18 



The Florists' Review 



JuNB 10, 1920. 



ers himself part of tlie business — one 

 of the old-fasliioned kind, who, accord- 

 ing to his ability and intelligence, takes 

 just as much interest in the business as 

 the proprietor himself — really deserves 

 for the same work more than the other 

 fellow, but we do not measure his pay 

 according to overtime. In hundreds of 

 little ways we detect the man's inter- 

 est in his work and in business affairs; 

 daily we can feel his faithfulness. He 

 should be rewarded, not according to 

 what, the profits have been for thai, sea- 

 son, not only according to his efforts 

 or ability. 



In Unprofitable Years. 



During the last decade there were 

 several years that were not fully satis- 

 factory; they brought little profit to 

 the florist. A bonus or share of the 

 profits according to the earnings of 

 those years would have been extremely 

 small for the employee. In some in- 

 stances, if there had been an agree- 

 ment between the employer and em- 

 ployees to share the earn?ngs, the con- 

 ditions would have been reversed and 

 some would have only had part of their 

 salaVy, but we shall not speak about 

 that; we shall speak about the reward. 



If a man has no financial interest in 

 a business the employer cannot expect 

 to accept his efforts without suitable re- 

 ward, irrespective of the earnings. We 

 have to base the reward of such a man 

 on the time spent outside of business 

 hours for the good of the business. We 

 have to add a little for his faithfulness, 

 for the length of service with the firm, 

 and have to add something to encourage 

 him for the future. 



I would not call this profit-sharing or 

 a bonus, because it is not; it is some- 

 thing which I give of my own free will 



for what hag been given to me of some- 

 one's own free will. Good will cannot 

 be bought. The man gives me his good 

 will and I give him at the end of the 

 year something to make it easier for 

 him to give me his good will again. He 

 helps me to carry my worries and I 

 help him to carry his. 



Profit-sliaxing Put to Test. 



Eight years ago I made the mistake 

 of making a regular agreement with sev- 

 eral men that they should get at the 

 end of the year, according to the ef- 

 forts they made, a certain amount of 

 money. It taught me a lesson. Men 

 who I thought would put extra effort 

 into their work were slack; some of 

 those men whom I did not include in 

 the agreement took more interest in 

 their work and a far greater interest 

 in my worries about business. When 

 the year was over I gave each one a 

 little more than I 'had promised, but I 

 told each one that I would not promise 

 him anything for the coming year. If 

 any special reward were deserved, I 

 would show my appreciation in some 

 way, and that was the finish. 



From that time on I was more par- 

 ticular than ever to pay a man liber- 

 ally for his extra work. When the 

 man was absent one or two days I de- 

 ducted it from his salary. I gave him 

 what he was entitled to and I asked 

 the same for myself. Only the few men 

 who do not have that rule, "I will just 

 give what I am paid for," who do not 

 watch the time clock noon and evening, 

 who work cheerfully with the interest 

 of the business at heart — to those men 

 we are glad to show appreciation by 

 our good will, our faithfulness and a 

 substantial envelope. 



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FACING NEW PROBLEMS. 



Trade Has Passed Childliood. 



The florists' business has now out- 

 grown its early childhood and has en- 

 tered its ''t(MMis. " Any parent will 

 understand what tliia agf means for a 

 child; this is the time when the great- 

 est thought and care must be given to 

 its development. Up until the teens the 

 care of the child was a comparatively 

 easy matter; it was always under the 

 care of the mother and under home in- 

 fluences, but now everything is changed 

 and the child is under other influences, 

 influences to be considered and watched 

 and the effect counteracted. 



This is just the position the florists' 

 business is in today. There was a time 

 when the business was like the child in 

 its early years. All that was needed 

 was to give ordinary care and every- 

 thing Ment well, hut the pride of the 

 parents was to see it develop into a 

 strong boy or girl. This is just what 

 the florists' business has done and, since 

 organized publicity has been in effect, 

 its development has been decidedly 

 rapid. 



