242 



HOBTICULTUBE 



August 19, 1916 



SOCIETY OF AMERICAN FLORISTS 



AND 



ORNAMENTAL HORTICULTURISTS 



Thirty-Second Annual Convention^ Convention Hall^ City 

 Auditorium, Houston, Texas, August J5, 16, 17, 18, J9J6 



Meetings Well Attended by Southern Members — R. C. Kerr of Houston, Texas, 

 Unanimously Elected President — All Constitutional Amendments Adopted 

 Without Debate — New York Chosen for 1917 Convention, St. Louis for 1918 



OFFICERS ELECTED — President, Robert C. Kerr, Houston, Texas; Vice-president, 

 A. L. Miller, Jamaica, N. Y.; Treasurer, John J. Hess, Onraha, Neb.; Sec- 

 retary, John Young, New York City 



OPENING SESSION. 



The Convention opened promptly ac- 

 cording to schedule on Tuesday after- 

 noon, August 15, in Convention Hall. 

 The meeting was called to order by 

 Vice-President Kerr, and after prayer 

 by Rev. W. S. Jacobs, Hon. Ben. Camp- 

 bell, Mayor of Houston, extended a 

 whole-souled welcome to the visitors 

 from afar, to which W. F. Gude made 

 an appreciative response. President 

 MacRorie received a vociferous greet- 

 ing as he stepped to the front to de- 

 liver his address. 



PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. 

 Ladies and Gentlemen: — 



It hardly seems a year ago that our 

 great National Society sat in Con- 

 vention at San Francisco. California. 

 I distinctly recall the genuine pleasure 

 and the pride that I experienced at 

 that time; the pleasure of seeing in 

 the West so many representative mem- 

 bers, and the pride of being honored 

 with a visit by these men who had 

 travelled many thousands of miles to 

 further the interests of our organiza- 

 tion. To you, brethren, in this beauti- 

 ful City of Houston, I bring from Cal- 

 ifornia and the West the hearty good 

 wishes of all the craft. Our brothers 

 from the East, the North and the mid- 

 dle West, by their presence bespeak 

 their loyalty. This Convention in 

 Houston means a great victory 

 to you, and you should likewise 

 feel a pleasure and a pride in 

 the work that you have ac- 

 complished. It has not been a simple 

 matter to instill into the minds of all 

 our members the necessity of making 

 our society in every sense a national 

 one, nor was it a simple matter to 

 bring this Convention to Houston, but 

 when I look about me and see this 

 wonderful representation, I feel that 

 our efforts have not been in vain. I 

 feel that the South "knows how," and 

 I feel that the Society of American 



Florists has acquired an added power, 

 the power of the spirit of the South. 

 We need that spirit and we welcome it, 

 and hope that it will work with us, not 

 only today, but every day in the fu- 

 ture. 



With the advent of the first conven- 

 tion in the South, the Society of 

 American Florists has opened a new 

 chapter in its history, and, of those. 



Daniel MacRorie 

 President Society of American Florists 



here assembled in Convention I am 

 sure that thefe is not one member who 

 is not fully convinced that our move 

 to this wonderful southern field was a 

 move in the right direction. 



It is my sincere desire that the sup- 

 port from the South shall be iTnwaver- 

 ing and constant. When I say support 

 I allude partly to a platform of in- 



creased membership. This has been 

 an issue of our Society for several 

 years, and it is no less important to- 

 day than it has been in the past. It is 

 not so much the idea that any one of 

 us should distinguish himself by 

 bringing in a great number of new 

 members. Everyone of us individually 

 should exert himself to influence ev- 

 ery eligible person in his district 

 with whom he comes in contact 

 to join our national society. Our 

 members number today about two 

 thousand, and I hope that before 

 another year is over that we 

 ran boast of a membership of three 

 thousand. The effort of this increase 

 should not rest entirely upon the 

 State vice-presidents; it should be the 

 effort of every member individually. 



It should not be necessary for me to 

 expound to you the advantages to be 

 gained by such an increased member- 

 ship. Our usefulness as a national so- 

 ciety increases as our membership In- 

 creases. I would impress upon you 

 particularly the fact that when this 

 Convention is over the work of en- 

 largement in this southern territory 

 continue with the same unity of pur- 

 pose with which it started, for in such 

 unity there is strength, and we need 

 that strength to accomplish the work 

 that lies before us, and to accrue those 

 benefits which can only be accom- 

 plished by thorough organization. Al- 

 though this is the first Convention 

 held in the South, it shall not be the 

 last. As a national society we must 

 necessarily convene from time to time 

 in all parts of the country, without 

 discrimination, and our society should 

 represent every man engaged in horti- 

 culture, whether he be from the North, 

 the South, the East or the West. 



Reviewing the divers matters that 

 were brought before the Executive 

 Board at its meeting in March of this 

 year, I wish to say that I am heartily 

 in accord with everything that has 

 been set down, and touched upon by 

 my predecessors, but would ask your 



