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AueosT 19, 1820 



The Florists^ Review 



45 



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x PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS §a[ 



AFTEB an interval of twenty-four 

 years, we are again meeting in the 

 Forest city, Cleveland, one of the most 

 important cities on the Great Lakes. 

 Many of us who were present at the 

 previous meeting are impressed with 

 the marvelous advances made in the 

 city of Cleveland in little less than a 

 quarter of a century, not the least of 

 which is observed in the development 

 of our own industry. Our society, too, 

 has advanced in this period of time. 

 The recorded membership for 1896, the 

 year of the last convention in Cleve- 

 land, was in the neighborhood of 800, 

 while today, I believe, we are 'approach- 

 ing closely the 3,500 mark, an advance 

 upon which we may surely congratu- 

 late ourselves. Still, we have not ad- 

 vanced to the extent that we should 

 have done. I fear that we are some- 

 what behind the average of trade rep- 

 resentation to be found in other indus- 

 trial organizations, whose interests are 

 not greater than our own. 



There are many florists' establish- 

 ments of conspicuous size not yet rep- 

 resented on our membership roll, but 

 I am sure that in their various terri- 

 tories is scattered a goodly number of 

 our members from whom a word of en- 

 couragement would suffice to bring these 

 neighbors into the fold. There is no 

 danger of our becoming too big — we 

 know what it means to be too little. 

 Organization is everything nowadays; 

 without it an indus- 

 try is sorely handi- 

 capped. We all are 

 mindful of the effort 

 we as an organiza- 

 tion were called upon 

 to make in the trou- 

 blous times now hap- 

 pily behind us, to es- 

 tablish our industry 

 as one essential to our 

 existence as a nation. 



Organized Power. 



While our field of 

 operations was lim- 

 ited b y restrictions 

 which, to some ex- 

 tent, hampered us in 

 our work, but which 

 through the resource- 

 fulness of most of us 

 We were able to bear, 

 we might have had 

 much more imposed 

 upon us had it not 

 been for our organi- 

 sation, which made a 

 stand in the interests 

 of our industry and 

 obtained modifica- 

 tiona in a procedure 

 which, as proposed, 

 threatened our exist- 

 ence itself. All this 

 's to show the value 

 of, and necessity for, 

 organization. U n - 

 'loubtedly, all our 

 members are familiar 

 \vith the work en- 

 gaged in by the so- 

 ciety and this famUi- 



arity should enable them to present to 

 a florist who is not a member the de- 

 sirability of joining with us. The sec- 

 retary's office accomplishes much 

 through persistent correspondence and 

 in other ways, but it is for our members 

 to make the best of their opportunities 

 for heart to heart talks with their neigh- 

 bor florists and they are assured that 

 when an application for membership 

 comes in, with the credit for its origin 

 endorsed on the form, the credit is made 

 a matter of record. 



Beconstraction Problems. 



In the reconstruction of business fol- 

 lowing the war, it cannot be said that 

 the florists' industry has been much af- 

 fected, except in the shortening of 

 available help. The scarcity of labor 

 has been and is a serious problem for 

 many of us and doubtless there are 

 many who had arrived at a point where 

 they expected to take things easy from 

 now on, but who have been obliged to 

 get back into harness without thought 

 of relief in the immediate future. The 

 high prices of iron, steel, glass, lumber 

 and other material pertaining to green- 

 house building have stood in the way of 

 additions to existing ranges and of the 

 establishment of new ranges, but those 

 of us who must of necessity buUd, re- 

 build or expand, may as well meet con- 

 ditions, for no one can foretell the time 

 when they may change and in the mean- 



A. L. Mttler. 



(President ol the Society of American Florists.) 



time opportunity counts for a good deal. 

 We have not yet reached the apex of 

 the florists ' business and, in my opinion, 

 we never can, for there is not any apex 

 to it, at least so far as we can judge at 

 this time. Beconstruction has not, won- 

 derful to remark, hindered the florists; 

 it has only made us adapt ourselves to 

 conditions. 



At the last convention our society 

 went on record as opposing Quaran- 

 tine No. 37. Our opposition to the 

 order was based upon the belief that 

 such a drastic order was unwarranted 

 by conditions as stated and would work 

 injury to our industry. The action ' of 

 the society has been endorsed by several 

 other organizations interested, to sueh 

 an extent that there is now organized 

 opposition to the quarantine, opposition 

 not so much to the object of it as to 

 the manner in which it is enforced and 

 the power which the Federal Hortievl- 

 tural Board assumes. The fact that flo- 

 rists can make the best of opi>ortumties 

 presented through stock which is more 

 or less staple in this country is jwor 

 argument in favor of this quarantine. 

 It is true that, under certain conditions, 

 growers may bring in limited stock for 

 purposes of propagation, but few 

 growers would risk such importations 

 under the inspection requirements as 

 laid down by the board, requirements 

 which necessitate delays in delivery 

 fatal to most stock. Oar committee on 

 tariff and legislation 

 has this matter well 

 in hand and is watch- 

 ing its development 

 closely. 



Shows. 



The national flower 

 show committee will 

 report at this con- 

 vention upon the ar- 

 rangements made for 

 the next national 

 flower show, which it 

 has arranged shall be 

 held in Cleveland in 

 1922. I am sure I am 

 not encroaching upon 

 its report when I say 

 that its seleetion of 

 Cleveland for the 

 next show meets with 

 general approval. The 

 enforced interval be- 

 tween these shows, 

 which are of such im- 

 mense benefit to our 

 industry, has been a 

 matter for regret, but 

 it is hoped that here- 

 after there will be 

 nothing to prevent 

 their continuance 

 with intervals no 

 longer than absolute- 

 ly necessary. 



With the better 

 classes of the public 

 now educated in the 

 direction of buying 

 the best flowers and 

 plants available, we 

 should now bend 



