1914-1923 the great war and roaring '20s: the Detroit Board of Commerce is the Spokesman of Optimism' and a hub of activity.Comfortably settled into its luxurious new headquarters and with a number of impressive accomplishments to its credit, the Detroit Board of Commerce looked forward to its second decade of service to the business community with confidence. "Spokesman of Optimism" made a fitting tagline for an organization that was now part of the fabric of the community. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This was an era of rapid change in Detroit, which (with the help of Highland Park Highland Park. 1 City (1990 pop. 30,575), Lake co., NE Ill., a suburb of Chicago on Lake Michigan; inc. 1869. It is a retail business and medical center for the North Shore area. and Hamtramck) topped the 1 million population mark in 1920 and was well on its way to becoming the fourth-largest city in the nation. Detroit was becoming a city of immigrants, too. Thousands poured in during this era, prompting the Board to form an Americanization Committee that for many years helped employers address the social and educational needs of their non-English-speaking workers. In 1921, the Board was operating an Alien Free Information Bureau with two branches, one for the Polish and the other for the Italians. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] No issue affecting Detroit escaped the Board's scrutiny. In a courageous expose in the Detroiter, the Board in 1919 lambasted "rapacious" landlords, merchants and others for the wretched housing conditions housing conditions npl → condiciones fpl de habitabilidad housing conditions npl → conditions fpl de logement in Detroit's segregated African American African American Multiculture A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. See Race. neighborhoods. Expressing sentiments that would not enter the mainstream for decades, the Board chided whites for barring blacks from their neighborhoods and firmly declared that such "vicious" and "unjust" treatment "should not much longer be tolerated." As its prestige and influence continued to grow, the Board provided a forum for an astonishing a·ston·ish tr.v. as·ton·ished, as·ton·ish·ing, as·ton·ish·es To fill with sudden wonder or amazement. See Synonyms at surprise. variety of notable visitors, including former President Theodore Roosevelt and social reformer Jane Addams Laura Jane Addams (September 6, 1860 – May 21, 1935) was a founder of the U.S. Settlement House Movement and the first American woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. whose talk on votes for women greeted a largely all-male audience--among them, no doubt, a few skeptics. French actress Anna Held made a special appearance before Board members and guests in 1916, relating her experiences as a nurse and entertainer on World War I battlefields. A year later, as U.S. doughboys headed "Over There" and joined the Allied cause, the Board turned its reading and lounge room into campaign headquarters for the American Red Cross American Red Cross: see Red Cross. for the duration of the war and lent its fundraising muscle to Detroit's Liberty Loan drives, which netted $56 million. As the Roaring '20s dawned, the Board roared into action, too, winning favorable freight and shipping rates for Detroit businesses, launching its award-winning "Clean-Up and Paint-Up" weeks, backing a $600,000 bond issue to ease the housing shortage for workers, leading a safety campaign that cut industrial accidents by 37.5 percent, lobbying for greater representation for urban areas in the Michigan Legislature The Michigan Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is organized as a bicameral institution consisting of the Senate, the upper house, and the House of Representatives, the lower house. , spearheading a "Truth In Advertising in Detroit" campaign through its Retail Merchants Bureau and advocating for improved opportunities for Great Lakes Great Lakes, group of five freshwater lakes, central North America, creating a natural border between the United States and Canada and forming the largest body of freshwater in the world, with a combined surface area of c.95,000 sq mi (246,050 sq km). shippers through what would eventually become the St. Lawrence Seaway Noun 1. St. Lawrence Seaway - a seaway involving the Saint Lawrence River and the Great Lakes that was developed jointly by Canada and the United States; oceangoing ships can travel as far west as Lake Superior Saint Lawrence Seaway . This Detroiter cover illustration from 1915 dramatized the Board's role in the city's prosperity. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A performance by the Barrere Ensemble of Wind Instruments highlighted a 1915 lecture series sponsored by the Board. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Board's Retail Merchants Bureau distributed a series of attractive poster stamps like this one urging shoppers to do their Christmas shopping early. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Need help? The Board used this ad to encourage its members to find jobs for the unemployed. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] An educational program sponsored by the Board helped raise public awareness of the annual Babies' Milk Fund in 1914. To reach the widest audience, the campaign was carried out in English, Polish, Italian and Yiddish. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Proud Papas Loyalty Oath An oath that declares an individual's allegiance to the government and its institutions and disclaims support of ideologies or associations that oppose or threaten the government. To encourage patriotism in wartime, the Board in 1917 helped collect and tabulate (1) To arrange data into a columnar format. (2) To sum and print totals. more than 100,000 signatures on a declaration of "absolute and unconditional loyalty to the Government of the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. ." The declarations were sent to President Woodrow Wilson and other top government leaders in Washington. ILLUSTRATION OMITTED The Royal Abyssinian commission, headed by Dedjajmatch Nadoo (third from left), brother of the African nation's queen, visited the Detroit Board of Commerce during a mission to Detroit in 1919 to inspect manufacturing facilities. Abyssinia is now known as Ethiopia. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Down in the dumps? A trip downtown to the Board headquarters was a good way for members to chase away the blues, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. this 1917 cartoon in the Detroiter. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Former President Theodore Roosevelt was a guest of the Board in 1918. The Board hosted many notable personalities in this era. The Detroit Board of Commerce headquarters featured a spacious dining room offering businessmen good food at moderate prices. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] French actress Anna Held made a special appearance before Board members and guests in 1916. She related her experiences as a nurse and entertainer on World War I battlefields. This was before America entered the war. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Board's Americanization Committee used these posters to interest manufacturers in its night school campaign for non-English-speaking workers. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] War Effort During World War I, the former reading and lounge room at the Board's headquarters was transformed into campaign headquarters for the American Red Cross. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Knowledge is Power In January 1918, the Detroit Public Library The Detroit Public Library is the largest library system in Michigan. It is composed of a Main Library on Woodward Avenue, which houses DPL administration offices, and twenty-three branch locations across the city. opened a business branch in the Library and Information Bureau at the Detroit Board of Commerce. This enabled the Board to better serve its members with accurate and up-to-date information. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] New Americans The Board's Alien Information Bureau operated two branches, one for Polish-speaking and the other for Italian-speaking immigrants. This was the Italian branch. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Board's Room Service Bureau addressed a critical shortage of hotel rooms in Detroit in the early 1920s. These two illustrations appeared in the Detroiter. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Board was an early and enthusiastic supporter of a plan to link the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean through what eventually would become the St. Lawrence Seaway. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] History was made in 1922 when Lola McLean, an instructor at Detroit Commercial College, became the first female member of the Detroit Board of Commerce. She sent in her application card within an hour after the Board announced that it changed its bylaws The rules and regulations enacted by an association or a corporation to provide a framework for its operation and management. Bylaws may specify the qualifications, rights, and liabilities of membership, and the powers, duties, and grounds for the dissolution of an to include women as members. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Board published "Detroit Today" as part of its "Buy in Detroit" campaign. The book promoted Detroit as a commercial and manufacturing center and as a desirable place to live. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In 1922, the Board proudly took note when D.M. (as in Detroit-Made) Film Corp. shot its first motion picture in Detroit - "The First Woman," starring Mildred Harris and Percy Marmot marmot, ground-living rodent of the genus Marmota, of the squirrel family, closely related to the ground squirrel, prairie dog, and chipmunk. Marmots are found in Eurasia and North America; the best-known North American marmot is the woodchuck, M. . This scene was filmed at the Torrey estate in Grosse Pointe. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Charlie Chaplin, shown here in his "Little Tramp" guise, was the guest of honor at a dinner hosted by the Board in 1923. Dinner tickets sold for $3. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Board highlighted its 1922 successes in this illustration in the Detroiter. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This clip-out Board membership application in the Detroiter in 1921 specifies a $25 entrance fee plus annual dues of $35. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This electric "talking sign" at the Frontenac Hotel flashed successive advertisements for 40 Detroit concerns, including the Detroit Board of Commerce. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Number Please The dial telephone made its debut in Detroit in 1923. This photo shows Board President Harold H. Emmons receiving the first call on the new automatic Cadillac exchange from Detroit Mayor Frank Doremus. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Officers of the Detroit Board of Commerce, 1903 (Board titles in parentheses See parenthesis. parentheses - See left parenthesis, right parenthesis. ) Top row: Harry L. Pierson, President, Pierson & Hough n. 1. Same as Hock, a joint. v. t. 1. Same as Hock, to hamstring. [ imp. & p. p. os> r>; p. pr. & vb. n. os> n. 1. An adz; a hoe. v. t. 1. To cut with a hoe. Co.; Ryerson Ritchie, Secretary, Detroit Board of Commerce; W.P. Holliday (Treasurer), President, Holliday Box Co.; George Hargreaves, Treasurer, Parke Davis & Co. Second row: George H. Russel (First Vice President), President, State Savings Bank savings bank, financial institution that, until recently, performed only the following functions: receiving savings deposits of individuals, investing them, and providing a modest return to its depositors in the form of interest. ; Michael J. Murphy (President), President, Murphy Chair Co.; George H. Barbour, Vice President and General Manager, Michigan Stove Co. Third row: Joseph L. Hudson, President, J.L. Hudson Co.; John B. Howarth, Secretary and Treasurer, Pingree Co.; Sigmund Rothschild, Rothschild & Bros BROS Brothers BROS Benefits and Retirement Operations Section (King County, Washington) BROS Barnes and Richmond Operatic Society (London, UK) .; Thomas Neal, Secretary and General Manager, Acme White Lead and Color Works Bottom row: Antonio C. Pessano, President, Great Lakes Engineering Works In 1902, the Riverside Iron Works was taken over by the Great Lakes Engineering Works (GLEW). The President and General Manager, Antonio C. Pessano, had great plans for the future of the company and began with the building of a second shipyard in Ecorse, Michigan. ; James Inglis, Treasurer and Manager, American Blower Co.; Frederick B. Smith, President and Manager, Wolverine wolverine or glutton, largest member of the weasel family, Gulo gulo, found in the northern parts of North America and Eurasia, usually in high mountains near the timberline or in tundra. Manufacturing Co.; Joseph J. Crowley, Crowley Bros. RELATED ARTICLE: Time Line: 1914-1923 1914: Henry Ford's $5-a-day wage 1915: Sinking of Lusitania 1916: Ireland's Easter Uprising 1917: Bolshevik revolution 1918: World War I ends 1919: Baseball's "Black Sox" scandal 1920: Women win right to vote 1921: Warren Harding's inauguration 1922: King Tut's tomb discovered 1923: Teapot Dome scandal Teapot Dome scandal Secret leasing of U.S. government land to private interests. In 1922 oil reserves at Teapot Dome, Wyo., and Elk Hills, Calif., were improperly leased to private oil companies by Secretary of the Interior Albert Fall, who accepted cash gifts and |
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