ii(M;r I cr i.TU nv. 



SoptonilMr 1, 1917 



SOCIETY OF AMERICAN FLORISTS and 

 ORNAMEN TAL HORTICU LTURISTS 



CLOSING SESSION OF THE NEW YORK CONVENTION. THURSDAY AFTERNOON, AUGUST 23. 



Tho intorest which had cimracter- 

 Ized tho previous sessions continued 

 unubate<l to the close. The proceed- 

 incs at the afternoon session on tlie 

 third and closing day comprised re- 

 ports by Judges on The Trade Exhi- 

 bition, and on the Convention Garden, 

 Committee on National Credits and 

 Collections Bureau. National Flower 

 Show Committee and several items of 

 unfinished business. 



The committee on the recommenda- 

 tions in the president's address, 

 Messrs. P. Welch. George Asmus, C. 

 E. Critchell, H. P. Knoble and Joseph 

 Heacock, reported favorably on all 

 points and the report was unani- 

 mously approved and adopted. 



George Asmus. as Chairman of the 

 National Flower Show read his re- 

 port in full on the work being done 

 by that important body and the prom- 

 ising outlook for the show at St. 

 Louis next spring. 



(This report complete will appear 

 in next week's issue of Hokticultdhe. ) 



CREDIT AND COLLECTIONS 

 BUREAU. 



Chairman Patrick Welch of the 

 Committee on Credits and Collections 

 reported on Thursday afternoon as 

 follows: 



We, the members of the committee 

 on credits and collections, at a meet- 

 ing held Monday evening. August 2", 

 and at an adjourned meeting held 

 Tuesday, August 21, at the Hotel Bilt- 

 more. New York, for the purpose of 

 considering the question of the best 

 means for the Society of American 

 Florists to put into practical opera- 

 tion a system of collections and the 

 establishing of credit in conformity 

 with the suggestions offered by the 

 chairman in his reports, offer the fol- 

 lowing resolution: 



Resolved, That a committee of five 

 members of the Society of American 

 Florists be appointed by the President 

 who shall be given full power to ob- 

 tain a charter in any of the States or 

 District of Columbia, and to organize a 

 corporation for the purpose without 

 any liaDility to the Society of Ameri- 

 can Florists and further that the com- 

 mittee have power to deal with any es- 

 tablished agency if they see fit. 



As a part of the report and explana- 

 tory of the movement which the com- 

 mittee advocated, Mr. Welch ad- 

 dressed the convention, in part, as fol- 

 lows: 



For the past twenty years the ques- 

 tion of credits has been one of the 

 greatest interest to the commercial 

 growers of horticultural products in 

 this country and it is now not con- 

 sidered a reflection on a merchant's 

 honesty or business ability if he is 

 asked for a statement of his finances, 

 as he realizes such information en- 



ables business men to conduct their 

 affairs intelligently. 



Attempts have been made to estab- 

 lish local agencies where a limited 

 iiuniber of houses doing business In a 

 restricted way have agreed amongst 

 Ihemselvcs to list those with whom 

 they do business and in some cities 

 this method has proved successful, as 

 .shown by the New York Wholesale 

 Florists' Protective Association and 

 the American Nurserymen's Associa- 

 tion and American Seed Trade Asso- 

 ciation who have in successful oper- 

 ation credit and collection bureaus 

 under their own auspices. 



The statisticians claim that !)0 per 

 cent of the business concerns of the 

 country fail or are liquidated at some 

 period of their existence. It is some- 

 times hard to anticipate these losses, 

 but it seems reasonable to suppose 

 that many losses experienced by our 

 people might be avoided if only the 

 proper precautions were taken. 1 be- 

 lieve that .3 per cent, of the total sales 

 within the past ten years has been 

 lost to the horticultural interests by 

 bad debts. No more important ques- 

 tion can come before us at this time 

 than that of evolving ways and means 

 by which this drain on our resources 

 may be reduced to a minimum. 



In order that our trade may be con- 

 ducted on honorable and equitable 

 lines, we must place more stress 

 on the dispensation of credit. Only 

 by united action and by intelligent or- 

 ganized efforts on the pail, of those 

 engaged in horticulture in this coun- 

 try can we preserve our own business 

 and compote fairly, honestly and hon- 

 oi-ably with others. We should unite 

 to eliminate all trade abuses, cancella- 

 tions, excessive and uncalled-for dis- 

 counts and all other unbusinesslike 

 practice on the part of customers and 

 ourselves. 



