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EVENING EEDGEK-PHIEftDEEPHIA, TUESDAY," APRIU 27, 1915:
A DANGER AND AN OPPORTUNITY
The enlarged Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce will face a great
opportunity. And it will face a serious danger.
The opportunity is one which is almost un
equaled that of getting behind one of the great
metropolises of the world, a city which has been
falling back, and lifting it up to its rightful place.
The danger is one which every trade organiza
tion faces. ' Those which fail to overcome it lose
imost of their effectiveness.
This danger is the ambition of separate trades
and separate industries to make the central organ
ization do for them the work that they ought to do
for themselves.
When a new organization settles down to for
mulate its program, its executive board usually
finds laid out before it about four times as many
things to be done as it can do efficiently.
The problem is to select those tasks that are
biggest and will do the greatest good for the city as
a whole.
Naturally, each business, each group of business
men, is likely to think its own' special difficulties
those which should be attacked first. Not in a
seifish spirit, but because of lack of perspective.
There will be bills before Congress and the
Legislature which would harm an important
industry.
There will be street improvements which
would benefit a certain district.
There will be places where publicity (paid
for by the Chamber of Commerce) would develop
much business for certain trades.
There will be institutions in which members
are active which deserve endorsement, abuses of a
special character which should be remedied, great
national movements in which the Chamber should
join.
Probably most of these causes will be worthy.
Probably not half of them are important to the
membership as a whole.
The chief task of the Chamber of Commerce in
every city is to refrain from dissipating its energies
on worthy causes of a limited scope.
The duty of Philadelphians is to look at things
in a big, broad way.
Do not foist your-own hobbies-on the-Chamber
of Commerce.
Do not get impatient or resign if it fails to do
just what you want.
- Do not demand results too quickly.
And, above all, do not expect the Chamber of
Commerce to make Philadelphia goods famous or to
sell your goods for you.
That is your job.
No city can make its industries great. But the
industries can make their city great.
i The industrial reputation of a city is only the sum of the individual repu
tations of its individual manufacturers.
THE CURTIS PUBLISHING COMPANY, INDEPENDENCE SQUARE, PHILADELPHIA
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