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?ESS Iii [I SUCCESS. Meistersingers Capture Hearts of all Present?Many Encores. Nearl) Three Hundred l"rr???iiM l?reM eot ?I \ii uml Meeting of Chamber lommrnv?Lice I lent Supper NTvnl and KIih* 8|>o?x*Im>* from Hm-fUlrtfSi McKewnd, Man-limit ami Rniwi?rtw? Hotel ami Sea? board Situation?C. K. A hbunut Hapiain* Cummlmlon P'nn of ?.?????mm.-it with City Maim^ r. Th.-r* mete nearly three hundred persons pffJMfJl at tho annual busi area) meeting of the Chamber of Com amerce Tuesday, which, from start to finish, was successful. The occa? sion was replete with interest for the people of Sumter and many matters oonneet ?d w th th*> Chamber of Com merce. the welfare of the town, and the future prosperity of the "Game? cock Oty" wsra set forth. Chief of the attractions iy the meet? ing was th? famous Meistersinger quartet frorr Charleston. Again and again these sweet singers were en? cored, the audience being of one mind ' hi their desire to heir more from them. Mr. Charles E. Ashburner. first general manager of Staunton, Ta.. made a short talk and explain? ed fully the operation of the plan of city government such as that desir? ed for Sumter by the Chamber of Commerce. The reports of the president and aeeretary of the organisation were heard with interest, as was the an? nouncement of the appointment of of? ferers for th-? ensuing year. The re? ports of Mr. H. I. Manning on the situation with regard to the construc? tion of the Seaboard Air Line and of Mr. E. la Wltherspoon concerning the hotel situation wore received with In- . IsresL Following the completion of the business of the evening several com? mercial aecretarle* from cities In this State, who were present, were called en to make short tnlks along lines connected with their work, all of i which were very interesting and som* ef which were very witty and pnt the big crowd, some of whom had | mnmer. : ' ?svtng In n ttc ?d humor. Th? business part of the session?a part *hi' h was generally very much enjoyed by all?commenced shortrj. Letfore t o'clock when all of 'hose present were Invited up to the Arm? ory Hall, which was tastefully dec erated let the occasion, and seated along the ft e rows of tables which extended the length of the hall, where a substantial repast of chick? en stow was nerved by the ladles of the Aid So i jty of Temple 8anal who had perjured for the large crowd gresent. * Meistersinger*. The Meinterslngers. Following the supper, many for the first time heard this famous Charleston quartet. The selections were appropriate and the first was so well received that anoth? er was demanded at once from the Singer* ~he n.rori.1 selection brought en % third and there were many who elapped and applauded the singers gee still more of their music. From their first appearance \n the hall. When th.-v were roundly applauded, the sinners were applauded at every turn. ?'? to -pe;ik mil it Is possible that -had they nung more, many of those present would have been wil? ling right Mway to go to Charleston to hear nrnn? In th* near futur". The eat gi sun* by the quartette were mostly mHodles and coon son its and WOfi till light, catchy airs which were "the kind that took." At sev? eral stau???) during the proceeding! the Meistersingers mere called upon and ? ' h t n e they responded, and as one per ?an *ahl. "each song |s just a uttu a tter than the dm before/' lad then ' UMed\ if that were pea alble." That Is Just the wry th memoers of t h. Sumter Chantbsf <-'? Commerce looked at it last night and that is the afal they will thln< of it for maSJJ da] I hi "me. The coming of the Meistersingers sdded much to the pleasure of the occasion and It in safe to say that any time they e\er want a warm Welcome snywhere they are sure to Und it In tfumtcr the hearts of whoso people were teftalfit) i.ipture.l last alghl by the.r tiiusl- . It* p"l t s. I?r Maker then made his annual report showing what had !>? 01 done by the committees under him and What mould proh.ildv he d00h dUflng the feggaai ? ir. Following l?r Laker ? ime S ?