. On this is entered
the dates when meetings on the subject were held and action
336 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
taken, so that it is possible to determine at a glance just what
has been done on that piece of work and what its present status
is.
Do you have a secretary's chart for recording significant
membership, financial or attendance records for your own
use? If so, please send sample or describe briefly. An Ohio
organization reports considerable help from a chart ruled both
ways having the years spaced across the top so that one chart
serves for a ten-year period. Along one vertical side of the
chart properly spaced is an ascending scale of financial
amounts, on the other an ascending scale of plain numerals.
Records of general meetings of the membership, number of ap-
plications, resignations, delinquencies, committee meetings
held, etc., can be plotted in lines over this area of time, the ink
for these items being of the same color as the plain numerals.
The lines which show such financial statements as income, ex-
penditures, budget, salaries, etc., can be drawn in another color
of ink to correspond with the color used for the financial fig
ures along the other side of the chart. It is plain that the sec-
retary has at a glance the general tendency of the most vital
affairs of his organization.
The Handling of Publicity
Do your office assistants handle publicity for their own
committees? "No" almost without exception, unless by semi-
independent bureaus and boards.
' Will you relate what you consider the most effective way
of handling news in the local papers? In their own way the
majority of secretaries make the same answer. A few quota-
tions follow : "News is most effectively handled if each paper
tells its story in its own way with the full knowledge of the
facts." "Take the newspaper men into your confidence." "Cul-
tivate the acquaintance of the editors." "When a new reporter
comes on the beat take time to acquaint him with the funda-
mentals of chamber of commerce work." "Do not expect him
to write intelligently about something regarding which he
knows nothing."
The secretary's name is never used where unnecessary.
Credit for various chamber activities is published in the name
of the organization and its committees, the secretary occasion-
ally assisting the reporter to an interview with the chairman
OFFIE ADMINISTRATION. 337
of a committee, at a time when the committee's activities will
benefit by it.
Is it written out in your office? About one-half of the
secretaries have the news matter typewritten in their own of-
fice, in the interest of accuracy and for the importance of get-
ling the right slant on the story. Others write out only the
more important or delicate stories, leaving the balance of news
to the handling of the reporter. Decision on this question, of
course, depends upon the friendliness and ability of the report-
er. The responses are evenly divided as to method. One ca-
pable secretary states that in his judgment secretaries too often
work for the long story, when short ones are more liable to be
read, and permit the news to be put in a more compact form.
Control of Assistants
Does the secretary in your organization have sole control
over appointments and tenure of assistants? In practically
every case, "yes."
Will you give your reasons for, or against this? Reasons
were practically the same, and are well known.
What is your opinion as to the relative value of (a) One
and two cent letter postage for notices, and (b) Stamped and
unstamped return post cards?
A large majority of organizations use two-cent stamps for
notices to members. A smaller majority use the stamped re-
turn post cards. I should like to refer here to a system used
for luncheon meetings by a northwestern organization for tabu-
lating the number of replies received with unstamped cards.
Luncheon
Wednesday, June 9, '15 12 o'clock
Mr. David Starr Jordan
Notices sent out, 6/4/15, 3,000.
Acceptances received, 6/5 21
Acceptances received, 6/7 139
Acceptances received, 6/8 123
Acceptances received, 6/9 8
Telephone reservations 16
Complimentary tickets 12
TOTAL 319
Total actually present 362
The theory of this is that although with the unstamped
return card, a smaller number of acceptances will be received,
338 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
the proportion of cards to attendance can soon, by the law of
average, be estimated closely. It seems to be generally agreed
that stamped cards should be used when the information sought
is not directly in the individual's interest. In either case the
card, of course, should be arranged so that a member may fill
it in with a minimum of effort.
Can you suggest new departures in filing or in other cleri-
cal routine likely to be of general interest? A number of sys-
tems were reported, which vary so, and yet which seem to be
giving equal happiness to the users, that I do not believe an ex-
tended discussion of them would be feasible or of particular
value.
Do you have a system of classifying and filing for easy
reference, valuable articles in commercial organizations, ex-
changes or other publications which come to you? The most
feasible plan seems to be to have the "secretary or his assistant,
mark for clipping, articles which are of current or possible
future interest to the organization. Clippings are pasted on
cards grouped by subjects, so that all printed information from
exchanges bearing on one subject will be found in one place
If the articles cannot be cut out, the publication is filed away
and reference to the article is filed on a card. In this way a
complete information file on certain subjects is available. It-
is a common practice to mail important articles to committee
chairmen when it bears on the work in hand.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Annual Reports, Their Form and Value
By DON E. MOWRY
The organization that is going forward making progress
is the one that advertises. The organization that does not
advertise is marking time. Whether it be an industrial enter-
prise or a commercial organization, the same rule, based upon
a practical application of known facts, must be applied. The
organization that does not advertise, by keeping abreast of
present-day advertising methods, does not sell itself through
advanced methods of publicity, is merely marking time.
The examination of 313 annual reports of commercial or-
ganizations, located in practically every State in the Union, in-
cluding Canada and Alaska, brings to light the somewhat
startling general information that these organizations are not
keeping pace with the most approved methods of selling to
their memberships the accomplishments of the past year, as
recorded in their annual reports. With but few exceptions,
commercial organizations in the United States are groping in
the dark, seeking a vehicle which will transport them quickly
into a new atmosphere where they hope to be able to produce an
annual report that will prove to be the exception rather than
the rule.
It may be true that the cost entailed in turning out a book-
let that is thoroughly up-to-date, has a selling "punch" and
produces the desired psychological effect upon members and
prospective members, is the chief factor which has brought
about the apparent stagnant condition. And yet, the obser-
vations which have been made indicate that 138 organizations
are publishing annual reports in booklet form, while 57 other
organizations have turned to their house organs as the vehicle
through which the annual report is staged. Some organiza-
tions have either temporarily or permanently given up the idea
of an annual report, and of the 315 organizations reporting, 45
have stated that they do not publish an annual report. There
thus remain but 75 organizations, considered in the study, that
339
340 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
use broadsides, newspaper items, legal forms, leaflets, typed
statements or bound books as their medium for carrying their
annual reports.
Purpose of Reports
What is the annual report for? Is it published, no matter
what its form, for the purpose of justifying the expenditures
of the past year, to record past history? Or is it published for
the purpose of "selling" the present membership and cutting
into the potential market the unsold non-members?
Do your members want to see a gallery or the results?
Should pretty pictures of your city be included in your annual
report? Should your vacant assembly rooms, your vacant of-
fices, your street scenes, your directors, your wholesale district
or mediocre cartoons be made part of your annual report? If
so, why?
In an attempt to increase the size of the report or else to
cause the member to look for his name, sixty-nine organizations
publish a classified list of their members in various forms.
Exhibit number six illustrates the different plans followed in
this regard. It is an encouraging sign to note that 246 organi-
zations have abandoned this policy.
Financial statements are usually condensed and they ap-
pear in many publications in many forms. It is a recognized
practice where an annual report is published to print a financial
statement. And yet there is division on this point. Organiza-
tions reporting no financial statements number 106 while those
that report financial statements number 156. In some instances
the financial statements are enclosed as a leaflet with the print-
ed annual report.
Plans of organization and city statistics are still used by
a number of organizations, large and small. Cities that are
publishing statistics as a part of their annual reports have a
peculiar reason for so doing and are undoubtedly justified.
House organs are used by many organizations, large and
small, throughout the country. Because many organizations
depend upon their weekly or monthly publications to get facts
before their memberships, they favor this medium, rather than
a printed booklet.
A Variety of Forms
Some annual reports in booklet form, as well as many in
the house organ form, have their activities reported by commit-
ANNUAL REPORTS, THEIR FORM AND VALUE. 341
lees, by the president, by the secretary, and in memorandum
form. The memorandum form is that form which merely lists
activities in a short direct statement. Committee reports are
recorded by 205 organizations and 110 adopt other methods.
The president and secretary make the reports in sixty-eight
instances while about thirty organizations follow the memo
randum form.
The railroad time-table style is much in favor with organi-
zations that print booklets. Out of a total of 138 publishing
booklets, fifty have adopted this form. Standardization, or
uniformity, is practiced by a number of organizations. On the
other hand, other organizations adopt a different form for each
year. Where there is a desire to cut down expenses but at the
same time issue some sort of an annual report, leaflets are pub-
lished. These take the form of the report of the secretary or
are simply a terse statement of things accomplished. This plan
gives the membership a statement at hand that can be turned to
for reference at any time.
A few secretaries have discovered that the membership is
not so much interested in what has been done as they are in
what is being done and what is going to be done. Based upon
this understanding of popular fancy, a number of organizations
are publishing either with or separate from their annual re-
ports a program of work. Some few commercial organiza-
tions give to the members outlines of the work which they
propose to do, as distinguished from reports on the work which
has already been done.
To accomplish the main purpose, quickening the interest
of our members and gaining new memberships, it may be neces-
sary to abandon old customs for new practices.
CHAPTER XIX.
Methods of Recording Minutes
By JAMES A. McKIBBEN
The by-laws of about every chamber have a section stating
the duties of the secretary of the organization; and prominent
in that statement of duties is that "he shall keep the records of
the chamber/' or words to that effect.
Is it possible to state briefly in one sentence, for instance
the one thing to be kept constantly in mind, the one thing
you should aim to accomplish in writing records? Always
write a record so that it will be a correct statement of what took
place, and so that it will be clear and intelligible to a stranger
reading it twenty years after it is written.
Is not that, in a nutshell, what you want to accomplish? I
imagine nearly all of you will agree that it is; and yet how
many of us write that kind of records? How many of us are
able to say truthfully, when we look at a page of records which
we have written, that we believe a man twenty years from now,
knowing nothing of current history and with no knowledge
of the facts possessed by us, would, from reading that page, got
a correct, clear and intelligent understanding of what trans-
pired? How many of us are even able to detach ourselves from
the knowledge of events and circumstances with which we are
so closely connected that they have become a part of us, and
thereby get a correct perspective of what we have written from
the standpoint of a stranger twenty years from now? Of
course it is evident that you must be able to do that in order to
apply the rule correctly. If you are able to do that really
able to do it you have accomplished a good deal, and have
gone a long way toward enabling yourself to write good records.
The question of how full notes he should take is one upon
which there may well be a wide difference of opinion. Those
who take full notes will probably argue that you cannot make
an accurate record if you rely on your memory ( which is true ) ;
that you cannot always tell in advance what is going to be im-
portant; and that the only safe method is to take full notes
on everything. Many, on the other hand, would argue that if
342
METHODS OF RECORDING MINUTES. 343
a man takes full notes of everything his mind is likely to be so
occupied in taking notes that he is unable to discriminate be-
tween what is important and what is comparatively trivial;
that much of the work spent in taking full notes is "lost mo-
tion ;" that the result of taking full notes of everything is that
when a man goes to write the minutes he has to spend much
time in sifting the chaff from the wheat, and that much better-
results will be obtained by only taking notes of the important
things.
Need of Discrimination
Whether or not you believe you should include in the min-
utes a statement of the positions taken by the various directors
and members of committees a question which we will consider
later it would seem as if one's endeavor should be to discrimi-
nate at the time between what is essential and what is com-
paratively unessential, and that you should take notes of what
is essential and omit what is non-essential.
The secretary who is an accomplished shorthand writer
has a great advantage in taking notes, for he can with ease
take the exact language of any motion or suggestion and, if
he wishes to do so, take pretty full notes of the main points
in a discussion and in the exact language of the speaker-
and still have his mind comparatively free to weigh the argu-
ments made and to take part intelligently in the discussion, if
that should prove to be advisable. If a person has a really good
knowledge of shorthand and has used it so long that it has be-
come almost second nature to him, he can take very full notes
if he so desires and still do this.
Let me say a word of caution, however, to those of you who
write shorthand. The very ease and facility with which you
can take notes makes it necessary that you should guard zeal-
ously against taking too full notes. As one secretary put it to
the questionaire, "my experience has taught me that shorthand
supplies too much. There is a spendthrift waste of words in
almost every committee meeting." Complete
schedules of summaries of matters to be taken up, prepared in
advance by secretaries whose experience has shown them that,
as ex-President Mead puts it, "the thorough preparation and
digestion of the material to be considered at a meeting, the
practice of having reports presented in writing, and of having
all necessary documents, or a proper digest thereof, attached to
344 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
the papers, assists tremendously in simplifying and facilitating
the preparation of the minutes."
Sending Advance Schedule
The practice which I have found to be most advisable is to
send in advance of the meeting to each director or to each mem-
ber of a committee, as the case may be, a schedule or summary
giving the various items to come up, numbered in the order
which it is desirable for them to come up. Under each number
there should be a brief, but carefully prepared, synopsis of the
report or matter to be presented (a synopsis which gives you,
in brief space, the real "meat" of it) ; and with this synopsis
there should be sent, wherever practicable, a copy of the actual
report or letter, so that each member may know in advance just
what is coming up and have an opportunity to read it and de-
cide what he thinks should be done with reference to it. I find
this well worth while, for it promotes intelligent discussion and
action and has a tendency to prevent the "spendthrift waste of
words" at the meeting which one of the secretaries referred to ;
and therefore, in addition to its other advantages, it makes the
job of taking notes and writing a clear and intelligible record
easier.
And it is worth while to make the synopsis of each report
in the schedule as good a condensation of the report as it is
possible to give in five or six lines, for when you come to dictate
the records you will then have ready for insertion in them just
exactly what you want and can avoid even the necessity of re-
dictating any of them except the first few words of each num-
ber. These may need to be changed because of the fact that
your record should be a story of what occurred at the meeting,
and the first few words in reference to each item should, there-
fore, vary slightly in the record from the form used in the
schedule.
Writing the Minutes
How soon after a meeting adjourns should your minutes
be written? Of the 186 questionaires examined, 42.5 per cent
write minutes immediately after the meeting (or the first thins;
the following morning in the case of an evening meeting) ; 72
(38.7 per cent) write the minutes within 24 hours; and 30
(10.1) per cent) said that they write them "as soon as pos-
sible," without indicating how soon that is. Five (2.7) per
cent) apparently write their records whenever it is convenient.
METHODS OF RECORDING MINUTES. 345
Nearly all the secretaries, as you might expect, expressed
the opinion that the minutes should be written "just as soon
as possible after the meeting." The reasons given were essen-
tially the same, and were, in substance, that whether you take
full notes and "boil them down" in writing out your records,
or take brief notes, or, indeed, any kind of notes, you get the
best results by using your recollection to supplement the notes
in cutting down your notes if they are too full, in supple-
menting the notes if they are too brief. In addition, what-
ever kind of notes you take you can much better apply while
your memory of what took place is fresh, our test of whether
what you write is correct and would be clear and intelligible
to a stranger.
How much of the discussion should be included in the
minutes? The answers to the questionaire show that 21 (11.2
per cent) embody in the minutes a pretty complete condensa-
tion of discussions at the meetings; 42 (22.5 per cent) embody
a brief synopsis of the discussions; that 15 (7.9 per cent) in-
clude nothing but a bare record of action taken, and 86 (46.2
per cent) included in addition to a record of the action taken
only the most important suggestions made in discussions.
Most secretaries express the opinion that records should
be made as brief as is consistent with giving a correct, -clear
and intelligible statement of what transpired. Most of them
think this best accomplished by simply stating the action taken,
and where there was discussion, by saying, "after discussion it
was voted," or words to that effect; except where the matter is
of especial importance or where there is a difference of opin-
ion, in which case you should include a brief synopsis of the
points made in the discussion. The people who believe in in-
cluding in the records a full synopsis of discussion, mostly
justify this on the ground that, as one secretary expressed it,
"It is not only desirable to have a complete record, but of the
reasons which influenced the decision."
Brevity Most Desirable
A few a very few secretaries laid emphasis on the desir-
ability of having a record of just where each director stood on
a matter. May I be pardoned for saying that I think such a
point of view very much out of place in chamber of commerce
work? It may be a proper and fitting part of debating soci-
346 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
eties, political conventions, and such affairs; but it has no
proper place in a chamber of commerce. What a chamber
should be interested in, and the only thing it should be inter-
ested in, is arriving at the wisest possible decision, and how to
get done the thing which it is decided should be done. Whether
John Jones took a position last month or last year which is
inconsistent with a position taken by him now is a matter of
oo importance whatever to the chamber. What if he has
changed his mind? Fools are the only people who never change
their minds and they would if they knew enough. And, any-
way, you are not writing the life and history of John Jones and
Henry Smith and others. You are making a record of what
decisions were made by committees and directors in reference
to the various matters which came before them.
Synopsical Reports
There are some secretaries, and some good ones, who think
if important that a good synopsis of debates should, in almost
all cases, be included. I think there is a good deal of truth,
however, in the remark of one secretary that "nobody except
the secretary ever reads any part of the record except the ac-
tion taken;" and I believe that the secretaries who make it a
practice to include pretty full synopses of debates are really
either doing it to gratify their personal satisfaction or because
making a complete record of everything that happened has be-
come with them a fad (a fad, you know, is nothing but a good
idea carried too far), and that they are fooling themselves in
thinking that they are doing it in order to have the best min-
utes possible. One secretary remarked that "when one recalls
that the story of the creation was written in about six hundred
words, it is apparent that very important meetings can be re-
ported in comparatively small space."
Besides, as Ex-President Strong in his answer points out :
"Generally speaking, it is dangerous to endeavor to quote indi-
viduals, particularly when they are speaking in opposition to
the position taken by the majority of the committee. A bet-
ter way is to give the thing so clearly in substance that it can-
not be assumed to be a quotation. For instance, Mr. A. op-
posed the motion to endorse the building of the concrete bridge
on the ground that concrete for purposes of a bridge, with a
climate with widely varying temperatures, was not regarded as
METHODS OF RECORDING MINUTES. 347
altogether feasible, and also on the ground that the city was not
justified at present in spending as much money as would be
required for a concrete structure, when the growth of the city
might require, after a generation or two, the building of a struc-
ture of larger capacity. Perhaps Mr. A. took fifteen minutes
in which to present his argument ; but this gives the gist of his
argument in no uncertain terms, without endeavoring to quote
him."
Secretary Must Efface Himself
The commercial secretary should keep himself out of the
minutes as much as possible. He should put himself into the rec-
ord only when necessary because he made a report or something ;
and he should always write the record in the third person-
saying, when referring to matters, that "the secretary reported
that," etc. The use of the word "I" in a record is an unpardon-
able exhibition of egotism and a manifestation of the secre-
tary's inability to detach himself sufficiently from the things
which have transpired to get a correct perspective from the
standpoint of a stranger twenty years from now; and no man
can write ideal records unless he does that.
It is no crime to use correct English, in writing records.
A record is not made any more correct or clear or intelligible
by being written in jerky, disconnected, or fragmentary and in-
complete sentences. As President Guild pointed out, "Nice,
clean-cut, forceful minutes are just as much a joy as a nicely
worded and typewritten letter."
Character of Record Books
The first question under this portion of the questionaire
was intended to develop the form of record book used. About
150 answered this question. One hundred and six (71 per
cent) of the secretaries use some form of loose leaf book; and
of this number about one-fifth have the loose leaves permanent-
ly bound at the end of the year.
The first paragraph should contain a statement of where
and at what time the meeting was held, and who were present.
If the matter in question is a report and it is not in writ-
ing, the statement of the matter in the minutes must, of course,
be sufficiently complete to give all necessary information in
reference to it. If it is a written report, I think the best prac-
tice is to make the best condensation you can in five or six
348 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
lines, and then say "(for copy of report see appendix <A' an-
nexed hereto)" and annex the original report. As was point-
ed out by a number of secretaries, the minutes are more per-
manent and lasting than your files or anything else. The
safest place to put reports is with the minutes of the body
which took final action, (i. e., the directors) ; and they are
also more easily and quickly found there than if distributed
through your files. Your files, to be sure, should also contain
a copy of the report ; but the best place for the original is with
the directors' minutes. In addition to that being the safest
place in which you can put your reports, this method also has
a number of other advantages. It saves time. If you make the
report an appendix you can make the statement in the minutes
in reference to the report much briefer than if it were not read-
ily accessible. It also gives fuller information than you other-
wise possibly could obtain. The minutes give a very brief
condensation of the report, and any one wanting fuller infor
mation can readily consult the report itself, in the appendix.
It makes your record of the meeting itself less bulky, in that
much of what you otherwise would have to put in the minutes
is contained in appendices ; and, further, it facilitates the find-
ing of any matter in the minutes, for the action taken in refer-
ence to the matter is not snowed under and covered up by a lot
of language which can better be made an appendix.
If the matter referred to is a letter or anything else, what
is said above applies equally. If it is of enough importance,
the original should be made an appendix to the record of your
directors' -meeting; and if it is not of enough importance for
that, the record itself should contain a sufficiently full state-
ment in reference to it to give our mythical stranger who is
going to look at the record twenty years from now a clear and
intelligent and correct understanding of what the matter was.
Having put into the record itself so much as was necessary,
using the original document as an appendix, the record should
then state the action taken. If there was a discussion of an
ordinary character, but of no special importance, it is well to
refer to the fact that there was discussion by saying "after dis-
cussion, it was voted/' etc., or "it was voted, after discussion,
that," etc. If the discussion was of an important character, a
very brief statement of the main points brought out in the dis-
cussion on the one side and on the other should be included.
METHODS OF RECORDING MINUTES. 349
Headings or Side Notes
Either headings or side notes should be used to facilitate
finding things. Whether or not you use an index, it seems to
me advisable to have each new subject labeled either by side
notes or a heading. Whether you use the one or the other is a
matter of choice. Personally, I prefer the headings. They are
more quickly and easily written ; they seem to me about as good
a guide as the side notes; and you can use more words in the
headings than in the side notes, and thus give a clearer idea of
what the paragraph is about.
And the last paragraph of your minutes of a meeting should
contain a statement of when the committee adjourned and when
its next meeting is to be held.
If you wish a chronological file of minutes in one book, for
use during the current year, take the first carbon copy and have
it punched in the ordinary way and keep them in the kind of
a binder which suits your fancy. There are hundreds of them
offered for sale, and at reasonable prices.
Whether you keep a set of carbon copies of the minutes ar-
ranged chronologically or not, get a simple folder for the min-
utes of each committee and, as the minutes are written out, put
in that committee's folder all of the minutes of its meetings ar-
ranged chronologically. For this purpose an ordinary cheap
paper folder with a "one-inch expansion," such as is used in
vertical files, can be used; but you will find it a convenience
to use a "press board expansion folder" with stiff sides, such as
all of the vertical filing companies have for sale and they are
not very costly. These should be kept in a vertical filing cabi-
net, alphabetically arranged by committees, so that you can
instantly put your hand on the file of minutes of any particular
committee; and you should have the file of minutes for the
current year at every meeting of the committee. You will find
this a great convenience and a great time saver if you want to
look back in the minutes of any committee and find something.
For current use no one or two books of records are nearly as
convenient or serviceable, and if you will try this plan I think
you will find little and probably no occasion to refer to your
chronological set of minutes during the. current year. Of
course, your official and permanent minuted should all be in
one book.
350 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
Records of Members, Payment of Dues
By ROBERT B. BEACH
A system of records and accounts is one of those things you
have to have, whether you want it or not. Any system will
work with the right man to operate it, but a good system works
easiest and is least likely to go wrong. The less you have to
think about it, the better it is. It will never get you a member
but it may help you to keep a good many members. It may
never give you anything to brag about, but it may save you
something to apologize for.
A good bookkeeper is usually a poor secretary. A good
secretary is usually a poor bookkeeper. The more important,
therefore, that we, as secretaries, see to it that the system we
employ is simple and effective.
When pressed into service to present this subject, I wired a
dozen secretaries for copies of their forms. In looking them
over you will be struck by two facts: First, that no two are
alike; second, that there is, nevertheless, a kind of family re-
semblance.
Immediately you ask, "Why not standardize and arrive at
a uniform system suitable for all?" Can this be done? That
depends. There are certain conditions in our several cham-
bers that are fundamentally different; others that are funda-
mentally the same. Points of difference are:
I. The membership year. Some date from January 1st.
Some from January 1st and July 1st. Some from more fre-
quent periods. Some have twenty-four, the first and fifteenth
of each month. II. Payment of dues annually in advance,
quarterly, monthly. III. Distribution of expense whether only
by such classification as printing, postage, salaries and the
like, or by departments and committees covered in a budget
system with the other classifications under them.
That is not all, of course. Every chamber has some char-
acteristic feature. In our own case, we make it a rule not to
spend this year the money we earn next year. For example,
if a membership year dates from January 15th, twenty-three
twenty-fourths of the dues are available this year and one
twenty-fourth is held for next year's requirements.
But against these detailed differences there are a host of
points of similarity.
RECORDS OF MEMBERS, PAYMENT OF DUES. 351
I. We are all in the same business. II. Our sources of
revenue are the same. III. The problems of collection are com-
mon. IV. Our expenses vary in volume but conform in char-
acter.
What Is To Be Accomplished?
Now what are the things we want to accomplish in our
records of members, dues and disbursements? Most important
we want to know at any minute just who our members are.
