who constituted the Committee on the 4th of January, 1906, were re-appointed, as follows: CHARLES S. Smith, A. BARTON HEPBURN, GEORGE F. SEWARD, WILLIAM BAYARD CUTTING. Before the Chamber adjourned the President took oocasion to wish the members, individually and collectively, a prosperous and happy new year. He alluded to the large number of members who had died during 1906, many of whom were prominent in various spheres of life. Their names were as follows: WILLIAM S. PYLE, HENRY H. ADAMS, JEREMIAH RICHARDS, FRANKLIN H. KALBFLEISCH, GEORGE J. LAIGHTON, FRANCIS A. FOGG, AUGUSTE J. CORDIER, SHEPPARD KNAPP, ALEXANDER H. WHITE, CARLETON W. NASON, EDWARD F. MILLIKEN, PHILIP II. FARLEY, SAMUEL SPENCER, JOHN HARSEN RHOADES, EDWARD E. EAMES, JOHN F. PLUMMER, THOMAS KIRKPATRICK, Alexander J. Cassatt. Mr. JESUP spoke of the Sailors Snug Harbor, the important position it held among the charitable institutions of the world and the onerous duties it imposed upon the President of the Chamber who, by the terms of the trust, was Chairman of its Board of Trustees. Referring to the Rapid Transit Commission which the Chamber was instrumental in having established, and of which the President is an ex-officio member, he expressed the opinion that the Chamber should not in the future be a member ex officio of any Commission appointed by the City or by the State, and that he personally would be glad to see the Rapid Transit Act so amended as to eliminate the President of the Chamber from the Commission. The Chamber then adjourned. Monthly Meeting, Thursday, February 7, 1907. A regular monthly meeting of the Chamber of Commerce was held in the Hall of the Chamber, Thursday, February 7th, 1907, at half-past twelve o'clock, P. M. PRESENT. JOHN S. KENNEDY, Vice-President. JAMES G. CANNON, Treasurer. GEORGE WILSON, Secretary. And two hundred and forty-two members. In the absence of MORRIS K. JESUP, President, JOHN S. KENNEDY, Vice-President, presided. The minutes of the last regular meeting, held January 3d, were read and approved. REPORTS OF STANDING COMMITTEES. J. EDWARD SIMMONS, Chairman of the Executive Committee, reported the following resolution and recommended its adoption : Resolved, That the President be requested to invite the Right Honorable JAMES BRYCE to meet the members of the Chamber of Commerce at half-past twelve o'clock P. M., in the Hall of the Chamber, on such day as may suit his convenience, that they may have an opportunity to express to him personally their gratification and pleasure on his appointment as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Great Britain to the United States. The resolution was unanimously adopted. Mr. SIMMONS presented and read the following preamble and resolutions urging the appropriation of $3,500,000 for the construction of a Post Office Building in the City of New York: Whereas, The United States Government has acquired a site for a new Post Office building, fronting on Eighth Avenue, between Thirty-first and Thirty-third Streets, in this City; and Whereas, The facilities provided by the present Post Office building have long since been insufficient to meet the needs of the service, and the enormous increase in the postal business of this City requires that immediate relief should be obtained, not only for the benefit of the Post Office service in this City, but also for the benefit of the postal service of the whole country; and Whereas, A Bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives by Congressman J. VAN VECHTEN OLCOTT, calling for an appropriation of $3,500,000 for the construction of a Post Office building on the site already acquired; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York does hereby approve the Bill introduced by Mr. OLCOTT providing for an appropriation for the erection of a Post Office building upon said site, such building to be of sufficient proportions to relieve the over-taxed facilities which now obtain in this City; and be it further Resolved, That in order that such building be completed as speedily as possible and much needed relief be obtained, this Chamber urges upon Congress that the appropriation for the purpose of erecting this building be passed at this session; and be it further Resolved, That a copy of the preamble and resolutions be sent to the proper Committees of the Senate and House of Representatives, to the Members of Congress and Senators from this State, and to the Postmaster-General, and that the President is hereby authorized to appoint a Committee of seven to appear before the Congressional Committees to advocate the immediate passage of the appropriation for the purposes herein mentioned. The preamble and resolutions were unanimously adopted. The following were subsequently appointed the Committee: SETH LOW, JOHN S. KENNEDY, ISAAC N. SELIGMAN, ROBERT C. OGDEN, R. FULTON CUTTING, R. A. C. SMITH, JOHN D. CRIMMINS. A. BARTON HEPBURN, Chairman of the Committee on Finance and Currency, to which was referred at the December meeting of the Chamber the resolution requesting the Committee to examine into the practicability of devising means through which the interest rate beyond six per cent. upon call loans made at the New York Stock Exchange can be better regulated than is the case at present, submitted the following report: To the Chamber of Commerce : Your Committee on Finance and Currency, to whom was referred at the meeting of the Chamber in December last the following resolution : "Resolved, That it be referred to the Committee on Finance and Currency to examine into and report upon the practicability of devising means through which the interest rate beyond six per cent. upon call loans made at the New York Stock Exchange can be better regulated than is the case at present" Beg to report that the Committee has had several meetings, and fully discussed the scope and purport of the resolution, but finding the views of its members to be widely divergent as to possible remedies, has been unable to agree upon a report, and asks to be discharged from further consideration of the resolution. The Report was received and ordered to be placed on file and the Committee discharged from further consideration of the subject. GUSTAV H. SCHWAB, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Commerce and the Revenue Laws, submitted the following preamble and resolutions in reference to filling vacancies in the office of Consul-General and in the office of Consul above class eight by promotion from the lower grade of the Consular Service : Whereas, The President of the United States, on June 27th last, by executive order issued regulations providing that vacancies in the office of Consul-General and in the office of Consul above class eight shall be filled by promotion from the lower grade of the Consular service; and Whereas, The Bill S. 7418, introduced by Mr. LODGE in the Senate of the United States and entitled "A Bill to Improve the Consular Service," is intended to give to this executive order of the President the full force of law; therefore, be it Resolved, That the Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York heartily approve of the Bill S. 7418 "to improve the Consular service," and that it urge its passage; and be it further Resolved, That a copy of this resolution be sent to each Senator, and that the Committee on Foreign Commerce and the Revenue Laws be instructed to take every proper means to secure the passage of the Bill. The preamble and resolutions were unanimously adopted. Mr. SCHWAB further reported the following preamble and resolution in regard to the sufferers by famine in China: Whereas, Several provinces or parts of the Empire of China through floods causing failure of the crops are now suffering from famine affecting a total population in the stricken districts of over ten million souls; and Whereas, The welfare of the Chinese Empire and of its people has always appealed to the sympathy of the members of this Chamber; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York recommend to its members who are disposed to give expression to their feelings of sympathy with these suffering and starving people to send their contributions to Mr. JACOB H. SCHIFF, Treasurer of the New York State Branch of the American National Red Cross Society. The resolution was unanimously adopted. Mr. SCHWAB verbally reported progress of the action taken by the Committee on Foreign Commerce and the Revenue Laws in devising a plan for the improvement of the terminal facilities of the City. Mr. SCHWAB, as Chairman of the Delegation to the National Convention for the Extension of the Foreign Commerce of the United States, held in Washington on the 14th ultimo, verbally reported on the various subjects acted upon by the Convention. |