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HORTi culture: 



August 19, 1905 



structures and boilenuakers, and last 

 but not least ornamental horticul- 

 turists, I presume the subject must be 

 treated to suit every employer. 



First of all, an Ideal Employer must 

 be master of his trade, he must thor- 

 oughly understand his business, as 

 only under these conditions will he be 

 able to judge work done and the 

 ability of employes fairly. 



Second: The Ideal Employer should 

 have working capital enough to pay 

 every employe promptly in full for all 

 services rendered on days agreed upon, 

 particularly paying for all overtime 

 due the employes; for if you try to 

 squeeze here and there a few hours 

 without remuneration out of your em- 

 ployes they will surely get square with 

 you as soon as your back is turned, 

 and you are the loser in this skin 

 game. 



Third: An Ideal Employer should, 

 in engaging men, have a thorough 

 understanding of what is expected of 

 ■each employe, and see that each one 

 does his duty. Have all difficulties 

 adjusted at once, as some times a 

 little misunderstanding may create, 

 in the imaginary mind of employer, 

 dissatisfaction that can upset the 

 whole working force. 



Fourth: An Ideal Employer should 

 always be prompt, if he expects 

 promptness from his help, start 

 promptly, quit promptly, and if really 

 necessary work has to be done before 

 beginning or closing of day, pay 

 promptly for same, asking no favors. 



Fifth :v An Ideal Employer should 

 see to it that the Sabbath Day is kept 

 holy. Have only the most necessary 

 work done, as a day of rest and 

 recreation will put a better crew to 

 work at the beginning of the week, 

 and at the hand of your Creator you 

 will be rewarded a hundredfold. 



Sixth: An Ideal Employer should 

 be reserved in manner, should show 

 no favor, be courteous, polite, but al- 

 ways firm in giving orders and advice. 

 Profanity is an employer's worst 

 ■enemy. As a child imitates the ways 

 and manners of a parent, so does an 

 •employe adopt the ways of his master. 



Seventh: An Ideal Employer should . 

 encourage his employes wherever pos- 

 sible. There are many ways. Provide 

 the best of tools for every work; 

 pleasant surroundings in workshop 

 and home. A word of praise where 

 such is due will do wonders. Do not 

 expect the skilled employe to also fill 

 the place of the common helper. Have 

 the trade papers and other trade 

 literature where the men can get them 

 at their leisure. Purchase the most 

 meritorious novelties to stimulate the 

 interest of your employes. 



And last but not least, to be an 

 Ideal Employer and have an Ideal 

 Place of Business, it is necessary to 

 employ ideal help. This is very hard 

 to find in this commercial age. and as 

 long as no institutions are turning out 

 ideal helpers, every employer will 

 have to get along the best he can. By 

 following the foregoing advice em- 

 ployes and conditions can be improved, 

 as it is nine times out of ten that the 

 employer is at fault for the condition 

 •of his or her business. 



In closing I wish to say a few words 

 to the florist section of this Society in 

 ■particular. If you are master of your 

 profession, so that you do not have 

 to rely on foremen entirely, but that 

 you yourself can be at the steering 



wheel of your place, you will find that 

 there is plenty of good help, that if 

 properly treated will do its duty. In 

 employing florists be particular to get 

 men that will work and harmoni-/:e 

 together. If toughs or loafers slip in 

 get rid of them the next pay day for 

 the good of all concerned. Good em- 

 ployes are generally eager to learn, 

 and if they see and notice your su- 

 periority and your ability they will do 

 anything for you and vote you 

 THE IDEAL EMPLOYER. 



THIRD PRIZE. 



It is a grand privilege and re- 

 sponsibility to be an "Employer." A 

 privilege, because of the possibilities 

 involved in opportunity to benefit 

 one's fellowmen, a responsibility, be- 

 cause of the great obligation which 

 rests upon one, to whom by birth or 

 capital or mental strength has been 

 given the power to lead men, and to 

 maintain the homes and fortunes of 

 those who give their best years, their 

 skill, their faithful service in his be- 

 half. The infinite source of strength 

 and consciousness of the account that 

 must be rendered for the trust given 

 must never be forgotten, if one is, or is 

 to be, an "Ideal Employer." The 

 thought of the highest, the purest and 

 the best is always associated with the 

 word ideal. It indicates the acme of 

 things, the plane where there is al- 

 ways room — the top. To aspire to 

 win the honor of that title is no un- 

 worthy ambition. To merit the confi- 

 dence, respect, loyalty and devotion of 

 those who toil in one's behalf, this 

 seems to me to demonstrate the right 

 to claim fellowship with the noble 

 brotherhood of "Ideal Employers." 