As I study the situation at this time, 

 there is n6 better comparison that I can 

 think of than that of the boy full of 

 life and spirit who is about to enter 



school, when every safeguard should be 

 thrown about him; this can be best 

 done by organization. 



Growers Are Alert. 



We meet with organization today in 

 every line of commercial enterprise and 

 one of the best evidences that the flo- 

 rists are not "asleep at the switch" is 

 the fact that the growers of this country 

 are alert to the necessity of this move 

 and are at the pres-^nt time devoting 

 their attention to systematic organiza- 

 tion. One need only look at the person 

 nel of the committee on organization to 

 realize what such an organization will 

 mean. 



I should like to say a word to the 

 small grower. Wlien you see men of 

 such mature buh..ness acumen realizing 

 the importance and need of such a move, 

 is it not your duty to cooperate with 

 them in every way you can? The ob- 

 ject of this organization is for the bet 

 terment of the entire business. Remem- 

 ber that it is costing every man who is 

 fathering this new organization some 

 sacrifice. These are all men who have 

 large business organizations of their 

 own and could get along better without 

 a national organization than you, but, 

 to their credit, they are broad-gaugod 

 business men who have pride in the in- 

 dustry with which they are connected 



and. want to see it take its proper place 

 in the commercial world. 



Discussing Problems. 



As this plan is understood, with a lo- 

 cal organization in every communilry, 

 governed by local conditions, acting un- 

 der and always in touch with headquar- 

 ters, it seems that the growers all over 

 the country could get along as well with- 

 out their telephone or automobile as 

 they could without such an organiza- 

 tion. A good thing about this orgaiJi- 

 zation is that it will be a place where 

 you can get together at stated times and 

 discuss the problems you may have to 

 encounter; these may be labor, cultural 

 or heating. No matter what they may 

 be, you will find that Solomon was right 

 when he said: "There is nothing now 

 under the sun." You will find someone 

 who has faced the same trouble and, 

 best of all, came through successfully 

 and will be only too glad to help you 

 with his advice. ; 



Organization for Retailers. 



But we read that statistics show that 

 ninety per cent of the value of the flo- 

 rists ' business of this country is in the 

 hands of the growers; this would leave 

 ten per cent to the retailers. There is 

 no doubt that this is a small valuation 

 for that arm of the business, which is 

 so important to the growers. I am just 

 going to make an absurd proposition to 

 bring out my point more strongly. Sup- 

 pose every retail store that is not con- 

 nected with a growing establishment 

 were to close its doors, what would be- 

 come of the growers? One is dependent 

 on the other. The interest of the re- 

 tailer is the grower's interest and vice 

 versa. 



Should Retailers Organize? 



Is it not as important for the retail- 

 ers to organize as it is for the growers? 

 My suggestion would be, do this along 

 the same lines as those proposed by the 

 growers. In this way committees from 

 each branch of the business could get 

 together in the national and local or- 

 ganizations. Men who understand the 

 problems of both sides can put them 

 squarely up for discussion and action 

 and in this way everyone will become 

 better acquainted with the problems 

 which the other has to face. For in- 

 stance, if a committee of growers would 

 show to a like body of retailers just 

 what it costs to produce a dozen roses 

 and the retailers would show just what 

 it costs to sell those roses, isn't it rea- 

 sonable to suppose that such a body of 

 liusiness men could agree upon a fair 

 profit for each, and in this way fix a 

 fair and stabilized price to the con- 

 sumer? Tate. 



CALIFORNIA SEED GROUNDS. 



Irises at Rivera. 



Since a large proportion of irises come 

 from around the Mediterranean and are 

 consequently accustomed to summer pion- 

 ditions similar to those on the southern 

 Pacific coast, the culture of the iris is 

 particularly satisfactory in California. 

 The range of varieties is so large that 

 some may be found in bloom in all but 

 the late summer months. 



One place in southern California 

 where German irises can be seen to good 

 advantage is the establishment of 

 Howard & Smith, at Rivera, in Los 



