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Adocst 17, 1916. 



The Florists' Review 



39 



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TARIFF AND LEGISLATION 



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YOUR committee to which is en- 

 trusted the matter of legislation 

 affecting our society begs to submit the 

 following report: 



Many matters have been brought to 

 our attention affecting the different 

 branches of our profession. Early in 

 the year the matter of postage on cata- 

 logues and circulars was taken up, on 

 the request of several of the large mail- 

 order seed houses. The request made 

 was not for a reduction in postage, but 

 simply for permission to mail circulars 

 and catalogues at the pound rate, irre- 

 spective of zone. 



The bill was introduced in the United 

 States Senate to bring relief to the 

 members requesting this change, but 

 after conferring with the powers that 

 be, it was found that to have this per- 

 mission granted might materially affect 

 other lines of business, as well as our 

 own, adversely, and we therefore de- 

 cided not to press the matter. 



Mail Censorship. 



During the spring months a serious 

 condition menaced the interests of im- 

 porting florists by reason .of the British 

 censorship of the mails. The consular 

 invoices and bills of lading were re- 

 moved by the censors from the ships 

 bringing the goods, and without the 

 documents these perishable shipments 

 could not be released or removed from 

 the docks. As cables were suppressed 

 and no relief from this intolerable con- 

 dition was in sight, your committee 

 interviewed the State Department oflS- 

 cials, also the British embassy, with the 

 result that arrangements were made 

 whereby such important documents 

 would in future be placed in a separate 

 mail bag and would not be removed by 

 the British censors with ordinary mail. 



Freight Embargo. 



As a result of the withholding of 

 shipping documents by the censors, 

 large shipments of perishable freight 

 accumulated on the docks at the ports 

 of entry, causing a tremendous freight 

 congestion. In the effort to relieve this 

 blockade, the railroads embargoed all 

 outgoing and incoming freight from 

 the terminals, which made it impossible 

 to forward freight after it was re- 

 leased by the receipt of the delayed 

 shipping documents. In this crisis, 

 your committee interviewed railroad 

 officials, and, as a result of its action, 

 the railroads were ordered to lift the 

 blockade as applied to shipments of 

 Holland and Belgian plants, which were 

 then arriving in large volume. 



Your committee is able to report that 

 in most instances permits have been 

 given by the British and German gov- 

 ernments to Belgian shippers, and that 

 unless some unforeseen difficulty de- 

 velops, the fall shipments of azaleas, 

 etc., will arrive from Belgium on sched- 

 ule time from Eotterdam. 



A National Flower. 



The following joint resolution, to ofll- 



cially recognize a floral emblem for 



the United States, was introduced in 



the House of Representatives June 1, 



1916: 



WHEREAS, The United States of America 

 have no national flower, and the adoption of the 

 mountain laurel would open up a wide field of 

 interest for artists in many lines of creative 

 and original worlc; it is in bloom on three of our 

 greatest national holidays — Independence day, 

 Decoration day and Flag day; its flowers are 

 red and white, two of the colors In our flag, the 

 red for courage, the white for purity; and the 

 leaves, combining as they do yellow for wis- 

 dom and blue for truth, blended together, form- 

 ing the green frultfulness, are surely typical 

 of our country; the seed pod on opening forms 

 a perfect flve-pointed star; the flower is won- 

 derfully formed, like a chalice, with Ave deli- 

 cately curved edges, the blossoms clustered to- 

 gether like the constellation of the states, and 

 would mean "The Union forever;" now, there- 



fOF6 l)C It 



RESOLVED, By the Senate and House of Rep- 

 resentatives of the United States of America, 

 in Congress assembled, that on and after the 

 approval of this resolution the official and rec- 

 ognized floral emblem of the United States of 

 America shall be the flower commonly known as 

 the mountain laurel. 



This resolution, if enacted into law, 

 would make the mountain laurel the 

 national flower of the United States of 

 America. We immediately requested 

 the introducer of the resolution not to 

 push the bill until this organization 

 could pass upon it. We were assured 

 that every opportunity would be 

 afforded this organization -to file its 

 reeommendation in the matter. We 

 also asked the horticultural press to 

 give this matter wide publicity, and 

 to request suggestions for or against 

 the resolution. In every instance, ex- 

 cept one, the replies were in favor of 

 the mountain laurel as the national 

 flower. We might further state that 

 as far back as 1881 the mountain 

 laurel was advanced as a national 

 flower, but no oflScial action has been 

 taken. We therefore ask for an en- 

 dorsement of the joint resolution 



above referred to, and that your com- 

 mittee be instructed to cooperate with 

 our legislators at Washington along 

 said lines. 



