26 



The Florists^ Review 



JANUAUY 13, 1921 



groups di' tradf.siiu'ii outsiik' tlie Juris- 

 diction of the Chicago Florists' Club, 

 organizations that would make spokes 

 of strength for the wheel of the Chi- 

 cago Florists' Club. 



The retailers, the growers, the whole- 

 sale distributors and the miscellaneous 

 allied tradesmen — in our own member- 

 ship we rej)resent all tliese trades, but 

 have failed to represent them in our 

 business activities; hence the organiz- 

 ing of the so-called competitive, sepa- 

 rate trade organizations. 



Some in the trade deplore the number 

 of separate florists' organizations that 

 we have in Chicago, believing we have 

 arrived at a new jjoint for service and 

 centralization, because of these dupli- 

 cations of time-taking, separate, intle- 

 pendent meetings, of energj' and of 

 dues for their sustenance. 



Branches Becognize Interdependence. 



We cannot have too many trade or- 

 ganizations, jirovided their work is effi- 

 cient. These new local trade bodies 

 just hurried and made more certain the 

 plans and the necessity for reorganizing 

 the Chicago Florists' Club in order to 

 bring on the movement towards their 

 centralization. The new order of things 

 must be recognized, and that could only 

 begin after these sejiarate local trade 

 branches had shown their need for 

 separ;ite organization, and this is the 

 time in my estimation for a readjust- 

 ment, to invite these separate trade or- 

 ganizations to meet us and find a way 

 to unite. 



Our meetings of the future should be 

 something more than of general inter- 

 est, since the wholesaler has learned to 

 become directly interested in the affairs 

 of the grower and the grower has 

 learned to take a direct interest in the 

 distributors of their products, both 

 wholesaler and retailer, and the grower 

 and wholesiiler to solve the jiroblems of 

 each of the membership here, that com- 

 prises all the classes of the trade. Great 

 as is the work done by the independent 

 local bodies, vastly more can be done 

 by the combination of all these organi- 

 zations under the auspices of the Chi- 

 cago Florists' Club. The separate local 

 organizations will soon find that the 

 cooperation of the other organizations 

 will be needed to perfect and to extend 

 their own individual work. We possess 

 all the men to meet the issues of each 

 trade division and settle smoothly all 

 their sc]iarate jiroblcms for the best of 

 all concerned. 



Organization for Improvement. 



Sometimes I think the name of our 

 club is not quite the proper one for 

 this broad cosmopolitan central organi- 

 zation that comprises all the trades 

 within the scope of floriculture, a name 

 that seemingly indicates that we are 

 mainly a (•f)mmercial organization for 

 the jiurpfises of anuispment, when in 

 reality it is created mainly for business. 

 We are the one organization for true 

 and practical cooperation, the one in- 

 stitution that was designed by its 

 founders to put into execution trade 

 improvements. No matter what we 

 think we are, we must either coo])erate 

 with the specialized trade organizations 

 or form a new organization here by a 

 revision of our by-laws. Our member- 

 ship under jiropcr trade divisions can 

 form a legislative body to enact trade 

 laws for trade betterment that should 

 meet all the problems of our trade divi- 

 sions, a coo]ieration of service between 



them that will be effective toward a 

 settlement of all the questions at issue. 



With a definite plan of reorganization 

 we can accomplish definite work. Un- 

 less the Chicago Florists' Club can be 

 of benefit to its entire membership, it 

 lias no right to exist. Our work of or- 

 ganization must not be scattered, our 

 efforts must not be duplicated. By cen- 

 tralization we can lay out a course to 

 pursue, applicable to all our particular 

 needs. 



All that is needed is the necessary 

 revenue of the various outside local 

 trade bodies in order to carry on diver- 

 sified trade requirements, and so com- 

 bined that with one common fund we 

 can put over the things we set out to 

 do. A revision of our by-laws, a re- 

 organization plan of operation with the 

 funds at our disposal that can assist 

 each class to obtain their objectives for 

 which they organized themselves. These 

 sei)arate organizations could assure us 

 of a larger attendance at our meetings, 

 with the benefit to all the trade divi- 

 sions. These separate trade divisions 

 within the Chicago Florists' Club would 

 mean a handsome increase in our mem- 

 bership, an increasing treasury. Our ac- 

 complishments will multiply and our in- 

 fluence will spread nationally and raise 

 the Chicago trade to a place of prestige 

 in keeping with its importance. 



Nature's Illustration. 



Nature gives to the grower a daily 

 illustration that food, heat, air and 

 moisture compose the essentials that the 

 growers deal with; each element needs 

 the other to produce the flower by which 

 we gain our livelihood. When nature 

 thus proves to us to be the world's 

 greatest coiiperator, then we certainly 

 can follow her example to conserve our 

 strength, to attract attention for the 

 further development of progress, to 

 centralize our own organization flower. 