Not the list as it stood last week, or as it stood last night, but
the list as it stands right now. Next we want to know whose
dues are paid, whose dues are due and whose dues are in ar-
rears. Next in order we want to know what money we have
spent and what it went for. And, finally, we want to know
what money we have available to spend for work in hand.
Let me explain one simple method of procedure with which
I happen to be familiar. When a member is elected a record
card is made out. It is small the smallest size of index card.
It gives the name and address and classification. Under that
are spaces for recording payment of dues from year to year.
The back is blank. It is used for special memoranda if re-
quired. This card is the complete record of that member's
status of membership. If he resigns, that is noted. If rein-
stated, that is noted. When, for any reason, the membership
terminates the card is removed and placed in an ex-member
file. Moreover, it is the one and only official record with which
all other records are checked.
It is a straight alphabetical record and it never leaves
the inner office of the accounting department. When not in
use, it is locked in a fireproof vault. So much for the card.
Next there is made out a bill for dues "invoice" they call
it in bookkeeping language. It reads "Smith Manufacturing
Company," dues from date to date and the amount. Of this
invoice there are two carbons.
Take note of those carbons, they are important. Both are
punched for loose leaf binders. One goes into the billing tickler
made up of similar carbons of the entire memberships, classi-
fied alphabetically under billing dates, of which there are
twenty-four. Suppose the membership starts today. The car-
bon is filed under November 15th ( (nearest billing date) . One
year hence the billing clerk refers to the November 15th car-
bons and bills for the following year. The exact language is
352 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
there on the carbon, all he has to change is the year. This
happens two years hence, three years hence, and so on as long
as the membership stands.
Now the other carbon you recall there were two. The
second goes into a binder called accounts receivable, filed alpha-
betically, where it stays until paid in due course. Then it is
stamped "paid-' and transferred to a paid accounts binder and
kept as a permanent record.
Duplicate billing is done from the accounts receivable
binder. Nothing goes into the journal for there have to he
journals, cash books and ledgers wherever there are accounts
except the total amount of the billing for a given date.
To recapitulate one card or it may be a compact loose
leaf page if preferred a complete permanent record upon
which payments are noted as made; a bill with two carbons,
the bill going to the member, one carbon to the tickler and one
to the accounts receivable binder and ultimately to the ac-
counts paid binder. Total amounts are recorded on the regu-
lar books. Simple it gives an instantaneous record, always
up to the minute and provides an effective means of following
up the account.
System of Membership Accounts
Going over the exhibit I have drawn certain principles
which, if not self-evident, nevertheless, seem to be reflected in
well-appointed systems of chamber accounts. Here they are :
I. The best membership record is a permanent alphabeti-
cal card or loose leaf index upon which all essential facts, in-
cluding payment of dues, is recorded. This cannot be used
to billfrom unless filed by billing dates and that would destroy
its usefulness as an instantaneous record.
II. It is a good thing to have your billing dates distribu-
ted throughout the year. This avoids a peak load. Your fol-
low-up system by letter and call, if need be, can be worked con-
sistently all the year round. The machinery works all the time.
That makes for efficiency.
III. Keep as much detail as possible off your controlling
ledger and other books of account. Keep the detail in auxiliary
records, as close as possible to the source of information. For
instance, distribution of expense can be itemized in a voucher
which, when returned, is kept as a permanent record.
FORMS, RECORDS AND FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS. 353
IV. A budget system is most important. It leads to fore-
handedness and a scientific planning of your work. It must
be based on a highly conservative estimate of the resources of
the coming year, derived from the experience of the previous
years, leaving what is known in financial circles as a "margin
of safety."
V. All expenditures should be authorized by requisition
signed by the secretary. Then you have centralized authority
and undivided responsibility.
VI. There must be an intelligent record of the distribu-
tion of expense, which upon analysis from time to time will
yield instructive information for future guidance.
The error that you especially want to guard against in the
operation of any system you employ is the unpardonable sin
of sending a bill to the member who has paid his dues. The
object you especially want to accomplish is timeliness. A rec-
ord, however accurate of conditions as they were last week or
last month, is of little practical value, but the record of to-day
is not merely useful, it's inspiring.
Forms, Records and Financial Accounts
COMMITTEE REPORT ON STANDARDIZED FORMS*
Out of the varied methods which our chambers of com-
merce use for the keeping of membership records and financial
accounts no two alike either in general character of the sys-
tems or in the forms that are employed your committee, obedi-
ent to instructions, has selected that procedure which seems
simplest and best. This procedure it offers as a basis of stand-
ardization, with such adaptations as local conditions may re-
quire.
The study is based upon a rather full list of questions ad-
dressed to the commercial secretaries comprising the member-
ship of the N. A. G. O. S., to which letters of inquiry there
were 131 replies, practically all accompanied by copies of
forms. Certain of these forms have been collected in exhibits
and are submitted as a corollary of this report.
*The committee consisted of R. B. Beach, Chairman; lA. V. Snell, E. H.
Krueger, John M. Guild. H. H. Mathonet, A. J. Miller and H. J. Wollenb?rg.
354 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
To present its message directly and clearly the committee
makes its report in three parts. In part one are given the forms
recommended, briefly described and with little argument. Ex-
planations are supplied in part two, with a limited discussion
of considerations coming within the committee's investigation.
Part three summarizes the responses to inquiries addressed by
the committee to members of the N. A. C. O. S. with respect to
important features of current accounting systems.
PART I
The forms recommended by your committee for simplicity,
accuracy and dependable results subject to "interpretations"
that may appear in part two are given below :
1. Official Membership Record.
The form recommended is 5 by 8 inches, either loose leaf
or card, the loose-leaf binder being preferable where not to
exceed six hundred accounts are kept in a binder.
This form should contain the following information :
Stria. I Nc
Dale f/tct
Secured
Termtnat
Remark
B
ApplicAtio
NofMfmt
LANK CHAMBffi OF COMMERCE
MEMBERSHIP LEDGER
/
Vfil)ip&
AODRE
BUSIN
ss
,d
ESS
s
DATE
DR.
DR.BAL
CR.
CR. BAL.
DATE
DR.
DR.BAL.
CR.
CR. BAL.
The ruling is regular double-entry form. Only one side of
the paper should be used. Two debit and two credit columns
are provided. While the extra column is not indispensable for
purpose indicated, it is especially valuable where chambers
have club features, permitting separation of dues from club
FORMS, RECORDS AND FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS.
353
accounts. In the case of large organizations which distribute
dues by function or periods, the columns are available for that
purpose.
2. Continuous Record of Members.
This should be a bound record, the pages containing fifty
lines on a side. The headings should be
BLANK CHAMBER. OF COMMERCE
MEMBERSHIP RECORD
SERIAL NO
NAME
DATE:
ELECTED
DUES
TERM IN ATION
DATE
R.E.NN A R.KS
00
01
02
OS
04
05
N22
The name of each member should be entered in the order
of election and numbered consecutively.
No index is required, for this is provided by the official
record, which gives serial number. (See part 2.)
3. Personnel Record Form.
This record should be kept on cards 4 by 6 inches in size.
It is for general reference (as the official record should not be
used for miscellaneous reference) and may be prepared in three
ways, the distinction indicated by color, as follows:
White For the general membership list, the white card
signifying that the name on top line (whether firm or indi-
vidual) is the name in which the membership officially stands.
Blue For cross-indexing firms and individuals, the blue
card signifying that the name on the top line (whether firm or
individual) is not the name in which the membership official-
ly stands, that being given in the second line.
Buff For business directory, filed by character of busi-
ness.
The information to be recorded on the blue and white cards
is similar, each having two forms, (a) firm and (b) individual,
as follows :
356
METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
PERSONNEL CARD-FIRM
FIRM NAME
ADDRESS
PHONE
BUSINESS
INDIVIDUALS
POSITION HELD
REMARKS
BLANK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
N23A
PERSONNEL CARD - INDIVIDUAL
INTERESTED IN
NAME
FIRM
BUSINESS ADDRESS
RESIDENCE ADDRE55
B. PHONE R. PHONE
NATURE OF BUSINESS
POSITION HELD
OTHER ORGANIZATIONS
COMMITTEE SERVICE
BLANK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
N23B.
These cards are filed by firms and by individuals, each serv-
ing as a key to the other. The business record form (buff) con-
tains :
FORMS, RECORDS AND FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS.
357
BUSINESS
FIRM NAME
ADDRESS
PHONE
REPRESENTATIVES
PERSONNEL CARD - BUSIN ESS
DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS
MAKES OR SELLS
BLANK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
N23C
4. Bills.
Wording of the bill is determined somewhat by the by-
laws. A good form is given below :
(FRONT)
INVOICE
BLANK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Qumotr of Commerce Bui/ding
City. Stdte
.19
Amount $_
Details of Invoice
(BACK)
MEMORANDUM
BLANK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Chtmtfr o/ Commprce BvM/ng
City Stale
19
Amount
358
METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
This form is designed to fold and insert in "window en-
velope." The arrangement permits the writing of invoice and
memorandum with one operation, using carbon.
The practice of sending receipts (except where currency
is used) is useless and wasteful and has been discontinued
generally by modern mercantile establishments.
5. Budget Form.
We recommend that chambers generally adopt the budget
system. In fact, we do not see how organizations can be fully
successful and efficient without the use of a predetermined
budget. A simple form of budget, which may be written on a
plain sheet, is given below:
BLANK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Estimate of Budqet Requirements for /92O
Total Expenclifures/919 $
Estimdted Revenue /920J
Department (or Committee)
Appropriation
'' 1919
Expenditures
1919
Requested
1 93.0
Appropriation
rr is>2o
HeGdourtrt^r^
133.90
6f)
//<?<70
oo
/ 6~O O O
CO
Civic
3<?7 /
CO
432.0
oo
5OOO
06
Jnrlu.^triri 1
5~Sfe
CO
S-S7?
00
1 OOOO
00
Trrtr/p
3411
00
2060
oo
4000
OO
A/Mr////
42.62
oo
4371
oo
7*00
OO
Etc
N25
The foregoing is a summary sheet, giving the totals for
departments (or committees). It may be supplemented by de
tailed statements from each department, with similar columns
of figures, the first column giving the items into which the de-
partment (or committee) expense is divided.
Inasmuch as budget-making is the subject of a special
paper to be presented to the Fifth Annual Convention of the
N. A. C. O. S., the Committee on Standardized Forms includes
it as a feature of the general system of accounts without de-
tailed recommendations.
FORMS, RECORDS AND FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS.
359
6. Voucher.
Good accounting practice prescribes a voucher made in
duplicate, the original of which is a statement of account per-
forated at the point of connection with the check paper. The
other half is the duplicate copy, to which the supporting docu-
ments are firmly and permanently affixed. In a rigidly adhered
to system the vouchers are numbered and passed through a
voucher record, where they are entered in numerical order,
and when finally passed for payment the checks are given a
number and are again entered in the cash book as a credit to
the bank and a debit to vouchers payable. The difference be-
tween the checks issued and the vouchers payable is the ac-
counts payable of the institution.
There is no question that this is the proper system to use
in large mercantile institutions which make a large percentage
of their purchases on an extended credit basis. Since practical-
ly all chambers of commerce are operating on a cash basis it
would seem unnecessary to make the duplicate record. We,
therefore, recommend a voucher incorporating on its face the
FOLD HERE
BLANK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
\0 Chamber rf Commerce &?c/y.
Citu State ?9
or To Blank Ban A
Citu, State
Pay : i
To the order of_
The Blank Chamber of Commerce
I3y
.Secretary
360
METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
check and on the back the distribution of the charge; that it
be recorded direct in a column cash book and credited to the
bank as a check issued and the charges distributed according
to the items as recorded on the voucher portion of the docu-
ment. This should not be a sheet from which the voucher
portion can be detached. It should be a single document, and
when it is returned from the bank can be filed with the support-
ing documents in the same manner as a duplicate voucher is
filed.
A simple form of voucher is shown on this and preceding
page:
DATE
DESCRI PTI ON
AMOUNT
AUDITE
D APPROVFD
DISTRIBUTION
DEPARTMENT
ACCOUNT
NUMBER
AMOUNT
N26
7. Books of Account.
We recommend the following records as the permanent
books of account:
(a) Cash receipts.
(b) Cash disbursements.
(c) Journal.
(d) General ledger.
(e) Subsidiary records as needed.
FORMS, RECORDS AND FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS.
361
(a) Cash Receipts. This should be a loose-leaf form,
ruled, with printed headings, date, name, folio ( symbol check ) ,
amount and with enough blank columns to bring the sheet to
the size of the disbursement record, so that they may both be
used in the same size binder or, in the case of the small organi-
zations, in the same binder. The last two columns should be
ruled and have headings in blank for bank deposits.
(b) Disbursements. This record should be practically a
stock ruled columnar journal sheet. Suggested headings are
date, name, folio (symbol check), next column blank, under
which would come two headings, account and number, followed
by heading "check number'' and approximately ten blank
columns, which can be headed with department or commitee
activities. These in turn are followed by two columns with
general heading blank for bank withdrawals this on the
theory that many chambers use more than one bank, but
hardly more than two in one month, the sheet to be the same
size as the cash received sheet.
(c) Journal. This should be an ordinary three-column
stock-ruled sheet, preferably 9i4xl2-inch size, to be used in the
same size binder as the general ledger.
Monthly Stdfemeni of Department Expenditures
Department.
.Month 01
BU DG ET
MONTH
EXPEN SE
M O N T-M
3UDGE1T
TO DATE
EX PE.NSE:
TO DATE
1 Salaries
2 Pos/a^e
3 Printing
A- Stationery
5 Auto Hire
6 Travel i nq Expense
7 Rent
Etc
N28A
362
METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
(d) General ledger. We recommend the ordinary stock-
ruled ledger sheet, with debit and credit sides equal, but with
the two columns, debit and debit balance and credit and credit
balance, on each side of the sheet for the general ledger. This
sheet is 9^/^x12 inches to conform with the journal.
(e) Subsidiary records. We find that it is necessary in
some of the larger institutions to carry subsidiary records in
order to amplify the accounts, as shown in the major records.
RECAPITULATION OF EXPENSES
Current Year to Date
19
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
Total
\ Salaries
2 Postage
3 PrinHnq
4 Stationery
5 Auto Hire
6 TravGlinq Expenses
7 Rent
8 Eic
9
10
II
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Total
N28B
FORMS, RECORDS AND FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS.
363
For instance, in the general ledger the accounts receivable ac-
count is represented by the membership ledger, which is sub-
sidiary and itemizes in detail the gross total shown in the mem-
bership account on the general ledger. This is necessary in
other instances such as the distribution of expenditures of com-
mittees and departments. These forms can scarcely be stand-
ardized to be adaptable to the needs of all organizations, but
they should be made to conform strictly to the general system
used in the recapitulation of expense and the disbursement
records.
S. Recapitulation of Expense.
In order that this form may be properly kept it is recom-
mended that the accounts of the several departments or com-
mittees be standardized as far as possible on the numerical
basis. This is provided for in the form of the cash disburse-
ment record. As an example, Department "A" (the "A" being
merely used as a designation of a department or committee)
would use the numbers from 1 to 20 to designate its activities,
1 being salary, 2 being postage, etc. ; Departments B, C, D, etc.,
would use the same numbering system for detail of items. Thus
"A-3," "B-5," etc., would instantly identify a charge. In other
words, the prefix (letter) would be the department or commit-
tee and the suffix (number) the expenditure.
BLANK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
City State.
De liver to _
Chamber of Commerce Buildmcj
Purchase Order
19 _ M
Quantity
Articles
Price Amount
Ordered by .
Charge
Blank Cham her cf Commerce
By
Secretary
N29A
364 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
The monthly summary of expenditures of each department
(or committee, etc.) should include this information.
These monthly statements of departmental expenditures
are brought together in a general summary as follows: (See
p. 362, No. 8B.)
9. Purchase Order.
All purchases should be by order signed by the secretary,
issued in triplicate (or quadruplet). A simple form as shown
on page 363 :
The original of the purchase order goes to the party from
whom goods are bought. The first copy, yellow (punched for
a loose-leaf binder) , goes into a permanent binder, to be checked
off when settlement is made. The second copy, pink, is held
and attached to bill when received, so that when voucher check
is signed it has attached, for the information of those required
to approve or certify, copy of purchase order, together with bill.
Where an organization is departmentized there should be
as a preliminary to the purchase of goods a requisition, issued
by the department manager or chairman, in response to which
the goods are purchased and charged to that department. Such
a form provides :
This department requisition is also attached to the bill
when received so that complete information may be supplied.
10. Expense Account Form.
A suitable form for recording expenses in traveling is con-
venient and promotes accuracy. Such a form is suggested on
page 365 :
11. Petty Cash.
For the handling of petty cash items the form on page 366
is recommended:
12. Monthly Membership Record.
A useful form for monthly reports of membership standing,
as shown on page 366, gives this data :
13. Membership Prospect Card.
Supplementing the official membership record there should
be maintained a permanent prospect list, "permanent" being
used to imply that the list is kept up at all times, not made up
sporadically when "drives" are contemplated. Such a form is
given on page 367 :
FORMS, RECORDS AND FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS.
365
REQUISITION
PURCHASING DEPARTMENT Dale 13
Please obtain for /he use of this Deportment, the
following.
QUANTITY
DESCRIPTION
PRICE
\ I --
S^neJ
Department
N29B
Requisition Order Blank for Supplies.
BLANK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Expense Account
19-
Thefb/foH'/flg /s a statement of my Expense Account from to .
(Signed) Charge.
Approved by
Date
Place
Hotel Meals Taxi Misc. Total
N2 10
Form for Recording Traveling Expenses.
366 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
n*te JQ
<t PETTY CASH RECEIPT NO
P=rpiv^H of D*hf> IQ
BLANK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Dnll^K^
/L f
w
CO 1
I
Requeued ' L
OK
N211
Form for handling Petty Cash transactions.
Memberships
Resignations
Payments
Old Outstanding Accounts
Monlhs
Mpfnte
m
Tolal
/
Gross
Member 5hip
end of
Month
Numbe
ppndmq
to dale
Per
Cen
Not
Number
Pflid
PER
CPH
f>ai<
Members
Unpaid
Per
G?fi
ll[| f i
The
Unpaid
Resignation
Pending
Total
end of
Month
JAN
FEB
Etc
lolol
m *P
^
HK
Form for Monthly Reports on Membership Standing.
FORMS. RECORDS AND FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS. 367
MEMBERSHIP PROSPECT
NAME
ADDRESS.
PHONE
LINE OF BUSINESS.
RECOMENDED BY_
MEMBERSHIP SECURED BY.
REMARKS
N213
Such forms as the application blank and membership card
are not included as this report is confined to those items that
are a part of the permanent record of the chamber.
PART II
In preparing this report the committee on standardized
forms has considered the requirements of the small chamber of
commerce, the large chamber of commerce, the medium-sized
chamber of commerce, and believes that while the procedure
necessarily becomes more complex and the forms more numer-
ous and possibly more elaborate as the size of the chamber in-
creases, nevertheless the same principles of simple and sound
accounting and (with slight modifications) the same forms
are applicable to all regardless of size.
Some of the forms described in part one may not be re-
quired by a chamber, let us say, with three hundred members.
Where it is possible to know all or the greater part of the
membership personally the relative importance of a system of
personnel cards, for example, decreases measurably.
Where accounts are small in volume the ordinary check-
book may serve as well as a specially prepared voucher.
In the main, however, all of the records required by the
larger chamber are quite as necessary in some form to the
368 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
smaller chamber, and if the form devised be the simplest form
compatible with sound bookkeeping and dependable results,
there is even more reason why the small chamber, which cannot
maintain an accounting department with experts in charge,
should adopt a system that has fewest possibilities for "grief."
If there is, therefore, a "best" way for keeping membership
records and accounts which best way your committee has en-
deavored to discover it is even more important that this best
way be made known to the small chamber than to the large
chamber. There are certain fundamental principles that apply
to the sound administration of the funds of every organization.
Briefly these are:
Principles That Govern
1 . The financial operations of every chamber should start
with a budget. This calls for an estimate of the annual revenue,
deduction to provide a reasonable margin of safety, setting aside
of a contingent fund to provide for new activities and unfore-
seen expenditures, and the apportionment of the balance be-
tween the principal activities contemplated for the year.
2. This allotment made, there must be frequent and in-
telligent reports to indicate its condition. Every month the
secretary should have before him a statement which will show :
a. How much money has been spent, b. To what activities
it has gone. c. How it has been divided between the basic items
of expense common to chamber of commerce activities print-
ing, postage, rent, salaries and the like. d. How these expendi
tures compare with those of other like periods, e. The condi-
tion of the appropriations against which they are charged.
f. How much of the estimated revenue remains to be spent.
g. How actual collections compare with estimated revenue,
h. The status of the membership, with essential details concern-
ing applications, resignations and delinquent accounts.
Such a statement enables the secretary to administer the
funds of the chamber wisely and effectively. Without such in-
formation good management is impossible.
3. All expenditures should be authorized in advance by
purchase order, signed by the secretary or business manager,
thus preventing unauthorized expenditures and making cer-
tain that obligations are incurred with a knowledge of the con-
dition of the appropriations against which they are charged.
4. All obligations incurred in any month should be en-
FORMS, RECORDS AND FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS. 369
tered in the books before the close of the month either as paid
or as accounts payable, so that the monthly financial statement
will be the complete showing of the exact condition of each ac-
count, and only under such condition can an intelligent analy-
sis of monthly reports be made.
5. The system of accounts should not be a "hand-me-
down." It should be made to order patterned after the best
procedure that has been developed in chamber of commerce
work. Slip-shod methods in the accounting department reflect
slip-shod methods in the operation of the organization itself.
It is the place where sound administration and businesslike
methods should start, and starting here, they will extend most
rapidly to every department of the chamber's activities.
With these basic principles every chamber of commerce
system of records and accounts should tally and the forms al-
ready presented are those which, in the opinion of your com-
mittee, carry out most simply and directly these principles.
There are important particulars in which chamber of com-
merce procedure differs and which do not properly come within
the scope of our present considerations.
The fiscal year of our chambers is not uniform. The period
of billing is not uniform ; some bill annually in advance, some
semi-annually, some quarterly and some at more frequent peri-
ods.
Even where dues are billed annually or semi-annually the
practice differs. Some bill all dues at one time, say, on January
1 or January 1 and July 1. Some chambers have a greater
number of billing periods. Two chambers have as many as
twenty-four.
Securing Uniformity
As an expression of opinion rather than as a matter of re-
port your committee suggests as desirable and in the interest
of uniformity :
1. That the fiscal year coincide with the calendar year.
2. That dues be billed annually in advance. Semi-annual
and quarterly payments mean more bookkeeping, more trouble
in collecting accounts and more opportunities for a member to
resign. Nor does there appear to be any evidence to support
the theory save in exceptional cases, which can be handled
individually that the membership finds it easier to pay in
installments.
370 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
3. The billing of dues need not be confined to one billing
date. There are advantages in the case of medium -sized or
large chambers in distributing the work of billing and collec-
tion throughout the year. It avoids a peak-load at the begin-
ning of the fiscal year when the attention of the new adminis-
tration should be devoted to a constructive program of activity.
The most important single record that a chamber maintains
is the official list of members (the membership ledger, form
one), on which is recorded the charge and the payment of dues.
There should be but one "official" list, not used for general
reference, but kept under lock and key and used only for the
keeping of the chamber's account with each member and as a
standard against which other lists required for general refer-
ence may be checked from time to time.
The majority of chambers, as will appear in part three, use
a loose-leaf form for the official membership list. The advan-
tage where the membership is small is obvious. The pages are
held securely in one place and cannot easily be detached or lost.
As the number increases, however, the card index develops cer-
tain advantages. A binder has limitations, whereas a card
index may be expanded indefinitely. With some of the new
devices that have come into the market for the safe and con-
venient handling of card records these advantages are empha-
sized. For this reason the form recommended by your com-
mittee is made applicable for use in either manner.
Continuous Bound Records
As to the necessity of a bound continuous record, opinion
in the committee was divided. The principal argument in its
favor is that it stands as a permanent safeguard against error.
Cards and loose leaves may occasionally be lost or destroyed
and inasmuch as there has been eliminated from the continuous
record such items as addresses and other data, which must be
corrected and "kept up," so that the effort involved is compara-
tively small, this form has been included, though it does in fact
represent a duplication of other records. This record gives an
exact total of dues 'pay able, with which the total billing must
agree. Deductions for resignations and other terminations are
made in a single memorandum at each billing date, making a
proper subtraction from the total.
Billing in almost all cases may be done directly from the
FORMS, RECORDS AND FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS. 371
membership ledger forms. Where this is inadvisable by reason
of the number of billing dates a tickler may be employed, made
up of carbon of the original bill for dues filed in a binder under
billing dates.
Certain forms recommended are designed with a view to
using window envelopes. This applies to the bill (form four)
and the voucher check (form six). This not only effects a sav-
ing where the number of such items is comparatively large, but
it promotes accuracy and for that reason alone is desirable.
