The Weekly Florists' Review, 



479 



Milwaukee Convention. 



THE BANNER MEETING OF THE SOCIETY OF 

 AMERICAN FLORISTS. 



Next Meeting to be held at St. Louis, Mo. 



OFFICERS FOR 1904 = 



President, PHILIP BREITMEYER, Detroit. Mich. 



Vice-President. J. J. BENEKE. St. Louis. Mo. 



Secretary, WM. J. STEWART. Boston. Mass. 



Treasurer, H. B. BEATTY, Oil City. Pa. 



All that Milwaukee promised has 

 been fulfilled and the nineteenth annual 

 convention of the Society of American 

 Florists goes on record as the best yet. 

 The attendance was large, all the fami- 

 liar faces being seen, with many for 

 whom it was a new experience and one 

 long to be remembered. Many new 

 names were added to the membership 

 roll and an impetus given to the grand 

 old society which will carry it on to 

 other and yet better things. 



The far east turned out strong, New- 

 York, Bom. .11, Washington and Philadel- 

 phia having excellent representation, 

 and Buffalo, Cleveland. Detroit, Cincin- 

 nati, St. Louis, Denver and Chieago did 

 themselves proud, while from the towns 

 of the middle west the craft was present 

 almost to a man. It was a gathering to 

 rejoice the hearts of the hospitable men 

 who have worked so long and arduously 

 for this successful culmination and it 

 was a turnout to afford the must ade- 

 quate compensation to the exhibitors who 

 had gone to such great pains to put up 

 the must magnificent exposition of flor- 

 ists' wares ever staged. 



The trade exhibition was a revelation, 

 not only to those who came to their first 

 convention, but also to those who have 

 not missed a meeting, and the elaborate- 

 ness of the display spoke more eloquently 

 than words of the marvelous advance in 

 all departments of our trade in recent 

 years. Never has so large a hall been 

 available for the showing of our wares 

 and never has the space been more com- 

 pletely occupied. In fact, so extensive 

 was the display of florists' supplies that 

 much more room might have been de- 

 voted to this department to the advan- 

 tage of all exhibitors. The aisles were 

 very crowded between sessions. All the 

 houses were represented and made show- 

 ings of greater extent than ever before; 

 good things were on all the stands. In 

 the end of the building devoted to plants 

 the space was more nearh adequate 

 to the needs, but here, too, the display 

 was far more extensive than usual. The 

 stock shown was of uniformly high qual- 

 ity, mostly in the line of decorative 



plants, and some very large exhibits 

 were staged. The general effect of the 

 exhibition, viewed from whatever point, 

 could hardlv have 1 n improved noon. 



displays, usually more practical than dec- 

 orative, in very pleasing shape. 



When the hour for the opening ses- 

 sion arrived every seat in the adjoining 

 audience room was occupied. Vice-Presi- 

 dent Pollworth called for order and in 

 a few well chosen phrases presented a 

 gavel to President Burton, on behalf of 

 the Milwaukee Florists' Club, and intro- 

 duee.l Mayor Rose, who straightway won 

 for himself a place high in the esteem 

 of his auditors. 



Mayor Rose said that the exhibition 

 spread out in the big hall was a revela- 

 tion to Milwaukee, an evidence that the 

 magnitude of the industry it represented 

 was inadequately appreciated by those 

 whose daily avocations do not bring them 

 in touch with the florists' trade. He 

 said that Milwaukee was famous as a 

 city of beer, but that it does not deserve 

 an opprobrious title; a walk in the resi- 

 dence districts would show it to be a 

 city of flowers. And flowers are essen- 

 tial to human happiness. Take the aes- 

 thetic attributes away from man and 

 yon have no man left. The Mayor pro- 

 ceeded to "point with pride," as mayors 

 do, to the many things for which Mil- 

 waukee should also be famous. He said 

 his city had the greatest bowlers in the 

 country and challenged the best team the 

 florists could produce. He said that Mil- 

 waukee is only 85 miles from the wicked- 

 est city on earth, yet it is the most or- 

 derly; that it has a splendid police de- 

 partment but that its duties are more 

 in line with the good offices of the Red 

 Cross Society when visitors are in town. 



Mr. Pollworth then introduced Adam 

 Graham, of Cleveland, one of the eleven 

 ex-presidents of the society who sat in 

 a semi-circle back of the presiding offi- 

 cer, to respond. His remarks in response 

 to the mayor were of witty character, 

 relating to the extent of the free adver- 

 tising Milwaukee' gets from having her 



name over the doors of so many 



houses through the length and breadth of 



the land. 



Vice-president Pollworth next intro- 

 duced President Burton, who took this, 

 the firs! opportunity, to thank the soci- 

 ety for his re-election under unusual cir- 

 cumstances at Asheville. He then read 

 his address, as follows: 



President Burton's Address. 



klosl of you are aware, I suppose, 

 that 1 am not a. believer in long ad- 

 dresses, and it will be my aim in tin- 

 lew remarks I have to make to you at 

 this, our nineteenth annual convention, 

 to say that which I have to say in the 

 fewest possible words. 



From all sections of the country I 

 hear good news of a prosperous busi- 

 ness during the past season. The black 

 cloud which hung over many of us dur- 

 ing the fall and early winter, the strike 

 in the hard coal regions of Pennsylvania, 

 was happily dispelled before it had spelt 

 absolute ruin to our business. The sub- 

 sequent good prices and brisk demand 

 largely compensated for losses sustained 

 in the majority of cases, but we regret 

 the misfortune and extend our fullest 

 sympathy to those who suffered so se- 

 verely, many of whom were almost ruined 



Another black cloud which threatened 

 our business last season in addition to 

 the calamity of the coal strike, was the 

 arbitrary action of the express com- 

 panies in advancing rates on the ship- 

 ment of cut flowers, to an exorbitant 

 and almost prohibitory extent. The trade 

 was greatly alarmed and a storm of pro- 

 test arose in all sections of the coun- 

 try. Florists' clubs, local committees 

 and private individuals all took an ener- 

 getic hand in resisting the exactions, 

 and the national society gives full ac- 

 knowledgment to till this assistance in 

 securing the victory which it happily 

 gained after several' months of energetic 

 effort. Special acknowledgment is also 

 due to the valuable and faithful work 

 performed in this connection by the so- 

 ciety 's special committee, Messrs. May, 

 i ) '.Mara and Sheridan. 



Expansion in the West. 



On the whole, the past year has been 

 one of progress and prosperity, and there 

 seems every reason to believe that the 

 upward tendency will continue. I am 

 not going to preach to you about the 

 inevitable reaction which they say is 

 bound to come sometime, but will con- 

 tent myself with a word of caution to 

 hold something in reserve. During a sea- 

 son of remarkable expansion the excite- 

 ment is apt to carry us further than is 

 wise or expedient and in this, as in all 

 other things, it is best not to be as ex- 

 pansive as we can, but to stop short 

 before we reach the extreme of our 

 ability or endurance. This remark is 

 inspired by the way things are develop- 

 ing in the middle west. Glass is being 

 erected so fast and general business i = 

 expanding at such a rate in that sec- 

 tion as almost to make an easterner's 

 head swim. 



I have traveled considerably over the. 

 western section in the past year and have 

 to acknowledge that we in the east have 

 bur the faintest conception of how 

 things have been developing, especially 

 in the production of cut flowers. It is 

 simply astonishing and we must extend 

 our congratulations and endeavor to sit 

 as gracefully as we can on the back 

 seat hereafter. I may remark, however, 