< re tary Snell mho ha* worked so faith* fully for the Chamber of i "..mim ic,? during the iirne ht has bOOg hers Mr Sn l| mode a ? I" ir report ? f what had tat ?? lone by the Chamhef through him working with traftOtta committ. s ind their alms foi tie figeajr/ev Nh report hi printed etesH Where In full a* will not be entered Into h? re. Mr. It. I. Manning was next called upon to tell of the work on the Sea hoard Air Line and the plan that rail? road has for the future. Mr. Man? ning* said that he had already told everybody all that he knew about the Seaboard and therefore there was nothing more that he could aay on that very Interesting subject. He said that there was one matter that he would like to (all to the attention of i those present. This was tho matter j of securing Pullman service on A. C. tu trains 63 and 52 between Charles? ton and Greenville. He said that the first mistake was made when the Greenville Board of j Trade claimed the credit for having ' secured this convenience, the second wben the Charleston Chamber of Commerce claimed the credit, for in truth, so far as ho knew, the matter was first taken up by Sumter Chamber of Commerce and the Pullman ser? vice has been secured after many efforts on the part of a committee ap? pointed to obtain this service. * He stated that the promoter of the South Carolina Western Railroad. Mr. Bonsai, was a elose-mouthed man. but that the road was putting down heavy rails and that Mr. Bonsai had ''isisted all She way through on se? curing as near an air lino as possible and stated that this wes because of the through freight which would run over the road. He (Mr. Man? ning) stated that he could see no other reason for thi3 than the fact that the railroad was trying to secure a port for the Seaboard and ho believed that Charleston was the objective point. If this was true, as he be? lieved It was, it opened up vast ave? nues of trade which would in the future greatly develop those cities on the line and especially Charleston, as It would prove a gateway for trade with the I^itln-Amerlcan countries which would be of vast Importance and of Immense value. He thought thf expenditure of the city and coun? ty to obtain this line from tho coal fields to the coast was the best in roctmonl thai had evor be^n made in Sumter. He stated that h? aas as? sured by Mr. Bonsai that the rall d frould be n OfJOffatl u to Sumter I unset i^t. Mr. E. L. Wither3poon made his' message concerning the hotel shirt and sweet. He stated that he was as? sured beyond a reasonable doubt that the people of Sumter would be given the chance of eating their Thanks? giving dinner In the new hotel build? ing. This news was received with a great show of enthusiasm, as was the news given by Mr. Manning concern? ing the railroad. The report of the canvassing com? mittee, announcing the election as di? rectors of the Chamber of Commerce, Messrs. S. C. Baker, R. B. Belser, L. I>. Jennings. G. A. Lemmon, D. R. McCallum. Jr., J W McKeiver, R. I. Manning. D. 1>. Molse. Nelll O'Don nell. was made by Mr. C, M. Hurst In a brief statement. l>r. Baker Ite-eloctcd. Following this report Secretary Snell made an announcement of the election "f officers fof the CMUlng year, lie stated that Dr. S. C. Baker bad lion re-elected president of the organization; R. B. Belser, 1st vice president; D. I>. Moise, 2nd vice-pres nbnt. ami I >. R. McCallum. Jr.. Tr? i.-?urer. l>r. Haker mad? a short inaugural address In which he stated that the Chamber Of Commerce was to be congratulated on having re? tained the services of Mr. A. V. Snell as secretary. I ?r. Baker in his inaugural address stated that it was with reluctance that he again took the mnagement of Bumter'fl commercial body as there ST as nothing In his line of training which made him peculiarly fitted for this poaltlon? However, he appre lated the honor winch had been con? ferred upon him end thanked the people for having re-elected him. He would do all in his power to make the coming year as successful or more successful, than the one just ended. He \sas fluttered at this mark of trust ami while be had in tin peel com? mitted errors, he would try to learn hj whit h.ui been don- wrongly to do ^eii in the future, He Ihnnked the members <>f the organisation f??r ihe support which they bad glvt n him in tin- past and asked for their con Untied efforts, "and," he declared, Thor*?, wa- nothing too great t<> as pi re to or too difficult to accomplish with lime and perseverance and 'flumtef Spirit" and Sumt. r soil." He belle*! ed that the a elfart of Ihe elt) w is indsssoluhly knit with Ihe welfare of the county and ihe tu must work band in band to for In urban development* He stated I he eras even more Impressed i than ever before with Ihe nbeol net eeatty of diversification of f;' producta and industries. He urged tiie people to establish their own can- i Ring factories and instead of having goods shipped in to have enough for I themselves and some to ship out. Ho thought that a large canning factory would bo located here In the near fu? ture and thought it would prove a great help to the community. He urged tho farmers to plant grain and