August 24, 1912 



HORTICULTURE 



267 



SOCIETY OF AMERICAN FLORISTS AND 

 ORNAMENTAL HORTICULTURISTS 



A Well Attended Convention and Most Important Exhibition in 



Society's History 



Minneapolis; Minn*, Next Meeting Place 

 Officers Elected 



PRESIDENT— J. K. M. L. FARQUHAR, Boston, Mass. 

 SECRETARY— JOHN YOUNG, New York, N. Y. 

 TREASURER— WILLIAM F. KASTING, Buffalo, N. Y. 



The convention was called to order 

 at 11 A. M., Tuesday, August 20, by 

 Vice-President August Poehlmann of 

 Chicago. On the platform were the 

 officers, several ex-presidents of the 

 Society and Hon. John B. Payne rep- 

 resenting the park systems and the 

 people of Chicago. After a few brief 

 and very cordial words of welcome by 

 Mr. Poehlmann on behalf of the Chi- 

 cago florists. Judge Payne voiced a 

 royal welcome. He told his audience 

 that they represented the cream of 

 civilization and called attention to the 

 tremendous growth of the outdoor 

 sentiment all over America, eliciting 

 enthusiastic applause. 



Judge Vesey, who responded on be- 

 half of the Society, asserted that the 

 S. A. F. contains .in its membership 

 the finest type of American citizen- 

 ship and on behalf of the visitors 

 gracefully accepted the courtesies of- 

 fered and the opportunities for educa- 

 tion and enjoyment that had been so 

 lavishly provided. 



The hall was well decorated with 

 palms and Southern smilax. The at- 

 tendance at the opening session was 

 disappointingly small, due to the fact 

 that visitors were lined up to register 

 and obtain their badges, tickets, etc., 

 in the secretary's department down 

 stairs and the late arrival of several 

 trains, thus emphasizing the folly of 

 calling a convention opening session 

 in the forenoon, and the weather was 

 exceedingly hot and sultry. 



President Vincent was next intio- 

 dnced and proceeded to read his an- 

 nual address, which was received with 

 approving applause. 



THE PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. 



Ladies and Gentlemen, Members of the 

 Society of American Florists and 

 Ornamental Horticulturists: 

 Your generous welcome has made 

 this day the proudest in my life, and 

 I thank you for your reception from 

 the depth of my heart. Strange as It 

 may seem, for the reason that no flor- 

 ists' club has been more active than 

 yours in the affairs of our national 

 society, this is the first meeting of the 

 S. A. P. and 0. H. in this great city 

 of Chicago since the Society's organ- 

 ization meeting In 1884 and its annual 

 meeting in 1887. In all thi' years 

 which have passed since then no an- 



nual meetings have been held here. 

 At the time of the great World's Fair, 

 held here in 1893, it was thought in- 

 advisable to hold the convention in 

 Chicago. It was, therefore, held in 

 your annex, the city of St. Louis, al- 

 though, after that meeting, there was 

 one week devoted to a horticultural 

 conference in this city. Later, at the 

 time of the Milwaukee Convention, our 

 members were lavishly entertained in 

 Chicago on the closing day of the 

 meeting. At various other times we 

 have passed through your city en 

 route to our annual meeting tryst, and 

 at such times we have been well and 

 heartily received. 



There Is no city in the United States 

 to which we can come with greater 

 hope of a successful meeting than this, 

 for your inhabitants claim your city to 

 be the center of commerce, of popula- 

 tion and of civilization. Their claim 

 is well put and we agree with them. 



We feel that our stay in this city is 

 going to be one of wonderful interest 

 and that our sessions will be marked 

 by progress of a notable character. 



For the recommendations I am 

 about to make, I invite your earnest 

 consideration. Some of them may, and 

 probably will, meet with opposition, 

 but generally through opposition only 

 is a principle best worked out. My de- 

 sire is that when we leave Chicago it 

 will be with the knowledge that some- 

 thing tangible has been done for the 

 future welfare of the Society of which 

 we are all so proud to be members. 

 Let us not indulge in dreams, but in 

 action. 



On behalf of all our members I 

 thank you for the hearty welcome re- 

 ceived this day. 



The S. A. F. Executive Board. 

 In the past history of the Society, 

 its executive board, after mature de- 

 liberation, has presented plans for the 

 benefit of the Society which have been 

 ruthlessly torn to pieces in general 

 meeting; in some instances the mem- 

 bership has been in the right: but in 

 most cases the officers have been de- 

 feated in their efforts in the direction 

 of betterment for the Society through 

 the fact that the members who influ- 

 enced the results of the debate had not 

 had opportunity to consider the subject 

 from all its angles, and, therefore. 



from lack of this consideration were 

 inimical to the proposed changes, and 

 so sought to defeat them. It would be 

 but a slight expense to the Society to 

 print and immediately place in the 

 hands of each individual member the 

 full text of the work of the executive 

 board at its meetings. Members would 

 then be in prior possession of the rea- 

 sons why certain policies had been 

 advocated and would come to a con- 

 vention properly prepared and fully 

 informed on the subject, ready to dis- 

 cuss and vote aye or nay, according to 

 their convictions. I urge that in the 

 matter of the executive board meetings 

 more light be given each individual 

 member. 



The Office of the Secretary. 

 The secretary of the Society should 

 devote his entire time to its business, 

 and his compensation should be such as 

 would justify the employment of the 

 best man obtainable. I affirm that the 

 appointment of a secretary should be 

 absolutely controlled by the board of 

 directors of this Society. There has 

 been much discussion on this subject 

 hitherto, but my contention is that no 

 president and board of directors of a 

 large business house, corporation or 

 bank, would care to run their insti- 

 tution if its acting secretary was under 

 the control of the stockholders, and so 

 not directly responsible to himself and 

 the board. While I do not contend 

 that the S. A. F. is a business propo- 

 sition only and solely, it cannot be 

 gainsaid that there is more of business 

 practice in its workings than not In 

 other words, while our Society is 

 working both for the elevation of its 

 members and the benefit of the people 

 of the country at large, it is in great 

 measure controlled by its business in- 

 terests. The work to be accomplished 

 by our Society in the future will be 

 due as much to its secretary as to its 

 president or Its board of directors, and 

 the only men qualified to judge as to 

 the value of the secretary to the So- 

 ciety are those with whom he comes 

 in direct contact, namely, its board of 

 directors. A secretary whose time is 

 to he given entirely to the affairs of 

 the Society can well earn a living by 

 traveling through the country talking 

 up the S. A. F. and obtaining members 

 if, together with the National Flower 



