Your organization, as a member of the CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, is requested to register its vote upon the questions submitted herewith on this ballot, which is to be detached and sent by registered mail at the earliest date practicable to the General Secretary at the National Headquarters, Mills Building, Washington, D. C. This referendum is taken for the instruction and guidance of the Board of Directors in its action upon the questions presented. By order of the Board of Directors. This Ballot will be counted only if received at National Headquarters, Mills Building, Washington, D. C., on or before May 14, 1920. (See By-Laws, Article X, on inside of cover.) (Name of Organization) is a member in good standing in the CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, and having a total membership of........................... ..is entitled to........votes. It desires these votes to be re corded as noted below: Shall a Department of Public Works be established by the national gov- See page 3 In favor. Opposed. Shall a Department of Public Works be established by a suitable modifica- In favor. Opposed. See page 3 [OVER] entirely new department? In favor. Opposed. Attest: Signature of President or Secretary. INSTRUCTIONS to MEMBERS The Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States has adopted the following instructions for members, and directed they be printed in connection with the ballot. 1. Each organization member in good standing may cast one vote for each delegate to which it is entitled in the Annual Meeting. 2. The ballot shall be marked by entering a cross or the number of votes to which the organization member is entitled in the square at the left of the words "In favor" if the recommendation is favored, or at the left of the word "Opposed" if the recommendation is opposed. 3. If the organization member desires to have its vote recorded as divided it may do so by entering the vote to which it is entitled in the squares to the left of the words "In favor" and "Opposed" in such proportion as it sees fit. The total vote in the two squares must not exceed the total number of votes to which the organization member is entitled. 4. Fractional votes less than one-half shall not be entered. If so entered they shall on the canvass be carried to the nearest whole number. 5. The ballots which are so marked as to be clearly intelligible shall be counted. Where the sum of the numbers entered in the squares exceeds the total number of votes to which an organization member is entitled, canvassers shall in no case attempt to divide the votes but shall enter them as "In favor" or "Opposed" in accordance with the majority vote shown on the ballot. Explanation N order to inform the members as IN fully as practicable on the subject submitted to referendum a carefully selected committee is appointed to analyze each question and report its conclusions. The purpose of the referendum is to ascertain the opinion of the commercial organizations of the country, not to secure the approval of the recommendations voiced in the report. The Board of Directors in authorizing submission of a report to referendum neither approves the report nor dissents from it. Only the vote of the member organizations can commit the Chamber of Commerce of the United States for or against any of the recommendations submitted by the committee and until such vote is taken the report rests solely upon the authority of those who have signed it. REFERENDUM on REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON A DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT OF QUESTION The National Chamber has in a number of instances taken a formal position in advocacy of changes in the procedure of the national government and of establishment of new governmental agencies. The first referendum of the Chamber dealt with the questions of a national budget. The second referendum resulted in the Chamber asking creation of a Tariff Commission, and by reason of the results of other referenda and votes of delegates at annual meetings the Chamber has supported establishment of such agencies as the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Trade Commission, the Shipping Board, a Council of National Defense, a Water-Power Commission, a Transportation Board, and a Federal Highway Commission. The desirability of a federal department of public works has now been suggested by the Engineering Council, an organization member of the National Chamber. On October 16, 1919, the Engineering Council adopted the following resolution, addressed to the National Chamber: Resolved, by the Engineering Council representing the American Societies of Civil, Mining, Metallurgical, Mechanical, and Electrical Engineers and the American Society for Testing Materials, That the Chamber of Commerce of the United States be hereby petitioned to submit the bill (S. 2232-H. R. 6649) for the establishment of a Department of Public Works to referendum in the manner provided in the Chamber's by-laws. The Engineering Council had itself early in 1919 endorsed proposals for a national department of public works, and had been instrumental in bringing about in the spring of 1919 a conference of engineering societies, which likewise approved the plan. On November 21, 1919, the Board of Directors of the National Chamber considered the resolution presented by the Engineering Council and authorized the appointment of a special committee to study the questions involved and report to the Board. The members appointed to this Committee on a Department of Public Works are: CHARLES NAGEL, Chairman, St. Louis, J. PARKE CHANNING, New York City, IRA N. HOLLIS, Worcester, Mass., F. HARPER SIBLEY, Rochester, N. Y., W. F. WILLOUGHBY, Washington. The Committee presented its report in January, recommending that the question submitted to referendum should not be the approval or disapproval of the particular bill which was mentioned, but that the opinions of the organizations in the membership should be asked regarding more general questions of policy. The report and these questions were subsequently ordered by the Board of Directors to be submitted to referendum vote by the organizations in the National Chamber's membership. |