The committee has not gone into great detail with respect
to the books of account. It goes Avithout saying that all cham-
ber records must be kept by the double-entry bookkeeping sys-
tem. This means that the books must be kept by a competent
person. That is essential under all circumstances. Where the
accounts are comparatively small the bookkeeping methods cor-
respond closely with ordinary practice. As the volume in-
creases the degree of competence of those handling the accounts
must necessarily increase. And with the forms and recom-
mendations already presented your committee feels that the
systems already employed can readily be adapted to the simpli-
fied procedure herein recommended without going into greater
technical detail. We have no desire to attempt the unwelcome
task of putting the members of the N. A. C. O. S. through a
course in advanced accountancy. The forms and principles
suggested, we feel, speak adequately in their own behalf.
PART III
Of the questionaires sent to the membership of the N. A.
C. O. S., 131 were returned. They are classified as follows:
From organizations under 500 members 35
Organizations of from 500 to 999 40
Organizations of 1,000 to 2,999 .", 23
Organizations of from 3,000 up 17
115
No information 16
131
These questionaires were studied for the purpose of de-
termining the best forms for the following records:
1. The official membership record for accounting pur-
poses.
2. Continuous record of members.
372 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
3. Personnel card record form.
4. Bills.
5. Budget form.
6. Voucher.
7. Books of account: (a) record of cash received, (b)
record of cash disbursements, (c) journal, (d) gen-
eral ledger, ( e ) subsidiary ledger or other records.
8. Kecapitulation.
9. Requisitions.
10. Expense account form.
11. Petty cash form.
12. Monthly membership records.
13. Membership prospect cards.
Investigation of the replies with respect to the form of the
official membership record reveals the following:
Card Not Loose
3x5 4x6 5x8 given leaf Bound Total
Under 500 7 10 . . 6 11 1 35
500 to 999 5 8 1 2 23 1 40
1,000 to 2,999 6 3 4 9 1 23
3,000 and over 4 1 2 1 8 1 17
Total 22 22 7 9 51 4 115
We shall not attempt for purposes of this report to tabulate
the replies to most of the questions propounded. In many cases
the answers do not lend themselves to tabulation. In others
the information revealed is of value primarily to the committee
as a. basis of its recommendations. The data on billing dates,
however, is interesting. The tabulation reveals :
Fixed Dates Varying Dates
Semi- Semi- Not
Mo. Quar. An. An. Mo. Quar. An. An. Given Total
Under 500 3 9 8 11 2 .. .... 2 35
500 to 999 6 11 8 9 2 .. 121 40
1,000 to 2,999... 1 6 4 7 2 .... 3 23
3,000 and over 4 3 5 1 1 3 .. 17
Total 10 30 23 32 6 1 2 8 3 115
Supplementing this report, the forms of a number of cham-
bers are displayed as exhibits. We cannot show them all, nor
have we made a special effort to select the best or the worst.
They are presented as a matter of interest and we believe that
FILING SYSTEMS FOR CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE. 373
a careful examination of each system illustrated will prove
as helpful and as interesting to each one who goes over the
forms for himself as they have been helpful, not to say inspir-
ing, to your committee.
Our suggestions are left with you for what they may be
worth. We believe that much can be gained through greater
uniformity in the keeping of records and accounts and trust
that this report may aid in approaching that end.
Filing Systems for Chambers of Commerce
By S. CRISTY MEAD
Files constitute the key to the successful physical opera-
tion of an organization office, because they are the repository iu
which are placed all the papers, documents and material of
various types which must furnish the basis of consideration and
action by members of the staff, committees and board of direc-
tors.
The so-called filing system, therefore, is of fundamental im-
portance to all other operations conducted by the organization.
] said "so-called" filing systems because, in my judgment, the
facility needed is not so much a filing system, which implies a
place in which to put things, but it must be primarily a finding
system, which implies a repository from which necessary ma-
terial can be secured with speed, completeness and accuracy.
Requisite Principles
Requisite Principles. There are five requisites incident to
a successful and efficient system :
First. It must be a finding system; it must not only put
the papers out of sight, but must produce them instantly when
required.
Second. It must be as simple in plan of construction as
possible.
Third. It must not require an efficiency expert to operate
it.
Fourth. It must be elastic ; that is, capable of expanding
with the growth of business and with the least possible altera-
tion or rearrangement of material already placed therein.
374 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
Fifth. It must serve and not dominate or revolutionize
your organization.
Basis for Filing Systems
From conferences with some professional experts on filing
and from a study of the brochures issued by others, I find that
it is practically agreed that there are two, and only two, funda-
mental bases upon which the mechanical construction of a
filing system must be founded. These two bases are: First,
Subjects; and, second, Barnes.
A filing plan is merely a very essential tool in the conduct
of the organization business. It is highly important, therefore,
that the nature of that business should carefully be considered
in order to determine the exact type of filing tool best adapted
to serve the requirements of that business.
It will be conceded, I believe, that a chamber of commerce
is dealing primarily with principles, that is subjects. They
constitute the bases for all committee deliberations and recom-
mendations, for all activity on the part of the board of direc-
tors and of the members. Therefore, in chamber of commerce
work the filing system should be constructed upon the basis of
subjects rather than of names. Names, in chamber w^ork, are
merely incidental to the subjects, whether the documents con-
sist of correspondence, reports or any other type. This is true
even in connection with such a subject as membership, corre-
spondence in regard to which, from the organization's stand-
point, relates primarily to the subject of membership rather
than to the individual member.
In this respect a commercial organization differs radically
from most business establishments which deal in many cases
with only one subject, such as "cotton," or, at most, with a rela-
tively few subjects descriptive of their respective stocks in
trade. With such a business establishment the name is the im-
portant thing, because its operations consist of personal tran-
sactions in which the commodity or subject is secondary, the
primary object of the business being to consummate sales, which
are personal transactions with their customers.
Methods of Construction
It is maintained by experts on filing that there are two
primary methods of constructing such a plan; one, the direct
alphabetic method; and, the other, a numeric method. There
FILING SYSTEMS FOR CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE. 375
has also been devised a method known as the "automatic index
system/' which is a combination of the two just mentioned, and
which depends largely on certain special physical equipment.
Where necessary for special uses one or the other of these meth-
ods is supplemented by a geographic system.
Subject filing by the direct alphabetic method consists of
arranging in alphabetic order individual folders, upon which
are written the subject titles.
Where subjects are divided, the subdivisions are placed in
separate folders and filed immediately behind the principal
folders, with subject titles and their divisions both shown on
the tabs on the subject folders.
Equipment for this method usually consists of compressed
board guides for the alphabetical divisions, behind which the
individual name or subject folders are placed.
Miscellaneous folders one for each alphabetic guide are
often used to hold correspondence of a strictly miscellaneous
character, or relative to an active subject until the matter has
become sufficiently important or voluminous to require an' in-
dividual folder.
When correspondence, classified by subjects and filed alpha -
helically, reaches a considerable volume it is advisable to sup-
port the file itself with a reference index. The Chamber of
Commerce of the United States has in operation such an index.
Automatic Index and Numeric Method
The automatic index system may also be used for subject
filing. This index has two groups of guides. Subjects are filed
alphabetically behind the primary guides, and divisions of the
subjects are also filed alphabetically behind the secondary
guides in the same primary subdivisions.
For a number of reasons I believe, as a result of my studies
as well as of experience, that the numeric method is best adapt-
ed to subject filing for commercial organizations.
Under the numeric system consecutive numbers are as-
signed to the principal subjects. These subjects are then di-
vided into as many dependent, or sub-subjects, as seems neces-
sary by the use of an auxiliary number separated from the
principal number by a decimal point. This method provides
unlimited elasticity with a minimum of disarrangement of the
existing filing through additions thereto as new work develops.
376 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
When a division of a dependent subject becomes advisable
a letter of the alphabet may be added to the auxiliary number.
To illustrate: The subject of cables is given the number 99.
Under that is a sub-subject of censorship of cables, which is
given the number 99.1.
This sub-subject is then divided into four groups: 1. Brit-
ish refund on cables held up, which is given number 99.1a. 2.
American censorship, which is given the number 99. Ib. 3. In-
formation secured regarding Americanship censorship for
censors office, which is given number 99. Ic. 4. American re-
fund on cables held up, 99.1 d.
This numeric system has great elasticity as new subjects
are added from time to time by simply assigning the next un-
used number to a subject as it develops. A reference card must
be made out for, and a file number assigned to, each subject.
These cards are filed alphabetically and give reference by num-
ber of folder to any paper in the file.
Geographic System
The geographic system above mentioned is of use only in
special cases Avhere it is desirable to file documents by geograph-
ic divisions, and it is so simple that its title fully describes it.
Thus far I have referred to my conception of the principles
underlying filing needs and to the recognized methods of con-
structing filing plans. Pursuant to a request made at the last
annual convention, the bulk of this paper will be devoted to a
brief outline of the system used in the office of The Merchants'
Association of New York.
The association's filing plan is the result of evolution and
revolution. When the organization first began its operations
the opinion obtained, which was subsequently proved erroneous,
that the organization's dealings would be primarily with indi-
viduals rather than with subjects. Accordingly there was in-
stalled an alphabetical filing system predicated upon names as
a basis.
For a few years this operated fairly well because the ac-
tivities of the organization were comparatively few, the number
of subjects dealt with was limited and the filing system, there-
fore, was relatively unimportant in size and in diversity of mat-
ters.
As the association's activities grew, however, it soon be-
FILING SYSTEMS FOR CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE. 377
came evident that the necessity of securing instantly from the
files all papers, whether correspondence or reports, relative to
a certain subject could not be met by the alphabetical filing
system predicated upon the name basis. Two or three different
attempts were made to reorganize the system with correspond-
ing chaos during the time of reorganization.
Subject Basis and Numeric Plan
Finally there was evolved, out of our experiences and neces-
sities, the conviction that the subject basis with the most elastic
method of operation was required to serve the organization's
purposes.
This at once produced a revolution in our filing system
a complete change from the name basis to the subject basis,
and the installation of the numeric instead of the alphabetical
plan.
The numeric plan was selected because of our belief in the
greater degree of elasticity and less degree of disarrangement
and disorganization of files due to the rapid addition of new
and unrelated subjects thereto.
Centralization of Files
In the first place, as a result of experience, we found it
advisable to create the file as a central filing department for
all bureaus and branches of the association. We have found
that a central filing bureau is the most efficient and satisfac-
tory method, because no matter how large the chamber may be
or how many different departments it may develop, all the
branches are so correlated that any one of them is apt to need
a certain document at some particular time. A central filing
department makes this both possible and practicable without
losing record of the exact whereabouts of the document at any
particular moment. A central department also makes all docu-
ments more quickly available to the secretary and other mem-
bers of the staff whose relations extend to all the various
branches or bureaus of the organization. Moreover, and quite
as important, is the fact that responsibility for the effective
operation of the filing plan is placed squarely upon the shoul-
ders of one individual, namely, the head of the filing depart-
ment.
Tt has been my endeavor in making the following descrip-
378 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
tion of our filing system as far as possible to avoid being too
technical to be readily understood, because the successful use
of that system, or of any other system, implies an intelligent
cooperation on the part of the users as well as of the file clerks.
I would particularly call attention to the rules regarding co-
operation as set forth in the description.
The System
(a) It is a subject file. A list of general subjects is kept
in a folio arranged numerically.
(b) A card index (3x5) is kept of all subjects and sub-sub-
jects, arranged alphabetically within a card file box. This box
is kept on the desk of the file clerk in charge. There should be
a card for every subject and sub-subject in the files. Each sub
subject should refer back to each main subject heading.
All material sent to the files must show that it has re-
ceived proper attention.
(a) All correspondence before being sent to the files must
be checked or date of reply marked to indicate that it lias had
the attention of the person in the office to whom it had been re-
ferred.
(b) If answer has been made by telephone or personal
visitation, this fact should be noted on the letter.
(c) The file clerks are not to receive into the files any
material unless they are certain it has had proper attention.
For example: A letter is received from B. Brown Brother
dwelling upon tAVO subjects foreign trade and a request for a
publication issued by the organization. It is marked for the
persons or bureau concerned. Should this letter reach the files
without the necessary check or date of reply to each subject,
the file clerk must return it at once for proper attention.
Carbon Copies
Two carbon copies a yellow and a green are made of
all out-going correspondence.
(a) The yellow carbon is filed in the subject file. The
papers within a subject or sub-subject folder are filed alpha-
betically. Within the subject file all papers having to do with
any one firm, individual or corporation are attached together,
the latest date on top. Use pins to fasten papers, as clips re-
sult in torn documents and other inconveniences. When it is
FILING SYSTEMS FOR CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE. 379
sufficiently heavy it is backed up by a cardboard back and
held together with an elastic band.
(b) The green carbon sheets serve as a name index and
are filed alphabetically. All green carbon sheets addressed to
any one firm, individual or corporation are pinned together, the
latest date on top. In some instances the correspondence with
a firm, individual or corporation is sufficiently voluminous to
warrant its being placed in a separate folder. On the green
carbon is placed the number of the folder in which the corre-
sponding yellow carbon is being filed. No one has access to the
green sheets save the clerks in the filing department, Under
no circumstances are green sheets to be taken from the files
without the permission of the secretary, and this only when
the yellow sheet has been lost, and to permit a copy to be made
thereof. If a letter received by the organization is of a nature
which requires no answer, or has been answered by telephone
or personal visitation, the file clerk makes a green substitution
sheet, thus indicating it has been received by the filing depart-
ment. The substitution green sheet is placed in the alphabeti-
cal index.
Circular Letters
Two copies of all circular letters are sent to the files with
a list of persons to whom the letters are addressed attached to
each letter.
One of the copies is marked "circular 77 and is placed in the
proper subject folder. The other is marked "duplicate circu-
lar" and is placed in the green sheet index, alphabetically filed
under the letter "0." When looking up or matching up incom-
ing correspondence, which very often* refers to a date without
giving the subject, the file clerk has two places to look for the
letter referred to :
1. In the green sheet alphabetical index, under the firm,
individual or corporation name; or
2. On the lists attached to the "duplicate circular" of that
date.
Cross-Reference Slips
If an incoming letter is received containing two or more
subjects, cross-reference slips are filled out and placed in the
other subject or subjects referred to.
For each document or letter taken out of the files a blue
charge sheet (Letter Taken Out) is made in substitute and is
380 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
filed in the folder from which the correspondence is taken. This
charge sheet remains in the folder until the correspondence is
returned, when the slip is destroyed by the filing department.
It is absolutely necessary that all correspondence, reports,
papers or documents, which ultimately would reach the files,
be sent promptly to the filing bureau. Only in this way can
the filing system be kept complete.
If it is desired that papers be returned for immediate or
future reference, there is attached to the letter or document
an orange "return slip. 7 ' On this slip the person who wishes the
correspondence returned fills in the date on which he desires
it and signs his name thereto. A record of the papers to be re-
turned is kept in a diary. It is advisable to use a standard
diary blank book rather than cards, as cards are apt to be lost
or misplaced. Each morning the clerk in charge of the filing
bureau consults this diary, takes from the files all the papers
to be returned that day and sends them to the bureau or indi-
viduals who have made the requests therefor. The "return
slip r<l remains attached, and when the correspondence is re-
turned to the filing bureau it must bear the O. K. and signature
of the person who has requested it. The slip is then destroyed
by the filing department, While it is out of the files, of course,
one of the blue charge sheets (Letter Taken Out), referred to
previously, is placed in the proper subject folder.
Committee Correspondence
In general, committee correspondence and documents are
kept in the general subject file under the proper subject. In
other words, we have no special committee file. There is, of
course, a certain amount of correspondence, such as calls for
meetings, committee appointments, minutes, reports, etc., which
must be kept properly filed under the name of the committee
to which they refer. For example, a number is assigned to the
general subject "committee.'' A point and number is then as-
signed to each committee. For each committee there are four
folders, as follows:
1. General folder, in which is placed the correspondence
concerning appointments to the committee, resignations and no-
tices of meetings thereof.
2. A folder for the minutes, which are bound in a special
binder.
FILING SYSTEMS FOR CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE. 381
3. A folder for reports, which are bound in a special
binder.
4. The agenda (often called "docket"), in which is filed
correspondence and papers to receive the attention of the com-
mittee.
Whenever correspondence, a letter or a document is to be
referred to a committee for its attention, this fact is noted on
the paper before it is sent to the files. The file clerk places on
the green sheet the proper file number. In the subject file is
placed a blue charge sheet (Letter Taken Out), indicating that
the file is to be found in the agenda folder. The agenda num-
ber is placed on the paper temporarily and the paper itself is
placed in the agenda folder of the proper committee until it
has received the attention of the committee.
Agenda Card and Slip
A card index of the material in the agenda of the various
committees is kept in the office of the secretary by the file clerk
in charge. In this way the secretary constantly keeps informed
concerning the material awaiting committee action and the
status thereof. Agenda slips corresponding to these cards are
attached to the documents in the committee agenda. When
the documents have received the attention of the committee the
action taken by the committee is noted on the agenda slip at-
tached to the correspondence and the corresponding agenda
card in the secretary's index is destroyed. The correspondence
is then placed in the proper subject folder, after the agenda
number has been changed to the proper subject number.
Very often certain inquiries are received by an organiza-
tion which necessitate more or less research work. These in-
quiries are filed in the proper subject folder, under the name
of the firm, individual or corporation seeking the information,
and all correspondence resulting therefrom is connected up
by checking or writing the name of the inquirer on the yellow
carbon and on the green carbon directly under the file number
within the stamp mark. The yellow carbon copies and their
replies are filed directly back of the firm, individual or corpora-
tion seeking the -information, alphabetically and chronological-
ly arranged. The green carbon is filed in the alphabetical index
with the name addressed.
Requisition pads are furnished each of the departments,
382 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
which are used in ordering correspondence from the files, or,
where time is pressing, requisitions may be made by telephone.
There are two kinds of folders used :
1. Numerical folder having the tab at the extreme right
end.
2. Special folder having the tab in the middle of the
folder.
The numerical folder is the most generally used. Orderli-
ness and neatness of the files are important for securing effi-
ciency, accuracy and speed in handling the material, both in-
coming and outgoing. When, therefore, the material in a given
folder becomes voluminous it is advisable to divide it into sev-
eral folders, noting the subject number and alphabetical divi-
sion on each folder. When correspondence with a firm, indi-
vidual or corporation is sufficiently heavy to warrant it, make
a special folder, marking the name and number on the tab.
The special folder is also used for correspondence within
a subject folder, Avhich is called for in bulk; for example, the
organization receives considerable correspondence requesting it
to act in favor of or in opposition to certain legislation. The
committee acting on the particular subject writes or recom-
mends that a letter be sent to the federal or state officials or
departments interested, informing them of the recommendations
of the organization. This is followed up by the receipt of cor-
respondence in reply and is almost always called for in bulk
by the interested members of the staff or by the committee.
This special folder should have a title placed on the tab in ad-
dition to its file number.
Sorting Tray and Transfer
A sorting tray is very helpful, one half containing a set
of alphabetical guides and the other half a set of main subject
guides. This insures the finding of indexed correspondence
in the files or in the sorting tray and avoids the necessity of
spreading correspondence on the desks.
General routine correspondence must either be destroyed or
transferred at intervals of three to six months, as the clerks find
time. Live, active correspondence is kept in the active file. In-
active correspondence must be kept in the transfer file, follow-
ing exactly the same system as is followed in the general active
FILING SYSTEMS FOR CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE. 383
file. Some correspondence can be transferred after six months
and marked to be destroyed six months or one year later.
Folders from which correspondence is taken should be
marked: "Prior to (date) (Transferred)."
When a folder with its contents is placed in the transfer
files a new folder must replace it in the active file, marked and
stamped: "Prior to (date) (Transferred)."
Folders from which correspondence has been taken and
destroyed should be marked: "Prior to (date) (Destroyed)."
Co-operation of Office Staff. The successful use of this or
of any other system implies an intelligent cooperation on the
part of the users as well as of the file clerks, to secure which the
following rules are strictly observed :
(a) Rules for Persons Outside of Filing Department.
1. All outgoing letters and office memoranda should have
yellow and green carbon copies*
2. Every letter, memorandum, report, etc., must be dated.
3. No correspondence should be held on the desks await-
ing attention. The follow-up system provides slips to be used
on all correspondence required at a later date and will be re-
turned as indicated.
4. All correspondence, when sent to the files, must bear
either a check, initials or date of reply to show that it has had
attention. If answered by telephone or personal visitation, this
fact should be noted on the letter.
5. Each letter should contain one subject only.
6. Two copies of every circular letter should be sent to
the files with mailing lists attached.
7. All letters sent out of the office should have copies
made for the files.
8. No one but the file clerks are to have access to the files.
(b) Rules for the Attention of File Clerks.
1 . Each morning notices of the day's committee meetings
are given the file clerk in charge. A copy of the notice sent to
the committee, the replies, the minutes and agenda are taken
from the files and given to the secretary of the committee.
2. Correspondence must not be allowed to lie on the desks
or counter. Everything classified must be found either in the
file or in a sorting tray.
384 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
3. All correspondence must be filed alphabetically within
subject folders all papers belonging to one firm, individual
or corporation attached together, with latest date on top.
4. Correspondence taken from the files must be replaced
by blue charge sheets, which must be removed from file when
correspondence is returned.
5. No green sheets are to be taken away from the filing
department.
6. Follow-Up System -Each morning the file clerk gets
from the files all correspondence entered in the diary for that
day and returns it to the bureau or individual whose signature
appears on the return slip. The slip remains attached and
when correspondence is returned to the filing department it
must bear a signed O. K. to show that it has received proper
attention.
Illustration of Subjects, Unclassified
To illustrate the subjects taken as a basis for our files.
I cite ten, the first thirty out of the approximately 250 sub-
jects contained in the files without reference to the numerous
subdivisions under the various subjects :
21. Publications and reports requested by Merchants' Assn.
22. City planning. 23. Public buildings. 24. Streets and high-
ways. 25. Street cleaning. 26. Public baths. 27. Tree plant-
ing. 28. Memorials and statues. 29. Civic center. 30. Isles of
safety.
You will observe that these subjects were arbitrarily as-
signed their numbers without reference to any particular clas-
sification or grouping of correlated subjects. Such a grouping
is not necessary, because the card system renders the file read-
ily accessible no matter what number is assigned to a subject,
while new subjects can always be added at the end without
interfering with or disarranging the position of the subjects
already in the files.
Illustration of Subjects Classified
In the Rochester Chamber of Commerce, however, the sub-
jects have been grouped or classified under nine main divi-
sions, as follows:
0. General. 1. Government. 2. Civic and social interests.
3. Finance. 4. Organization. 5. Rochester Chamber. 6. Com-
merce and industry. 7. Agriculture. 8. Communication.
FILING SYSTEMS FOR CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE. 385
All subjects relating to the first division, "general," which
comprises encyclopaedias, directories, books of reference, gen-
eral and statistical information, etc., are assigned numbers
ranging from to 99. The second subject is assigned numbers
from 100 to 199, and each one of the nine subjects has 100 main
numbers. It seems to me to be only a question of time when
the subjects under some one or more of these general divi-
sions will reach a number greater than the 100 numbers as-
signed to it. This may not be so far in the future as expected.
When that point is reached this method of general subdivision
will present some embarrassment which is not inherent in the
plan followed by The Merchants' Association.
To illustrate the system in the Rochester Chamber with
the use of subdivisions I quote a brief section from the index
of the Rochester system.
General Division ^o. 6 relates to commerce and industry
and is therefore assigned the numbers between 600 and 699.
Under this general head of commerce and industry comes the
well-known subject of industrial development, which is as-
signed Subject No. 640, and related subjects are numbered be-
tween 640 and 650. The schedule, therefore, is as follows :
640. Industrial development.
641. Committee organization.
641.1. Industrial development.
Sub-Corn., alpha.
642. New industries.
643. Committee undertakings, alpha.
644. Factory sites.
645. Investment and investors. (People with money to invest in busi-
ness or those who want additional capital.)
646. War inventions council.
646.1. Membership.
646.2. Minutes.
646.3. Inventions.
647. Real Estate. Includes land and land value.
648. Mercantile agency reports.
649.
In conclusion let me say that I firmly believe the subject
basis of filing used in connection with the numeric method is
the best for any commercial organization, no matter what its
size. It most completely applies to chamber of commerce
equipment the five requisites or principles stated in the begin-
ning of this paper. It can easily and simply be adapted to the
smallest organization and can readily be expanded to meet the
14
386 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION.
needs of any association, no matter how large it becomes. It
is my opinion that in determining the best system for any
particular organization it is wise and necessary to start with
or to adopt as early as possible one which as far as can be fore-
teen will meet all conditions during the life of that organiza-
ion. A straight alphabetic system upon the name basis may
be adequate for a small organization in its beginning, but just
is surely as that organization grows and its activities increase
aid multiply, it will, I believe, prove to be inadequate. There-
'ore, if you would avoid the quicksands of chaotic filing, start
(v r ith, or speedily adopt a system based upon the principle and
constructed under the method which is easily capable of ade-
quate and simple expansion to meet the growth of your organi-
sation.
PART III.
Qualifications and Self-Training
of Secretaries
887
CHAPTER XX.
