NOVEIUBR 27, 1919. 



The Florists^ Review 



21 



recently featured some notable win- 

 dow displays, in which birds, fish, minia- 

 ture canyons and waterfalls and con- 



cealed electric lights, as well as flowers, 

 have shared. Most of the illustration, 

 however, is occupied by the profusion of 



chrysanthemums and other seasonable 

 flowers that customarily attract cus- 

 tomers. 



WHAT IS AHEAD 



mwMmm^^i^^^rimmim 



jHEEE is no doubt in my 

 mind that the coming season 

 will be a most satisfactory 

 one. Your share of what- 

 ever prosperity is in store 

 for us will be in proportion 

 to the eflfort that you have 

 put forth to produce it. The law of 

 compensation is not likely to permit 

 you to share to a larger, extent. 



Some people look to the government 

 to cure all social unrest and business 

 disturbances. The experiment in most 

 cases has been a sad failure. We wel- 

 come any legislation of a constructive 

 nature, but we should resent government 

 interference with business. Unfortu- 

 nately, the people are still sending poli- 

 ticians to Washington to manage our 

 national affairs, instead of business men, 

 who are better qualified to understand 

 the needs of the country. 



Who Will Stop First? 



We hear much about the profiteer and 

 everybody denounces this selfish mon- 

 ster; yet, while everybody condemns the 

 profiteer, nearly everybody continues 

 profiteering. Everybody is doing his 

 share — the manufacturer, the jobber, the 

 retailer and labor — each is not missing 

 an opportunity to grasp a share of the 

 spoils. From every side we hear that 

 profiteering must stop, but where shall 

 we begin and who will make a begin- 

 ningf No one is willing to sacrifice 

 even a trifle, lest his neighbor should 

 profit ever so little by the good one 

 might do for the benefit of any general 

 cause, '^i. 



Thrift 4id increased production are to 

 overcome"fhe high cost of living. That 

 is what %e are told, not only by the 

 statisticians, college professors and the 

 self-styled public advisers, but by the 

 government itself. And while Uncle 

 Sam is preaching thrift to his people, 

 they are working overtime at Washing- 

 ton to find ways and means to collect 

 more taxes and spending the money in 

 an almost reckless fashion. Every tax- 

 payer is trying his utmost to make the 

 other fellow help pay his taxes. The 

 high rate of taxes has increased the 

 high cost of living as much as anything 

 else. Who will be the first one to prac- 

 tice thrift! Who is willing to help 

 increase production and work ten hours 

 a day instead of six or eight! Again 

 we find a condition where most of the 

 people can see danger ahead, but no one 

 is willing to take the initiative to clear 

 the road. 



Uplifting the Business. 



A similar condition confronts us to- 

 day in our business pursuits. Through 

 the trade organizations, such as the 

 Society of American Florists, the Flo- 

 rists' Telegraph Delivery Association 

 and many local clubs, we have aimed to 

 create a more favorable understanding 

 among the members of the trade and 



An addresis by Arthur Niessen, of Philadelphia, 

 on "The Outlook of the Florists' Business." de- 

 livered before the Lancaster County Florists' 

 "'lib, at Lancaster, Pa., November 20. 



the different branches of our business. 

 It has been their endeavor to procure 

 closer cooperation and undoubtedly 

 much good has been accomplished. The 

 F. T. D. has probably accomplished 

 more in that direction than any other 

 effort; for the reason that the benefits 

 derived are traceable to actual, visible 

 results. When an F. T. D. florist re- 

 ceives a telegram in the morning for a 

 $25 order, there is no question in his 

 mind that the F. T. D. is a good insti- 

 tution and a business producer. Not 

 much is left to his imagination; the 

 actual facts are in evidence. 



