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irr I c r i.t u i? k 



October 19, 1918 



FLORISTS' TELEGRAPH DELIVERY ASSOCIATION 



An enthusiastic and representative 

 gathering of the association was in 

 evidence at the annual meeting Oct. 

 8 and 9, held in the ball room o! the 

 Hotel Hollenden, Cleveland, which 

 was generously decorated with the 

 flags of America and her allies by the 

 Cleveland Florists in honor of the oc- 

 casion. Sides of the hall were also 

 covered with trade advertising ar- 

 ranged by H. P. Knoble. Many dele- 

 gates from Canada were among those 

 present. 



Chairman Fred W. Brown of the 

 local committee called the convention 

 to order and at the conclusion of his 

 address which was followed by pa- 

 triotic exercises President Wm. F. 

 Gude made the following address: 



PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. 



Permit me to thank you for your 

 presence here this morning, which is 

 an evidence of your, paramount inter- 

 est in this work, which I claim is not 

 only of a material nature, but of that 

 higher and nobler calling, of doing 

 unto others as you would they should 

 do unto you, for the betterment of all 

 mankind throughout the world, irres- 

 pective of any financial gain. 



The last year has been an eventful 

 one. Many unexpected problems have 

 arisen among the growers and produc- 

 ers of flowers throughout the country; 

 consequently, the producers and dis- 

 tributors have also been much dis- 

 turbed, and finally the retail florists, 

 whose interest we represent, have had 

 all sorts of unusual problems confront- 

 ing them since the meeting in Detroit 

 last year, but in general the retail 

 florists have not much to complain of 

 so far, but much to be thankful for, 

 since we are in a business and profes- 

 sion which has many problems to solve, 

 such as no other business has. and 

 many problems which each one must 

 solve for himself, largely on account 

 of the peculiar conditions which arise 

 and the unusual requests that are 

 made of every retail florist. Therefore, 

 these gatherings, such as we have here 

 this morning, are more needed now 

 than ever before in the history of our 

 business, because there is no way that 

 we know of that will better facilitate 

 the lightening of our burdens than the 

 fact of getting in touch with each 

 other here on this floor and evolving 

 new thoughts and new ideas which 

 should be brought out here and can be 

 discussed to our mutual advantage. 



Telegraph Delivery Orders. 



I believe this business has more 

 than doubled in volume in twelve 

 months over any previous twelve 

 months since the existence of our or- 

 ganization; hence, the necessity of 

 more up-to-date methods of doing busi- 

 ness among many of our members, 

 and especially non-members. I refer 

 particularly to the transmission of 

 orders by telephone, telegraph or 

 mall, apparently conducted by many 

 of our members and non-members, 



where no copy is kept of the same 

 that can be used to settle disputes with 

 the telegraph companies and parties 

 who receive orders to execute. Quite 

 a few cases have come to my notice 

 in the past twelve months that would 

 have been much easier adjusted it 

 copy of the original order could have 

 been produced. 



Another important item which 

 many of our florists seem to neglect 

 is not promptly acknowledging orders, 

 so that the sender of the order can 

 satisfy his customer that his commis- 

 sion has been attended to. 



Another item of serious reflection is 

 the careless manner in which many 

 florists seem to keep their accounts. 

 I know from personal experience that 

 it is frequently necessary to write to 

 florists and ask them if they received 

 an order, why they have not acknowl- 

 edged it, if they have flUed it, and will 

 they not kindly send a statement so 



Wm. F. Gude 

 Kt'-elHctH(l I'resiilPiit of the P. T. D. 



that we can settle up. All of this 

 would not be necessary, and it should 

 not exist, if our members would be 

 more accurate in transmitting orders 

 and more prompt in acknowledging 

 the same and sending out bills at once 

 in accordance with our constitution 

 and by-laws. By so doing it might in- 

 spire our non-members, to whom it is 

 frequently necessary to send orders, 

 because there may be no F. T. D. mem- 

 ber in that particular locality. 



Another item which is of utmost im- 

 portance is the prompt and careful fill- 

 ing of orders when they are received 

 and the little details and instructions 

 which are to go with them carried out 

 to the letter. It is really deplorable 

 to think that any employer or em- 

 ployee should fill an order any old way 

 with the idea In his mind, "What 

 difference does it make; nobody will 

 ever know how much was paid for it 

 and I will execute it to make the big- 

 gest profit, irrespective of whom It 

 may hurt." The motto of every indi- 

 vidual or corporate member of this or 



ganization should be "He who serves 

 best profits most." 



Is there anything in the transmis- 

 sion of orders that will inspire more 

 confidence in your customer than to 

 write the order of transmission in his 

 presence, give him the name of the 

 party you are going to send it to, If 

 desired, and insert the exact amount 

 of money which you received, plus 

 telegraph charges or charges deducted, 

 transmit the order and take copy of 

 same for future reference? 



Several cases have come to our 

 notice where orders have been ex- 

 ecuted for less than the amount trans- 

 mitted and sometimes with Inferior 

 flowers and service, without any ex- 

 planation to the sender of the order. 



Are flowers non-essential? I should 

 answer positively NO! Because flow- 

 ers signify life itself and we know 

 that without flowers there would be 

 no fruit of any kind. So flowers are 

 used to cheer the human race every- 

 where, from childhood to old age, and 

 are used to express our sympathies 

 when our loved ones finally pass over 

 to that great beyond of a higher life. 

 There are no words in our language 

 that express thoughts, sympathies, 

 kindly feelings and good cheer like 

 flowers can, especially in these trying 

 times with so many loved ones away 

 from their homes serving their coun- 

 try for you and me. Members of fam- 

 ilies become sick or injured or pass 

 away. It is then that flowers play 

 their greatest part and in many cases 

 do more to heal the wounds inflicted 

 than any other agency in existence. 



Oh, what more wonderful part can 

 our association play right now, when 

 our loved ones are hurt or become sick 

 (in foreign soil, than to send to mother 

 or nearest kin a few flowers to cheer 

 and help heal the wounds of those who 

 are fighting our battles and giving 

 their all. 



Indeed, I am told that our Canadian 

 brothers have worked up a wonderful 

 and beautiful custom and sentiment 

 along these lines, and If there is no 

 profit, counting our gain in dollars 

 and cents, could anyone imagine any- 

 thing more beautiful or inspiring or 

 more beneficial in upholding the mor- 

 ale of our soldiers and sailors all over 

 the world than telling their mothers 

 and fathers in God's own language 

 that we stand unitedly backing them? 

 Foreign Relations. 



The possibility of sending flowers 

 and doing good to all mankind all 

 over the world is simply immense, 

 and there is opportunity everywhere 

 awaiting to be grasped. Why not 

 amend our by-laws so as to cover in- 

 ternational conditions for the whole 

 universe? 

 The Use of Flowers In War Times. 

 Indeed, they were essential in ordi- 

 nary times and they are much more 

 so in war times when the world seems 

 sad, for the beauty and fragrance of 

 flowers give strength to the spirit and 

 lightens the heavy heart of sorrow, 

 and those who supply the world with 

 them at this time are benefactors and 

 deserve the praise of their fellow 

 lieings. 



