Leading business men of twin cities urge voters to ratify consolidation, article and transcription (Tonawanda News, 1920-06-14).jpeg
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Leading business men of twin cities urge voters to ratify consolidation, article and transcription (Tonawanda News, 1920-06-14).jpeg
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### LEADING BUSINESS MEN OF TWIN CITIES URGE VOTERS TO RATIFY CONSOLIDATION
**Henry B. Koenig, Hardware Merchant, and Henry P. Smith, Banker, Take Firm Stand in Favor of Uniting Tonawandas**
**DON’T SEE HOW MERGING COULD POSSIBLY DO HARM TO ANYONE**
**Best Thing That Could Happen to Tonawandas and Real Benefit to Every Citizen**
Two leading citizens, one a resident of Tonawanda and the other a resident of North Tonawanda, present to the voters of the Twin Cities today a number of good reasons why the Tonawandas should vote "Yes" on consolidation tomorrow. They say business men know that consolidation will be a good thing for the Twin Cities, therefore, are largely for it.
Business men also realize from their business experience that it would be cheaper to operate a single city government than two as at present and the voters are told why this is so. Tonawandans, who have the best interests of the Twin Cities at large at heart are urged by these two prominent citizens to go to the polls tomorrow and go on record in favor of uniting the Tonawandas.
I have been giving a good deal of thought to the subject of consolidation because I think it is a matter of very great importance to everybody in either city," said Henry P. Smith, president of the First Trust Company, to a NEWS representative today when asked for an expression on consolidation.
"These cities have a wonderful period of growth ahead of them if the people who live here will do the right thing and make the most of the opportunities there are here, but neither a city nor a business can succeed unless it is ready to give up worn out methods and adopt new policies that are necessary to success.
There is no sense in letting a canal divide us and keep us from pulling together. If we won’t cooperate we don’t deserve to succeed and we won’t."
"Lockport has the very same canal running through it, but it makes no difference at all because they are one city. We ought to have a city twenty times as big as Lockport, because we have twenty advantages to her one, but Lockport is growing so fast we won't be in it with her in a few years if we don't quit pulling apart and pull together.
What is good for this city is good for business and vice versa. If consolidation wouldn’t be good for the community, it certainly wouldn’t be good for the banking business and I wouldn’t be for it for a minute.
But I believe uniting the two cities will be the best thing that could happen for everybody. I don’t see how it could possibly hurt anybody. If it wouldn’t cost a good deal less to run one city than two then I don’t know anything about business.
Every banker knows that one of the very best assets a business can have is good will and prestige. If any business man had his business organization divided as the government of this city is divided, with each half refusing to cooperate with the other half, he would know that bankruptcy was only a little way off. Our city governments would soon be bankrupt, too, if they couldn’t keep coming to the taxpayers for more money. No wonder it costs more to govern this community than it does to govern any other community of twenty-five thousand in the country. It is said that government statistics show that it is costing this community over $125,000 a year more than it should in taxes just because we think we have to have two governments instead of getting along with one."
"I don't ask anybody to vote for consolidation because I say so, but I think it would be a good thing and I am going to vote for it,” said H. P. Koenig, the Young street hardware merchant today to a representative in an interview on uniting the Twin Cities.
“We do business with people on both sides of the creek and they are all pretty good people. I am glad to do business with them and I think anybody that is good enough to do business with will be good enough to vote with.
Any merchant who thinks it is cheaper to go ahead as we are than get on the other side of the creek if he wants to, but it don't look like a good proposition to me. I think the city ought to be run as a business and I don’t see any advantage in paying taxes to run two cities when one will do just as well or better. That is the way it looks to me as a business man.
I know some people say we won’t save anything by joining the two towns. Well, if we don’t, we won’t be any worse off anyway. But I believe we will save money by it. I know it is cheaper to run one store than it is to run two and I don’t see why it isn’t the same way with cities.
I haven’t talked with people very much, so I don’t know how they are going to vote, but I believe there are enough people on both sides of the creek to carry consolidation just because it would be good business and save a lot of unnecessary expense.
These cities ought to grow awfully fast in the next few years and the bigger they get the more foolish it will be to be paying for two cities instead of one."
