AUGUST 23, 1917. 



The Florists^ Review 



29 



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PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS 



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E are gathered here today, 

 ^^ T'T" in this, the greatest Ameri- 

 \^y / can city, an assemblage of 

 \^^^ loyal members of a great 

 *^ * ™ organization. We have 

 come from the far west, 

 north and south, to this 

 extreme eastern city, and 

 those who have come in 

 these unsettled times show 

 their loyalty to this organization and 

 their firm belief in these United States. 

 It is with much happiness that we as- 

 semble in this spacious auditorium, with 

 the evidences of the fact that we are all 

 Americans, owing allegiance to but one 

 flag, and that the flag of the American 

 fathers, the Stars and Stripes, the sym- 

 bol of free government — the Red, the 

 White, the Blue. 



Here we renew our pledges to stand 

 by the great and good man, Woodrow 

 Wilson, and wherever he leads we will 

 follow, to uphold the riglits of this, our 

 American country, and when this ter- 

 r i b 1 e struggle is 

 over we hope it will 

 bring peace and 

 comfort and plenty 

 to every nation for 

 all time. 



Citizenship. 



In these strenu- 

 ous times, my broth- 

 ers, it behooves us, 

 as true American 

 citizens, to con- 

 serve our resources 

 in every way pos- 

 sible, to be able to 

 meet any demands 

 that may be made 

 on us during tliis 

 terrible struggle, 

 and to be able to 

 respond quickly to 

 every call of our 

 country. 



Never before 

 were conventions 

 apparently so 

 handicapped as the 

 ones that are called 

 this year, but, after 

 all, it is a great test 

 lor us all, for surely 

 it h a s developed 

 stal)ility and inde- 

 p n d e n c e. Yet, 

 Avith many handi- 

 <'aps, we assemble 

 today in what I 

 hope will be the 

 .greatest convention 

 of the society — per- 

 haps not the great- 

 est in number pres- 

 ent, not the great- 

 est in lavish enter- 

 tainment, but I 



The full text of the address of Robert C. Kerr, 

 president of the Society of American Florists, 

 delivered at the convention in New York, August 

 21, 1917. 



hope the most efficient, through our op- 

 portunity for real results. 



Our conventions in the past have been 

 most efficient, but at this convention 

 the opportunity is provided not only to 

 help ourselves, but to prepare to help 

 and comfort our brothers in the craft, 

 in this world war, over there. 



We are given the opportunity to make 

 this convention different, and distinct 

 from all others. We have all appreci- 

 ated each convention, each type of man 

 that serves, and it is the same spirit of 

 appreciation of the circumstances that 

 makes this a convention different from 

 others. Old methods and manners are 

 changing — in fact, must change — and 

 is it not well that the Society of Ameri- 

 can Florists should be put to the test, 

 and show to all that our national con- 



Robert C. Kerr. 



(President of the Society of American Florists.) 



ventions do not depend on entertain- 

 ments? And I am proud of the fact 

 that the convention over which I am 

 allowed to preside shows that loyalty 

 to service. 



Time has flown fast during the last 

 and most eventful twelve months, since 

 this great organization honored the 

 south, and especially Texas and Hous- 

 ton, with our convention. 



From Boston in the extreme east to 

 San Francisco in the extreme west, to 

 Houston in the extreme south, is a 

 record of which any organization may 

 be proud. And I feel particularly 

 proud of being so closely associated 

 with this organization when we are 

 making such great progress. 



As our charter indicates, we are a 

 national organization, and when we 

 journeyed to San Francisco we not 

 only showed that we were national in 

 spirit, but created new interest, thereby 

 adding both numbers to our member- 

 ship and money to our treasury. 



Then you voted 

 the convention to 

 Houston, and it was 

 another instance of 

 increased member- 

 ship and increased 

 treasury. 



Membership. 



A trade paper, 

 commenting upon 

 the conventions 

 west and south, 

 said, "The society 

 will return to the 

 east by slow and 

 easy stages." The 

 south is often con- 

 sidered slow, but in 

 this case we have 

 not been so slow, 

 for we are this day 

 delivering the so- 

 ciety again to the 

 oast, and I trust 

 that you will find 

 its affairs in even a 

 better condition 

 than upon its de- 

 jiarture from Bos- 

 ton to San Fran- 

 cisco. And, in re- 

 turn for our loyalty 

 to the society, we 

 trust you will honor 

 both the west and 

 the south, with the 

 convention in our 

 midst, in some near 

 future day. 



While the in- 

 crease in our mem- 

 bership during the 

 last year has been 

 satisfactory, c o m- 

 pared with previ- 



