



"|;V >^^iiiiii;^c V 



GROWERS FORM 



NATIONAL BODY 



Under the leadership of J. F. Ammann, growers from all parts of the 

 country gathered at Chicago at the close of the American Carnation Society's 

 convention last week to organize a national association. The earnest enthu- 

 siasm displayed ai that meeting augured decided and far-reaching results. 



A K I N G horticultural his- 

 tory and conscious that 

 they were doing so, about 

 sixty growers assembled at 

 Hotel La Salle, Chicago, 

 January 22, and effected 

 a temporary organization, 

 the beginning of a national 

 growers ' association. What 

 the name of the body 

 should be, how its membership should be 

 organized and the manner of its opera- 

 tion were left to the temporary officers, 

 elected to serve until the S. A. F. con- 

 vention at Cleveland next August. The 

 big achievement, everybody felt, was 

 that the organization had been started. 

 Now that this initial move had been 

 made, the practical need and real value 

 of such a body would carry it to suc- 

 cess, especially since it was so whole- 

 heartedly and ear- 

 nestly supported by 

 everyone who gath- 

 sred in the Red room 

 at Hotel La Salle. 

 No one dissented; 

 no one even ques- 

 tioned t}^ desirabil- 

 ity of A» c h an or- 

 ganizatlan as pre- 

 sented fcy J. F. Am- 

 mann. ^Fhe oratory 

 of the last year's 

 president of the S. 

 A. F. was stirring 

 indeed, but it h a d 

 convinced the grow- 

 ers so thoroughly be- 

 fore they met on 

 Thursday afternoon, 

 January 22, that his 

 remarks on that day 

 served only to voice 

 their thoughts, not 

 to overcome doubts, 

 for there were none. 



Stanch Support. 



When Mr. Am- 

 mann had unfolded 

 his vision of the na- 

 tional growers ' or- 

 ganization, empha- 

 sizing as he did so 

 the necessity for 

 such union, those in 

 the room, as he 

 called on them for 

 their ideas, expressed 

 the heartiest support 

 of his project. 



As a representa- 

 tive of the eastern 

 viewpoint, Wallace 

 H. Pierson, of Crom- 



TEMPORABY OFFICERS. 



PreEident. 

 Fred 0. W. Brown, Cleveland, O. 



Secretary. 

 3. Fred Ammann, Edwardsville, HI. 



Directors. 



C. E. QuUett Lincoln, HI. 



Wallace B. Pierson. Cromwell, Ct. 

 Robert C. Kerr .... Houston, Tex. 



well. Conn., spoke in decided terms in 

 favor of the association. It was neces- 

 sary, he stated, to plan for the future. 

 ' ' Without organization there is no fu- 

 ture for the growors, " he asserted; "we 



Fffd C W. Brown. 



(Klecteii Temporary Piesldcnt of the New National Glowers' Association.) 



must organize for our own protection." 

 He went on to picture the profession as 

 it appeared as an opportunity, or per- 

 haps lack of opportunity, for growers' 

 sons. 



W. J. Hembreiker, of Springfield, HI., 

 declared himself stanchly in back of 

 Mr. Ammann 's ideas and contributed 

 his support. 



Telling of the work the Commercial 

 Flower Growers of Chicago had accom- 

 plished in six months' existence, Joseph 

 Kohout, its president, declared the need 

 for the national organization to be im- 

 perative and predicted great results 

 from the united efforts of the growers 

 of the country, could they once be joined 

 together. Out of 120 growers in the 

 Chicago district his organization now 

 numbers ninety-two in its membership. 

 It is not generally known, said Mr. Ko- 

 hout, that in this 

 aesociation origi- 

 nated the billboard 

 plan which now 

 seems sure to be a 

 national success. 



Earl Mann, Rich- 

 mond, Ind., spoke 

 strongly in favor of 

 the project and C.E. 

 GuUett, of Lincoln, 

 111., indicated how 

 much could be done 

 through organi- 

 zation on the ques- 

 tions, so important 

 the last two years, 

 of fuel and labor. 



Union Needed. 



The advancing 

 costs of fuel, labor 

 and all the materials 

 a grower must buy 

 were cited by August 

 Poehlmann as rea- 

 sons for action on 

 the part of green- 

 housemen toward an 

 organization which 

 would protect and 

 promote their in- 

 terests. Consistently 

 high prices through- 

 out the year are 

 necessary for the 

 growers' products if 

 they are to pay the 

 increased wages that 

 their trained help 

 will require to stay 

 in the profession. 

 The growers, Mr. 

 Poehlmann said, 

 must organize first 



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