raise their own pork and beef. He thought that corn was a money crop which demanded especial attention at this time. Mr. H. W. Boall later took up the matter of making corn a money crop and showed how this was done In the west and how it ntight be done In the South also. Committees. Next came the announcement of committees. The heads of each com? mittee was announced as follows: Department of Industry?J. W. Mc Kelver in charge; New Industries, E. L. Witherspoon; New Business, D. W. Cuttino; Manufacturing, F. C. Man? ning. Department of Membership, Enter? tainments, Conventions?D. D. Moise in charge; Membership, B? Walsh; Entertainment, L. I. Parrott; Conven? tions, Qeo. L. Bicker; Quarters, J. A. McKnight; Expositions. fairs, car? nivals, J. J. Wescoat. Department of Transportation?R. I. Manning in charge; Traffic and Freight Rates, J. K. Crosswell; Public mittles, J. P, Glenn; Postal Affairs, QfO, D. Shore. Railroad Extension, Passenger Ser\'ce, H C. Haynsworth. Department ol Publicity and Edu? cation?G. A. Lemmon In charge; Advertising, H. G. Osteen; Press, H, A. Mo>es; Industrial Excursions, Henry Moses; Education, S. H. Ed? munds. Department of Commerce?Neill O'Donnell in charge; Wholesale, Abe Ryttenberg; Retail, J. H. Levy; Fin? ance and Banking. C. G. Rowland; General Business, W, B. Cpshur. Department of Civic and Public Affairs?L. D. Jennings in charge; Health and Sanitation, Dr. H. M. stuckey; Parks and Bulldings, E. C. Haynsworth; Fire Protection and Building Code. R. S. Huod; Legisla? ture, G. W. Dick. Department of Rural Relations?R. B. Belser in charge; Highways, H. J. :.'< Laurin, Jr.; Home Market. R. F. Haynsworth; Farm Improvement, Diversification. H. L. Scarborough; County Fair, W. B. Boyle; Immigra? tion. A. J. Stubbs. (Only the heads n? the committees ar< num< d. ) Mi. ( E Aghburner, Dr. Baker Introduced Mr. Charles B Ashburner of l.j ncbi/urg, Va., "the man who had made one dollar do what three dollars had done pre? viously and do it better." Mr. Ash? burner is not what one might call an eloquent speaker, but he impressed the audience with the fact that he was a man who knew what he was talking about when he spoke on the manage? ment of city affairs. He made only a brief talk and then offered to answer any questions which were put to him In his line, his answers to the questions asked being clear and in every way convincing. Mr. Ashburner stated that the Staunton plan was not the best plan of city government, but It was a great deal better than the old one. The Sumter plan comprehended the tWO forms of commission government in i more business-like way than any other plan he had heard of and he hoped that the people of Sumter would choose the form of government with the three directors and the city manager. He said that about fifty years ago South Carolina had taken tip a big proposition that was not carried through as she had desired, but he Imped that this proposition of her own people would be carried through successfully. He said that he had been over Srmter during the day and that the peo?de here owed a big debt to the men who had made her, She was now a fine city, but I how much better a city would she have been bad she been run in a more hUSlneSS-like way? The members of council might be men Of exceptional ability, but they were tot? much ? n grosed in their private affairs to waste their time on the city's business when they were not paid for this work. Ii.- stated that the city manager should have absolute charge of everything connected with the man? agement "f tho Pity, but ho must not handle the funds of the city. lb was to in- Htrtctly an executive officer, j Everybody was to be under bis su? pervision. All expenditures were to !>?? made by him and he must keep a record of them and balance bis books with tho treasurer's books every month. In answer to an inquiry as to which wiu tho better plan of gov? ernment) tho regular commission form "i Ihe commission form having n city manager, Mr. Ashburner stnt? I'd that Ihe form with tho hoard ol directors and i it\ manager was tho best if tho regular commission form led here and ' ho m in Were not od to give all of their time to u k ib.