SiPTBUBia 4, 1910. 



The Florists^ Review 



13 



THE GAIN OF GETTING TOGETHER 



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To BRING the matter of cooperation 

 right home, may I ask, have we yet 

 begun to realize and appreciate, at even 

 its face value, the spirit of sane com- 

 radeship that may mean so much? Is 

 there between employer and employee 

 that loyalty which is the only guaran- 

 tee of good service? Is there between 

 retailer and retailer, grower and dis- 

 tributor, buyer and seller an "esprit de 

 corps" which we try to make ourselves 

 believe is part of our business creed? 

 Might there not be an element of truth 

 in the assertion that in the years be- 

 hind us the watchword has been, 

 "Every man for himself and the devil 

 take the hindmost." But we are grow- 

 ing wiser. 



Where are we with reference to the 

 problem of labor? The employer has a 

 right to expect fair work for fair pay. 

 Has the worker an equal right to ex- 

 pect fair pay for fair work? The em- 

 ployer can reasonably expect his work- 

 ers to be physically fit. A washed out 

 automaton is a bore, and while I would 

 not concede the employer the right to 

 control his help after hours, he can as- 

 sume that, everything else being equal, 

 he will have a man to do a man's job. 

 Now, then, may the worker look for 

 conditions that shall make it possible 

 for his best to be given? May he fair- 

 ly expect that his labor shall not alto- 

 gether deprive him of either the time 

 or the vim for real living? Is he fanat- 

 ical when he says that sixty hours a 

 week and something on Sundays is un- 

 fair to himself, his family and the com- 

 munity? I leave the answer. All kinds 

 of suggestions are being made to meet 

 the restless conditions, all steps in the 

 right direction, even though 'they are 

 sometimes taken in a panic, but I ven- 

 ture an appeal for a breadth of outlook, 

 a sympathy of understanding, a frank 

 recognition of that community of in- 

 terest, without which all the others are 

 mere makeshifts. 



Wholesaler and Retailer. 



Cooperation between wholesaler and 

 retailer. I know what I venture when 

 I mention this branch of my subject and 

 I realize that I am on thin ice, but a 

 frank statement of the case may do no 

 harm. We are told that the growers 

 plan only for high prices and holiday 

 demand. They grade low, charge high, 

 do not regulate output, and outside their 

 regular trade supply cut-rate dealers, 

 drug and department stores at prices far 

 below the rates charged their regular 

 trade. 



It is said that at this season you can 

 go on the market of any large-sized On- 

 tario town and buy from hucksters 

 stock shipped in from the larger grow- 

 ers at prices far too close to the prices 

 on their wholesale quotations. We fur- 

 ther hear the complaint that, even 

 though it is recognized there must 

 sometimes be a surplus, the regular 

 trade does not get any advantage of- 

 fered it. Still another grumble ia heard 

 that the wholesaler too often dabbles 



at the legitimate retail business. This 

 is denied, I know, but one has occasion- 

 ally heard of retail and wholesale ship- 

 ments of flowers being put on the same 

 train to the same town from the same 

 shipper. These are a few of the com- 

 plaints we hear. 



Now for the other side. A fair ques- 

 tion to ask is, is there on the part of 

 the retailer any real desire to link up 

 with the grower that shortages and sur- 

 pluses may as far as possible be 

 avoided? Does the average retailer ask 

 too much when he expects to secure 

 stock just as if it were hardware or dry 

 goods? Does he begin to realize the 

 nature of the large grower's business 

 and the perishable nature of the stock 

 he handles, and does he seek by any 

 method or foresight or business acumen 

 to so calculate his wants that the pro- 



The Editor is pleased when 

 a Reader presents his ideas 

 on any subject treated in 



As experience is the i>est 

 teacher, so do %ve learn 

 fastest by an exchange of 

 experiences. Many valuable 

 points are brought out by 

 discussion. 



Good penmanship, spelling and 

 crammar, thouch desirable, are not 

 necessary. Write as you would talk 

 when doiuK your best. 



