[Trade Journal]
Publication: Annual Report of the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce (20th Annual Report of the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce)
Cincinnati, OH, United States
p. 1,5-7,80-82, col. 1
ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce.
AND
MERCHANT'S EXCHANGE,
FOR THE
COMMERCIAL YEAR, ENDING AUGUST 31, 1868.
CINCINNATI:
GAZETTE STEAM PRINTING ESTABLISHMENT, COR. FOURTH AND VINE STS.
1868.
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REPORT OF THE BOARD OF OFFICERS.
ANNUAL MEETING.
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
CINCINNATI, September 7, 1868.
To the Members of the Chamber of Commerce:
The Board of Officers in presenting their report of the transactions of the Chamber during the past year, take pleasure in congratulating the members upon the favorable condition of its affairs which it is their duty to present.
During the year no changes of moment in the history of the association have occurred, although it has been marked by many occurrences of local importance to our city.
The regulations in regard to inspections have been continued without change, with the exception that flour in barrels is now required to be head-lined in order to be in merchantable cooperage. The Board is not advised by the committees of inspection that any changes in the rules, as they now stand, are desirable.
The Board of Trade of Cleveland has addressed a communication to this Chamber recommending the repeal of all laws regulating the standard weight of grains, and the Grain Committee now have the consideration of the matter in charge, but no report has yet been received.
In the early part of the year, on the request of the Louisville Chamber of Commerce, a tare of 12 per cent. on sugar was adopted, to take effect upon the adoption of the same regulation by the merchants of New Or-leans and St. Louis in December last; but as far as we are advised, has not been acted upon in those cities.
About the same time the Boston Board of Trade endeavored to establish a tare on cotton of the weight of bailing, but the committee of this Chamber reported adversely to its adoption, upon the ground that such action would be a great discouragement to the planting interest, and inadvisable at the present time, and that, furthermore, the tare allowed in European ports is always calculated upon in all purchases for that market.
Complaints were made to the Board in November last in regard to the regulations of the Board of Health as to the inspection of hogs, the allegation being that the requirements of that body were unnecessarily severe. The claims of the contractors for the removal beyond the city limits of dead animals were also deemed arbitrary and unjust in regard to the hogs condemned. The committee to whom the consideration of the subject was referred were unable to suggest any practicable means of obviating the difficulty, and it being too late to effect any change in the legislative position of the question, the whole matter was postponed.
The Executive Committee of the River Improvement Convention, which met in St. Louis in February, 1867, assessed the sum of $2,500 against the city of Cincinnati, as the share of her citizens in the expenses incurred in furthering the objects of said Convention. An application was made on behalf of the Chamber to the City Council of the city of Cincinnati, for the appropriation of that sum from the City Treasury, for a purpose in which all its citizens are alike interested . As yet no action has been taken by the City Council in regard to the subject, and pending its action, at the earnest solicitation of the Executive Committee of the River Improvement Convention , the Board have, in accordance with the resolutions of the Chamber, March 17th, on the report of the River Improvement Committee, advanced the sum of $1,500 toward the payment of the assessment.
In October last, a memorial from the cotton merchants of the city was presented to the Board, recommending the forwarding of a memorial to Congress to take off the tax imposed on cotton. The Board, upon the consideration of the matter, added the subject of the removal of the taxon sugar, and upon the recommendation of the Committee, the Chamber forwarded a request to our representatives in Congress to endeavor to obtain a repeal of these burdensome taxes.
The consideration of the span of the proposed bridge for railway purposes, across the Ohio river at this point, having been brought before the Chamber, its influence has been used to prevent the erection of such a structure, with any span by which the interests of the river navigation would be disastrously affected, and in May, upon the application of the Bridge Committee, the Board appropriated the sum of two hundred dollars toward defraying the expenses of employing an attorney to draft a bill to be laid before Congress , prohibiting the erection of bridges over navigable rivers, which would prevent the safe passage of vessels under the same.
The subject of railways and railway communications has received some attention during the present year, but there has been no movement such as the Board would have been glad to see among the members of the Chamber in this behalf. Beyond the adoption of a memorial in regard to the Kansas Pacific Railroad, but little has been done. It has been represented to the Board that the rates of freight on railroads are adverse to the interests of this city. It appears that freights from Cincinnati to points within which it is the legitimate business center, are much greater than from Eastern cities to the same points, the effect of which is to drive business to other places. The Board has appointed a committee on this very important subject, but as yet no report has been received.
A committee was appointed to take action in regard to alleged frauds on the Internal Revenue Department in the manufacture of whisky and tobacco. A report was made in December last, which was forwarded to Congress, and presented substantially the view of the matter which has been generally taken by the merchants of the entire country, and been the basis of action of the National Legislature in that respect.
The Board regret that the cental [sic] central system in the measurement of grain failed to be adopted, as proposed on the 1st of August, ult. This failure was not only due to a want of complete co-operation, but also to the fact that legislation making it the measure of adjustment between the buyer and seller, is absolutely necessary to insure the success of the measure.
The Board congratulate the members of the Chamber on the prospect of obtaining a sufficient subscription to the building bonds of the Chamber to be used in the erection of a new hall. Of the sum of $350,000 proposed to be raised, over $100,000 have already been subscribed, although more than half the committees have not as yet made any effort whatever to accomplish the task appointed to them: The subscriptions asked are not to be considered as donations, for the bonds are intended to return a good interest on the investment, and will be secured not only by the responsibility of the Chamber as a corporate body, but also by a mortgage of the property itself, in the purchase of which the funds will be expended.
The Board would call the attention of the Chamber to the growing importance of united effort on the part of the merchants of the entire country, especially in matters of national legislative action. The formation of a National Board of Trade, which has been successfully inaugurated, will greatly aid us in attaining the desired result, and deem it unnecessary to urge upon the members the necessity of the Chamber exercising the greatest care in the selection of its delegates, in order that the influence of that body may be worthy of the commercial importance of the city which they represent.
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