**Henry B. Koenig, Hardware Merchant, and Henry P. Smith, Banker, Take Firm Stand in Favor of Uniting Tonawandas**
**DON’T SEE HOW MERGING COULD POSSIBLY DO HARM TO ANYONE**
**Best Thing That Could Happen to Tonawandas and Real Benefit to Every Citizen**
Two leading citizens, one a resident of Tonawanda and the other a resident of North Tonawanda, present to the voters of the Twin Cities today a number of good reasons why the Tonawandas should vote "Yes" on consolidation tomorrow. They say business men know that consolidation will be a good thing for the Twin Cities, therefore, are largely for it.
Business men also realize from their business experience that it would be cheaper to operate a single city government than two as at present and the voters are told why this is so. Tonawandans, who have the best interests of the Twin Cities at large at heart are urged by these two prominent citizens to go to the polls tomorrow and go on record in favor of uniting the Tonawandas.
I have been giving a good deal of thought to the subject of consolidation because I think it is a matter of very great importance to everybody in either city," said Henry P. Smith, president of the First Trust Company, to a NEWS representative today when asked for an expression on consolidation.
"These cities have a wonderful period of growth ahead of them if the people who live here will do the right thing and make the most of the opportunities there are here, but neither a city nor a business can succeed unless it is ready to give up worn out methods and adopt new policies that are necessary to success.
There is no sense in letting a canal divide us and keep us from pulling together. If we won’t cooperate we don’t deserve to succeed and we won’t."
"Lockport has the very same canal running through it, but it makes no difference at all because they are one city. We ought to have a city twenty times as big as Lockport, because we have twenty advantages to her one, but Lockport is growing so fast we won't be in it with her in a few years if we don't quit pulling apart and pull together.
What is good for this city is good for business and vice versa. If consolidation wouldn’t be good for the community, it certainly wouldn’t be good for the banking business and I wouldn’t be for it for a minute.
But I believe uniting the two cities will be the best thing that could happen for everybody. I don’t see how it could possibly hurt anybody. If it wouldn’t cost a good deal less to run one city than two then I don’t know anything about business.
Every banker knows that one of the very best assets a business can have is good will and prestige. If any business man had his business organization divided as the government of this city is divided, with each half refusing to cooperate with the other half, he would know that bankruptcy was only a little way off. Our city governments would soon be bankrupt, too, if they couldn’t keep coming to the taxpayers for more money. No wonder it costs more to govern this community than it does to govern any other community of twenty-five thousand in the country. It is said that government statistics show that it is costing this community over $125,000 a year more than it should in taxes just because we think we have to have two governments instead of getting along with one."
"I don't ask anybody to vote for consolidation because I say so, but I think it would be a good thing and I am going to vote for it,” said H. P. Koenig, the Young street hardware merchant today to a representative in an interview on uniting the Twin Cities.
“We do business with people on both sides of the creek and they are all pretty good people. I am glad to do business with them and I think anybody that is good enough to do business with will be good enough to vote with.
Any merchant who thinks it is cheaper to go ahead as we are than get on the other side of the creek if he wants to, but it don't look like a good proposition to me. I think the city ought to be run as a business and I don’t see any advantage in paying taxes to run two cities when one will do just as well or better. That is the way it looks to me as a business man.
I know some people say we won’t save anything by joining the two towns. Well, if we don’t, we won’t be any worse off anyway. But I believe we will save money by it. I know it is cheaper to run one store than it is to run two and I don’t see why it isn’t the same way with cities.
I haven’t talked with people very much, so I don’t know how they are going to vote, but I believe there are enough people on both sides of the creek to carry consolidation just because it would be good business and save a lot of unnecessary expense.
These cities ought to grow awfully fast in the next few years and the bigger they get the more foolish it will be to be paying for two cities instead of one."
Date
1920-06-14
Collection
Citation
“Leading business men of twin cities urge voters to ratify consolidation, article and transcription (Tonawanda News, 1920-06-14).jpeg,” North Tonawanda History, accessed September 7, 2024, https://nthistory.com/items/show/3950.