GREETING. 39 



The President: Next on our program is a welcome by James Y. 

 Craig, President of the Omaha Park Board. 



Mr. Craig: I am very pleased to have the pleasure of meeting you 

 here today. I do not know who has been the instigator of your meetitag 

 here today, but it was a happy thought on the part of some person. I 

 think this is one of the most appropriate places for the State Horticul- 

 tural Society to have their meeting. 



The mayor has said you are welcome to anything in the city, and I 

 hope you will pay special attention to our parks and boulevards. We 

 have some six hundred acres or more of parks and about twelve miles of 

 a boulevard system, all pretty well under way. We would be glad to have 

 you go over our work and make suggestions, although I would advise 

 that you criticise as little as possible for the reason that our resources are 

 very limited for carrying on the work in our hands. Our mayor is very 

 much interested in this work, and if you can get the city council inter- 

 ested, we can make still more improvements. I hope you will have the 

 opportunity to go over this park and boulevard system of ours pretty 

 thoroughly. We will be pleased to have you do so. 



And now on behalf of the Park Board I want to extend to you a cor- 

 dial welcome. We thank you for the honor you have conferred upon us 

 by coming here for your meeting. Thank you. [Applause.] 



The President: I am sorry to announce that Reverend C. S. Harri- 

 son is not with us this morning for his part on the program. He will 

 not arrive until this afternoon. There is one thing I would like to call 

 your special attention to, and that is the park and boulevard system 

 that Mr. Craig mentioned. There is a ride over this boulevard system 

 arranged for tomorrow morning. We will meet at Fifteenth and Farnam 

 streets at 9:30. Next on our program this morning is a greeting from 

 Mr. J. J. Hess, president of the Omaha Florists' Club. 



GREETING. 



J. J. HESS, OMAHA. 



The pleasing function of welcoming you, gentlemen of the Horticul- 

 tural Society, having been performed by the honorable mayor of our city 

 in his graceful conception and eloquent style, and by the Honorable 

 James Y. Craig, president of the Park Board, I can but very feebly ex- 

 press the thanks of this society for this act of courtesy, which we highly 

 appreciate. 



The majority of the committee of arrangements which had the prep- 

 arations for this gathering in charge, have selected your humble servant 

 against his protest, but most likely for the reason that he is president 

 of the Local Florists' Club, to respond to the addresses of welcome and 

 to repeat the sentiments expressed by the eminent speakers on the part 

 of the resident members, although my membership in this society dates 

 back no farther than 1889. 