The Qualifications and Self-Training of the
Secretary
The Qualifications of the Secretary
By WILLIAM GEORGE BRUCE
The promotion of the economic and civic welfare has be-
come the distinctive function of a voluntary body of business
and professional men in every enterprising city in the United
States. Time and experience have taught that certain duties,
in achieving the ends here to be attained, cannot on the one
hand be left solely to individual initiative, nor can they con-
sistently be delegated to the local governmental authorities.
They must, in the nature of things, be entrusted into the
hands of the collective citizenship, free from political influ-
ences and class prejudice, competent to analyze conditions and
prospects and apply measures and departures to attain desired
ends.
In the Formative Stages
The modern commercial organization is still in the forma-
tive stages of its development. Its scope and purpose, plan of
construction and administrative policy are gradually being
lifted from hazy and conflicting conceptions into the light of
clearly defined outlines and limitations. Forces which have
hitherto slumbered unconscious of the unperformed tasks that
lay about them have been awakened into useful action. They
have become living, breathing organisms, have assumed definite
form and identity and are performing the task which falls to
them.
Thus, the elements w^hich have been combined for the pur-
pose of promoting the economic and civic welfare of the com-
munity have grown into a fixed institution which, within its
chosen field, must lead in thought and action. It must discover
the possibilities for material and civic advancement, focus
public attention in the direction of laudable projects and
crystallize a wholesome sentiment in support of them.
389
390 QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING OF SECRETARIES.
While many of the commercial organizations both in the
larger and smaller cities have a definite plan and scope, and
work towards prescribed ends and purposes, there are thou-
sands of organizations whose efforts are spasmodic and aim-
less, and who lack both the elements of permanency and effi-
ciency.
The Secretary in the Making
There can be no wide difference of opinion upon the claim
that the secretary, who aims to serve such a movement or body
of men with the highest degree of efficiency, must have
First: A due appreciation of the function and mission of
a commercial organization ;
Second: An exact understanding of the relation he bears
to the organization, its board of directors, to the executive offi-
cers and committees, to the membership and to the general
public ;
Third : A thorough comprehension of the requirements
of his position and a determination to equip himself to meet
these requirements.
But, if it can reasonably be held that the commercial or-
ganization is still in its formative stages then it must also be
conceded that the commercial secretary is still in the making.
While the general mission and purpose of the commercial or-
ganization has been fairly understood the status of the commer-
cial executive has not been defined with any degree of clearness.
No standards have been fixed, nor have any definite rules been
formulated governing his qualifications or outlining his scope
of action.
Men have hitherto been chosen for their character, vigor-
ous manner and general fund of information. An impressive
and genial personality, a readiness of speech and a perceptive
and receptive mind coupled with certain experiences, have been
the generally accepted requisites for secretarial positions.
The relations which the secretary bears to his association,
or, more properly speaking, to his board of directors or com-
mittees, varies considerably and is governed in part by fixed by-
laws and in part by the temper and mental qualities of the sev-
eral factors involved. In one organization the secretary is
merely the record keeper of the office, the clerk who arranges
for meetings and who keeps the minutes, and in another he is
the accepted leader who gives both inception and momentum
THE QUALIFICATIONS OF THE SECRETARY. 391
to association effort. In the one the board reserves to itself
both the initiative and the executive power, while in the other
it sits in a legislative or judicial capacity.
While there are variations from these two somewhat ex-
treme, or at least highly emphasized opposite, relations be-
tween secretaries and their boards, the fact remains that this
relation has not been 'standardized or even brought to a general
uniformity of rule or understanding.
Secretary and Board
I have intimated that the attitude which the secretary
bears to the board is influenced by the relative mental capac-
ity of the two. If the secretary possesses the power to impress
the board with a superior grasp of the problem in hand, the
facility to present the same clearly in its several aspects, and
the point with assurance to a logical solution, he will assume a
larger place in the association deliberations. If he is gifted
with tact and judgment he will secure for himself a wider lati-
tude and authority. If he proves himself the intellectual equal
of his associates, coupled with the application of diplomacy and
skill in dealing with both men and affairs, he will soon become
the dominating factor of his organization.
With the development of the commercial organization, its
purposes coming into stronger relief and its activities assum-
ing definite form and character, it logically follows that the
qualifications of the commercial executive are put to a rela-
tively stronger test. His duties will become more exacting and
will involve to a greater degree that intelligence which sees op-
portunities and at the same time the path that leads to their
realization.
The secretary must be the storehouse of ideas, innovations
and policies and must exercise that discrimination which dis-
tinguishes in them the feasible from the impossible and the
substantial from the trivial. The board must serve as the final
hopper which separates the grain from the chaff.
Action and Achievement
The impetus which has been given to commercial organi-
zations by the creation of the Chamber of Commerce of the
United States of America has also directed attention to the im-
portance of the secretary as a controlling factor in promotional
392 QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING OF SECRETARIES.
effort. It lias done more. It lias led to an appreciation of the
fact that an organization cannot be vigorous and effective un-
less the secretary be energetic and efficient; that an organiza-
tion cannot realize its highest aspirations unless the secretary
be a man of originality, of action, of achievement.
Some one may here suggest that a strong president and
board will eliminate the necessity of a strong secretary. The
answer to this claim is that the average business and profes-
sional man who serves on a board or a committee can give little
or no time outside of the committee meetings. He may submit
an idea or suggestion but it is more likely that he expects to
deliberate over and express his approval or disapproval on what
has been planned by the secretary and submitted in some
tangible form. The salaried secretary gives his sole thought
and effort and his entire time to the association while the un-
salaried director is expected to give it his occasional attention
only. The latter, therefore, expects merely to sit in judgment
on what the executive officer has originated and devised. I may
also here add that it always requires a strong secretary to
reckon with a weak or erratic committee.
A Semi-Public Character
The qualifications sought in a secretary will, in future,
command a wider range and will be subject to closer scrutiny.
His status, too, will be more clearly denned. His office which
is semi-public in character will be subject to the praise or con-
demnation of the press and the public, the association members
and the board.
All these factors will not only seek in the secretary char-
acter and ability in an ordinary sense, but will exact expert
knowledge on promotional subjects as well as a wide range of
information. The day of the dashing, hurrah, circus-style sec-
retary, the man who talks glibly and lacks stability of charac-
ter and a solid education, is gone by. The future will demand
in a stronger degree a thoughtful, well-balanced man, who by
virtue of his mental equipment, his broad vision and dynamic
powers can meet every exigency and condition and command
the confidence and cooperation of his associates.
If the future demands a higher type of man in executive
secretarial duties, looks for expert knowledge and that culture
and training which can most readily be gained through higher
THE QUALIFICATIONS OF THE SECRETARY. 393
institutions of learning, then the position will be elevated into
a distinctive profession.
The Promotional Expert
Nor is this prospective view of the situation an unreason-
able one. The demand for men capable of assuming the man-
agement of commercial bodies is constantly growing. With it
has grown the demand for better men and the payment of bet-
ter compensation. Two institutions of learning, Harvard Uni-
versity and the University of Wisconsin, are inaugurating
courses for commercial secretaries, which embody subjects in
political economy, civics, sociology, and concrete problems in
town development. The young men thus equipped and trained
will enter upon their duties with an understanding of the funda-
mentals in promotional effort and with a scientific knowledge
of the principles that must govern in the solution of all local
economic and civic problems.
Here I do not hold that the secretary of the future must
necessarily be a college graduate. The man of native ability
and resourcefulness will here assert himself just as he does now
in the commercial and industrial field.
In outlining the future am I predicting too much? Am I
setting standards which are too high and therefore unattain-
able? Will the commercial organization of the future exact
high and well defined qualifications?
I am firmly convinced I have not aimed too high in my pre-
dictions or that I have fixed unattainable standards. The day
of the expert has arrived. With the advancement in all lines
of human endeavor, with the constantly increasing demand for
greater efficiency in the channels of trade and commerce, in
agriculture and transportation, in government and education
there will come also greater concentration and efficiency in
community advancement. Collective effort must find its lead-
ership in men who are big of heart, of mind and of vision. It
must find its best expression in that community progress which
recognizes both the material and the ideal. In the assembling
of community forces, in the collation of ideas and efforts, in
lending 'direction towards the achievement of desirable ends,
there must be the calm head and firm hand of the expert execu-
tive. *
394 QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING OF SECRETARIES.
A Summary of the Several Functions
First : The mission and function of the commercial organi-
zation.
Second : The qualifications of the commercial secretary.
Third: The relations between secretary and the organi-
zation.
1. The Organization.
(a) The aim and object of the commercial organization is
to foster, protect and advance the commercial, industrial and
civic interests of the community.
(b) To bring the advantages of geographic location, top-
ography and environment to their highest stage of development,
utility and attractiveness.
(c) Prompt progressive thought and action in all that
will make for an enlightened, contented and prosperous com-
munity.
2. The Essentials of a Commercial Secretary.
(a) He must be a man of character, of moral force, and
endowed with a strong human sympathy.
(b) Pie must possess a liberal education, the power of ex-
pression in speech and in manuscript, and a fund of informa-
tion along practical lines.
(c) He must be grounded in the principles governing
economics, political economy, civics and sociology.
3. Relation Between Secretary and Board.
(a) In the main the function of the board is legislative
and judicial, while that of the secretary should be executive and
administrative.
(b) The board deals with questions involving policies
and expenditures and all new departures, innovations and un-
dertakings. It deliberates, determines and decides.
( c ) The secretary originates, initiates, devises and recom-
mends and becomes the administrative right arm which carries
conclusions and instructions of the board into execution.
Here it also logically follows that the prerogatives and
authority of the executive will become more clearly defined and
expressed. He will stand in a relation to his board similar to
that of the superintendent of schools to the school board. He
THE QUALIFICATIONS OF THE SECRETARY. 395
will be the promotional expert and general executive just as
the school superintendent is the educational expert and general
administrator of the school system. In prestige and as a useful
factor in the life, efforts and tendencies of the committee his
position will be similar to that of the mayor of the city. While
he will be less assertive in the eyes of the public, he will, never-
theless, l>o the most forceful non-political, non-partisan leader
in all movements making for material progress and civic and
social betterment.
He will be the receptacle for the best thought and impulse
of his community, the fountain from which springs that pride
and patriotism which stimulates loyal citizenship; the loyal
warrior who constantly seeks to realize its fondest hopes, its
highest ambitions and its noblest aspirations.
CHAPTER XXI.
The Most Helpful Secretarial Literature
By ROLAND B. WOODWARD
This paper can he only suggestive. But in order that it may
contain suggestions, we must inquire what the secretary would
or should like to be helped to do. What constitutes an ideal
secretary what is he engaged to do? The answer to that ques-
tion is as varied as the men here and the communities irom
which they come.
It is simple and sure that a man, in order to play an im-
portant part as an efficient secretary, in shaping the develop-
ment and work of his organization, should know the resource*
of his community namely, its ra.w materials, its wealth and its
people. From these must be produced or utilized its opportuni-
ties. But he must do more than have a knowledge of its re-
sources. He must know how to guide and inspire its people
(especially those in his own organization) to use the commu-
nity's resources.
To get out of every member of the community, through or-
ganized effort, the best that is in him for the benefit of the whole
community, that's the secretary's job; to guide the units in a
community in working together for the community good; to
direct those efforts, and manipulate those units, so as to achieve
the best results with the available materials, money and men.
A man cannot know and continue to know; he cannot in-
spire and continue to inspire without feeding his mind and Irs
spirit. The better his preparation for his difficult task the more
he desires to keep open the sources of knowledge and of power ;
the poorer his preparation, the more he needs to open up or to
keep open the sources of knowledge and power.
The secretary's work, to aid him in doing which he requires
"helpful secretarial literature," is, therefore, fourfold :
1st. A perpetual vision of the ideal conditions and human
relations which he covets for his community ;
2nd. A knowledge of whether and how such ideals
have been realized or are being realized in other times or places;
396
THE MOST HELPFUL SECRETARIAL LITERATURE. 397
of the difficulties met and overcome ; of the difficulties that have
proved insurmountable and why! Of available instruments
for carving out his "ideal" and knowledge of how to use them.
3rd. Mental processes that will devise ways and means
where there is no precedent to point the way.
4th. Wisdom and persistence to direct the human element ;
a genuine love of his f el low-men to enable him to work in har-
mony with them and to inspire them to work harmoniously
with one another.
Reading as a Helpful Factor
It is to "make good" on this "job" that the secretary needs
help; and making good is infinitely more than merely satisfy-
ing his employers. The necessary equipment for the man under-
taking this "job" comes from various sources, of which reading
is one. In discussing this one, I do not for a moment belittle
the others, some of which are: inherent qualities; early train-
ing and environment; physical condition; experience; the ex-
perience of others either seen at first hand as one does in
traveling, or heard of by word of mouth ; personal contact with
inspiring personalities; educational equipment before under-
taking this work, and not planned with an eye to it.
Measure up these three size and quality of the job, the
necessary equipment, and the sources from which it is obtained
and you see that each item of equipment can be improved or
added to by reading. ]S"or does the importance of reading as a
source of equipment minimize in any way the importance of
the other sources, any more than the value of intelligence mini-
mizes the importance of education, or the value of our sense of
hearing minimizes the value of sight.
It is evident that altogether different kinds of reading are
required to perfect the various kinds of equipment, and that
in some cases, it is more necessary than in others.
In order that my suggestion might be based on others' ex-
perience and opinions as well as on my own, I sent to fifty or
sixty secretaries a questionaire which was supposed to be built
on the principles of a nut-cracker, that is, I hoped it would ex-
pose all the "meat" of the matter.
Two things which it exposed quite clearly were a difference
of opinion on some points and a lack of opinion on others ; thus
forming a basis for discussion, if not for conclusions. One con-
clusion, however, is unavoidable that there is great need for
398 QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING OF SECRETARIES.
systematic winnowing, in order that the secretary may concen-
trate his reading effort on the things which he needs and not
fiddle it away in a confused mass of irrelevant and uninspiring
matter.
Vision and Enthusiasm
Because of the "vision," the ever-present picture in the sec-
retary's mind of the ideal to which his community should aspire,
is the first essential in the secretary's equipment, I shall take
up first those questions which bear on this. Among my ques-
tions were these :
"To what extent do you rely upon reading to sustain your
enthusiasm?"
"Upon what kind of literature can you rely for inspira-
tion?"
"What kind of literature is most apt to enlarge your vision,
to increase your desire to accomplish? Increase consciousness
of ability to accomplish?"
Judging by the responses, the consensus of opinion appears
to be that one accidentally "happens upon" inspiring articles.
Of those who specified certain kinds of reading for this purpose,
at least two-thirds referred to such literature as furnishes ac-
counts of things now in process of accomplishment, such as pub-
lications of commercial organizations, Town Development, The
American City, The Nation's Business.
Knowledge
So much for the vision ! How about the knowledge ! The
knowledge of what industries have the best opportunity to thrive
in our locality ; of which can be made to thrive that do not now ;
of how all local resources can be utilized for the community's
greatest profit; knowledge of how to give the citizens the best
opportunity to develop themselves, how to conserve their health,
their property ; knowledge of which other communities are fac-
ing our own problems and how they are solving them ; knowl-
edge of the effects of indifference as well as of the benefits to be
reaped from an awakened public interest; knowledge of the
character of soil in which will thrive the plant of civic right-
eousness and the common good ; knowledge of how our own com-
munity can best play its part as a fraction of the whole nation ;
knowledge of how "to promote commerce and industry," by pro-
THE MOST HELPFUL SECRETARIAL LITERATURE. 399
tecting it from unfair and hampering laws; how to prevent ac-
cidents in shops, on the street, and in the home ; how to prevent
waste of life and of property by fire ; how to cooperate for bet-
ter industrial and commercial training for those who work with
us in store, office and factory; how to improve the transporta-
tion facilities, which bring people to us and carry our products
to them ; how to abate smoke and other nuisances ; how to apply
arbitration so as to reduce business friction ; how to utilize our
unused assets the power of our rivers, the possibilities of our
lakes, for pleasure and for business ; how to extend our acquain-
tance and influence by bringing to our community groups of
people in their conventions ; how to cooperate with every village
and city in the community in the solution of its problems.
Now, here are the questions I asked in order to find out to
what reading commercial organization secretaries look for the
necessary information to accomplish these things :
"To what extent do you rely upon reading to sustain such
knowledge of current events as is necessary for your work?"
"Cite instances of direct connection between what you have
read, and new activities planned, undertaken or accomplished."
"Where do you find the most complete, or most reliable
information as to what other cities are accomplishing in :
A. Increasing number or size of their industries?
B. Increasing volume of their retail and wholesale busi-
ness?
C. Keeping their name favorably before the public?
D. Obtaining and keeping good transportation facilities?
E. Utilizing available power?
F. Making their city desirable residentially by increasing
educational facilities ; improving sanitary conditions,
civic and public morality, quality and quantity of
amusements, community spirit, beauty of streets,
buildings and parks; establishing playgrounds."
The only noticeable difference in the replies is that some few
secretaries or so one would judge from their replies indulge
in no reading but that of the daily newspapers. With the ex-
ception of those whose Bible is the newspaper, there is, except
in the estimated importance of the reading matter mentioned,
a striking oneness of experience and opinion.
All appear to look to commercial organization reports, The
Nation's Business, Government Reports,. The American City,
400 QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING OF SECRETARIES.
Town Development, The Municipal Keview and local New York
newspapers, reports of city planning conferences.
Other sources mentioned, but by fewer, are Fire Prevention
News, publications of the New York Bureau of Municipal Re-
search, Municipal Engineering, World's Work, Literary Di-
gest, Continental newspapers, City Traffic Journals, Housing,
Conventions 7 Reports, Architectural and Building Journals,
Outlook, Advertising and -Selling, Printer's Ink, The Era, The
Survey, Special Reports of The Alexander Hamilton Institute,
Editor and Publisher, The Independent, The Proceedings of the
Secretary's Association.
The Flood of Printed Matter
This brings me to a plaint made by practically all, with
some suggested solutions of the problem concerned :
I cannot read everything that comes in ; and
I do not see nearly all the valuable reading matter which is mailed to me.
I do not see one of ten of the pamphlets that come to my desk.
Much of the best mail never reaches my eye.
The man in the large office, with a corp of assistants often
does not see much of which would interest him most deeply,
while the secretary of the smaller organization, the one who,
so far as the office is concerned, is playing a "lone hand/ 7 natu-
rally cannot read everything that comes in.
Both feel that a winnowing machine is needed, to auto-
matically throw out the chaff and save the wheat. While almost
all experience this need, comparatively few have systematically
attacked the problem.
Here are a few who have :
I have an office arrangement whereby various members of the staff are
requested to clip out items of interest in any and all publications that come to
the office ; these are pasted on cards, and come to my desk before going to the
files.
I now have regularly upon my desk the editions of fifteen house organs
which seem to be of the greatest value, and a member of the staff glances
through all giving to the different men in the office such articles as may be 1
of special interest to the departments of which they are in charge.
I maintain a scrap-book containing clippings from commercial organiza-
tion publications and other sources calling attention to activities that seem to
me to have merit.
One of my stenographers looks over and marks the morning papers for
me, and another gives attention to the evening papers, and still another gives
attention to the various weekly and monthly magazines. The assistant who
discovers Something of particular importance to this office or to myself im-
THE MOST HELPFUL SECRETARIAL LITERATURE. 401
mediately calls my attention to it. I try to look over the headlines of every-
thing marked each day though often I do not succeed.
In my own office I am now trying a new sifting arrange-
ment. Each member of the staff is asked to mark anything
which he thinks would especially interest the secretary, to at-
tach a memo thereto, giving the number of the pages on which
the notations have been made, and to place it upon my desk.
In this way the secretary gets, with the minimum expenditure
of time, the maximum of real nuggets. Many books and
pamphlets which heretofore I would have felt it necessary to
look through myself, I now send to a member of the staff who
afterwards returns it marked in such a way that I can in two
or three minutes get all the meat there is in it for me.
The file clerk also, before filing articles clipped by any
member of the staff the initial on the article shows who sent
it to the files passes such articles to any other member of the
staff whom she knows it would interest.
We not only have the local papers marked, but clipped and
pasted, so that everything on a given subject can be kept togeth-
er. This arrangement which has been in effect for several dec-
ades, Ave consider the only practical method of handling that
which concerns or interests the organization, in the local news-
papers.
Educational Equipment Reference Matter
My questionaire did not concern itself with what should
constitute the standing reference library of a commercial or-
ganization, or with what should be a secretary's preparation
for secretarial duties. Among the responses, however, these
points were touched, and some indicated such serious thought
and analysis. I shall quote from a letter by William George
Bruce :
The modern commercial secretary, in order to exert the necessary influ
ence and command leadership, must be the intellectual equal of his associ-
ates. He must primarily be a well informed man on all current events in
the economic and civic life of the community, the state and the nation. His
general educational qualifications must be sufficiently high to enable him to
estimate the meaning and value of tendencies and departures in the industrial,
commercial arid political movements of the day.
While he cannot be expected to be a student of every subject, or an ex-
pert on every problem, he can have such general information at his command
as will enable him to point out the purpose or meaning of this or that effort
and to secure the specific information upon it when desired or required. In
that capacity he becomes a general factotum, a sort of clearing house, for
that information which may serve the interest or purpose of his organization.
402 QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING OF SECRETARIES.
The literature with which a commercial secretary should familiarize
himself may be divided into what I would term the cultural and the vocation-
al. The one makes for a grasp of fundamentals, the other of current equip-
ment.
The. Cultural Studies. In order to lay an educational basis the secretary
should be familiar with one or more standard books on economics, political
economy, civics and sociology. The governing principles in commerce, finance
and transportation. The principles of government and fundamentals in sociol-
ogy should be within the grasp of every secretary. Any of the standard
text books in these branches of studies will serve the purpose.
The Vocational Studies.
He should be familiar with :
The Workman's Compensation Act of his State.
The Federal Reserve Board and the Currency Act.
The Power and Scope of the Interstate Commerce Commission.
The Federal Trade Commission, its Scope and Powers.
The Foreign Trade situation, and the best thought on Foreign Trade Pro-
motion.
War Tax Laws, and National Income Tax.
The Power and Function of the State Public Utility Commission.
The leading measures before the city council, county board, state legis-
lature, and national congress.
Regarding books that should be at every secretary's hand
for ready reference the following have been mentioned :
Lists of City, County, State and Federal Government Officials.
Important Government Reports.
Local Tax, Water, Gas and Electric rates.
Classified lists of local business houses and manufacturers.
Congressional Directory.
While I shall not attempt to go into this exhaustively,
since it is not strictly speaking "reading matter" few people
would sit down to enjoy an hour reading local tax rates or lists
of officials, I will say that to the lists of books kept for immedi-
ate reference should be added :
Telephone directories of the principal cities.
National and international trade directories.
The "World's Almanac."
The best Atlases obtainable.
Commercial organization annual reports.
Annual reports of important local, state and national organizations ; such,
for example, as the National Association for the Promotion of Industrial
Education ; National Housing Conference ; American Public Health Associa-
tion.
The question of what should constitute a commercial or-
ganization reference library is simple beside the question of
what a secretary should read to keep himself posted with such
THE MOST HELTFUL SECRETARIAL, LITERATURE. 403
information as he can make use of in directing the activities of
the organization ; and this, in turn, is simple in comparison
with the other question, as to what reading is going to give
each individual man the best boost in vision, enthusiasm, ten-
acity of purpose, perseverance and single-mindedness.
We have seen that certain sources are recognized as fur-
nishing necessary information required, but that some of these
are recognized as yielding a higher percentage of information
than others; also that the percentage of yield of some of these
sources can be increased.
Studying this phase of this subject has 'led me to ask
whether it would not be possible, in order to place the experi-
ence of others at our disposal with the minimum of trouble to
one's brother secretaries, to compile annually an index of the
activities engaged in the previous twelve months by commercial
organizations? Then, when one of us wants to profit from the
experience of the other fellow in any particular direction he
will know to whom to address his inquiry, and will not, in find-
ing the information he wants, ask twenty secretaries who have
no information to give him ; nor will he skip the very one who
could tell him most. He will know into whose annual report
to look for what he wants. Such a yearly index of commercial
organization activities would make it possible for us to find
what we want when we want it, thus saving our time and mak-
ing it possible to spend more of it on cultural or inspirational
literature.
Inspirational Factors Neglected
When we come to this phase of the subject, there is no es-
caping the deduction that as a class, we often subsist on prison
fare when w r e need, and can have for the mere exertion of reach-
ing forth, ambrosia and nectar of the gods.
One man quotes Lord Bacon: "Reading maketh a full
man; writing an exact man, and conference a ready man"-
and nothing is more sure than that we willfully impoverish our-
selves when we might choose fulness of life if we neglect to ap-
propriate the riches that are ours for the taking.
What if we do find that inherent qualities, physical condi-
tion, companionship with inspiring personalities, the need of
our own community, and the knowledge of what other commu-
nities are doing, inspire us with ideals of what we covet for our
404 QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING OF SECRETARIES.
own cominunit}^ is that any reason why we should rest with
self -satisfied complacency at this point?
