The foreign delegates showed a keen desire to meet and mix with American delegates and the personal touch thus established will undoubtedly prove one of the beneficial results of the gathering. In fact, too much stress cannot be laid upon this feature of the Congress. It is highly desirable that during the visit of the foreign delegates to our city, the members of our Chamber should do all in their power to become personally acquainted with these visitors, and to extend to them the same generous hospitality which characterized their reception at Boston. Such social intercourse will, in our opinion, do much to facilitate the solution in the future of those perplexing questions of international character which are constantly arising in the business world. Any presentation of the discussions which took place would be too extended for a report of this character, but your committee recommends that this Chamber should signify its assent to the eight propositions referred to above and that the Secretary should be authorized to so inform the Secretary of the International Congress so that it may be made a matter of record in its proceedings. Respectfully submitted, (Signed) EUGENIUS H. OUTERBRIDGE, AUSTIN B. FLETCHER, Delegates. GEORGE E. IDE, NEW YORK, October 3, 1912. The report and the recommendations contained therein were unanimously adopted. JAMAICA BAY IMPROVEMENT. G. WALDO SMITH moved the following preamble and resolution which in accordance with their terms were referred to the Committee on the Harbor and Shipping: Whereas, By the persistent efforts of the Jamaica Bay Improvement Association, national and municipal appropriations have been secured for the dredging of a ship canal from the ocean to Jamaica Bay and the building of barge canal terminal piers at Jamaica Bay; and Whereas, The promotors of this scheme claim that the expenditure of the great sum of money it will require is justified by reason of the alleged congested condition of the New York harbor, while the opponents of the enterprise declare that there is no need for it, and that it is pushed entirely in the interest of real estate values and has never been asked for by the commercial and transportation interests of New York; therefore, be it Resolved, That the Committee on the Harbor and Shipping be requested to inquire into this so-called improvement, determine its merits or demerits, and recommend to the Chamber such action as it may deem wise. PANAMA CANAL. LEWIS NIXON moved the adoption of the following preamble and resolution which were referred to the Committee on Foreign Commerce and the Revenue Laws: Whereas, The approval by the President of the United States of the Panama Canal Bill has been criticised by the foreign press and foreign commercial bodies as an act in violation of the HAY-PAUNCEFOTE Treaty; therefore, be it Resolved, That the Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York approves and endorses the statement of the President that there is no provision in the HAY-PAUNCEFOTE Treaty that forbids the United States from regulating its commerce by remitting tolls on American ships using the canal. DEATH OF THREE DISTINGUISHED MEMBERS. THE PRESIDENT.-I announce with sorrow the death since our last meeting of three members whose names have always been honored in this community. MR. PAUL N. SPOFFORD was elected a member of the Chamber on April 6, 1854, and died on September 6th of this year in his ninetyfirst year, after a membership of fifty-eight years in the Chamber, he being our oldest member. MR. SPOFFORD was at one time Chairman of the Standing Committee on the Harbor and Shipping, and for a number of years was active in the affairs of the Chamber. Before him his father PAUL SPOFFORD, was also a member of the Chamber having been elected on October 1, 1833. He died in 1870. One of my earliest recollections is that of my father speaking of "Old PAUL SPOFFORD," as he called him, when I was a boy. That was the older MR. SPOFFORD, who dates back in membership of the Chamber to 1833. Unhappily we have to mourn also the next oldest member of the Chamber, MR. WILLIAM BUTLER DUNCAN, whom we have seen here often, and whose genial presence was always a delight to those of us who knew him well. MR. DUNCAN had been a member of the Cham ber fifty-seven years. He died on the 20th of June, 1912, and a delegation from this Chamber attended his funeral. He was eightytwo years of age. He had been Vice-President of the Chamber from 1905 to 1909. MR. ABBOT AUGUSTUS Low died within the last fortnight. He was a son of ABIEL ABBOT Low, who was President of this Chamber from 1863 to 1867, and whom many of us remember as one of the notable merchants of this city and a man whom every one delighted to honor. MR. ABIEL A. Low became a member of this Chamber in 1846, so we see in two cases there has been a continuous representation in this Chamber by father and son for more than seventy years. MR. ABBOT AUGUSTUS Low, who recently died, was a practical philanthropist, a man who was continually trying to do something for those who were less fortunate than he. He was a type of the high-minded Christian gentleman. In all of these gentlemen the Chamber has reason to mourn its loss. The world is better that they lived. The Chamber adjourned. Reception, Friday, October 18, 1912. The Chamber of Commerce, in accordance with the action taken at the meeting of October 3d, gave a reception and luncheon Friday, October 18, 1912, in honor of the foreign delegates to the Fifth International Congress of Chambers of Commerce. PRESENT. JOHN CLAFLIN, President. And seven hundred and fifty other members and guests. M. LOUIS CANON-LEGRAND President of the Fifth International Congress occupied a seat on the right of the President. REMARKS OF PRESIDENT CLAFLIN. THE PRESIDENT.-Gentlemen of the International Congress, I have the honor and the pleasure of extending to you the welcome of the Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York. We regret that the alterations not yet completed in our building occasion difficulties that prevent us from offering you all the conveniences we might wish, but we are sure you will bear any discomforts with equanimity, for from time immemorial men of commerce have endured hardships, and perhaps it has been through enduring hardships and surmounting obstacles that they have often become leaders in the progress of the world. It is not easy for us at this time to realize the difficulties and the perils that the merchants of olden time experienced when their frail ships were buffeted by the treacherous winds of the Mediterranean, and they were in constant danger of attack by enemies that might sally forth from behind any headland. Now, you, gentlemen from abroad, have come hither in great ships which make the ocean seem almost a level highway, and you have been in no more danger of hostile attack than if you were seated at your own firesides. For this comfort, and especially for this security, you are indebted to the commerce of the world; for commercial interests have become so powerful, so far reaching, so internationally interwoven that they can cause the strongest government to pause and to deliberate, where deliberation and caution may mean peace and where haste might mean war. And to-day notwithstanding the war clouds that lower in Eastern Europe, we come together in confident assurance that international good-will is making marked headway. We, of New York, welcome you gentlemen of the Foreign Delegations, as distinguished exponents of such international good-will. We welcome you to a city where worldwide amity is illustrating itself on the largest scale in history, for here each of you may find his own countrymen working side by side with the men of America and with the men of other nations in a broad and friendly co-operation that knows no line of national or racial cleavage. Gentlemen of all the delegations, we are glad to see you here today. We hope you will enjoy your visit to our city, and will like us so well that you will come again. M. LOUIS CANON-LEGRAND was then introduced and spoke briefly in both English and French in appreciation of the honor paid the delegates by their cordial reception in New York. Luncheon was then served. Monthly Meeting, Thursday, November 7, 1912. A regular monthly meeting of the Chamber of Commerce was held in the Hall of the Chamber on Thursday, November 7, 1912, at halfpast twelve o'clock, P. M. PRESENT. JOHN CLAFLIN, President. And two hundred and fifty-eight other members. The minutes of the last regular meeting held October 3, 1912 were read and approved. REPORTS OF STANDING COMMITTEES. JAMES G. CANNON, Chairman of the Executive Committee reported the following named candidates for membership and recommended their election: |