- elty would suffer. What eeded wn? a man of ability In who should "give all of bis time and his heart as well." This was tho business side of the proposition and the best feature of it. Mr. Ashburnor was heard with the deepest attention, shewing the great interest which the people of the city have in the new form of government proposed for Sumter and how they are trying to learn something about it and its operation before they go to the polls to vote on it. Secretaries Talk. Mr. A. W. McKeand of Charleston was glad to visit Sumter again and ] congratulated Sumter on its endeav crs to put the city government on a firm basis. He had known the man who drew the first charter for the city which first adopted the com? mission form of government and he believed In the man and in the form | of government. He hoped that Sum? ter would adopt this form of govern? ment and the plan with the city man? ager was a good one. He said that while Sumter was trying to set its affairs on a firm basis, Charleston had accomplished a work that would be of gre;.t value to her in the future? the establishment of a dock commis? sion SO that she could not settle her own port disputes. She was also to have municipal ownership of docks so that any ship which wanted to could come into Charleston harbor. He said that "natural advantages had damned more cities and people" than any oth- I er thing?it was not natural advan- j tages but the "pull together spirit which accomplished things." Mr. H. A. Merchant of Orangeburg made a short talk and told a few jokes. He stated that he was glad to be in Sumter representing the Orange burg Chamber of Commerce and hoped that he would in the fu- j ttire have the pleasure of seeing more of Sumter people. He read a! stanza from "The Houn' Song" and j stated that the South had been a "houn" dong" long enough and peo? ple "just had to quit kickin' that dog around." lie stated that the percen? tages of investment in the South dur? ing the past thirty years had been greater than ever before and gerater than In other parts of the country and that the South now offered wider fields for Investment than any other part of the country. Ho urged the people to raise at home more of the ! things they needed and not to send off for them. He was thoroughly in accord with the idea which had emenated from this body for a State Hoard of Trade. Mr R E Browne of Rock Hill mad ? ,i ih >rl 'Aitty talk which highly pleased bis . i.dlence at the late hour. He told of trie wonderful street tar jtne in. Roc* Hill with Its todern mo? tor cars which had made the repre? sentative of the French government say thai Rock Hill was the finest town in the United States. He got uff some good jokes about Rock Hill ana Sumter and stated that Sumter would always find Rock Hill willing to work with Sumter in any line which tended to the betterment of Rock Hill, Sumter, their counties, their Fiate, and the whole nation. The evening was closed with a se? lection from the Melstersngers, the Good Night Song. It was nearly 1 o'clock when the body adjourned and after one before most of them got to bed. Secretary Morgan from Florence, Secretary Hamby and President Her 1 ert of Columbia and President Gad sden of Charleston were unable to come to the meeting. Report of President Baker. Gentlemen of the Chamber of Com? merce; As the official head of this body it Is my duty and pleasure to submit to you at this the close of the term, a report Of the work done or attempt? ed by the members of the several de? partments during the year, which ends with this meeting. This 1 shall endeavor t<? do aa briefly and con? cisely as possilde. Through the efforts of the commit? tee on membership, headed by Mr. 1>. 1>. Moise, 2H7 members were en? roll, d and about $4,200 pledged at the beginning of the year. These member! however pledged themselves for 12 months only. Under the aus plcei of this same committee, with the assistance of Messrs. BartOW Walsh and A. J. tSubbs as captains, respectively, of the Blues and the Red! with their lieutenants, another campaign has just been ended with the result that '?>'?'<*> membere are now upon our roll, all pledged as perm a I . ?:t member! with dues of not less 'than $10.00 a year, each. While this will no! aggregate quite !0 large an amount as was subscribed last year, it is to be remembered that certain organization expenaes, such as furni? ture and Ho- like, have I.n i?? *i?1 for and will not occur again, We have abundant income to meet our fixed expenses for the coming year, with some t" spat e, and should an extra - ordinary demand arise we have but in cull forth the efforts of the finance committee, and pas| experience hns pic en ihn the "Sumter spirit" will rise to the occasion and provide ample means for the emergency. Mr. O'Ponnell the chairman of the Finance Committee, and Mr, D. R, McC&lium, <>ur efficient Treasurer,, have worked together most har-1 motlh'USly und have given us a strict account of all funds raised ijy or en? trusted to them. Mr Heiser, ehairinan of the Com? mittee on Highways, has b en