Let us try to make men realize the 

 absolute ne<'essity of fidelity to their 

 promises and to establisli once and for 

 all the principles developed in the 

 individual whose word is as good as 

 his bond. 



At the Convention in San Francisco. 

 1915. the President called attention 

 to this matter in the following state- 

 ment: 



"I nni forcibly reminded by a large num- 

 ber of the members of our soelety of the 

 presHlnp necessity for ere.itlng ii national 

 hnre.in f>{ credits, a central office wliere 

 credit information can be kept and refer- 

 ence olitalned. The commercial interests 

 ef our husiness have grown to such an ex- 

 tent diirint; the past lifteen years as to call 

 for a more up-to-date standard of business 

 practice. There ought not to be any ob- 

 jection to such a movement as it Is lifjrhl.v 

 prnbaide that it would do a preat deal of 

 pood anil there is but little danper that It 

 wpiild do any harm. It should. how(!ver. 

 >)e carefully guarded so that it could be 

 used mutually by both debtor and creditor. 

 The tireservations of the rights of com- 

 mercial life, liberty and the pursuit of 

 trade sliould be upheld and not interfered 

 with. It is apparent, however, that ways 

 and means should be considered and 



adopted in Hl,l<li lli>' linaru'liii i>tiin<l 

 Ini;. honest V and Inliprlty of the c.imniiT 

 clal llorlNts could !»• mianured, determined 



I eircuhiti'd amonc our memberi) to the 



end that lioneHl. u|>rli;ht« JuhI and credit 

 able liuHlneHH uien may be Hink'led "Ut from 

 till' unJiiMi and unncrupulous operntorn." 



.Mr. Weli-h hero quote<l at length 

 from similar views previously ex- 

 pressed by other prominent members, 

 including George Asmus, Walter W. 

 Coles, C. L. Washburn, August Poehl- 

 niann, W. F. Gude, Thomas Roland. 

 Krnest Wienlioeber, Irwin Perter- 

 mann and .Alexander Henderson. 



Should the Society through Its own 

 members incorporate and sell stock 

 which would entitle each stockholder 

 to the corporation earnings? Or 

 would it bo more practical and fully 

 as useful to our members for the 

 work to be done by an established 

 commercial agency already operating 

 in Chicago. New York and Boston? 



It we should organize a corporation 

 it should be capitalized for at least 

 $50,000 in one thousand shares of 

 Fifty Dollars ($50) each, and have 

 an ofBce in any of the cities with 

 sufficient office force, all subject to 

 the jurisdiction of the Board of Di- 

 rectors. The annual duos to be paid 

 by subscriljcrs to be at least $25.00 

 and each subscriber would bo entitled 

 to a certain number of reports to be 

 agreed upon later. Such an organi- 

 zation while setting a useful pur- 

 pose would necessarily havo to ac- 

 quire its credit information slowly, 

 its growth would be a healthy one 

 and eventually wo would have a 

 credit organization of our own which 

 would be practical, in time grow to be 

 self-sustaining. 



If we adopt the second method of 

 endorsing any of the established cred- 

 it asssociations in some way associated 

 with our branch of business, the in- 

 formation it would give would be 

 more or less limited as such, organ- 

 izations are of territorial rather than 

 national scope. 



The resolution as presented by Mr. 

 Welch was adopted and the Presi- 

 dent authorized to appoint a new com- 

 mittee of five members accordingly. 



A handsome chest of silverware 

 was presented to President Kerr as 

 one of the concluding episodes of the 

 Convention of 1917. The speech or 

 presentation was made by John West- 

 cott of Philadelphia in his felicitous 

 way and the recipient responded in 

 words (t( giviteful appreciation. 



CONVENTION ROOTED CUTTINGS. 

 "Jules Boiirdet is a good man for 

 St. Louis. He 'does things.' " 



— Frank X. Gorly. 



"You're all ill. You've got a good 

 doctor and you refuse his medicine." 



— Max Schling on Publicity Com- 

 mittee liecommendations. 



The "young blood" is coming well 