There has been a great deal of dis- 

 cussion about the uplift of our busi- 

 ness, how to increase sales, improve the 



NOTICE 



To those who want things 

 printed in the 



CHRISTMAS NUMBER 



Out December 11 



Advertisements will be re- 

 ceived up to Tuetday, Decem- 

 ber 9, but the present size of 

 the paper makes it imperative 

 that we obtain the bulk of the 

 "copy" several days earlier. 



Please Mail Yours Today 



working conditions and a hundred other 

 subjects. Who is going to right all the 

 wrongs? Who is the big leader among 

 us that will be our standard bearer 

 and show the way! Is there such a 

 man in our profession! I say, yes, thou- 

 sands of them, if only each and every 

 one of our profession will see his duty 

 to himself, to his neighbor and his 

 business. Everybody should set his own 

 house in order and the rest would be 

 comparatively easy. 



Individual Action Needed. 



The great trouble is, we complain 

 because nothing is being done. What 

 are you doing to help build your own 

 and your neighbor's business! What 

 are you doing to elevate our profession, 

 to make it more attractive for the young 

 men and women who will carry on our 

 business in the future! What are you 

 doing to make our business bigger and 

 more profitable! You have the oppor- 

 tunity every day and every minute of 

 the day. Doing your duty — that is the 

 solution. 



Cooperation means nothing unless 

 you personally are cooperating. An ad- 

 vertising campaign misses its mark com- 



pletely unless you are a part and par- 

 cel of the campaign. Unless the public 

 can see a reflection of the national ad- 

 vertising campaign in your store, you 

 are losing all of the benefits of the ad- 

 vertising. 



The S. A. F., our national publicity 

 campaign, can do nothing for you un- 

 less you are willing to do something 

 yourself. Sometimes we hear an argu- 

 ment that only the big retail stores are 

 being benefited by national publicity. 

 Admitting that they are being benefited, 

 it is only to the extent that they are 

 taking advantage of the opportunity 

 which exists for all alike. Every florist 

 or group of florists should do some local 

 advertising, and if the local effort is 

 linked with the national publicity, there 

 are bound to be satisfactory results. 

 Every florist in the country should be a 

 subscriber to the national publicity cam- 

 paign, but that is not sufficient. You 

 must work along with the publicity 

 campaign. Any collective movement 

 only gives you an opportunity to partici- 

 pate in its benefits, but unless you take 

 advantage of that opportunity yon can- 

 not expect to accomplish anything. 

 The Essential Fact. 



All this argument points to one es- 

 sential fact: You must do your part. 

 You must do your duty. You must 

 grasp every opportunity to improve our 

 business. 



The retailer who keeps a careless 

 shop, who does not deliver the goods 

 in quality or value, one who lacks cour- 

 tesy, one who is not aggressive, is not 

 an asset to our business. 



The grower who produces an inferior 

 quality of flowers, who places them on 

 the market in a careless manner, may 

 the flowers be good or bad, is a detri- 

 ment to our business. Poor flowers in- 

 terfere with the sale of the good ones. 

 If you do not pay close attention to 

 the small details of growing — water- 

 ing, ventilating and a hundred other de- 

 tails that enter into the growing of 

 flowers — and for that reason produce 

 stock that lacks quality or keeping 

 ability, you are doing an injury to our 

 business. 



If you want the business to grow and 

 expand, you should render 100 per cent 

 efficiency in your establishment and the 

 rest is simple. You are the one to be 

 benefited and you are the one that must 

 make the effort. No movement of any 

 nature, either through the S. A. F. or 

 a local effort, will produce good results 

 unless you personally do your share. 

 Before you criticize or condemn, always 

 ask yourself the question, ' ' Have I done 

 my part!" Not until you can answer 

 that question in the affirmative, will 

 you derive the full benefits of any na- 

 tional or local movement. 



Greater Advertising. 



Look over the list of the subscribers 

 to the national publicity fund and you 

 will find nearly all the progressive flo- 

 rists in the country. Unfortunately, 

 some of them do not subscribe to the 