We cannot function j)roperly until we 

 have a plan that will induce the sepa- 

 rate speci.'ilized trade organizations to 

 become directly identified with the 

 business activities of the Chicago Flo- 

 rists' Club and thus bring about a re- 

 lationship so necessary for teamwork. 

 The Chicago Florists' Club by trade 

 divisions can give certain individual 

 benefits to reach their objectives just 

 as if these local bodies were operating 

 separately, possess a closer relationship 

 without destroying the value and indi- 

 viduality of any one of them, a plan by 

 which the local bodies as trade divi- 

 sions will continue to act for themselves 

 and at the same time be in concert with 

 each other. The Chicago Florists' Club 

 will respect the rights of each of these 

 bodies as they stand to improve them- 

 selves. 



Why should we continue to sustain 

 separate organizations within the flori- 

 cultural industry when each of these 

 local bodies represents only a part of 

 the strur-ture we contemplate complet- 

 ing? 



To Accomplish Most. 



Who will deny that when we create 

 trade divisions within the Chicago Flo- 

 rists' Club each trade division will first 

 serve itself and then serve us in the 

 same way as has been shown by those 

 of our members serving the Allied Flo- 

 rists' Association? If they as directors 

 have demonstrated to us what can be 

 accomplished in one direction toward 

 publicity, that is just what we propose 

 to do in all directions. When each trade 

 division of the Chicago Florists' Club 



places its valuable time at the disposal 

 of the others, follow within the Chicago 

 Florists' Club the same example of 

 service, then we shall also show accom- 

 plishments of the highest order. 



Every Thursday of the year indicates 

 plainly the time each member of a local 

 body is obliged to give to attend the 

 different meetings. Such number of 

 meetings can be reduced. If we obtain 

 only a part of the money that is now 

 paid into the separate organizations our 

 revenues will increase fourfold, each 

 trade division will get four times the 

 results and four times the money's 

 worth. As we are running along now, 

 each trade body is only as strong as its 

 membership and resources. I believe 

 the Chicago Florists' Club, by a differ- 

 ent plan, can give divisional trade mem- 

 berships the advantages they possess 

 now by themselves and get it for less 

 money, time and energy. 



A radical departure from our past 

 habits will be placed before you to sub- 

 stantiate the statements made in this 

 message. Think over these suggestions 

 carefully and read the plan, a plan 

 within the Chicago Florists' Club that 

 I believe will extend all the facilities 

 and be a guarantee to the wished-for 

 purposes of^ the now separated trade 

 bodies, a plan to be the first and final 

 step to eflSciency for all of them, to the 

 end that result-getting will be the prime 

 service of the Chicago Florists' Club, 

 a plan to preserve all the good of this 

 pioneer organization and eliminate some 

 of its weaknesses, a plan to initiate ac- 

 tion at the opening of the next meeting 

 to get the sujtport of the outside organi- 

 zations, first in joining us by becoming 

 members here and thus again set an ex- 

 ample of the spirit, "I will," and main- 

 tain the su])remacy of the Chicago mar- 

 ket and progressive leadership! 



NEW YORK CLUB MEETS. 



Opens New Year. 



The first meeting of the New York 

 Florists' Club for the year was held in 

 the regular quarters in the Engineering 

 Societies' building, Monday evening, 

 January 10, with a good attendance. In 

 the absence of President A. M. Henshaw, 

 who is convalescing at his home after his 

 recent illness and operation, Vice-Presi- 

 dent C. W. Knight occupied the chair. 



Percy B. Rigby, for the board of trus- 

 tees, reported that the board had beeu in 

 session that morning and had audited the 

 accounts of the club, when everything 

 was found in order and the club had a 

 balance of $19,596.42 in the treasury. 

 Mr. Rigby pointed out that the club's 

 expenditures for the year just passed 

 exceeded the income by a few hundred 

 dollars, and ,the deficiency had been made 

 up from the flower show fund. He did 

 not believe that such a condition should 

 arise. The officers were blameless, re- 

 sponsibility resting with the club as a 

 body, in voting its expenditures. lie be- 

 lieved a budget system should be put 

 into effect. Mr. Knight, as chairman of 

 the board, stated that the board recom- 

 mended the employment of a certified 

 accountant to go over all accounts at 

 stated inter\als, and that Mr. Rigby be 

 engaged to do the work. On motion the 

 recommendation was adopted. 



Installation of Officers. 



Installation of officers being then in 

 order, the chairman called upon F. H. 

 Traendly and A. L. Miller to escort Pres 