When one considers what a small number of the inspiring
personalities and great achievers of all time are alive today, it
scarcely seems possible that any one should deliberately con-
fine himself to the study -and contemplation of his contempor-
aries. Musicians do not drop the study of Bach, of Wagner or
Beethoven because these are no longer with us in body ; artists
do not drop the study of the methods or the finished product of
Turner, Michael Angelo or Rembrandt because they cannot
meet them face to face. And just as it can be said of men whom
we pronounce great because of their achievements in art or
music, so it can be said of many a one great because of his
achievements in other directions in those directions in which
we ourselves are working that "He being dead, yet speaketh."
Are w r e then going to close our ears to their spoken message
as well as to the message of their methods and achievements
simply because other messages come to us from men with whom
Ave can shake hands and who can grace our banquet tables?
Nor only does the reading of what, for lack of a better term,
I shall call inspirational literature, enrich the reader, but it
undoubtedly increases his capacity to profit from all other cur-
rent sources of inspiration, such as travel, companionship of
great men, observation, experience.
Is it not possible that there is a lack of inclination to exert
one's self mentally when one is not obliged to and does not an-
ticipate any direct, concrete result? Emerson says: "Every
man is as lazy as he dares to be."
But looking merely at what we can get is like looking at one
side of a building ; the other side, what we can give, is equally
important. A secretary gets to give! At least he should "Get
to give." Sometimes, however, he "forgets to give." If he
needs vision, inspiration, ideals, to do that which he is paid him
to do, how much more do the members of the organization re-
quire them to do that for which they are not paid. A secretary
needs to make himself "'All things to all men." No man can be
that without filling in what Nature and previous education have
left lacking.
Necessity for Selecting
Here we come again to the necessity for selecting. No
two men are lacking in precisely the same directions; each man
THE MOST HELPFUL SECRETARIAL LITERATURE. 405
must analyze himself to discover his needs, before he can intelli-
gently search for the material to supply that lack. Each one of
us must find how to supply that lack in his own nature, educa-
tion and experience which will enable him to meet every man
on some common ground; which will enable him to give to every
man he meets something that man needs or wants. Only in
this way can lie have that sympathy with, and insight into, all
natures winch will make it possible to get the best service to
the community out of all.
I have one clear impression from all this inquiring the
successful man reads and reads things that have permanence.
Did you last year read and love a great book? Have you
made great books your friends? All great leaders have been
men of vision men of vision, not visionaries. There are more
men of vision in the village library than in the halls of Congress.
Cultivate them, for in their silent pages you will find knowl-
edge, inspiration, refreshment and fulness of life.
Literature Suggested
By Roland B. Wood ward : "The conference on 'Helpful Secretary Lit-
erature.' through the courtesy of Professors Jones, Alhert and Cherington,
suggest for immediate use of secretaries the following books^ most of which
tan be found in any public library :
1. Harrington Emerson, The Twelve Principles of Efficiency.
2. F. W. Taylor, The Principles of Scientific Management
3. F. C. Howe, The Modern City.
4. Richard T. Ely, Outlines of Economics.
5. Jenks and Laucks, The Immigration Problem.
6. H. M. Hurd, Principles of Real Estate Valuation.
7. T. N. Carver, Rural Economics.
8. H. A. Toulmin, The City Manager.
9. Bulletin of Columbia University, Studies in History and Political
Science. Scientific Management.
By Prof. Edward P. Jones (University of Michigan) : In the literature
of administration there is, first of all, biography, which is infinite in amount,
from ancient Plutarch to modern Bradford, writing of Lee, The American,
and varying in quality from the stern stuff which came from under the heavy
band of Carlyle to the light workmanship of Sainte-Beuve. For the study
of benevolent tyrants there are Momm sen's chapter on Sulla and Julius
Caesar. For tenacity of purpose there is Thayer's Cavour. It is well to seek
out the great analyzers of human motives, such as Samuel Johnson, Bacon,
Bulvver, Goethe and Emerson.
406 QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING OF SECRETARIES.
The philosophy of joint action may be found in the wisdom literature,
extending from Proverbs to Bacon's Essays. There is much of it in such
maxim writers as La Rochefoucauld, as well as in the pungent para-
graphs of Goethe. Besides these, there are pertinent treatises by lesser
men/ not to be overlooked, such as John Foster's Decision of Character and
Sir Arthur Help's Essays.
Military science deserves careful attention as the most highly developed
branch of the art of handling men. The great work in this field is that of
General Karl von Claucewitz, the Father of German Strategy. It bears the
simple title On War. Especially attractive and penetrating among recent
works is Col. VacheS's Napoleon at Work.
To offset a possible influence of harshness emanating from the literature
of the science of war one should study the relation of industry to the uni-
versal hunger of the human heart for what is beautiful. Here two names
suggest themselves to us at once: John RiiPkin and William Morris.
In conclusion, and with all due humility, perhaps I may be permitted to
refer to a work of my own entitled. The Business Administrator ; His Models
in War, Statecraft and Science, in which an attempt has been made to
draw suggestions from the history of the great forms of administration to
bear upon the question, what is the ideal conception as to what a business
leader should be in America today.
This list, which may seem very forbidding, in reality has to do with books
which are charming, and written, for the most part, by great men, whose
characters make a deep impression upon one who earnestly seeks to become
acquainted. To enjoy the best literature is to acquire a habit. A habit is
only slowly acquired. To acquire the habit of reading good books two
things are essential, first, not to undertake too much. It is more reasonable
to undertake to read a certain kind of books fifteen minutes a day than to
ambitiously plan for solid evenings of reading and then throw over the effort
after a few trials. Second, having formed a program of reading, to do the
assigned amount daily, and without fail, until the okl habits are readjusted
and the new habit is firmly fixed. Only then can one permit himself post-
ponements and exceptions.
Plutarch, Lives, Boston, ]9O2; Political Precepts, Boston 1906. ,
Bradford, G., Lee, The American, Boston, 1912.
Especially, "History of Frederick II of Prussia;" and "On Heroes."
See Works, Centenary Edition, 30 Yols., N. Y., 1890-1901, or any other good
edition. These works may be purchased separately at very moderate prices.
Mommsen, T., History of Rome. Trans, by W. P. Dickson, 5 Vols., N. Y.,
1903. On Caesar is Bk. V, Ch. XI. On Sulla is Bk. IV, Ch. X.
Goethe, J. W., The Maxims and Reflections of Goethe. Trans, by T. B.
Saunders, N. Y., 1893.
Foster, John, On Decision of Character, N. Y., 1875.
Helps, Sir A., Essays Written in the Intervals of Business, London, 1S90.
Von Clausewitz, Gen. Karl, On War. Trans, by Col. J. J. Graham, 3 Vols.,
London, 1908.
THE MOST HELPFUL SECRETARIAL LITERATURE. 407
Col. J. B. M. VacheS, Napoleon at Work, N. Y., 1914. (Macmillan.)
By Paul T. Cherington of Harvard University:
"Social Economics. "-
R. T. Ely Outlines of Economics.
I. B. Cross Essentials of Socialism.
Business Law
E. AV. Huffcut Elements of Business Law.
J. J. Sullivan American Business Law.
Accounting
H. R. Hatfiekl Modern Accounting.
W. M. Cole Principles of Accounting.
Commerce
J. Russell Smith Industrial and Commercial Geography.
T. N. Carver Principles of Rural Economics.
G. H. Powell Cooperation in Agriculture.
L. D. H. Weld Marketing Farm Products.
For special industries many books exist. These are too numerous to list
here. Any good book store can give suggestions. See also special lists of
books on business subjects, such as that issued by A. C. McClurg of Chicago,
and that by The Ronald Press of New York.
Government
James Bryce American Commonwealth.
W. B. Munro The Principles of Municipal Administration.
F. C. Howe The American City and Its Problems.
H. A. Toulmin The City Manager.
Graham R. Taylor Satellite Cities.
N. P. Lewis The Planning of the Modern City.
City Growth
R. M. Kurd The Principles of City Land Values.
Management
F. W. Taylor Principles of Scientific Management.
Harrington Emerson The Twelve Principles of Efficiency.
The System Co. Scientific Office Management.
M. T. Copeland Business Statistics.
Dealing With Men
W. D. Scott Influencing Men in Business.
Hugo Muensterberg Psychology and Industrial Efficiency.
CHAPTER XXII.
College Training for Chamber of Commerce
Secretaries
What Education Is Doing for Secretarial Efficiency
By PROF. WM. A. SCOTT
I have no name to suggest for this profession, but I be-
lieve it is in process of evolution out of the existing secretary-
ships. The chief duty and function of the members of this pro-
fession, in my judgment, will be to give expert advice to munici-
palities on all matters that concern their economic, social and
political life, and to lead them toward the goals at which they
ought to aim. A very considerable part of this work is already
being performed by many, but I believe that gradually the
scope of operations will be enlarged until it covers all the
ground I have mentioned.
The life of every modern municipality presents four main
aspects its industrial, its commercial, its political and its so-
cial aspect. The industrial life in a municipality comprehends
its manufacturing interests. Every municipality is bound to
engage in manufacturing to a greater or a less extent, but the
kind of manufacturing and the amount of manufacturing that
ought to be promoted in any particular municipality depends
upon a great many conditions, some of which are, possibly,
international, some national and others local in character. It
is a matter of prime importance to the prosperity of a city and
of the nation to which it belongs that it should develop those
manufacturing industries for which it is fitted, and that it
should be prevented from undertaking those for which it is not
fitted. Too often manufacturing industries are solicited by a
city and even attracted, without adequate consideration of the
conditions upon which their prosperity depends, and of the
fitness of the city to supply those conditions. Misfits thus occa-
sioned are unfortunate from every standpoint and result in in-
jury to the city and to the people immediately concerned, be-
cause these misfits have very often retarded instead of promoted
the prosperity of the city.
408
COLLEGE TRAINING FOR SECRETARIES. 409
The time has coine, in my judgment, when these misfits can
be prevented by expert advice, and an expert advisor is needed
to prevent such misfits, as well as to call the attention of the
city to its unused opportunities and its undeveloped resources.
If these matters are left solely to chance and to the parties
immediately concerned, these misfits will continue to occur and
the normal development of the city will be retarded.
Stimulating Commercial Life
The commercial life of a city comprehends the distribution
among its own citizens of the goods produced and manufac-
tured within its borders, for every city, of course, must dis-
tribute home products to home consumers ; the marketing of its
surplus manufactures ; the distribution among its own citizens
of goods produced outside, but needed for their consumption, or
as raw materials for their manufacturers and the distribution of
goods between outsiders. Involved in this work is complicated
transportation and financial machinery, warehouses, stores and
markets.
Several kinds of expert assistance are needed for the proper
functioning of this department of city life. In the first place,
the part that the city in question is fitted to play in each of
these lines of commerce can only be determined by a very care-
ful study of conditions. The local distribution of local products
is, of course, necessary, but what part of the work of marketing,
of surplus manufactures and of distributing outside produce
among home consumers, and what part of the work of distribu-
tion for the territory in which the city is located can economi-
cally and profitably be undertaken, can again only be deter-
mined by a careful study of the entire distribution problem from
the standpoint of the nation, state and district in which the
city is located.
Once the share a city ought to have in the work of distribu-
tion is determined, the acquisition of the necessary capital and
labor is the next problem. Sometimes private initiative is ade-
quate for the solution of this problem, but frequently it is not.
Many a city has failed to realize its commercial destiny, because
its advantages were not revealed on the capital and labor mar-
kets. Unaided private initiative and undirected local pride and
enthusiasm often make grievous mistakes in this field. The un-
dertaking of commercial enterprises for which a city is not fitted
410 QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING OF SECRETARIES.
is bound ultimately to result in loss and sometimes in disaster.
Only the best expert advice and aid can avert such misfortunes.
Political and Social Life
The political life of a city includes all aspects of its gov-
ernment. Every other department of its life is affected by this
one, and its importance is so well understood at the present
time that no emphasis of it is required. Neither is it necessary
to speak of the deficiencies of American cities in this particular.
The best expert advice is certainly needed here, and it is here
that such advice is least heeded. Times are rapidly changing,
however, and the unprejudiced public-spirited and well-informed
.student has the confidence of the public today to a greater de-
gree than ever before. The municipal expert is destined to tri-
umph in this field also, and when he does a brighter day for
our municipalities will dawn.
What I have described as the social aspect of city life com-
prehends the fields of education, religion, art, sanitation, etc.
Some of these have received much attention for a long time;
others have been neglected. We have experts in each of them,
but we lack the expert who knows how to coordinate them with
all the other departments of city life. It is this species of ex-
pert that the new r profession of which I am speaking will supply.
I believe that the need of this new profession is urgent, even
though it may not yet be fully appreciated. Competition in
many fields has broken down, and the era of public regulation
of our industrial and commercial life has dawned. Under our
system of government the solution of this problem of regula-
tion is bound to be slow and to be accompanied by mistakes and
friction. The interests of our cit'es will need to be carefully
guarded throughout this period, not in any selfish spirit, but
in the spirit of the broadest patriotism and in the light of the
fullest knowledge of their proper places in the nation's economy.
Further evidence of the urgency of this need may be found
in the maladjustments which unregulated competition, unwise
legislation and the undirected city development of the past
have produced. These maladjustments have made themselves
felt in the form of local industrial depression actual failures
bad living conditions and increased poverty. They ought to
be removed, but only a skilled hand and a wise head is com-
petent for this task.
COLLEGE TRAINING FOR SECRETARIES. 411
Breadth of Knowledge
The type of man required for this new profession is made
evident by the functions I have assigned him. In the first
place, he must have unusual breadth of sympathies and of
knowledge. The many-sided municipal life which I have out-
lined can not be appreciated by a narrow man, and keen ap-
preciation of the importance of the harmonious development of
all aspects of municipal life is a sine qua non. A mere con-
sciousness of their existence will not suffice. Without thorough
appreciation, the necessary motive power and interest will be
lacking.
The necessary appreciation can not be attained without
breadth of knowledge. The man who is fitted to advise a mu-
nicipality regarding the matters I have indicated must have
at his command all that science, art and experience are pre-
pared to contribute concerning them. He can not rely upon
intuition, casual observation, or even "horse sense," valuable
as all these are. The archstrategist, in other words, of the
social life of the community is what we are looking for.
In order to acquire and utilize this knowledge a man must
be in complete command of his mental faculties, and must have
a well developed imagination. This means that he must be
trained. The faculties of the mind, as well as the muscles of
the body, must be developed through training. One must learn
to reason, to concentrate, to form correct judgments, to do con-
secutive and long continued mental Avork and to express his
thoughts in forcible and convincing language. These powers
are not born with us, and do not, like Topsy, "just grow."
In addition to breadth of sympathies and knowledge, the
professional man I am describing must have been well endowed
by nature, and must have developed a good character. The
volume of work he will have to do implies health, physical
strength and right methods of living. The mental equipment
required can only be developed out of a naturally good mind,
and the character demanded implies the possession of a strong
personality the elements of which must be a gift of nature-
good morals, tact and skill in handling men.
Kind of Education Required
If my analysis of the duties of this new profession, and
of the qualities which its members should possess, is even ap-
412 QUALIFICATION'S AND TRAINING OF SECRETARIES.
proximately correct, the need for education is obvious and may
be assumed. We, therefore, turn to the question of the kind
of education that is required. What kind of education will
give a man, with a good physical, mental and moral equipment,
the breadth of sympathies and of knowledge and the general
and special training which this new profession demands? That
is the question before us.
I have already called attention to the fact that the acquisi-
tion of the special forms of knowledge required in this process
of education must be preceded by a form or forms of training
which will give the man command of his mental faculties. That
fact is very often forgotten in the consideration of this subject
and the assumption made that any man who wants to prepare
himself for this kind of work should proceed at once to the study
of the special branches of knowledge that have direct application
to it. Educational experience, however, the accumulation of
centuries, tells another story. In the development of the rea-
soning faculties the imagination, the powers of concentration
and of expression, mental endurance and the ability to consider
without bias all sides of a question and all the facts that must
enter into the correct solution of a problem some educational
instruments are not only better than others, but are indis-
pensable. The power accurately and forcibly to express one's
thoughts, for example, can not be acquired without the study
of language and certain forms of literature, and without an
enormous amount of practice, under competent criticism in the
use of one's mother tongue. One must learn to reason by rea-
soning, and some subjects of study are greatly superior to others
for this purpose. Mathematics, for example, has no peer as an
instrument for developing the capacity to draw correct conclu-
sions from premises and to concentrate the attention. History
trains and tempers the judgment and broadens the sympathies.
In short, the man who wants to prepare himself for this
profession can not dispense with the educational instrumentali-
ties supplied in our primary and secondary schools, and must
expect to secure the special training for this profession in
our higher institutions of learning, especially in our colleges
and universities. Indeed, experience has shown that young
men and women are far from prepared for highly specialized
studies when they pass from the high school into the college and
the university. It is for this reason that most of the higher
COLLEGE TRAINING FOR SECRETARIES. 413
educational institutions of this country continue through at
least the first two years of college the use of some of the educa-
tional instrumentalities employed in the high school.
After a man has gained control of his mental and spiritual
faculties, what educational instruments will best prepare him
for the peculiar duties of this most exacting profession?
During the last century and a half, based upon valuable
materials contributed by learned men of the ancient and medi-
eval world, several bodies of knowledge have been built up,
known collectively as the social sciences. These are capable of
supplying the instrumentalities needed for this purpose. The
most important of. these are physical and economic geography,
political economy, political science, sociology and history.
Physical and economic geography reveals the location of
those natural resources which are the basis of the world's in-
dustries, and the natural, social and other influences which
determine the location of the industries developed from them.
It supplies a large part of the information needed in the de-
termination of what a city should and what it should not at-
tempt to do.
Value of Political Economy
It must be supplemented, however, by political economy,
w r hich reveals what we know regarding national housekeeping
in all its phases. It presents an analysis of all the factors of
national economic life, the laws in accordance with which they
operate, and the political, social and other regulations best
fitted to secure the maximum of economic prosperity. It treats,
among many others, of such subjects as the interdependence
of nations, of the various subdivisions of each nation, and of
man upon man; the principles which determine the organiza-
tion of industrial units of each branch of industry and com-
merce, and finally of all the industries of the world, the laws
of value and price, the machinery of exchange and the distribu-
tion of wealth, the relations between government and industry
in all their aspects, including public expenditures and income
and their effects upon industries and individuals, public regu-
lation of industry, sanitary measures and public education,
and the functions and relations of labor and capital. This body
of knowledge throws light in a thousand ways upon the prob-
lems that confront the commercial secretary and is absolutely
essential to their correct solution.
414 QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING OF SECRETARIES.
Political science is the science of government. It treats
of the machinery and functions of government and of all things
which pertain to the political life of a people. It teaches what
forms of government are best for nations, states, municipalities
and other political units, under the different conditions of their
existence, and what political methods are best adapted to ac-
complish the purposes of political life. To this end it has clas-
sified and interpreted the political experience of the race and
indicated its application to modern conditions.
Sociology a Coordinating Science
Sociology is a coordinating science and cultivates the field
left vacant by the other social sciences. It analyzes and de-
scribes the forces which hold men together in society, and
which explain the innumerable forms of social organization. In
this connection it reveals the nature and influence of such
fundamental forms and institutions as race, sex, religion, mar-
riage, divorce, immigration, emigration, colonization, govern-
ment, etc. It analyzes the causes of poverty and crime and
records the experience of the world in the treatment of these
and other social diseases. It records finally what science and
experience has to teach regarding the interrelations and in-
teractions between individual characteristics and social in-
stitutions and conditions. It throws floods of light upon doz-
ens of problems with which the commercial secretary must deal.
History is a record of the doings and experiences of the
race and an interpretation of that record. No man can -under-
stand present conditions and problems in this or any other na.-
tion, in his own city or in any other, without a knowledge of
the past conditions and problems out of which they developed.
Our present life, in all its aspects, is a product of the past, and
the present conditions the future. History is, therefore, an in-
dispensable means for the training of the municipal expert.
One after another these developing bodies of knowledge
have been incorporated as subjects of study into the curricula
of our educational institutions, especially into those of our col-
leges and universities. In a hundred places in this country
and in all the great universities of Europe and most other parts
of the world one will now find facilities for their study. But
until a comparatively few years ago little effort had been made
to select from these great treasure houses the precise things
COLLEGE TRAINING FOR SECRETARIES. 415
needed for the equipment of men for various specific tasks. It
was assumed that each man would be able to make the selection
for himself, or to utilize for his own life purposes those parts
of knowledge accumulated during the process of his education,
adapted to this purpose and to that, and that he could select for
himself, out of the abundance at his disposal, the instrumentali-
ties needed for his proper training.
Attitude of Universities
Within recent years, however, some of the leading universi-
ties of the country have taken a different view of the matter,
and have recognized the need for specialized courses of study
adapted to the needs not only of men planning to enter the so-
called learned professions of law, medicine and theology, but
also of engineers, business men and various classes of public
servants. The engineering courses were the first to be devel-
oped, and it was not until about 1900 that a beginning was
made in the development of courses for the other classes. In
this latter field the University of Pennsylvania, at Philadel-
phia, the University of California, at Berkeley, and the Uni-
versity of Wisconsin, at Madison, were pioneers. Their ex-
ample has been followed by Dartmouth College, the Universi-
ties of Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and Chicago, Harvard
University and many other institutions. The new courses are
differently named in different institutions, the most common
appellations being "Course in Commerce" and "Course in Com-
merce, Finance and Accounts."
These courses supply most of the instrumentalities needed
for the training of the members of the new profession to which,
in the incipient stages of its development, you gentlemen be-
long. They need only to be supplemented by two or three
other courses, which I shall presently attempt to describe. In
support of this statement I wish briefly to describe one of these
courses. For this purpose I shall use the one in my own insti-
tution, not because I wish to claim for it superiority, but be-
cause I am most familiar with it.
Our "Course in Commerce," so-called, requires four years
for its completion, like the other university courses, and like
them, too, confers upon its graduates the degree of Bachelor of
Arts, and admits the graduates of high schools who have com-
pleted the usual preparatory-for-college studies.
416 QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING OF SECRETARIES.
Incorporated in the curriculum for the first two years are
the usual non-specialized courses, in continuation of those pur-
sued in the high school, designed to complete that training in
the power to reason, to make accurate judgments, to express
one's thoughts orally and on paper, etc., which I have already
indicated as necessarily precedent to the successful pursuit of
specialized studies. To some extent, however, these have been
modified so as to yield certain by-products of a somewhat
special character. The foreign language courses, for example,
lay emphasis upon training to speak and write rather than
upon the acquisition of the capacity simply to read literature.
The course in mathematics includes the mathematics of invest-
ment, life insurance, etc., and the course in English includes
commercial correspondence.
Specialized University Courses
These courses are accompanied by others in physical and
commercial geography, elementary political economy, money
and banking, transportation, economic history and accounting,
upon which are built the specialized courses of the last two
years. These specialized courses of the last two years are also
accompanied by a thorough course in commercial law, and in
the organization and management of business concerns.
The chief feature of the work of the last two years, how-
ever, is the grouping of courses, to meet the special needs of
the young men who come to us. So far as possible we fit the
case of each individual, but our most completely developed
groups are arranged for the training of accountants, statisti-
cians, consular officers and bankers.
At the earnest solicitation of my friend and counsellor for
many years, and your worthy President, Mr. William George
Bruce, of Milwaukee, in 1913 we provisionally arranged a group
for the training of commercial secretaries. It consists of a
combination of courses in political economy, political science,
sociology and history, and as soon as the demand warrants we
plan to supplement these with a course descriptive of the work,
methods and problems of chambers of commerce, and to ac-
company that with field work, which will give candidates for
secretarial positions some practical experience.
We have made a beginning only, but we intend to develop
this group with the same care and thoroughness we have de-
THE UNIVERSITY AND THE SECRETARY. 417
voted to the others I have mentioned. In this work we need
and must have the assistance of all secretaries. The informa-
tion upon which these courses must be based must come from
them, and the field work which should accompany them will be
impossible without their cooperation.
In the development of this group we shall keep in mind
the larger problem which I have been discussing. The develop-
ment of this new profession should be hastened as much as pos-
sible, and we are ready to do our part in bringing this about.
The University and the Secretary
By PROF. EDWARD D. JONES
The principles of economics are operative upon various
planes: from the consideration of the details of the financial
life-plan of an individual, they ascend to the policies of great
nations in the world struggle for land and markets.
1. Private Economics. There is first of all what may be
called private economics; a subject commonly referred to as
the science of personal efficiency. Here the aim is to instruct
the individual in the development and use of his personal re-
sources. This subject Benjamin Franklin enriched with many
an axiom, such as :
"A used key is always bright,"
"It is hard for an empty bag to stand upright," and
"Honesty is the best policy."
The literature of personal efficiency has been greatly im-
proved in recent years by reason of the more searching com-
parison of individual records made possible by the elaborate
recording systems of great businesses.
