The Chqmber of Commerce ldeq

Bu IACK DIONNE

Where did the Chamber of Commerce idea come from ? Who originatecl it, and when ? I cannot speak with authority on that subject. But I CAN utter an opinion. I think it was an Athenian named Themistocles. Ever hear of him? Sure you have. If you want to brush up your acquaintance right quickly, you will find his history the very first one in the front of the greatest of all ancient books of biography, "Plutarch's Lives." Several hundred years before the Christian era, Themistocles lived. He was statesman and soldier, and also something of a philosopher. His mother was born in a land outside of Greece, which made her a despised alien. National lines were closely drawn in those days. But rvhen her son came to his glory in Athens, whenever another woman would point a finger at her and call her "alien," she would draw herself up proudly and reply: "Yes, but the mottrer of Themistocles." And that was sufficient answer. She had borne a great man. Now to the Chamber of Commerce application of this story of Themistocles:

One day in a great gathering of people, many had taken turns entertaining the crowd with musical instruments. Finally they asked Themistocles what he could do to entertain. And hear what he said: "I cannot play upon any stringed instrttment," said Themistocles, "but I can tell you how to make a city grow." lJnfortunately the writers of old went no further with the story. Whether or not they took the great man up on his offer, and what he said if they did, is lost in the dark clouds of the past. Too bad some enterprising journalist could not have been there to take down the notes, and leave to posterity the secret of city building that Themistocles said he knew. Ever since I first read that remark of the great Athenian I have regretted that no report was made of his opinion. Did he really know something important, something practical, something inspiring that others could use who wanted to build their home town?

One rnan's guess on the subject is as good as another's. We will never know what Themistocles thought he knew. But my guess is that he was simply going to tell them THIS fact: that men grorv from within, and not from without. And a city, being simply a group of men, doei the same, and gro\t's the same way. When a Chamber of Commerce starts in to work in behalf of its home town, it must never forget that ambition and common sense go ever hand in hand. One of its initial jobs is to see that the citizenship does not get the bad habit of being too well satisfied with things as they are, willing to let rvell enough alone ; or to assume that the future of the town depends on the winds of chance. It is true that the Bible says that "the race is not always to the swift, nor yet the battle to the strong," but some modern wisecracker says he still recommends them as the best bets. Godlike restlessness is what makes all the progress of the world. The universe itself seems to be the result of God's unrest. Had He been satisfied with things as they were, lle rvould never have taken the trouble to make it.

Someone asked the great electrical wizard, Steinmetz, horv a young man might best work to achieve success, and he replied: "Do not try to see how fast you can make your machine run, but try rather to see how perfectly you can tune it and line it and make it operate; then the speed will take care of itself." That's my idea of rvhat the Chamber of Commerce, particularly in a small town, can do. Don't start in to make that town bulge from the outside; start in to make it strong, and friendly, and happy, and healthy from the inside. Every forward stride of man or town, begins with an honest self-inventory. I think the difference between a bum town and a boom town is often the difference in the Chamber of Commerce. Just because your town is outstripping my town, or my town is forging ahead of your town, does not necessarily mean that the faster-growing one has any particular geographical or other physical advantage. It usually means that the fast-growing town has a cooperative citizenship who love and believe in it, and have the courage to put their shoulders and heads together to work out their own problems. lf you should see a great rock rolling heavily UP a hill, you wouldn't have to go 'round behind it to know that some force back there was pushing to beat the band, would you ? And whenever you see a city that is doing the same thing, you can come to the same conclusion that you would with regarcl to the rock. You know that there are strong and earnest and courageous men working together to make the thing happen. The good things of the world don't just happen, to me or citis.

You may have guessed that part of my reason for writing in this way at this time is to help the many lumbermen who may have Chamber of Commerce speeches to make. That's one of the reasons. The other is to help the lumber folks get started in on their Chamber of Commerce activities. The best Chamber of Commerce story I ever heard was uttered by a farmer. This was many years ago. I think things have changed a lot since then. He was regretting that the coopera-

' tion was not close enough between the business men of the average agricultural city, and the farmers of the country around. FIe told of a town where there was a Chamber of Commerce for the business men, and a F-armer's Association. Each met twice a month in the evening. There was only one town hall, so both met there, but on different nights. A farmer got his dates mixed, and one night he knocked at the door of the hall, while the Chamber of Commerce was in session. The keeper of the gate slid the peekhole opeu, and asked for the countersign. The farmer replied: "We plow; we sow; we reap." The puzzled gatekeeper asked him to repeat it. The farmer did: "We plow; we sow; we reap." The gatekeeper saw what had happenecl, and as he slid the peekhole shut he said: "Go to H-ll, you poor farmer." The puzzled. farmer went back and met another farmer, and related what had happened. The other fellow told him that he was in on the wrong r-right, and that that was the Charnber of Commerce he had tried to get into. "And do you rnean to tell me," said the second farmer, "that you gave our password to the Chamber of Commerce?" "I did," said the first farmer, "and the Chamber of Commerce gave their password to tne."