OFFICERS AND COMMITTEES Board of Governors Executive Committee Auditing Committee 1916-1917 JAMES J. STORROW, President ADDISON L. WINSHIP, Civic Secretary House Committee *Louis E. Kirstein †Frederick Homer Louis E. Cadieux Clarence W. McGuire W. E. Skillings * Chairman † Secretary BOSTON CITY CLUB BULLETIN FOR THE INFORMATION OF MEMBERS OF THE CLUB "This Club is founded in the spirit of good fellowship and every mem VOL. XI JUNE 1, 1917 EDITORIAL THE CLUB AND THE COMMUNITY SPIRIT No. 9 The community spirit was in colonial days one of the most efficient factors in the making of American history. In the cities of the Far West it finds articulate expression in frequent gatherings and influential organizations of a kind with which the eastern cities have, as a rule, been unfamiliar. The cities of the Far West have a local pride and intense communal spirit that seem reminiscent of the feelings of the cities of ancient Greece. The old story is perennially current of the funeral at which, just before the moment had come for the people to pass in file before the remains of the departed, and there was a lull in the proceedings, a tall stranger rose and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, as we apparently have a minute or two not otherwise occupied, I will take advantage of the opportunity to say a word or two about Portland, Ore." Of recent years, however, some of the eastern cities have been forming city clubs, a kind of organization not quite so frankly commercial as the commercial clubs that preceded them. The Boston City Club is regarded by men professionally engaged in organization work as the most efficient in the country. Its reputation for excellent work in furthering various movements and projects for the enrichment and betterment of the community has traveled far; and the service rendered its members appears in marked contrast with the facilities offered by other clubs. It is not a bad thing for communities grown to such vast proportions as have our American cities to retain in some ways the spirit of the village. One reason for such an organization as the Boston City Club is to retain and develop as a precious inheritance from the traditions of the American village, that nursery of democracy, the fine spirit and impulse of communal solidarity, something a great city is only too apt to lose. AN OBSERVER FROM NEW York. LIBERTY BONDS The Boston City Club was founded in the spirit of service to the community. No greater or more important opportunity was ever offered for such service than by the present situation. The War of 1917 offers the privilege of serving our country in many forms, but the great, immediate opportunity for most of us is in making the Liberty Loan a resounding success. BOSTON CITY CLUB LIBERTY LOAN SERVICE Under the direction of the Liberty Loan Committee of New England, an experienced bond salesman will be in attendance at the office on the first floor of the Clubhouse, between the hours of 9 A.M. and 9 P.M., from June 2 to June 15. He will give full information about the loan, and arrange all details of subscriptions. This service is planned for the convenience of our members, that they may easily secure exact and reliable information on this matter of national urgency and may conveniently place their subscriptions, if they have not already done so through other channels. We do not appeal to the members of the Boston City Club to accept their privileges as citizens. It is enough to state the opportunity. By authority of the Executive Committee, BERNARD J. ROTHWELL, Chairman. CARL DREYFUS. ELWYN G. PRESTON. CHARLES H. THURBER. ALONZO R. WEED. SMOKER FOR NEWLY-ELECTED MEMBERS Thursday Evening, June 7, 1917 Banquet Hall, 9th floor, 8 o'clock The Hospitality Committee has arranged a smoker for the recently admitted members of the Club, to include those qualifying since March 1, 1917. The Committee hopes that the new members will attend this function, as many as possible, as it has been arranged specially for their benefit. Informal entertainment will be furnished. Officers of the Club will be present to extend a hearty welcome. HOSPITALITY COMMITTEE. REVIEW OF RECENT EVENTS TRANSPORTATION RATES March 28 The dinner preceding this gathering of the members of the Boston Bar Association and the members of the Club had for its toastmaster, Mr. Benjamin N. Johnson. The speakers at this feast were Hon. Nathan Matthews, Hon. Robert Luce and Hon. John A. Sullivan. Their remarks, to a considerable extent, had to do with the approaching constitutional convention of the Commonwealth, and with some of its problems in connection with corporations, state budgets, etc. The meeting in the auditorium following the dinner was presided over by Mr. Benjamin N. Johnson, and the speaker was Hon. Nathan Matthews, former mayor of Boston, and lecturer on municipal government at Harvard University. Mr. Matthews said: "In 1905, and for several decades before that date, the transportation companies found themselves in this situation: Gross receipts were continually increasing with the growth and contemplation of population, and, what was more important, they were increasing faster than operating expenses, fixed charges and dividend requirements. That was the striking feature of the transportation problem as it existed down to about the year 1905. During the same period they enjoyed the benefits of cheap money. Money could be borrowed either on mortgage or loan term bonds at a rate which was gradually decreasing, and about 1902, I think, or 1903, had reached the lowest period ever known in the financial history of this country. Rates were stationary as a consequence of these conditions, or declining. In fact, on the whole, it was probably a period of declining rates. "The three main characteristics of that period were increasing of gross receipts,—a greater relative increase in receipts than in expenses, -cheap money, and stationary or declining railroad rates and street railway rates. There were, of course, during that period, as ever, some unsound practices, the chief of which, as they have been brought to my attention, are not always those which are referred to by transportation experts, but as I watched the progress of the companies and contrasted |