v., t 



20 



The Florists^ Review 



July 15. 1920 



r* 



NEW BUSINESS. 



Coming Back Strong. 



The florists of the United States are 

 now working under the head of "New 

 Business." Now, Gushing 's Manual 

 provides for debate on every question 

 before the final vote. This question is 

 now open; it is a big question and should 

 be given the most careful thought and 

 attention. 



Notice what the great fires did for 

 cities like Chicago and Baltimore, the 

 earthquake for San Francisco and the 

 tidal wave for Galveston. Numerous 

 other instances could be cited, but most 

 of us are familiar with these. The point 

 is that these seeming catastrophes 

 were not catastrophes at all for these 

 cities, but blessings in disguise, for in 

 every instance they ard bigger, broader 

 and, in every sense of the word, better 

 cities than before these mishaps came. 

 In each case it brought out the best 

 that was in the inhabitants of these 

 cities; they accomplished things they 

 had no idea they were capable of; they 

 went to work and built finer cities. 

 When the rest of the business world saw 

 the grit and determination with which 

 the people of those cities went about 

 rebuilding, the former realized that 

 they would be good cities to tie up with, 

 and the result was that outside capital 

 found its way into these cities and 

 business went so fast that it was hard 

 for the original citizens to keep pace 

 with the progress. Had the citizens of 

 the stricken cities failed at this point, 

 their cities would have just drifted back 

 to what they were before the catastro- 

 phes visited them. But, to the honor 

 and credit of every one of them, they 

 met the emergency like men. This is 

 distinctly an American trait; visit any 

 of the cities mentioned and you will find 

 a progressive city. 



The Wax as a Help. 



But you will be saying, "What has all 

 this to do with the florists' business and, 

 especially, with going after new busi- 

 ness for that craftt" Well, what these 

 catastrophes were to these cities in a 

 business way, the late war was to the 

 florists' business. 



Last winter clearly demonstrated the 

 fact that the florists of this country 

 were not able to keep pace with the 

 progress the business has made; every 

 one of the cities mentioned found them- 

 selves in exactly the same position. 

 What did they do? Did they let well 

 enough alone? No; the live business 

 men of these towns got together and 

 made preparations for this progress. 

 Municipal committees were appointed; 

 boards of trade and mercantile associa- 

 tions took the questions up and solved 

 these problems. There has never been 

 a time in the history of this country 

 when a city or an industry had such a 

 problem to face that the men for the 

 occasion were not forthcoming — men 

 who had a vision of the future, men in 

 whom the members of that city or in- 

 dustry had confidence, men whom they 

 would follow. In every case these have 



been not men who have had a hobby to 

 ride, but men who have had the courage 

 of their convictions. These are the true 

 leaders of men; these are men whose 

 sole aim is the greatest good for the 

 greatest number. This is the caliber of 

 men who launched the National Flower 

 Growers' Association. You have read 

 the article by Joseph Kohout, president 

 of the Commercial Flower Growers of 

 Chicago, in The Review of June 24. 

 Every one of the items in that article 

 can be worked out; all that is required 

 is an organized start. They will be 

 found so good that they will be de- 

 veloped even beyond the expectations 

 of Mr. Kohout himself. 



Some Possibilities. 



When we speak of new business, or in 

 other words new uses for flowers, we 

 have not yet scratched the surface. 

 The flowers that are being used in this 

 country today are being used through 

 no systematic effort of the florist. People 

 outside of the business who have given 

 this problem a little study are amazed 

 at the possibilities. Take our larger 

 cities, for instance, with their 300,000 

 to 5,000,000 birthdays every year. This, 

 of course, represents the entire popula- 

 tion, but cut these figures in half and see 

 what we still have; then take the wed- 

 ding anniversaries and the anniversaries 

 of deaths. Here are just three items; 

 flowers are the logical thing for each. 

 If the proper educational campaign 

 were made in just these three items, 



think what it would mean to tHe trade. 

