“Taranaki Central Press” WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1937. STRATFORD’S BUSINESS INTERESTS.

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 356, 10 February 1937, Page 4

“Taranaki Central Press” WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1937. STRATFORD’S BUSINESS INTERESTS.

Last\ night marked the opening meeting for the year of the Stratford Chamber of Commerce, and the Executive was busily engaged in discussing the all-important question of the future site of the town’s railway station. As a result, the Chamber has offered its assistance and co-operation to the Borough Council, which as, the elected representative body of citizens will, doubtless, be most closely concerned with Railway developments. Such an offer of assistance on the part of the Executive was a generous one and indicates that this representative organisation of the business community is fully alive to the need for developing the town in the soundest and most practical 'manner. But even such an offer was hardly of a constructive nature; in fact, except for a plea to the Post and Telegraph Department that the Stratford telephone listing should occupy pride of place in the provincial telephone directory, nothing of a constructive nature emanated from last night’s deliberations. We make that statement not in any way to offer criticism of the actions of the Executive of the Chamber. It is. not an easy task to energise a lethargic organisation, and the members who carry out the executive work of the Chamber will be the first to agree that it is only their own enthusiasm and general regard for the welfare of the business community which leads them to act in that capacity at all. Office is not, apparently, generally sought after in the local Chamber. That fault is the fault’of the business people cf the town as a whole. If they are apathetic to their own interests, an elected council of a few can never alone stimulate much interest in Chamber affairs. Our purpose then is neither Io criticise the Executive nor comment on the railway proposals. It is to draw attention to the carelessness of business people in the town towards matters which directly affect them. An energetic Chamber of Commerce, the organisation as a whole and not the elected representatives of it, can energise a whole town. It may be that the local Chamber has no great record of immediate performances with which to claim lovalty in the town. Few chambers ever have. But many chambers do act as virile guardians cf business interests. Through the Associated Chambers of New Zealand, every member, too, plays his part in national matters, and there are few Governments in recent years which have, not been “trimmed closely by the national organisation of business representatives. May we suggest that our business men take a leaf from the book of the farmer! There is l.ttlei apathy towards Furmcrfs’ Union affairs. Every minor group of that powerful organisation takes every opportunity of stimulating interest in local and national affairs. And often the wishes of the Farmers’ Union, energetically expressed, solidly organised and widely supported, benefit the farmer at the expense ofhis brother in urban business. The moral is obvious and the existing executive of the Stratford Chamber of Commerce can count onthis paper to play its part, however small, in stimulating local interest in the affairs of the Chamber.