To Enlarge the Botanic Garden. 



We also ask the endorsement of this 

 association of Senate Bill No. 6227, to 

 increase the area of the United States 

 Botanic Garden, Washington, D. C. 

 The bill on file provides for the tak- 

 ing in of East Seaton park and West 

 Seaton park, bounded by Third and 

 Sixth streets and Maine and Missouri 

 avenues. 



If the above bill becomes a law, we 

 shall in time have a botanical garden 

 worthy of the national capital of the 

 United State's. 



Anti-Dumping Law. 



There is now before Congress a so- 

 called unfair-competition or anti-dump- 

 ing law, to prohibit the sale in the 

 United States of foreign goods at 

 prices substantially below the prices 

 prevailing in the country of origin. 



The enactment of this law would 

 materially benefit the legitimate flo- 

 rist and dealer, who, as a rule, buy 

 their goods at a fair market price and 

 expect to pay for them, inasmuch as 

 the bill before Congress prohibits the 

 dumping on American markets of 

 goods to be sold at public auction, par- 

 ticularly surplus bulbs and nursery 

 stock which are annually offered in the 

 United States. Your committee, there- 

 fore, has done what it could in per- 

 sonal interviews and has sent copies of 

 the following letter, over the signature 

 of the chairman of your committee, to 

 the members of the finance committee 

 having the matter in charge: 



As national representative of the Society of 

 Ameriian Florists, I wish to endorse Title "VII, 

 "Unfair Competition," contained in the so- 

 called "General Revenue Bill," now under con- 

 sideration by your committee, and to urge that 

 Title VII be favorably recommended to and 

 adopted by the Senate in its present form. 



In this provision we see protection from un- 

 fair competition of a type not generally known, 

 where foreign producers of the various kinds of 

 nursery stock, Dulbs in particular, sell to grow- 

 ers in the United States on Individual orders at 

 ruling market prices, only to later "dump" Into 

 the auction houses the same class of merchan- 

 dise at much lower prices. There then arises in 

 respect to these a competltl(>n, imfair and det- 

 rimental to our interests. 



» THE DEATH ROLL mz 



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SINCE last year's convention we 

 have lost through death: 



Edwin Lonsdale (life), Sept. 1. 1915. 



W. Atlee Burpee (life), Nov. 26, 1015. 



William Murphy, Sept. 27, 1915. 



Frederick W. Bruenig, Feb. 25, 1916. 



Albert McCuUough (pioneer), Jan. 13, 1916. 



Robert Haentze (life). May 5, 1916. 



Max Rudolph, Feb. 22, 1916. 



Conrad Bergstermann, Feb. 20, 1916. 



WllllRm Young, Nov. 11, 1915. 



Jos. H. Cunningham, March 4. 1916. 



August Krueger (life), March .3, 1916. 



Wm. F. Kastlng (life), June 15, 1916. 



Walter P. Stokes (life), July 1, 1916. 



Wm. Tricker, July 11. 1916. 



John W. Poehlmann, July 14, 1916. 



It is with profound regret that in 

 this list I have to chronicle the death 

 of three more than ordinarily promi- 

 nent members of our trade: Edwin 

 Lonsdale, W. Atlee Burpee and Will- 

 iam F. Kasting. 



Report of William F. Gude as chairman of 

 the S. A. F. committee on tariff and legislation, 

 presented at the Houston convention, August 15, 

 1016. 



From the report of John Young, secretary of 

 the S. A. F.. presented at the Houston conven- 

 tion, August 15, 1916. 



Mr. Lonsdale was a past president of 

 our society, and for one year served as 

 its secretary. He was a pioneer mem- 

 ber, and keenly interested in our or- 

 ganization. His services were at all 

 times available in any work of the 

 society in which his knowledge and 

 skill were of use, and he gave them 

 unstintingly, officially or otherwise. 

 His willingness to help a fellow mem- 

 ber whenever possible to solve horti- 

 cultural problems was heartily appre- 

 ciated, and he will be greatly missed 

 by many of us who have sought his 

 counsel. 



Mr. Burpee was a life member, his 

 membership dating from 1886, the sec- 

 ond year of the society's existence. 

 He took a great interest in the so- 

 ciety's affairs, and gave evidence of 

 his interest by his earnest support of 

 everything tending to advance our 