 But there are also other prospects 

 that are just as inviting; for instaace, 

 in these days of Iftbor problems, when 

 good will counts tor so much between 

 employer and em]^yee, there is not a 

 day that the large employers of labor 

 have not from two to a dozen employees 

 sick, either at home or a hospital. Edu- 

 cate these employers to "Say It with 

 Flowers" and see what this will mean. 

 This idea came from a large employer 

 of labor, one who has tried it out and 

 who declares that to "Say It with 

 Flowers" is one of the best things his 

 company has ever done. 



Using aiuts for Advertising. 



Mr. Kohout suggests in his article 

 to use gluts of flowers for advertising 

 purposes. This would be the best busi- 

 ness move the florists could possibly 

 make; it would not only prevent cut- 

 ting of prices — and the injury to busi- 

 ness in this respect cannot be computed 

 — but it would indirectly pay big re- 

 turns on the investment. For instance. 

 The Review has urged florists to en- 

 courage merchants to use flowers in 

 their window decorations. How often 

 have we stood and admired the window 

 of some store, the window of an ex- 

 clusive store that featured ladies' 

 gowns! Figures were used to display 

 evening gowns; the setting was per- 

 haps a drawing room; the whole thing 

 just needed a vase or two, or perhaps 

 a basket of flowers, to take the stiff, 

 mechanical look from it. Here is an 

 opportunity to ' ' Say It with Flowers ' ' 

 during a glut. Any merchant would 

 welcome it^and after one or two times 

 he would find he could not do without 

 them and his brothers would be quick 

 to follow. The possibilities are won- 

 derful. You are at the critical stage; 

 don't stop! Tate. 



Carl Fletcher, manager of the Rolf 

 ZetlitB Co., Lima, O., observed as he 

 was leaving for Dayton, O., by auto- 

 mobile, "While this is the day of com- 

 munity enterprise, the combining of the 

 florists' interests, consisting of handling 

 of perishable stock, needs most careful 



manipulation." 



• * • • 



R. S. McMurray, Bellefontaine, O., 

 reports large sales on cyclamens and 

 predicts a good season for table plants 

 next winter. "Nature," observed Mr. 

 McMurray, "seems anxious to assist the 

 publicity movement, for rarely, if ever, 

 has there been a more glorious display 

 of crimson ramblers, purple clematis and 

 candidum lilies for July 4 than there 



was this 3'ear. ' ' 



• • • • 



The acquisition of the Warren G. 

 Matthews establishment, Dayton, O., by 

 Rolf Zetlitz and Carl Fletcher as equal 

 partners, makes another link in the 

 chain that comprises the Dayton, Colum- 

 bus, Ada and Lima ranges. The store 

 and greenhouses will be remodeled. It 

 is intended to have a place thoroughly 

 up-to-date, which the Dayton public will 

 undoubtedly appreciate, judging from 

 the interest shown. Mr. Fletcher men- 

 tioned that preparations were under way 



for a complete organization in every 

 department, each to be independent of 

 the others. Discussing the question of 

 coal, Mr. Fletcher said that he intended 

 to personally supervise their shipments 

 direct from the fields in West Virginia, 

 believing it to be the most practical 

 plan under existing conditions. 



• • • • 



* ' Never was the situation so perplex- 

 ing, " observed Wallace W. Wilson, of 

 S. Wilson & Sons, Marion, O. "With 

 the home-coming of Senator Harding we 

 scoured the surrounding country for 

 stock. This has been the situation for 



some time.' ' 



• • • • 



The home-coming of Senator Harding 

 brought a large crowd to Marion, O. 

 "While we made no extra display, we 

 wejje> complimented by many visitors 

 who looked through our store and show 

 house," observed F. E. Blake, Jr., of 

 Blake's Flower Shop. "Many patrons 

 whose voices we had often heard, 

 though we had never seen their faces, 

 made themselves known and it made us 

 all feel good. ' ' Mr. Blake said that 

 either he or his father, who takes care 

 of the greenhouses, will attend the S. 

 A. F. convention in August unless some 

 unforeseen circumstance arises. 