able 10 get through such legislation as to guarantee to the county commteeton- J ers, 1 y increased commutation tax j and from other sources, sutllclent j funds to meet Th-> good roads situ? ation without a further bond issue. Ho has also aecured provision for a road engineer ?and. if the rains ever give up a rhanc to get to work, we may hope for steady and permanent road Improvement. Mr. Pitts has been constantly proving to us the value of the split log drag. Mr. Glenn's Commute on Streets has been badh' handicapped by the unprecedented rainfall this winter. One new street, however, opening up | desirable territory in the northeastern section of the city, has been put through, and there are others in prospect. Dr. Dick's Committee on Legisla? tion, with the assistance of his fellow members of the Sumter delegation, has secured for us the passage of three measures in which we were vitally interested. 1st. The oppor? tunity to vote upon the commission form of government, which will come up this summer. 2nd. The provision for the map of Sumter County showing township and school district lines, and ??rd. the assign? ment of sufficient money from the county funds to secure the Seaboard without private aid. a matter which is entirely proper since the increased taxes paid into the county treasury will soon repay her for the money expended and ever afterwards leave 0.11 further payments as a net gair . The parlor car on the Charleston Greenville train has passed the ex per'mental stage and will continue in service to the satisfaction of all con? cerned. Since then home seekers* rates have also been granted to Sum? ter and there has been much improve? ment around the passenger station. No question of freight rates has been referred to the committee in charge of that department but Mr. Crosswell has held himself and his committee ready to act when called upon. The matter of re-organlzin the Northwestern Schedule will com up for consideration before the Rail road Commission here in Sumter o May Xth. Mr. Mnnr1ng'r Committee on fiel road Exti nsion has almost complete its i;rst iseignment, that of landing I tin Seabi ard for u*. and w? may as* ! gines as they hurry on to the "cit by the sea." Mr. Manning and h committee deserve the hearty than! of all our citizens for their untlrir efforts in this work. In passing I wi say that we are just six months nea er to several other railroad project - elective and otherwise than we were at our last report. Mr. McKeiver's Committee on Man? ufactures has about landed one more proposition since last report, viz. the ?hoe factory, and there Is no telling what new thing in the shape of can? ned goods he has up his sleeve for the coming 12 months. Mr. E. L. Wltherapoon of the Ho? tel Committee has apparently made good in his department, unless he is only treating us to a picture show Let us hope that the 7-storied affair he has told 113 of is not "all stories," jesting aside, the committee has every reason to believe that work on the new hotel will be started by April 15th. Mr. Oateen of the Advertising Com-, mlttee has pushed along the work a^ foreahadowed In our last report. We have all seen the beautiful moving pictures taken in and around Sumter and we must pause to thank Secre? tary McKeand of Charleston for the idea. You have had the advertising booklet presented to you tonight and a little later in the spring the adver? tising trip to Richmond, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York will be pulled off. Mr. Chandler's Committee on Ex? tension of Trade, with the assistance of Mr. Levy's organization of retail < rs put through their bargain day program as planned In November. As a business venture it was a success and the athletic contests at the time were enjoyed by all. in the past few weeks th. National Biscuit Company and the S. and S. Packing Company have established brandies here. The Refreshment Committee un? der Mr. Parrot! has again proven It ' pelf able to cope with the situation, especially when assisted by the ladies of the Jewish Aid Society. The Committee on Rural Relations continues to foster friendly inter? course with our brethren of the coun? ty and we may expect a bountiful We are sorry that Mr, Scarbor? ough's Committee on Parm Improve nn nt was not able to land the agricul? tural experiment station which they worked for so earnestly last fall, hut Klorence had mote winning ways. However "he laughs beat who laughs i last" and Mr. Scarborough may have better luck in his next venture. f the return in votes this summer. Mr. Ryt ten berg's Committee on Rn e uragement of Home Supply is still standing by its promise to help the f rmers market their product and v. II '.?o glad to co-opt" i'e with Mr. Dab* s and the Karnit i .