2. Business Administration. The second plane of eco-
nomic action deals with the policies of private businesses. In
university circles this subject is often denominated business
administration. For the most part it has to do with the economic
utilization of material agencies, that is to say, with applied
science ; with the manipulation of value relations, as in finan-
cing and accounting, and with the administration of human
nature,* as illustrated by the work of the general executive.
3. Local Economics. As we pass forward from the poli-
cies of small units to those of larger size, it is obvious that the
15
418 QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING OF SECRETARIES.
next plane of economic policy has to do with the combination
of individual businesses to form efficient villages, cities and
distinctive regions.
4. National Economy. Fourth, we have national econom-
ics, better known as political economy, which deals with the
great balancing processes of demand and supply by which the
general levels of rent, wages, interest and profits are deter-
mined. In the consideration of the larger aspects of a nation's
commerce and industry such topics arise as the tariff, the im-
migration problem, the national banking system, and the rela-
tion of public to private activity.
Undeveloped State of Local Economics
Reviewing these various strata of economic activity, one
overlying the other, we find that the branch of the science which
is least developed is the third one, or the study of the economic
structure and economic policies of a city or a locality.
When a young man starts in life, there is an immense
amount of valuable advice available to him, as to the general
ordering of his private finances, and as to the personal habits
which make for material prosperity. And, if he combines with
other men, and enters a business concern in a managerial ca-
pacity, where he will have to do with the formation of policies,
there is abundance of knowledge within reach with reference
to such matters as organizing and financing, the laying out of
the shops, the formation of labor policies, the installing of ac-
counting systems, and the building up of a selling campaign.
But now, when we take the next step in the integration of eco-
nomic forces and ask how that business concern shall conduct
itself with other businesses in the same locality, so that the
resources of the place shall be fully used, or so that a com-
pletely equipped industrial or commercial center shall be
brought into existence, we find that practice is halting, and that
economic science, apart from a few pious platitudes, is prac-
tically silent.
This lack of definite knowledge is the more surprising when
we consider that men have lived in cities from the earliest time,
and that the derivation of the word "political," in the title
"political economy," refers us back to the age of city-states.
Men work individually to produce wealth. They work in
small groups as firms and corporations. They work also in
THE UNIVERSITY AND THE SECRETARY. 410
national groups through comprehensive public policies. How
<lo they or how ought they to work in village and city
groups?
What is the economic structure of a city?
How ought an economic survey to be conducted to deter-
mine whether or not a city is serving its tributary territory sat-
isfactorily?
What, for example, ought a village of 2,500 people to be as
a market for a surrounding agricultural region?
What are the necessary agencies for a New England mill
town, in order that such a place shall be a good home for labor
and capital?
What special agencies should a great metropolitan market
possess?
Are we clear enough in group analysis to say when a manu-
facturing center is large enough to have a local foundry, or a
mill supply house; or when a special market should have a
trading floor?
Do we know the essential conditions for success with public
markets or public employment bureaus?
I believe that some of the causes of this remarkable defect
in economic science are our over-emphasis of the function which
individual initiative plays in business, our constant talk of com-
petition, and our defective view of competition as a state of
pure antagonism. These are all signs of lack of faith and lack
of discipline.
Present Opportunity
But whatever the retarding causes may have been, one
thing is certain : The opportunity is now at hand for making a
beginning in the systematic development of local economics.
The many associations represented in this convention indicate
a national movement in American business for individual con-
cerns to work together for the local good. Everywhere men
are exploring the possibilities of working together profitably
in larger groups. What may be called an extra-competitive
field of enterprise is being discovered.
In this Avork the universities will take their part. The
business world is the laboratory of original experiment in
economic matters. The universities are the systematizing and
teaching agencies which conserve and disseminate the truth
that has been discovered. If you, in your associations, discover
420 QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING OF SECRETARIES.
how the economic agencies of a locality can be made more effi-
cient through joint action, it will become our duty to teach the
results to college men. The knowledge which commercial as-
sociations gain of local economics it will be the duty of the uni-
versities to collect and reduce to systematic statement, so that
the charm of the friendly doctrine of cooperation, and the profit
of business amity and local patriotism may become firmly fixed
in the minds of coming generations of college graduates.
Proofs of Business Solidarity
This experimentation may be undertaken with confidence.
There is no doubt but that the solidarity of interest which ac-
tually, or potentially, exists between business interests is much
greater than has been supposed by any but the foremost of
our business leaders. It begins to look as if there were an op-
portunity for the scientific management of the economic in-
terests of a locality, which promises results similar to those
now being achieved by the application of scientific management
to individual establishments. The indications of this which
reveal themselves in the study of business administration are
very strong. Let us notice some of these signs of solidarity of
interest in business.
The theory of private business administration is being de-
veloped, not as a series of complete studies of individual lines
of business such as a science of furniture manufacture, or a
science of machine shop operation but as an elaboration of the
individual phases or aspects common to many industries.
Practically every business has
1 . A set of problems concerned with equipment and physi-
cal processes.
2. Each has a financial phase, involving the art of raising
funds and of satisfying the demands of different classes of
creditors.
3. Every business has an accounting problem, which has
to do with the organization of a system of records to truly report
income and expense, assets and liabilities.
4. So also every business has an administrative aspect,
concerned with the choice of persons, the delegation of author-
ity, and the creation of a sufficient incentive for every man.
5. Likewise, every business has a distributive or marketing
problem.
THE UNIVERSITY AND THE SECRETARY. 421
The study of these various aspects of business reveals the
fact tnat progress in any one of them is not so much made by
an individual establishment distancing all rivals and moving
forward alone, nor even by a branch of trade growing in per-
fection far beyond all others, but rather by a lively process of
interciiange of ideas between establishments in the same line
and in different lines, so that all move forward together. In
short, there is in practical busmess a cross-fertilization of ideas
and an interchange of equipment exactly like that in scientific
research.
Let us consider a few illustrations of this law of progress.
The Equipment Phase
Take, first, the equipment problem. In factory construc-
tion the principles of slow-burning or standard mill construc-
tion were worked out by the compilation of New England mill
experience by factory mutual insurance companies. These
simple but extremely valuable principles are now available for
all builders.
The Corliss cut-off on the steam engine was originally de-
signed to make the impulse of the engine sufficiently even for
spinning delicate threads of yarn, but the improvement served
to perfect the engine for a thousand uses.
The system of interchangeable parts, so essential in all
industries making or using mechanism is, as it stands today,
the work of half a dozen lines of industry. The first steps
were taken in the manufacture of muskets for the United States
Government. The further development, involving the evolu-
tion of machine tools, the attainment of greater accuracy in
the dimensions of parts, and the devising of a -system of stock
parts to permit repair by replacement, we owe, in historical
order, to the sewing machine manufacturers, the makers of
agricultural implements, the bicycle trade, and the automobile
industry. Everything with reference to physical equipment in
industry shows the carrying of ideas back and forth, and the
reaction of one industry upon another.
The Accounting Phase
Another illustration of the necessity of diverse businesses
keeping in touch is provided by the theory of cost accounts.
Businesses of uniform character, such as spinning and weav-
422 QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING OF SECRETARIES.
ing, where all items of outlay tend to rise and fall together,
elaborated first the percentage methods of distributing expense.
The skilled-labor industries supplied us with the man-hour
system. The modern machine shop has perfected the machine-
hour plan, and is experimenting with the idea of charging by
production centers. The modern cost accountant thus has
available a variety of expedients, and in a complex industry
can select and proportion his elements, creating a system spe-
cially adapted for the necessities of the individual case.
As the evolution has been in the past, so contemporary
progress is undoubtedly being achieved. One of the most in-
telligent ways of training efficient cost accountants is to bring
the men of various lines of industry together, so that they may
throw light upon discussions from many different points of
view. This plan is being followed in Detroit under the auspices
of the Board of Commerce.
The Administrative Phase
The next aspect of business enumerated in our list is the
administrative. Administration is such a great subject, and
so replete with illustrations of the interchange of helpful in-
fluences between different businesses, that we must let it pass,
contenting ourselves with one example.
The subject of welfare work is under lively debate. Sup-
pose an establishment proposes to open an employees' dining
room for the midday lunch. If the management looks about,
what does it find a state of apparent contradiction. One es-
tablishment has tried a dining room, and pronounces it the
greatest success of any of its efforts to ameliorate the condition
of employees. Another establishment has failed with similar
plans ; and it may not be evident that the reason was unfriend-
ly feeling, or a rapidly changing force, or village conditions, or
poor cooking. One plant arranges for a dinner at a cost of
fifteen cents and succeeds, the force being highly paid mechan-
ics manufacturing an expensive automobile. Another plant
fails with meals at ten to twelve cents, because its men are for-
eigners on low pay. These men really needed simply a place
to keep food cold or hot, and a cup of coffee or a bowl of soup
to supplement the solid food of the lunch pail. One establish-
ment succeeds with flowers and linen, while another drives its
patrons away by the same means.
THE UNIVERSITY AND THE SECRETARY. 423
In the study of any given line of welfare work it is neces-
sary to compile the history of many cases before the practical
limits of various plans become definite; and before the law of
variation of policy in response to conditions is manifest. But
individual businesses have not the time to conduct thorough-
going studies of every administrative policy they employ. There
is an immense amount of money annually wasted in welfare
work because the policy is followed, of doing a tiring for the
reason that it has succeeded with some other firm. This han-
dling of policies is as crude as would be the handling of equip-
ment if an engineer installed a given arrangement of shafting
and belting in a waterworks station because it had succeeded
in a spinning mill. What is more reasonable than that commer-
cial associations should become clearing-houses of needed in-
formation, supplying date as to the conditions essential to suc-
cess in each type of Avelfare work, or as to plans for regulari-
zing employment, or as to the new methods of paying wages.
The Marketing Phase
We noted that every business has a marketing or distribu-
tive phase. How is a good buying and selling center created?
(a) Merchandising involves the measurement of quantity,
requiring a system of w r eights and measures, and trade customs
concerning permissible variations.
(b) It involves measuring the quality of goods, requiring
a system of grades, and means of certifying grades, and grading
experts, and even conditioning laboratories. Think of the labor
of the Board of Health of West-field, Mass., to establish but one
point in the quality scale, namely, the point which separates
pure food from impure food.
(c) There is needed the means of holding merchandise, a
matter which involves a warehouse industry, and practical laws
relative to bailments.
(d) It requires, also, adequate assortment, or a variety of
merchandise matching the variety of want. In so far as the
out-of-town buyer is concerned, this does not mean the assort-
ment of any one concern so much as it does the assortment of
the market as a whole. But if no one is responsible for the
market as a whole, who is to know how many buyers from the
naturally tributary territory go elsewhere?
It is >said that, some years ago, Marshall Field discovered
424 QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING OF SECRETARIES.
that certain important western buyers were going east past
Chicago, to buy such things as hotel furnishings and the gen-
eral merchandise used by railroads. The cause was found to
be that these buyers had to go east for rails and structural steel,
and so took their other orders along. The remedy applied was
the promotion by Mr. Field of steel works in the vicinity of
Chicago. This is a case where a great captain of industry made
himself the correlating agency.
(e) Next to an adequate assortment we may mention fair
prices as a necessity for successful merchandising. The formula
for fair prices (in so far at least as general market policy is
concerned) is to bring to bear on each transaction all possible
elements of supply and demand. This means bringing the past
and future to bear upon the present, by means of adequate
warehousing and cold storage facilities. It means bringing
the state of the market for one commodity to bear upon that for
another article (when one is the derivative of the other),
through the presence of converting interests. It involves bring-
ing the price of money to bear upon the price of goods, by mak-
ing such arrangements that goods become a safe collateral for
loans. It involves, also, bringing to bear upon the prices of any
given market the prices of other places, through the active ex-
change of quotations. All this means a commercial interlock-
ing process which can only be made to approach perfection by
definite planning.
(f ) Besides fair prices, a market requires means of sus-
pending payment, so that goods may freely pass from the hands
of those who have more merchandise than opportunity into the
hands of those who have more opportunity than property. This
calls for a credit system, safeguarded by adequate reports, by
the ready application of mercantile skill in handling bankrupt
stocks through the work of a credit adjustment bureau, and by
the systematic prosecution of fraudulent debtors.
(g) Again, a market requires local trucking. This is
probably one of the most wasteful forms of American industry.
Until the coming of the motor truck, this work was abandoned
to the easy-going methods of the jovial Irishman. It yet suffers
scandalously from duplication of plant, from amateur experi-
mentation in pavement construction, and from congestion in
alleys and at bridges and terminals as a result of defects in
city planning. The Chicago Municipal Markets Commission
THE UNIVERSITY AND THE SECRETARY. 425
has estimated that "the average wagon or truck spends about
one-third of its time actively hauling commodities on the street
and two-thirds of its time in waiting, loading, unloading, and
in delays to traffic."
(h) There is required also long-distance transportation.
Happily we can say that Federal laws have partly, at least term-
inated the scramble of individual shippers after railroad favors,
and have made possible the system of having traffic depart-
ments under the control of commerce associations, and working
in the interest of all the shippers of the locality.
(i) Finally, a market needs various incidental equip-
ments to make the trading process easy and agreeable. How
grateful a relief is a hotel modeled after a refined home rather
than after a flamboyant lobster palace. And perhaps the amuse-
ment industries will leave a more attractive memory if they are
g, little above the so-called tired-business-man standard.
Intelligent Joint Effort
It is evident from this that a market of fair size is about
the most complex thing, and about the most social thing, the
mind of man has devised. A good market good for its size-
is rare. Most markets fall ridiculously short of their possible
efficiency. In his wonderful book "The Harbor, 77 Mr. Ernest
Poole describes America's greatest port. He speaks of the
tangled railroads pouring in their traffic, of boxes and bales
shifted hither and thither in a perfect fever of confusion and
delay, and of long lines of trucks and wagons waiting hours
for a chance to get into the docksheds. The whole waterfront
has developed pell mell, each railroad and each ship line grab-
bing sites for its own use, until the port, like a mighty patient,
is strangled and, with swollen veins and arteries, labors to
breathe. And then he says, "To see any harbor or city or state
as a whole is what most Americans cannot do. And it's what
they've got to learn to do."
A good market does not happen. It does not emerge
Phoenix-like from the fires of competitive hatred; nor blossom
from the narrow stem of policy known as every-man-minding-
his-own-business. It is the result of intelligent, persevering,
joint effort. We may profitably borrow suggestions from
countries which have had a longer experience with the modern
city than we have had. Study the equipment of Manchester
420 QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING OF SECRETARIES.
by which it holds its place as the queen of the cotton trade,
With its accurate grading, its easy financing, and its innumer-
able dealers and factors, including equipment houses, consign-
ers, insurers, forwarders, packers, and translators, all bound
together through the Royal Exchange, it possesses a perfection
which is the result of what, I suppose, narrow-minded persons
would call "self -sacrificing' 7 effort. But it serves the world,
and enriches an important section of a great nation. Study
also, the German cities as models of cleanness and beauty and
easy growth and economy of effort.
Conclusion
A word in conclusion. . As business agencies multiply, and
the structure of business becomes more refined, it is increasing-
ly true in industry that "No man liveth to himself, and no man
dieth to himself."
The doctrine of efficiency began in America as an indi-
vidual philosophy a Benjamin Franklin proverb and we
learned it so well that the word "Yankee" became synonymous
with shrewdness. But the age of corporations has taught
American business men to work with confidence in groups. In-
dividual initiative has broadened into firm initiative. And
this second lesson, likewise, we have learned, until it can be
said that no policies are more romantic in their daring than
those of American firms. And now that this achievement is
familiar, we are taking the next step, and are learning to work
together in still larger groups in units of villages and cities.
I have faith that we shall learn to do this also, and shall ulti-
mately so excel in it that our cities, when considered as evi-
dences of comprehensive intelligence, shall no longer be our
disgrace.
As we exterminate another legion of enemies to our wel-
fare suspicion, and inadequate information, and ill-coordi-
nated effort, and useless duplication an increase of prosperity
will be certain. But, aside from tangible measures of welfare,
there is another great advantage coming. Men are enjoying
business more because business is revealing a nobler aspect.
They are finding out what decent fellows their competitors are.
and how many fine things they dare combine to do with their
competitors.
Conscious Training for Chamber of Commerce
Secretaries
By PAUL T. CHERINGTON
In going over the ground there were two questions for
which I sought answer at the very outset before attacking the
problem of the form which the course was to take. In the first
place, what is required of the modern secretary? In the sec-
ond place, what provisions are now in existence for equipping
a man with those requirements?
Very early in my attempt to codify the requirements of a
secretary, I found there w T as one group in which we could not
expect to give much direct help. This is perhaps the most im-
portant group of secretarial requirements, the personal fea-
tures. That indefinite, intangible, but exceedingly important
thing known as tact, is a thing absolutety beyond acquirement
by a course of training. Certain methods may be worked out
by which a man can gradually acquire the appearance of tact,
and can avoid certain of the worst blunders of tactlessness,
but tact, we recognized at the very beginning, was one of the
things which lay beyond our province. Skill with men is
another thing closely allied to it, partly a matter of practice,
but mainly a matter of temperament. Ability in mastering
routine is another thing. I simply mention these two or three
to let you know that we have not overlooked these immensely
vital parts of a secretary's equipment, but that we have not yet
seen any way by which we can do more than help a man if he
is willing and able to help himself.
But there is a second group of secretarial requirements for
which it seemed to us we might be able to supply real training.
All of these relate to a knowledge of and familiarity with, ex-
isting facts, and the development of habits of thought and
habits of work. These we believe w r e can go a long way towards
supplying, and we believe also that they can be supplied more
easily, more successfully in a conscious training at high pres-
sure, taken by a man who devotes his whole time to that train
ing, than they can be by a man doing it incidentally to make a
Note : It should be explained that Prof. Cherington speaks here from tin-
standpoint of an instructor. He has for some years concerned himself ;i(
Harvard University with the training of young men for the secretarial fiel-i
427
428 QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING OF SECRETARIES.
living and without the pressure of direction and suggestion
upon the part of those who are conducting the work.
Secretarial Training
Our problem, then, was not that of turning out a com-
pleted secretary, because we recognized at the start that there
were certain things we could not do for a secretary, but our
problem resolved itself early into seeing what we could do and
then devise, if possible, a method for doing these possible
things which would be better than any existing method for pro-
viding this training.
To the existing methods for secretarial training, we also
gave attention. Unconscious training, none of us need be told,
has developed some men who are better than the man we can
count on producing by a system of conscious training. The
test, however, will come in the measuring of our average pro-
duct against the average run of men who are untrained or who
have been unconsciously trained for the work. The newspa-
pers, of course, have supplied most of the present secretaries
or at least they have supplied more than any other one single
source, and there is no more valuable training in the world for
almost anything than is newspaper work. I have a stock bit of
advice which I give young men who come to me, asking me
about going into newspaper work, I say : "By all means go.
The only warning I would give you is do not stay in it too
long."
The chief fault with newspaper training is that it tends to
make a man scrappy in his methods of thought and work. Any
man who is doing ten jobs a day gets in the habit of doing ten
jobs at once and doing them at the rate of ten jobs a day, and
then when he must make a long flight he flutters.
Business experience is another good training for secretarial
work. Some of the best secretaries in the profession have come
up through business training, but the diversity of the require-
ments for a secretary, make training in one line of business a
little bit hazardous. It is apt to make a man narrow and to
make him lean a little bit toward his own line of business.
While, if he can get some kind of training which takes the place
of ten or twenty years, each spent in many kinds of business
and will give him an idea as to how the whole ground lies, it
CONSCIOUS TRAINING FOR SECRETARIES. 429
has some advantages over training in one special business, great
as are the advantages of that kind of training itself.
The Basis for Development
The professions have supplied some very able men.
Thought habits, cultivated by a lawyer, thought habits and
work habits developed in other lines of professional training
have done the work well in many cases. But the point is that
what we have tried to do is to find some wav of conscious train-
t
ing which will take the place of unconscious training and start
a man in this new profession at a point where he may not only
develop farther than the man who starts in not having his
bearings, but also may move more steadily in the right direc-
tion. In other words, it is not a question of our two years
versus two years anywhere else. What we want to do is turn
out a man with two years of training who can go into a secre-
tary's office as an understudy and after five years of real prac-
tice added to his two years of training, be a bigger, a broader
and a better man than if he had spent all seven years as under-
secretary. That is what we are driving at. We do not want
to turn out a man who thinks he knows the secretarial business
after two years of listening to other people, or after experi-
menting in one or two lines of secretarial work, but a man who,
as the result of men, with experience in the actual trying of
his wings in short flights, can see what the secretarial profes-
sion is. And having seen, we want him to be willing to invest
the hard work and the long hours, and all of the other big in-
vestments that must be made by a recruit, whether he be trained
or untrained, to make himself a fit member of this profession.
The man we are looking at is not the man as we turn him out.
What Ave want to know is how the man w r ho started some kind
of unconscious training two years ago and today goes into a
minor position in the secretarial field, can after five years more,
be compared with the man whom we have had for two years
and Avho has then had five years of the same kind of secretarial
work. Two years of unconscious training plus five years of
secretarial work versus two years of conscious training plus
five years of secretarial work, that is the measure by which
we shall judge our success or failure.
The things we hope to develop are thought habits, work
habits, and breadth of view. We want our men, above every-
430 QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING OF SECRETARIES.
thing else, to have an appreciation of the responsibility and
the bigness of the job. We want them to see the unlimited pos-
sibilities open to the organization which they serve and open
to them as servants of those organizations and the interests
which they represent.
Secretarial Efficiency and the College From the
Standpoint of the College
By PROF. ALFRED L. SMITH
The influence of the college in increasing efficiency in the
secretarial profession depends solely upon the efficiency of the
instruction given in the college. In education for this par-
ticular profession, as in education for any other, efficiency of
instruction depends in turn upon the successful solution of
four problems, namely, (1) The problem of obtaining the cor-
rect human material; (2) The problem of determining, gather-
ing, and arranging the necessary and the best subject matter;
(3) The problem of developing and using the methods of in-
struction best adapted to the needs of this field of education;
(4) The problem of so placing graduates that their collegiate
training may be used to the maximum benefit of themselves and
their employers, and their contact with practical organization
work be such as to round out their theoretical training most
efficiently.- These problems are not stated in the order of their
importance; it would be difficult to determine that. I believe,
however, that in developing this type of education in any col-
lege these problems will arise in this order, as they have at
the Tuck School. The problems of human material and instruc-
tion methods are largely educational, and I believe must be
solved in great part by the college itself. In the successful
solution of the problems of subject matter, and placing men, I
believe the college needs, and should, therefore, welcome, the
closest cooperation and the best advice of men actively engaged
in the profession.
To be brief, among the fundamental business courses which
every student should take, and a knowledge of which perhaps
the commercial executive will use most frequently, either know-
ingly or unconsciously, are those we call distributive organi-
zation and management, comprising a study of the organization
SECRETARIAL EFFICIENCY AND THE COLLEGE. 431
and problems especially of advertising and selling of mar-
keting agencies, such as retailers, jobbers, wholesalers, brokers,
commission merchants, cooperative associations, and mail order
houses; factory organization and management; financial or-
ganization and management; accounting; transportation meth-
ods and problems; and statistics. One important result of a
knowledge of such courses is the ability which it gives a com-
mercial executive to grasp immediately, and discuss intelli-
gently with business men their particular problems. The ap-
plication of these courses, however, is often more direct.
Rudiments of Retail Trade
An elementary knowledge of merchandising principles, as
you all know from experience, is essential to successful work
with mercantile committees or associations. The secretary,
to be a valuable aid, must know the rudiments of retail trade
strategy; to be a leader he must be thoroughly informed of
the problems of the various mercantile businesses. In the man-
agement of cooperative merchants' weeks, and advertising and
selling campaigns, the secretary's knowledge of advertising
principles and methods may mean the difference between suc-
cess and failure. I believe that in most communities the most
foolish thing that can be done to fight mail order houses is" to
advertise them by beseeching people to trade at home, when at
the same time the merchants refrain from using the most pow-
erful weapons that they possess, namely : Excellent store serv-
ice, decreased selling costs, attractive window displays, pleas-
ing advertisements, and a sound strategy regarding the conduct
of sales. If a commercial organization is to aid its members
in fighting mail order houses in the manner I think most effi-
cient, the secretary must thoroughly understand merchandising
principles and methods.
On the general college training plus familiarity with busi-
ness fundamentals should be superimposed a special course
on commercial executive work. The problem here is to give a
course neither too theoretical to furnish the student a working
knowledge, nor too detailed and technical to provide the stu-
dent with that broad and keen insight into the proper relation
of the organization and its activities to the business world and
the real reasons for its existence. The danger is from the lat-
ter rather than from the former. My opinion is that the func-
432 QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING OF SECRETARIES.
tion of the specialized course goes no farther than to give the
student a complete and clear idea of the true functions of a
commercial organization, a knowledge of the common types of
organization, and the reasons for and relations of committees,
bureaus, and sub-ordinate associations, a familiarity with ordi-
nary activities, and some detailed knowledge of a certain few
activities which are rather technical, or which have now been
so standardized as to warrant consideration. It is very easy
to introduce much superfluous matter while straining to in-
clude actual methods employed in conducting a wide range of
activities, or even a few which may for some reason appeal
either to the instructor or to the students.