WE SHALL BE CLAD 

 TO HEAR FROM YOU 



From an address on "Cooperation," delivered 

 before the convention of tlie Canadian Horticul- 

 tural Association by W. B. Groves, of Hamilton, 

 Ont. 



ducer has half a chance to find a steady 

 output for his production? Is it fair to 

 the grower that with only a day's no- 

 tice standing orders should be canceled, 

 thus throwing back on him the surplus 

 stock which has to be marketed some- 

 where or go to the garbage pile? Has 

 he when he has helped to put the grow- 

 er in this position any right to complain 

 about the latter 's method' of turning 

 his stock into dollars and cents? Per- 

 haps if retailers generally would add 

 some knowledge of the science of flower 

 production to their knowledge of the 

 art of flower manipulation, there would 

 be a better understanding of the fitua- 

 tion. 



What are the remedies suggested? 

 May I apply my principle? Could not 

 some reasonable system be formulated 

 whereby the grower and the retailer 

 could get together and at least discuss 

 the vital matters affecting both. They 

 are each entitled to a decent living with 

 something left over, and if instead of 

 pulling in two or three directions some 

 united effort could be made, that long 

 pull, strong pull, and pull all together 



would help tremendously the daily life 

 of all concerned. The alleged hold-ups 

 on the one hand and the inconsiderate 

 action on the other would soon be things 

 of the past, and safer, sounder, simpler 

 methods would take their place. 



Retailer and Retailer. 



Would closer cooperation between re- 

 tailer and retailer be an advantage? 

 In the minds of thinking men there can 

 hardly be a shadow of doubt that there 

 is everything to gain and nothing to 

 lose in a close association of those who 

 are retail florists. This is already being 

 brought about, but there is still a long 

 way to go. Florists' clubs are doing 

 really good work in this connection, car- 

 ing for many of the things that easily 

 allow for combined action. Could not 

 this be extended so that the work done 

 would be educational as well as social? Is 

 it too much a dream to imagine the larger 

 florists giving the less accomplished 

 members of the craft mor^o^^the bene- 

 fit of their experience and training? 

 Those of us who dwell in the small towns 

 seldom have any means of bringing our 

 ideas and methods up to date excepting 

 through the pages of the trade papers, 

 and the best men do not always write. 

 Let the big fellows join the little ones 

 more often in combined advertising 

 whereby the latter get a share of pub- 

 licity, impossible under any other ar- 

 rangement. Could we not more often 

 have combined advertisements covering 

 all the florists in a town or city or even 

 district? 



May I make an appeal here for a much 

 broader interpretation of the F. T. D. 

 idea? I want to suggest that if the tele- 

 graph idea is ever going to grow as it 

 _ should, we have to think larger and act 

 with more vision than has yet been done. 

 The scheme is only yet in its advertis- 

 ing stage, and until it passes that, if 

 ever it does, advertising should be con- 

 stantly in the minds of those who are 

 members, with a clearer conception of 

 what the F. T. D. might become. Might 

 it not be well if we were so saturated 

 with the idea that to express an order 

 which could by any chance be given a 

 fellow florist would be considered not 

 playing the game? Would I be risking 

 much in the assertion that three-fourths 

 of the flower buying public in this coun- 

 try does not yet know that the organiza- 

 tion exists, and might I not add they 

 never will until we grow bigger in our 

 methods? 



Cooperation in reference to hours of 

 business, methods of business (covering 

 such details as deliverie's, etc.) and 

 prices are each so controlled by geogra- 

 phy that general rules are impossible. 

 Often in the same city one man can live 

 on haljf the profit the next has to secure 

 to pay expenses. An arbitrary rule here 

 is of course unwise, but these matters 

 might well come under discussion and 

 perhaps sensible decision. Cooperative 

 purchasing is a large subject that I only 

 just mention. In these days of soaring 

 prices, anything in this direction that 

 could properly be done to lessen ex- 

 penses would certainly increase sales 

 and profits, and it does seem possible to 