 One cannot be ideal in the true sense 

 of the word, therefore who does not 

 come up to the standard, first, as to 

 character. A bad man morally, if he 

 be perfect in all the other require- 

 ments of the honor, is unfit to be an 

 employer at all. With good charac- 

 ter as a basis, all else that is good and 

 helpful may be built up into a perfect 

 structure;' and such a man "shall 

 stand before kings," and is a king, 

 crowned with the love of those he 

 serves, and building daily a monu- 

 ment that will endure through all the 

 ages. 



The "Ideal Employer" then, with 

 unsullied reputation, must next have 

 a thorough knowledge of his business 

 in all its details, thereby commanding 

 the confidence of those he leads and 

 ensuring their respect. Not only must 

 he merit confidence but he should in- 

 vite it, for by so doing he gathers new 

 ideas and strengthens not only him- 

 self but the man he draws upon, in- 

 creasing at the same time his loyalty 

 and encouraging him to further in- 

 spirations. The "Ideal Employer" 

 never forgets the Golden Rule. It 

 should be the foundation of all his 

 plans, his decisions, his enterprises. 

 With this as the basis of his daily life 

 he cannot make mistakes. The great 

 unwritten law of "Whatsoever a man 

 sows, that shall he also reap," should 

 be stamped in letters of fire upon his 

 brain and heart. There can be no 

 escape from the reckoning that must 

 be made when the sceptre is laid down 

 and the crown of responsibility is 

 taken away. There is no escape from 

 the balancing of the books, and there 

 will be no excuse taken if the records 

 are not clean. 



The "Ideal Employer" must have 

 within him an abundance of the "milk 

 of human kindness." He must be 

 patient, considerkte, gentle, "slow to 

 anger," solicitous as to the personal 

 habits, health and family happiness 

 of his employes. He must avoid un- 

 due familiarity, must encourage the 

 proper use of spare time, inspire by 

 example a love for study, healthful 

 recreation, and good companionship, 

 and teach by precept and accomplish- 

 ment the lessons of right living. He 

 should be quick to detect and punish 

 crime, and to discourage disloyalty 

 by prompt dismissal of the offender. 

 He should never stand in the way of 

 an employe who finds opportunity for 

 the betterment of his position, and 

 should never make necessary a request 

 for better wages where talent and 

 achievement indicate the wisdom of 

 the encouragement. 



It is not having, but being, that 

 makes the perfect man. Not the 

 surroundings, the broad acres, the 

 palaces, but the inner life, one's self 

 that counts. The highest ideal is to 

 shape one's life so that it may har- 

 monize with the law of love. First 

 knowledge, intelligence, then the con- 

 sciousness of duty to those whose wel- 

 fare is entrusted to our guidance. The 

 "Ideal Employer" does not live simply 

 to acquire wealth. There is a higher 

 goal never lost sight of, the happiness 

 that comes from promoting the happi- 

 ness and success of others. The law 

 of love, which the "Ideal Employer" 

 makes the guiding influence of his life, 

 involves ■ unselfishness, sympathy, 

 brotherhood, generosity and justice. 



The "Ideal Employer" invariably 

 possesses the respect of those in his 

 service. Conscientious, prompt, active, 

 alert, he inspires others to emulate 

 him. Demanding loyalty, he wins it 

 by his own loyalty to the interests of 

 those who serve him. Honest himself, 

 he asks no adherence to any policy 

 that will not bear the white light of 

 investigation into all its details. He 

 gladly invites sincere criticism. H)e 

 is never unreasonable in his demands. 

 He trusts implicitly and safely those 

 who are worthy of his confidence. If 

 he is truly "ideal" no competitor can 

 ever win the loyalty of an employe 

 whom it is to his advantage to retain. 

 He is always judiciously liberal, he 

 does not forget the little mementoes of 

 the holiday season, the solicitous and 

 practical remembrance of those who 

 by accident or illness appeal to his 

 generous nature, the thoughtful in- 

 quiry, the little delicacies for the sick 

 room, the tender sympathy when the 

 heart strings are wrung by loss of 

 loved ones. No ideal employer ever 

 withheld these tokens of good fellow- 

 ship, or because of wealth or station 

 felt himself above the men who labor. 

 If he be possessed of abundant wealth 

 he should see to the building of ideal 

 homes, to the establishment of schools 

 and libraries, and gymnasiums, and to 

 recreative parks and play grounds, 

 and every convenience for the com- 

 fort and health of all whose lives are 

 so interwoven with his own. His is 

 a responsibility that may well give 

 cause for serious thought, but if he be 

 "ideal," with clean life and clear con- 

 science as the fountains of his am- 

 bition and accomplishments, who can 

 estimate the glory of his achieve- 

 ments, and the value of such a life to 

 humanity? 