A Course of Study
The following is an outline of a Tuck School course as pre-
sented last year :
Part I Organization and Functions
1. History and development; 2. Functions; 3. Prominent
activities ; 4. Type of organization.
More emphasis is placed on this part of the course than
on the others because it is of the most vital importance that the
novice know the true functions of a commercial organization,
and realize "that teaching the community to think," as one of
my friends, Lucius E. Wilson, says, is one of the big jobs of the
commercial organization, and that important as is business
development of a community, it is necessarily subordinated to
the broader community development. Without such a rock to
stand on, a young secretary is in great danger of being swept
away by the waves of selfish desires, unjust criticisms, unwise
projects, and utter misunderstanding of the true functions of
a commercial organization. It is said "familiarity breeds con-
tenipt," but it is just as true that familiarity breeds a feeling
of security and ability to work efficiently, and for this reason
a young secretary should be thoroughly familiar with the func-
tions, popular activities, dangers and successes of commercial
organizations.
Part II Perpetuation of the Organization
1. Membership work : a. Recruiting membership ; b. Keep-
ing up membership interest; c. Membership meetings;
SECRETARIAL EFFICIENCY AND THE COLLEGE. 433
2. Committee work : a. Selection of committee members ;
b. Preparation of program ; c. Committee investigation and re-
search; d. Conduct of committee meetings; e. Committee re-
ports;
3. Financing activities;
4. Publicity: a. Organization publications; b. Member-
ship letters; c. Use of local press;
5. Miscellaneous publicity.
In this section of the course is given what I consider the
four vital phases of commercial organization w r ork. Powerful
forces continually operate to render a commercial organization
inactive, yet it is in its constant activity and ever present po-
tential support in case of sudden civic or commercial need that
the commercial organization renders its greatest single service
to a community.
. The final section of the course concerns itself with more
or less detailed discussion of the more important lines of com-
mercial organization work, or those which seem to have been
more nearly standardized.
Part III Activities and Methods
1. Industrial development: a. Aid of established local
industries; b. Attraction of new industries; c. The industrial
survey; d. Locating prospects; e. Methods of financing new in-
dustries.
2. Retail trade development: a. Credit reporting and
collecting systems ; b. Cooperative advertising methods ; c. Con-
duct of merchants' weeks, trade carnivals, expositions, etc. ;
d. Improvement of merchandising methods and protection
against fraudulent practices ; e. Attraction of conventions.
3. Development of transportation facilities: a. Discus-
sion and study of the organization, financing and activities of
the traffic bureau.
4. Development of the surrounding region : a. The county
farm bureau, agricultural association and county improvement
league; b. Promotion of interest between farmers and the city.
5. Promotion of civic activities: a. City planning and
beautification ; b. Cooperation with municipal officials; c. Pro-
motion of miscellaneous civic activities, as clean-up weeks, edu-
cational surveys, etc.
The problem of teaching the best instruction methods is
434 QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING OF SECRETARIES.
essentially a problem of the school. The course naturally lends
itself to the system of lectures, assignments, class room discus-
sion and reports, as is the case in most graduate work. Mock
cases may be introduced and have been introduced to some ex-
tent at the Tuck School, in order to familiarize the student
with actual work, but I believe this is little more than a make-
shift. In the Tuck School the need of familiarizing the stu-
dent with actual conditions has led to a significant development
which we call clinical work. This form of training is necessary,
and now used by us in all branches of business training. I
believe it is especially essential to high grade instruction for
this profession. Our experience with the clinical work has
more than fulfilled expectations, and we are assured by gradu-
ates that this phase of a man's training has proved to be the
most valuable of all. The instructor is business manager, or
executive secretary, of each of a number of active organiza-
tions in cities and towns in the vicinity of the Tuck School, al-
though most of the work of each is in charge of a student. The
instructor performs a supervisory and advisory function simi-
lar to that of the efficiency engineer in a manufacturing plant.
He also takes charge of some of the more important matters
and supplements the work of the students during times of press
of work at the school and during vacation periods. The signifi-
cant feature of the "clinic work" is that each student is in
charge of an organization in which he comes in contact with
that wide range of problems which the full-time secretary
faces and for the success of which he is responsible.
Drawing Men From Colleges
There are sufficiently large and active organizations under
able management to absorb each year a score or two of the
best men turned out by the colleges. These are the men who
have trained especially for this work. There are also numer-
ous smaller organizations which can afford only men new to
the profession, yet which offer great opportunities for the young
secretary. Such organizations should seek the best trained
and most able men available. By taking men from the same
institution year after year they would get men similarly trained
and with similar ideas. Many organizations now accomplish
little because they are managed by a new and inexperienced
man each year or two who has ideas different from those of his
HOW TO FAIL AS A SECRETARY. 435
predecessor, and who keeps his organization back while he
learns his profession. This work might be developed further,
so that each small organization in each section of the country
might cooperate with some college or university of the district,
and exchange advice and organization experience for the serv-
ices of the yearly output of graduates.
If any definite ideas can be sifted from this discussion,
they are these: There is cooperative work to be done by the
profession and the colleges. The work is more urgent because
of the tendency of colleges to introduce a course of this kind.
Evidently there is need of something of the nature of a joint
committee of educators and secretaries, including perhaps a
representative from the Chamber of Commerce of the United
States, which is undertaking to gather facts and principles con-
cerning proper methods of organization work and management,
to consider the subject of the best matter for instruction. Such
a work might be perpetual in its nature because of the almost
bewildering, rapid advancement in this work. A similar com-
mittee might do valuable service on the problem of so placing
college graduates with special training in such positions that
the graduates on the one hand, and the profession on the other,
will reap maximum benefits.
How to Fail as a Secretary
By MUNSON HAVENS
It requires no training whatever to fail as a secretary. A
course in the Harvard School of Business Administration or
the similar courses at Dartmouth, the University of Chicago,
and other colleges are unnecessary. The proper view to take
is that such training is a waste of time. Anybody can he a
secretary if he thinks he can, and the less preparation he makes,
the sooner he begins to draw the salary.
It is a good idea to tell the committee which is examining
the applicants for the job that the experience you have had is
precisely the experience to fit any man for that work. If you
have been in newspaper work, you can throw the glamour of
that enchanting profession so completely around your own
personal shortcomings as to conceal them from the shrewdest.
436 QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING OF SECRETARIES.
The thing to do is to get the job. If you think it will help you,
throw in some little remark as
"When I was in Washington for the Daily News, etc., etc,, 7 '
Don't hesitate by reason of the fact that the three days you
spent in Washington was the only time you were ever there,
and that the regular correspondent of the Daily News made
an appointment to lunch with you at the Willard at your ex-
pense, and forgot to keep the appointment.
If you want to graduate from railroad work into a secre-
taryship, it is a very good idea to speak of seeing poor Cassatt
just before he died. Never refer to Mr. Willard except as Dan.
And generally convey the impression that while you did not
have the title, you were a sort of unofficial vice-president.
Inasmuch as training is 'not essential to get the job, it
follows logically that it is not essential to keep it. Your edu-
cation is complete, and all you have to do is your work. You
may hear of some poor fish who is spending three nights a week
at law school, specializing in commercial law. The secretary
in a neighboring city may be taking a university extension
course in transportation or foreign trade or some branch of
civics. But the thing for you to do is to show the town that
your school days are long since past. Otherwise the town might
think that there was some department of human knowledge
that you had not mastered, and this is precisely the inference
that you wish to avoid.
You should convince the board of directors that it is neces-
sary for you to have an assistant before the work develops. Do
not let the rush catch you unawares. The directors will have
a greater respect for you if you tell them frankly and firmly
that you cannot be bothered with details,.
Having settled down at your desk, it becomes your duty
and privilege to choose an assistant. Be careful not to get too
good a man. At best he might leave you in a year or two for a
better opportunity. At worst he might become ambitious to
succeed you. Be careful that his training is the same as yours.
Otherwise he will perhaps know more about his department
than you do. You must let your assistant know from the be-
ginning that you are the boss. Do not give him the impres-
sion that he is a partner in the concern. If he prepares a good
reporj for a committee, be sure to make enough alterations in
it so that you can present it to the committee as your joint
HOW TO FAIL AS A SECRETARY. 437
production. Of course by the time it has reached the board of
directors, it has ceased to be a joint production. This method
will prevent your assistant from receiving empty compliments
that might swell his head.
Make it a point that your assistant shall always sign your
name to the office mail. Let him understand from the begin-
ning that you demand his respect and do not care a hang for
his affection. Give him all the hard work to do, but keep him
out of the lime-light. He should never be allowed to give a
definite answer in your absence from the office. This may de-
lay the service somewhat, but will prevent your being made
responsible for his fool mistakes.
After your assistant has been with you for a while you
should be careful to explain to him how disloyal it is to the
organization for him to consider any offer of another position
without insisting that the other employer shall first take the
matter up with you.
With regard to his salary, always remember that you are
spending other people's money. Be careful also that his salary
never comes within a measurable distance of your own. It is
subversive of discipline to have an assistant who is paid near-
ly as well as yourself.
There are many other points that should be borne in mind
in dealing with your assistant, but it is not necessary to speak
of but one other. You should always refer to him as "my as-
sistant." This makes him proud and glad and happy. Simi-
larly, you should always speak of the stenographer as "my
secretary." Although she may keep the books and handle the
money, she would much rather have you call her "my secre-
tary" than refer to her as the cashier.
You should realize from the beginning of your work that
your personality is the dominant one. You are forced to ad-
mit that you have a brilliant personality, and it would be un-
fair to the organization if you did not give it the advantage
of the full weight of your personality. This point is suscep-
tible of a great many applications. For example: The letter-
head of the organization may contain the names of the other
officers, but yours should either be separated from these by a
space, or else should be printed in larger letters. There does
not seem to be any real reason why the names of the other
officers should appear on the letterhead but it has been custom-
438 QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING OF SECRETARIES.
ary to have them there and there is no particular objection to
it. It is a good idea to have a sign on the door of your private
office "Secretary's Office." A picture of this office with your-
self seated at your desk should be printed occasionally in the
annual report. A touch of verisimilitude will be added to 'the
picture if your assistant is also shown therein, humbly hand-
ing you a paper. Or your secretary may be seen in the picture
taking dictation. In either case, however, the side or back of
the other person should be turned toward the camera lest the
larger effect be lost.
The newspaper men should be encouraged to use your
name freely. It is a principle of present day newspaper work
that a "story" must be "hung upon an individual." Obviously
it is your duty to stand in with the newspaper men and pre-
serve their interest in the work of your organization, and you
must, therefore, yield to this practice, however repugnant it
may be to you personally. You could, of course, persuade the
newspaper men to hang the story on the president or the vice-
president, or the chairman of a committee, but there is no rea-
son why their finer feelings should be violated their sacri-
fices are sufficient as it is; you ought not to shirk any of the
disagreeable features of your work.
In meetings of committees, or of the board of directors,
you should smoke a cigar or cigarette while reading the min-
utes. This will show the directors or committeemen that you
regard keeping the records of the organization as your least
important duty. It gives you an air of easy nonchalance that
is highly impressive. One meeting will be enough to convince
any board of directors that you are from the big city.
Having presented the subject for discussion yourself for
the very obvious reason that you can do it so much better than
the president, your voice should also be heard first in the dis-
cussion. They are paying for your opinion, and they are en-
titled to it. No matter how many questions are presented,
yours should be the voice of first and final authority. If you
can manage to convey the impression, without actually saying
it, that each of these questions has had your careful considera-
tion long before it became apparent to the common mind that
there was any such question looming toward the future, it is
well to do so. Since it is a fact that you foresaw that the as-
sassination of the Arch Duke would precipitate the Great
HOW TO FAIL AS A SECRETARY. 439
War, is it not false modesty to try to conceal it? Since it is
a fact that you had conclusive evidence that the Germans woujd
sign the armistice, why appear as ignorant as the common run
of men?
In discussing these various questions it is a good idea for
you to say a few words between the remarks of each of the
other directors. In this way you make certain that your full
thought shall be revealed. In order that there may be no doubt
as to whose opinions are being voiced, begin your sentences
with the personal pronoun, "I," or as a pleasing variation you
might say, "It is my opinion, etc., etc.," or "It is the conclusion
I have reached, etc., etc."
It will occasionally happen that as the discussion proceeds
your views may undergo a change. Your views are not altered
by the opinions of others present, but your mind works more
clearly under the stimulation of the meeting, and in this event
justice to yourself requires that after all is said and done, you
should sum up. It is this clear, far-seeing all-comprehending
statement that your directors need to clarify their minds, un-
used as they are to any other intellectual processes than those
required for mere money -making.
In short, by these -methods and others, we should maintain
the conviction in the minds of our employers that we are men
among men, their equals or their superiors, the acknowledged
leaders of the thought of the community.
While we need not dwell on this phase of the subject, we
should remember that the president should always be referred
to as "my president," and the board referred to as "my direc-
tors." This will make them proud and glad and happy. Anoth-
er little, simple, helpful rule is always to refer to .the office
of the organization as "my office."
When the organization is invited to be represented at a
meeting or a dinner, and the occasion for a speech seems immi-
nent, you should realize that while the name of the president
might be more attractive on the program, there is always the
danger that he will "spill the beans," and it is your duty to
protect the organization. Go yourself. When your president
and your directors and the members see you sitting up at the
speakers' table, it makes them proud and glad and happy.
The secretary should realize fully the value of his own time.
It is paid for with other people's money, and it is a part of his
440 QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING OF SECRETARIES.
duty to see that their money is not wasted. The president
and the vice-president should not be encouraged to spend too
much time at your office. There are only so many hours in
the day, and you won't get your work done if you have to spend
a lot of time talking to them, or worse still, listening to them.
Make the president and the directors feel that they have hired
you to run the organization, and that you propose to run it.
Do not cultivate a habit of being a good listener. It is
perfectly obvious that a good listener will receive a lot of con-
fidences. Into his ears will be poured the current history of
the motives, the ambitions, the jealousies, the meannesses and
the occasional greatnesses of his many visitors. It is a mistake
to suppose that this fragmentary comment helps to form in
your mind a composite picture of your town. With your pow-
ers of deduction you can form a far truer picture for yourself
if your visitors will refrain from dropping into your office to
express their views on the topics of the day. It may be true
that the man who receives many confidences is the man in whom
the community has confidence, but it is a deadly bore just the
same, and it is a very good idea for the secretary to have a sign
on his desk, that he who runs in may read "This is my busy
day."
Indeed, the secretary should always appear to be very busy.
He should walk rapidly through the streets, nodding curtly to
those who address him. The man who stops him on the street
should receive short shrift. If he wants to see you, he knows
where your office is. People are impressed when you show them
that you are giving them only half of your attention because
of the momentous interests that are hanging by a hair, awaiting
your word. You should always have it in mind that you are not
the unofficial advisor of Tom, Dick and Harry. If they are not
members of your organization they have no right to take your
time.
Occasionally the importance of your duties should be im-
pressed upon the most influential men in town. One way of
doing this is to tell the banker that you cannot see him before
two o'clock. A still better way is to have your secretary in-
form the judge that your calendar for the day is full, but that
you would be delighted to see him at ten o'clock on the follow-
ing morning.
You should keep it in mind that while your town is the
HOW TO FAIL AS A SECRETARY. 441
best town in the world today in which to operate a factory or
build a home, it was a dead town before you came to it. Nor
need the fact that it is the best town in the world deter you
from looking for a larger opportunity elsewhere. Now that
you have put the town on its feet, it is perfectly proper for you
to tell the influential people of a competing town how dead it
was before you got there, and you may even shake your head
a little despondently over its future if once your guiding hand
is removed from the helm of its destination.
The secretary should get mixed up in politics. A very good
way to do is to advise everybody to pull for a certain candidate
for a certain office let's say mayor. When your candidate is
defeated and the other fellow is elected, it will help you to get
what you want from the incoming administration. If you find,
however, that the administration resents your having been on
the opposite side, do not admit a mistake, but on the contrary
attack each policy of the administration as it develops. It
won't do you any harm to let the administration know that if
they want you to work with them they have got to come to you.
A good deal might be said (outside of the political phase
of the question) of the relations of the secretary of a commer-
cial organization with men in public office. But certain gen-
eral observations can be made. No matter which party is in
power, it is a good idea to constantly urge large expenditures
of public moneys for the objects in which your organization is
interested, and at the same time let it be clearly understood
that you think the city administration is wasteful and extrava-
gant, and that the tax rate is far too high.
In dealing with the mayor and the members of the city
council, especially when you are accompanied by a committee,
you should call these public officials by their first names. In
order to further illustrate your familiarity with them it is a
good idea to steal a cigar from the vest pocket of one of them.
These attentions on your part will make them proud and glad
and happy.
Always keep your hat on at the city hall. The politicians
do it, and you are just as good as they are. If the mayor hap-
pens to disagree with your committee on the policy recommen-
ded, he should be made to understand that a difference on this
point constitutes a definite split between himself and the or-
ganization, that it will never be forgiven, that your organiza-
442 QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING OF SECRETARIES.
tion will have no further dealings with him, and that you pro-
pose to fight him at the next election. You can add that you
carry the business men's votes of the town in your pocket.
This may have the effect of solidifying the workingmen's vote
against your organization if the mayor is clever enough to
handle matters in that way, but even if you are beaten at the
election, you have the satisfaction of having had the intelli-
gent portion of the community behind you.
You should steadily advise your organization to keep out
of the labor question. When the manufacturers in your town
argue that this is the largest question before the town or the
state, or indeed the country, you can call their attention to
the fact that while it is the largest question, there are other
questions, and that if your organization takes sides on the
labor question it will not have as great an influence in de-
termining other questions. In discussing the labor question
with the manufacturer, make him understand that you see no
difference between collective bargaining and trades unionism
no difference between socialism and anarchy, and that you
agree with him that an eight-hour day, profit sharing, pension-
systems and welfare work are the soap bubbles blown from the
pipes of impractical dreamers who have never met a pay-roll
or paid a dividend.
Every little while one of these hard-headed manufacturers
will surprise you by conceding an eight-hour day or a share of
the profits to his employes. This is simply an evidence that
another good man has gone wrong and you can join all the
other manufacturers in town in condemning his treachery tc
his own class.
Always be certain that any new line of work you take up
originates within your own organization. If you admit to a
committee or to the directors that this is an idea which has
been worked out in Rochester, New Orleans, or Seattle, they
will not give you credit for originality. As a general policy
it is wise not to know too much about what other organizations
are doing. It is apt to have its effect on your work ; to deprive
it of your own individuality. It may link you up with some
other town that is doing the same thing, and consequently make
it less clear that the work and policy of your organization are
unique.
With regard to state organizations and national organiza-
HOW TO FAIL AS A SECRETARY. 443
tions, the insular point of view is the proper one. Your town
is a self-sufficing entity, and so is your organization. You are
not dependent on the other towns in the state, and there is no
advantage to your organization in being a part of a national
organization. A certain modification of this view is possible,
within limitations. For example, if you are put on the board
of directors of the state organization, it becomes a correct policy
for your organization to support the state organization, but on
the other hand if the by-laws of the state organization are not
drawn just to suit you, you should keep the other members of
the board constantly in mind of the danger of your resignation.
With regard to the national organization, it is well to consider
whether it would not be worth while for your organization to
pay dues in the national organization in order that you may
accompany your president or councillor each year to the annual
meeting in Washington or Atlantic City. Your presence there
will have its effect in keeping the national organization on a
straight course.
In every state organization and every national organization
you should keep your eye on the clique that runs the organiza-
tion. All organizations (except yours) are run by a clique.
There is great need for an insurgent movement to break the
slate in all of these organizations.
A very good slogan for such a movement is that all of the
officers, committee appointments, etc., are held by the larger
towns ; that the smaller towns get no recognition, and that the
real bone and sinew of the nation is in the smaller towns.
An insurgent movement requires leadership, and if you know
just how the matter ought to be handled, there is no reason
why you should shrink from the duty.
At the meetings of state organizations, and whenever pos-
sible in the national organization, it is particularly desirable to
be heard from the floor at least once, and if possible oftener.
The rest of the time can be spent in the ante-room just outside
the convention hall.
Speaking of insurgents reminds one that a paper of this
sort ought to consider how they should be dealt with. Not
that any of us ever have insurgents in our own organizations,
but we. are asked occasionally by the other fellow how to deal
with this problem. It should be realized in the first place that
every insurgent movement is destructive in character, it aims
444 QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING OF SECRETARIES.
to overthrow the whole policy of the organization, and to sub-
stitute for that wise policy the selfish interests of the few in-
dividuals who compose the insurgent group. They want to
use the organization to promote and foster their own personal
and private aims. They cannot use the organization for that
purpose so long as you are the secretary. And for that reason
they want to get your goat. In order to prevent insurgency
from ever gaining a foothold, the following precautions are de-
sirable: In the first place the nominating committee to pro-
pose new officers should always be appointed by the secretary.
It may be necessary to do a little window-dressing in order to
get this through, but with all your experience in this line of
work, if you don't know who ought to be on the nominating
committee, who in the world does know? Then the secretary
should always meet with the nominating committee, and, if pos-
sible, ought to see each member personally before the first meet-
ing in order that the meeting may move smoothly with entire
harmony and without any unnecessary waste of the valuable
time of the members of the committee. At least two-thirds of
the board of directors should be renominated each year. This
helps to maintain the consecutive character of the organization's
work. Its policy otherwise might be erratic. The same per-
sonnel on committees should be continued year after year to
give further assurance of a continuous policy within the organi-
zation.
If an insurgent movement rises in spite of those precau-
tions, various steps can be taken that will be helpful. For
example, if the insurgents demand an open meeting, the meet-
ing can be called for a month later to allow time for the first
violence of the movement to die down. When the meeting is
finally called, it may be called for an unusual place, at an un-
usual hour, and the notices can be issued to part of the mem-
bers just a little too late for them to receive them. The impor-
tant thing to remember in connection with this treatment of
insurgents is that they have no memories. Once an insurgent
movement is crushed, it is crushed forever. Moreover, the
average insurgent is the kind of a man who is cowed by trea-
ting him rough. Above all things, it should never be admitted
that the insurgents have any just cause for complaint against
the organization. It should never be admitted that the organi
zation has ever made a mistake, and the insurgents should never
HOW TO FAIL AS A SECRETARY. 445
be given representation on a nominating committee or a board
of directors or in any position of honor or trust.
You should always take yourself very seriously. A sense
of humor in a secretary is badly misplaced. There are too many
references to the "genial'- secretary. People do not seem to
realize our responsibilities. They get the impression somehow
certainly through no fault of our own that the president
and the directors and the committees do the work. One of the
most irritating assumptions that our members seem to have
is that there is another fellow around the corner who can do
our work just as well as we can, and maybe a little better. Now
the secretary who does not take himself seriously encourages
these illusions with reference to our vocation. There is a book
by one Erasmus "In Praise of Follie." No secretary should
ever read it.
Remember in your work that the main thing that counts in
a town is the impression that it makes on visitors. And in this
connection the visitor must be so conducted around the town
that he will not see the bad spots, which can, therefore, be left
undisturbed indefinitely. The folks at home may know about
them, but they are used to them.
A large part of our work should be aimed toward attracting
tourist travelers. Emphasis should be placed on the fact that
the town can be reached from everywhere and that the visitor
may depart thence for anywhere. Waterworks systems, sewage
systems, and miles of pavements -are of particular interest to
cultivated tourists, and should, therefore, be referred to liber-
ally in your printed matter.
This observation applies also to the location of a factory.
Factories are always located where there is pure water to drink,
a beautiful Soldiers' Monument, and a fine surrounding agri-
cultural community. Comparative statistics should be avoided
in literature issued by commercial organizations. Never com-
pare the number of miles of pavements in your town with the
number of miles of pavements in the other towns of correspond-
ing size. Never compare the tax. rate in your town with any
other tax rate in the world. If the prospective tourist or the
prospective manufacturer wants comparative statistics, let him
look them up himself it is no business of yours. Your business
is to advertise your town, not the other fellow's town.
Everv little while a visitor comes to town and is lavishlv
446 QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING OF SECRETARIES.
entertained by the organization, and is shabby enough to make
criticisms of the town. Of course no attention should be paid
to these criticisms. The facilities that the visitor complains
of are good enough for our folks here at home, and if they are
good enough for us, they are good enough for anybody. You
knew that fellow had a swelled head the minute you laid eyes
on him.
The test of a successful organization is its size. The bigger
the organization, the better it is. If you have a town of 30,000
people and there are 1,000 members of your organization, it is
safe to say that you have an organization that is absolutely
democratic, in which the millionaire rubs elbows with the work-
man, and of course the moment they join your organization
they will absolutely agree on all matters of policy and then go
hand in hand as brothers should.
A membership campaign every year is a splendid thing. It
keeps up the interest in the organization, and gives everybody
something to do. If you have taken in 300 members during
the year, that is an accomplishment that ought to satisfy any-
body. Anybody can see what the year's work has done for the
town.
