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Show Utah's Great Commercial Magnet I THE Commercial Club of Salt Lake City, now numbering more than fifteen hundred business and professional men of the city and state, with its affiliated organizations, the Commercial Club Publicity Bureau, and the Utah Development League, have been undoubtedly un-doubtedly the greatest factors in the material advancement of the State of Utah within the last year or two. The fact that Salt Lake City, with approximately 100,000 population, boasts of a commercial organization of more than fifteen hundred members, owning and occupying oc-cupying its own building of six stories, valued at $400,000, has given Salt Lake City a reputation from coast to coast of having one of the most active commercial organizations of the entire country. There are a number of important features in the work of the Commercial Club, during the last two years, that are worthy of more than passing consideration. In many ways the work of the club has been greater than is realized by some of the club's most active workers, work-ers, for the reason that some who have given a great deal of personal per-sonal effort to the success of movements originated in that organization, organiza-tion, have centered their interest in the work of the club on certain features, and have not followed the work of the organization along lines in which they, as individuals, have not been connected. Probably the most important and far-reaching line of activity of Commercial Club, has been through the Commercial Club Publicity IBureau, plans for which were worked out during the spring of 1910. Under the plans for the organization of this bureau, a sum of approximately ap-proximately $15,000 was raised during the first year, for publicity purposes. This was the first organized and properly financed effort to exploit the resources of Salt Lake City and the State of Utah, in a systematic and practical manner. Then followed the organization of the Utah Development League, which has united the commercial organizations of all of the incorporated towns and cities of the state in one body, where co-operation may reach the most effective stage. The actual publicity campaign of the Commercial Club Publicity Pub-licity Bureau and the Utah Development League, has been conducted for more than two years. During this time, however, more pamphlets and folders and general advertising matter, exploiting the resources 'and opportunities of the State of Utah have been distributed than have been circulated previously in the history of Utah. This department de-partment of the club work now can give names and addresses of -scores of settlers and satisfied purchasers of land in Utah, whose in terest in this state is the direct result in this publicity campaign. The bureau can now point to single sales of land, aggregating more than 20,000 acres, and to deals involving more than $100,000 which have been brought about through this organization. Individual Individ-ual holders of dry farm lands, and operating companies on these tracts who have bought thousands of dollars worth of interests during the last six months, and the publicity work along these lines, can all be traced directly to this great advertising campaign. It is through the publicity work started by the Salt Lake Commercial Com-mercial Club and supported by the Utah Development League that the State of Utah has been able to maintain exhibits at land shows from coast to coast during the last eighteen months. The standard maintained by these exhibits has set a pace for the states of the West which have been in the business for many years. The fact that Salt Lake City will entertain during 1912, more conventions than have ever met in the State of Utah any year before, is also to the credit of the Salt Lake Commercial Club, the activity of which has brought about the selection of this city as a meeting place, and also provided finances and necessary arrangements for the entertainment of thousands of delegates. It was only about one 3rear ago that the Conventions Committee of the Commercial Club, met and discussed the advisability of employing a professional "Convention "Conven-tion Hustler." This proposition was dropped for two reasons, the chief reason was that the publicity force of the Commercial Club devised de-vised a plan whereby conventions could be landed for Salt Lake City at a nominal expense compared with the cost of campaigns carried on by other cities with which Salt Lake has been brought in contact to secure these conventions. During the coming summer Salt Lake City will entertain the following conventions: Pacific Coast Nurserymen June 4-5-6 National Assciation of Master Plumbers July 16-17-18-19 American Institute of Banking August 21-22-23 Trans-Mississippi Commercial Congress......August 27-28-29-30 National 'Federation of Post Office Clerks September 2-3-4 National Irrigation Congress . ...September 30th to October 3d In procuring these conventions for Salt Lake City for 1912, this citv has won against such rivals as Atlantic City, Niagara Palls, Kansas City, Chicago and other great convention towns which have had at their disposal, in their campaign, much larger funds than Salt Lake City has commanded. In the recent campaign for membership which is just osed, some of the strongest arguments in gaining new members for the M Commercial Club were set forth as follows: M The Commercial Club has brought harmony out of chaos in this j community by bringing all classes of business men together in a M united effort for the upbuilding of the city and the state. jfl The influence of the organization has been felt in every nook M and corner of the state and in every movement tending toward the H growth of the commonwealth. H Following are a few things to the credit of the club : m Established Jewish colony of 500 families in Sevier county. fl Brought 3,000 Colonists into Southern Utah. H Secured six big conventions for 1912. H Answered over 3,600 personal and telephone calls for information M about Utah. M Distributed 200,00 pieces of Utah literature. H Induced railroads to advertise Utah. H Organized the Utah Development League. fl Held successful land shows in Omaha, Chicago and Los An- M geles. fl Secured important Good Roads legislation in the State. H Influenced National Legislation to tne advantage of Utah. M Organized the Commercial Club Traffic Bureau. H Secured the best stopover privileges of any city in the West. Put Salt Lake on summer tourist rate basis. M Secured special convention rates. M Secured and handled the Grand Army encampment. M Entertained thousands of passing visitors. H Entertained Presidents of the United States, cabinet officers H and other distinguished visitors. Secured the passage of the Park Districting bill by the Legisla- H ture. H Established two trans-continental automobile routes across Utah. M Owns its $400,000 home, the largest and handsomest structure in H the United States, devoted exclusively to Commercial Club purposes. fl To summarize, as each week passes, the club can place to its credit the accomplishment of some public good, either directly or by M the weight of its influence. M |