-' i 'nion in the l iy end development of scientific in riieting. Prof. Edmunds' Convnittee on Ed ion is to he congr ktulated upon pi ting through the mutter of the <? i 'y map. To this committee must a!s< be credited the estnblishment of a i ranch of the Southern Commer c!al school in this eity. Its location here will enable us to hold many of our young men at home while pur nuing their business courses instead of K<?ing elsewhere. I do not know under what more appropriate depart? ment than that of education ran be in? cluded the magnificent Y. M. C. A. building, at the head of which Prof. Edmunds has also stood. Education Is not to be confined to book learning alone, but to the better fitting of man in every way for his environment, to his development, morally and phy? sically, aa well as mentally. The first two of these the Y. M. C. A. is pe? culiarly fitted t?t accomplish. I do not feel that I can say too much in commendation of the work of Mr. Snell. our efficient secretary, and his office force. He has proved himself resourceful and thorough and the Chamber is to be congratulated upon retaining his services for the coming year. This summarizes the work of the 17 committees and offices of tb^ Chamber of Commerce for the pis one-half year. "With the sum of their achievements, it scents to me we have reason to be proud. We began the year unorganized and inexperienced in civic upbuilding and more than doubtful of ourselves and of each other. Through the year we have striven together. Each success has givn us greater confidence. We come to the end having faith in the abilities of each man and confident that team work will count That is the great Idea?"team work"?I give you a slogan, "One for all, and all for one ?Sumter?the Game Cock Citv. Report of Secretary Snell. The Constitution of this Chamber provides that the Secretary shall sub innual report at this time, ?port I shall attempt to sum s briefly as possible the re t have been attained and to ho work of my office for the n? cue-half months that 1 ha'? ? OftVen nd Directors, and ?retary, that is not brought to SO of the public, but which is, ?less, of much consequence, tributes to th<> general result, y the more important matters e brought to your attention, should constantly bear in I nat the ultimate success of such an association as this depends in great measure upon the spirit and co-operation manifested by the indi? vidual members. Wrhile the officers plan the campaigns the real fighting force is the membership. While the year 1911-1912 has been exceptionally trying upon all busi? ness and has hindered the general progress of the South, yet I believe that Sumter has reason to be proud of the record that she has made as evidenced in material results and gen? eral advancement and improvements in almost every line of civic and bus? iness endeavor. These accomplish? ments are self-evident, are of a ????; manent and lasting nature, and are foundations upon which still great* r results must eventually follow. I be? lieve, therefore, that we have every reason to congratulate ourselves up? on the showing that has been made. Personally I desire at this time to thank the membership of this Cham? ber as a whole for the hearty sup? port that has been given me in my own particular line of work. A great deal of faithful work has been per? formed by individual members and the thanks of this body is due these men. In fact our thanks are due to every man and woman who, without reward, has tried to do something for the community in order that it might be s better place In which to live. As a whole your Hoard of Di? rectors has served you faithfully and While they are all busy m- n of affairs, they have sacrificed many hours of their time f"r the community's good. Your president, especially, has labor? ed faithfully for the up-butldlng -?f city and county. No man could have done nuue. few have done as mu> h for Sumter as be. Organization. My first task, upon taking posses? sion ,.f the office of secretary, was to organize the same upon a business basis. At that time there were no hi s oi membership, no reports of woik accomplished heretofore, no re? liable data as to the city and general improvements year by year, no report of building operations, facts relative , to annual freight :,u*i passenger BM r v i. e. as to schools, churches, homes ! and generally such facts and statis? tics that are universally on file In every Chamber of Commerce in the mintry and u'hich must be had be