The dues of an organization, on the contrary; should be
kept as low as possible. It goes without saying that if you have
very high dues, you will not have a large number of members.
Of course, there ought to be a law compelling citizens to join
our organization, but in the absence of such a law, they have to
be attracted in because it does not cost much. Occasionally
you will hear somebody say that the amount of the dues should
be determined by the aggregate revenue required for the work
to be done, divided among the number of men who are really
interested in getting the work done. Of course any organiza-
tion expert like yourself knows that this statement is a fallacy.
In the first place how can you tell what work you want to do
until you see how much money you have to do it with? And in
the second place it stands to reason that the more people you
get into the organization, th<? more work you can do.
Every secretary should have an organization chart. This
chart should show the membership as the foundation, then the
board of directors, executive committee, officers, committees,
bureaus, etc., etc. The secretary's place on the chart should
not be bunched with the other officers. This chart is very
HOW TO FAIL AS A SECRETARY. 447
helpful ILL the practical work of the organization. It is espe-
cially helpful if different colored inks are used. The best colors
are red, blue, purple and green.
If at the end of the year, however, you find that the direc-
tors are not wholly satisfied with the results of the year's work,
it is well to consider changing the color of the ink used on dif-
ferent parts of the chart. The chart is equally efficient in get-
ting factories, securing conventions, and promoting public im-
provements. If the chart indicates that the committee on mu-
nicipal affairs is responsible to the board of directors, and
reports to that body, it is relatively unimportant w T hether the
committee on municipal affairs ever does report to the board of
directors or not. The main thing is to get the correct theory.
For example, an organization that had a chart which showed
that the board of directors reported to the municipal affairs
committee could not possibly succeed even though in practice
the processes were reversed.
Whenever one of your members calls, show him the chart.
It gives him a chance to turn over in his mind the matter
that he came in to see you about. When he finally presents
the matter that is on his mind, you can either show him that
it is on the chart, in which case he ought to be satisfied, or
else you show him that it is not on the chart, in which case
you are perfectly satisfied.
Next in importance to the chart is the card list of the
membership. This card list should be comprehensive, and
should include on each card a full history of the public and pri-
vate life of each member. Securing this information will take
a lot of the secretary's time. But nothing makes a member so
proud and glad and happy as to write the history of his life on
a six by four card. You can increase his pleasure somewhat by
printing at the bottom of the card "Please write on one side
only." Having secured all these cards, they should be filed
carefully. When you come to make up the committees with
the assistance of the president (not that his assistance is im-
portant at all), all the cards should be laid out on your desk
in alphabetical order, and each life history should be carefully
considered in connection with each committee appointment.
The president should not be permitted to overlook the impor-
tance of the scientific method. He will probably think that
the fact that he has known Tom Brown or Dick Jones all their
448 QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING OF SECRETARIES.
lives, or that Bill Smith and lie went to school together, has
some bearing on the matter. You know, and he must be made
to know, that there is a scientific method of doing this sort
of thing, and that the card list represents that method. That
is what you are there for.
The secretary should always have at least one hobby. And
that hobby should be the focal point of the organization's ac-
tivities. It may be civil service, the city manager form of gov-
ernment, drinking fountains in the parks, or the reform of
domestic architecture. But whatever the hobby may be, it
should occupy a large part of the organization's time. If any-
one has the mistaken view that the organization's purposes
should be more comprehensive, its aims more catholic, the sec-
retary can point out that nothing can be accomplished without
concentration.
Writing reports for various committees may be one of the
duties of the secretary. The first principle to be observed in
writing his report is that no mention should be made of any
arguments which tend to support any other conclusion than
the one reached in the report. It is one of the best known
facts about the tired business man that he is only interested in
the recommendations made by his commercial organization.
He cares nothing for the facts upon which its conclusions are
based, nor the arguments pro and con which have been thrashed
out in the committee. He is prepared to agree blindly with any
recommendation the authorized committee makes on the sub-
ject. Then, too, a report of this kind always carries great
weight with the public at large. When it appears in the news-
paper, all of the folks stop thinking whatever thoughts they
may have been thinking on the question at issue, and accept
immediately and unqualifiedly the recommendations of the
commercial organization. The absence of any facts from the
report and the omission of any argument convinces the com-
munity of the comprehensive view your organization has taken
of the subject.
The secretary should have as his first ambition to be spoken
of as the live wire of the town. But he should be careful to
realize that there are two kinds of live wires. He should real-
ize that a live wire that is quietly performing its duty is never
heard, rarely seen, seldom thought of. A live wire to attract
attention should get out of its proper place, bang around against
HOW TO FAIL AS A SECRETARY. 449
everything within reaching distance, short-circuit the machin-
ery, and start a fire. Then everybody knows that there is a live
wire around.
The secretary should realize that the average business man
and the average professional man has a very narrow point of
view. He is intent on making money, and quite often he has
the mistaken supposition that the commercial organization is
interested in commerce. It will be helpful in dispelling this
misapprehension for the secretary to keep himself aloof from
commerce as much as possible. When the pickle manufacturer
calls on you, recite Shelley to him. He needs the broadening
influence of your culture. If one of your directors runs a saw
mill, he would rather hear you discuss Bernard Shaw's latest
play than anything else in the world. You shouldn't read
commercial and financial journals for fear of getting into a rut
yourself. Those of your members who are interested in real
estate will appreciate it beyond words if you will talk to them
about unearned increment and the right of the city to excess
appropriation. The manufacturer who has been meeting a pay-
roll for forty years will find your views on the nobility of man-
ual labor exceedingly refreshing. In short, the important thing
is to control the conversation yourself whenever you come into
contact with your members, and you should control it along
the broadening, cultural lines which represent the highest ideals
toward which your young life is seeking to express itself.
It is never wise to bother the president or the directors
with the criticisms you happen to hear of the organization. It
is unfair to them to burden their minds with these details, and
besides it is your duty to endure criticism in dignified silence.
And finally, there is one infallible test of success or failure.
If we hold our jobs we have succeeded. If we lose them we have
failed. Are not the successful secretaries those who have taken
expediency as their watchword, have avoided the pitfalls of a
decisive position, have never regarded their organizations as
instruments of human progress, but rather as the medium
through which they maintain their livelihood?
And are not the secretaries who have failed those quixotic
spirits who have fought within their organizations for things
they believed to be right, against a majority against almost
a unanimous membership, and have at least acknowledged the
bitterness of defeat and experienced the humiliation of dis-
missal? Of course these are the failures.
16
450 QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING OF SECRETARIES.
The National Association of Commercial
Organization Secretaries
By WILLIAM GEORGE BRUCE
The National Association of Commercial Organization Sec-
retaries has completed a career, sufficiently long and useful,
to deserve historic record. While the organization is compara-
tively young and, therefore, its story brief, it presents an evo-
lution in a new calling a calling that is a vital factor in Ameri-
can community progress- and, therefore, not without some
national as well as local import.
It records a period which has brought the scope and func-
tion of the commercial secretary into clearer relief, his methods
and operations upon a sounder basis, and his future upon a
more established footing.
The story of the association, with its pioneering predeces-
sors, also embraces the most interesting as well as the most im-
portant period in the history of secretarial service. It marks
a transition from hazy conceptions to fixed definitions, from
spasmodic dabbling to earnest direction, from uncertainty to
positiveness.
In a general way there has been a consciousness that the
responsibilities of commercial bodies are primarily predicated
upon community needs and aspirations; that these must be
defined and established before concerted effort in realizing them
is applied ; and that the possibilities of the community along
economic, civic and social progress must be analyzed by and
realized through the medium of collective effort. But, today,
commercial bodies are more certain of their ground, and ap-
proach the elements of scope, method and aim with greater as-
surance. They have a higher appreciation of their mission and
a firmer grasp upon their problems, obligations, and mode of
procedure.
Unity of Thought and Action
Individual inclination and self interest are basic and form
the mainspring of all human progress. But, when it is remem-
bered that detached individual or diverse effort in behalf of
a common cause can lead to nothing, it is promptly recognized
*Address delivered at the Indianapolis meeting of the National Associa-
tion of Commercial Organization Secretaries, October 28, 1919.
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION COMMERCIAL SECRETARIES. 451
that unity of thought and action must be employed. Nor can
the agencies of government, frequently created out of party
strife and always restricted by law, legitimately engage in local
promotional effort.
If laudable ends and purposes are to be achieved for the
community, which cannot be successfully fostered by the lone
individual or on the other hand by the local government, it only
follows that the collective citizenship, marshalled along non-
partisan and unselfish lines is best fitted to perform the task.
Hence the modern commercial body.
That someone should, sooner or later, conceive the idea of
associating commercial secretaries for educational purposes,
was to be expected. That such an organization would grow into
a compact whole, become truly representative in character, and
realize its purposes, remained to be seen.
Naturally, during its earlier history, this organization
passed through all the vicissitudes of early childhood. Its in-
fantile ailments were various and frequent, threatening at
times to snuff out its young life. But, it continued to live, and
gradually grew into a lusty, powerful and serviceable body.
This period also marks a notable era in the life of the com-
mercial bodies themselves. The young men who have yearly
come to these gatherings have carried away new inspiration,
new ideas, new expedients to their several organizations. They
have been taught to recognize the modern commercial body in
the light of a faith a faith in human nature, in common coun-
sel and in concerted action a faith in the community, its de-
velopment, its opportunities, its progress. They have been
taught to espouse the highest aspirations of American urban
life. In brief, the period with which we are dealing marks an
epoch in that promotional effort which constitutes the true
mission of the modern commercial body as exemplified in this
country.
Historic Outline
The National Association of Commercial Organization Sec-
retaries had its beginning October 10th, 1906, in Binghampton,
N. Y. Twenty-five secretaries coming from New York, Penn-
sylvania, and New Jersey formed what was then known as the
Inter-State Association of Commercial Executives. It later
developed into the American Association of Commercial Execu-
tives. They represented the Schenectady Business Men's As-
452 QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING OF SECRETARIES.
sociation, Ithaca Business Men's Association, Elinira Chamber
of Commerce, Wilkes Barre Board of Trade, Syracuse Cham-
ber of Commerce, Erie Chamber of Commerce, Scranton Board
of Trade, Harrisburg Board of Trade, Cornell Chamber of Com-
merce, Rochester Chamber of Commerce, Buffalo Chamber of
Commerce, Atlantic City Bureau of Publicity and the Bing-
hampton Chamber of Commerce.
The historian, James A. Bell, of Harrisburg, Pa., who
told the story six years later at Louisville, refers to Clum,
Smith, Clark, Gitchell and himself as the Old Guard. The
annual meetings were held at Harrisburg, Pa., in 1907; At-
lantic City, N. J., 1008; Rochester, N. Y., 1909; Grand Rapids,
Mich., 1910; Louisville, Ky., 1911; Washington, D. C., 1912;
St. Paul, Minn, 1913; Cincinnati, O., 1914,
The Central Association of Commercial Secretaries was
formed at Cincinnati, O., in 1909. The credit for originating
this organization, we are told, must go to Will L. Finch. The
presidents elected at the various meetings held during the life
of the organization were the following :
1909 Cincinnati, Ohio William G. Gibson, Chicago, 111.
1910 Milwaukee, Wis. R. G. McClure, Indianapolis, Ind.
1911 Chicago, 111. J. M. Guild, Omaha, Nebr.
1912 Indianapolis, Ind. E. M. Glendenning, Kansas
City, Mo.
1913 Omaha, Nebr. William George Bruce, Milwaukee,
Wis.
In 1913 Mr. S. Cristy Mead at the St. Paul meeting, where
he was elected president of the American Association, was
authorized to confer with the Central Association of Commer-
cial Secretaries with a view of consolidating the two bodies.
At the same time the writer, who headed the Central Associa-
tion, championed an amalgamation which was finally consum-
mated at the Cincinnati meeting in 1914.
The National Association of Commercial Organization Sec-
retaries became the successor of the two bodies. Its meetings
have since been held in the cities here named and headed by
th following men as presidents :
1915 St. Louis, Mo. S. Cristy Mead, New York City.
1916 Cleveland, Ohio William George Bruce, Milwau-
kee, Wis.
1917 Chicago, 111. James A. McKibbon, Boston, Mass.
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION COMMERCIAL SECRETARIES. 453
1918 Rochester, N. Y. Howard Strong, Minneapolis,
Minn.
1910 Indianapolis, Ind. John M. Guild, Kansas City,
Mo.
Area and Vision
The earlier secretarial conventions held in this country
very properly adhered to the most timely program topics.
While some of these were discussed with thoroughness others
came in for meagre or superficial attention only. And yet some
of the programs covered a range of subjects which extended
far beyond the immediate problems concerning secretaries and
commercial bodies. They rambled into factory and transpor-
tation problems, foreign trade, waterways and city planning,
etc. At the same time they discussed membership mainte-
nance, new industries, the value of conventions, and other im-
mediate and pertinent organization problems.
Some of the speakers, how r ever, w r ere inclined to hold their
treatment of subjects within narrow limits. They dealt, to a
large extent, with local experience, local viewpoints and local
conclusions. The result was that new departures and projects,
partially developed and realized by one locality, were frequent-
ly emphasized to the exclusion of the completed and successful
experiments of another locality.
It became evident here that, in the treatment of any im-
portant subject, the experience of many minds and localities
must be consulted in order to reach reliable deductions and con-
clusions. Furthermore, it became apparent that the human
vision must go beyond local color and environment, and extend
over greater area and penetrate into a greater variety of con-
ditions in order to bring the whole truth to the surface.
The program builders of a later day recognized this broad-
er conception of their function. They selected their subjects
with greater discrimination and urged upon the speakers the
value of bringing into play a wider range of observation and
a deeper analysis with the result that the addresses gradually
grew in strength and character.
The builders of the organization also wisely held their
deliberations within a properly defined domain. They re-
frained from entering upon a discussion of principles and poli-
cies that came strictly within the province of the local com-
mercial body, and confined themselves to secretarial methods
454 QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING OF SECRETARIES.
and modes of procedure. Every topic was dealt with compre-
hensively and ably. Every document became an authoritative
treatise. Every volume of the proceedings became a dependable
reference book.
Thus, a review of convention programs for the past decade
reveals not only an evolution in the subjects chosen but also
in the manner of their treatment. They note a trend from the
obvious to the complex, and a gradual penetration to the in-
nermost springs of organization success. In fact, the present
program goes to the very core of secretarial efficiency.
I do not mean to convey the impression, however, that the
main topics have all been exhausted and that the program
makers of the future will run dry for want of material. An
examination of the several manuscripts submitted by this or-
ganization and its predecessors reveals the fact that there are
still topics that have not as yet been comprehensively dealt
with, or that must be reconsidered in the light of changed con-
ditions and of later experiences.
Ideals and Standards
The renaissance that followed the merger of the two bodies
into the one national organization also led to the fostering of
fixed standards and ideals. Those who sought to place the
secretarial calling upon a higher plane earnestly championed
aims and accomplishments that were apparently far above
the reach of the average but in reality within the grasp of all.
While it is impossible to rear a completed secretary in a
day, or to endow the average with all the mental and tempera-
mental qualities that make for the perfect, it is possible to set
Up the desirable and the attainable. A sincere effort to live
up to an ideal constitutes in itself an expression of progress.
It spells an upward rather than a downward tendency, dispels
lethargy and indifference, and stimulates nobler purpose and
action.
Those who believed that the impossible had been held up
to them, or that the standards of efficiency had been set at un-
attainable heights, have since applauded the spirit which sound-
ed the battle cry of onward and upward. In reaching out for.
the things that make for a more complete man^ namely for in-
spiration, for strength, for self-reliance, they have incidentally
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION COMMERCIAL SECRETARIES. 455
added themselves to the ranks of the really efficient commer-
cial executives.
Another gratifying fact deserves mention here. The exu-
berance of youth is apt to disregard that poise and circum-
spection necessary in executive labors, but, the younger men
in the profession readily accepted the counsels of the older.
Some of the veterans generously pointed out the pitfalls which
await the recruit, and good-naturedly touched upon the foibles,
conceits and idiosyncrasies that impede the path to success.
Equally gratifying is the fact that a receptive as well as help-
ful spirit has characterized the entire organization. All well-
meant counsel was cheerfully accepted in the spirit in which
it was offered.
Defining Official Relationships
The period here dealt with may well be described as a dec-
ade of definitions. With the progress of time it was certain
that an institution such as this would be evolved but it was
not certain that it would realize a maximum stage of service.
And yet, the statement that it has accomplished more than its
progenitors had hoped for it is fully warranted. It became
within a short time a powerful factor in giving greater mo-
mentum and direction to commercial organization labors, in
clarifying essentials and in defining official relationships.
These definitions cover eligibility to membership in com-
mercial bodies, the function of executive officers, the mechan-
ism of organizations and the purposes for which they are cre-
ated. They have made unmistakably clear that the modern
commerce body is a small plant with a large purpose, that the
raw materials consist of undeveloped, incomplete and disjoint-
ed conditions, and that the finished product is found in ad-
justments and accomplishment, in construction and achieve-
ment.
This period too has thrown the searchlight upon the con-
stituent ingredient membership. Tt has taught that he who
bursts in upon the commercial body and selfishly asks "What
am I going to get out of this?" is far from having a proper
conception of modern commercial organization purpose. Such
men obey the law and pay taxes because they are compelled to,
little realizing that a voluntary contribution of time and money
to the local body constitutes a test of useful citizenship. During
the past decade there have come upon the scene in increasing
456 QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING OF SECRETARIES.
numbers those who give liberally of themselves and their sub-
stance, in order that the welfare of an entire community may
be promoted.
We are also clearer on the essentials in marshalling mem-
bership into a working body. The machinery employed in
prompting thought and action along promotional lines must be
properly designed and built of the right material. The best
business and professional element must be identified with the
organization and become an active constituent part of the same.
In other words, the commercial body must be truly representa-
tive of the progressive citizenship and organize its component
parts so as to effectively perform the service required of the
same.
Status of the Secretary
An undeveloped condition of the commercial body only
can account for the wrong position in which some secretaries
may be placed. Instead of being recognized as executives with
discretionary powers they are, in instances, reduced to a mere
recording clerkship. Where such an officer is a novice in sec-
retarial duties no objections can be raised, and yet the thought
that the secretary must be an expert in policies and methods of
community promotion, and the intellectual equal of his board
of directors, should be primarily observed in selecting him.
In order to fill the position adequately the secretary must
be resourceful enough to devise, initiate and recommend, and
after the committees and the board have fixed upon policies
and departures, he must be strong enough to execute. He
serves on the one hand as a stimulus to thought and motive,
and on the other as the strong right arm to construct and
realize. Logically, it follows that he cannot fulfill the func-
tion of his: office unless he knows his town and its possibili-
ties and the procedure of inaugurating movements and ob-
jective action. He must become the clearing house for the
ideas and suggestions that come within the organization pre-
cincts, and, together with his associates, subject them to the
sifting process and to analysis.
It has always been my theory that the coordination of the
secretary and his board, his committees and membership should
be clearly defined and recognized in order that friction may be
avoided and harmony and efficiency be obtained.
Here, of course, it is essential that the secretarv mani-
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION COMMERCIAL SECRETARIES. 457
fest sufficient strength of character to meet the requirements
of his office and to adjust himself to the interrelations which
must obtain here. The president and secretary are not only
co-workers but also co-equals. They work as a team in the
same harness. They are not in the attitude of boss and clerk,
but rather joint workers in a common cause.
The tactful secretary recognizes the prerogatives of the
president, his distinction and his leadership while on the other
hand the president recognizes the scope and function of the
secretary and the cooperative attitude he must assume towards
him. Neither can assume to arbitrarily direct the other. Tho
source of authority springs from the board of directors to whose
dictum both must submit.
This body, in its collective capacity, constitutes the highest
authority created within the organization. The body mem-
bership exercises the legislative functions of the organization
and delegates judicial and administrative powers to the board
of directors. The president is the presiding officer of the or-
ganization and the executive head of the board, while the sec-
retary is the executive head of the office force and of the ad-
ministrative labors. Aside from the functions outlined here
the president stands in an advisory capacity to the secretary
and should stimulate all along the lines policies and purposes
helpful to laudable achievement.
The Old and the New
The educational influence which has so richly flown from
the annual gatherings of the association has in a great measure
caused a change in the type of men who have gone into secre-
tarial labors. The hurrah circus style fellow, who shouted
himself hoarse for his town, lias practically disappeared from
the scene. Individual brag and bluster have given way to
collective thought and team work.
It may seem presumptuous to hold that a secretary must
educate his board of directors, but it is not unreasonable to
assume that the conclusions reached by the trained secretaries
of the country, must in a greater or lesser degree be acceptable
to those entrusted with the affairs of commercial bodies.
The prestige which the National Association of Commer-
cial Organization Secretaries has won for itself, together with
the distinct ; on it has conferred upon many of its members, has
458 QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING OF SECRETARIES.
also lifted the entire secretarial calling upon a higher plane
and has given each man a better standing "back home." While
some of the secretaries have been honored with office or pro-
gram distinction and have thus gained in the eyes of their
directors and associates, the rank and file, too, has shared in
the benefits that have accrued from convention deliberation.
It has enabled them to meet with greater confidence and author-
ity the problems that have confronted them, and has won for
them a greater standing with their associates and co-laborers
at home. It may confidently be asserted that there is no com-
mercial secretary in the United States today who has become
so proficient in his office that he can afford to ignore the edu-
cational stimulus and guidance provided by this body.
The impetus thus given to a singular and exceptional call-
ing has implied better compensation, higher appreciation and
more congenial surroundings. But, it has also gone to the very
core of the great cause in which secretaries, directors and com-
mitteemen are serving, namely the stimulation of the highest
type of American citizenship.
What of the Morrow?
I have thus far spoken retrospectively. What of the fu-
ture? What will be the commercial organization of tomor-
row? What part will the secretary play in the future economic,
civil and social life of his community? What service can and
will this organization render in the progress of American civili-
zation?
In meeting these questions I am readily prompted to an
optimistic answer. If the story of a comparatively recent past
may be applied to an immediate or ultimate future then the
commercial body will continue to grow in strength and serv-
ice, and become an ever increasing factor in the life of the
community. It will not only be a common mentor of local
interests, in future as it has in the past, but also the strong
correlating and coordinating force that will bind the economic
and social factors into an effective unit, and lead with greater
certainty in the progress of American urban life.
The man who guides and directs this force is bound to
become a correspondingly important factor. His office will
assume increasing distinctions and uniqueness. He will stand
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION COMMERCIAL SECRETARIES. 459
on a par with the school superintendent and the mayor, one a
citizenship trainer, the other a governmental executive.
The commercial secretary, who is both a trainer and an
executive, seeking to vitalize citizenship and- to strengthen gov-
ernment, is the recognized champion for a community house-
hold that shall not only be orderly and intelligent, but prosper-
ous and high-minded as well.
The collective citizenship, properly marshalled and guided,
may go far beyond the legal limitations which beset local gov-
ernment in launching into the broad domain of economic and
civic advancement. Hence, the commercial secretary not only
begins where the school superintendent leaves off, but occupies
a field that exceeds in potential service the law-restricted, and
oftimes politically biased possibilities of a mayor's office.
With the ascendancy of the commercial body, performing
in the fullest measure the function of its being, expressing the
most laudable ambitions and the highest aspirations of the
community, the commercial secretary will rise in distinction,
in service and in power. In saying this I am not disposed to
exalt the commercial secretary beyond the station to which
he has been assigned, but I am certain that by virtue of the
growing importance of his office, and as an active participant
in the great march of civilization, he will stand out as a dis-
tinctive figure among his fellow men.
Subserving the American Spirit
If this organization has, in its brief existence, rendered
a service in strengthening the integral parts that constitute
a great nation, it has also the power to continue that service
and to intensify that beneficent influence which it now radi-
ates into numberless units of population.
The prestige and power of a great Republic must spring
from its component parts. The enterprise and energy, inven-
tive genius and constructive ability must be awakened into con-
stant and continuous action. Citizenship no longer means
mere obedience to the law. It means useful service as well.
The patriotism of peace, like the patriotism of war, calls for
action energetic action in all that will prompt a better town
in order that there may be a greater nation.
That nation is now actuated by a new spirit. The Ameri-
ca of old stretched out its arms in welcome to the oppressed of
460 QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING OF SECRETARIES.
all lands. It cried out to them "Come to our shores. Join us
in building a nation on new ideals of government a nation
that shall endure for all time."
The new America has gone to other shores, torn down the
shackles of autocracy, and cried : "We have realized our ideals.
We are here now to help you realize your own dreams of self-
determination, of democracy, of freedom."
This new world-outlook, with its altruism and concern for
humanity, also implies a finer relation between our fellowmen
at home. It exacts newer conceptions and responsibilities in
the direction of collective community effort, and inspires broad-
er considerations for the welfare of the many as against the
interests of the few.
In the light of this new spirit your mission and mine be-
comes loftier, nobler and holier. Let us dedicate ourselves
anew to the task that is ours, realize its high purposes, and
thereby win for ourselves the proudest distinction that modern
civilization can confer upon any man the title of tr
