On March 3 1916 the Bloomington Automobile club announced the profits from the Auto Show (the one that took place before CU Williams' Auto Show). After all expenses, the Club had a profit of $900. As were most clubs in 1916, this club was meant to be a benefit to the city and a benefit to the businessmen and people of the city. The businessmen saw the success of the city as essential to their own success, and did not hesitate to contribute to the common good.
The plan was for the money to be used in creating signage for the roads and the improvement of the roads themselves. As discussed in a prior post, in the early automobile days it became apparent that roads needed to be marked when strangers to the area were trying to navigate from one place to the next. With this new mobility, people also expected that roads would be suitable for travel, no matter the weather. But the businessmen who put on the auto show had formed this club to improve motoring for everyone, not just their own businesses.
There was a suggestion that the money should be set aside to campaign for a bond issue to improve the roads. The campaign would seek to convince taxpayers that having good roads was desirable and worth an increase in taxes. According to Mr Murray, who urged this point, Illinois was infamous for its bad roads.