FlBBUARY 3, 1921 



The Rorists' Review 



29 



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OBOWEBS CHANGE FLAN. 



Beorganlze for Publicity. 



The limelight at Washington last 

 week was on the National Flower 

 Growers ' Association, which made plans, 

 following recommendations proposed by 

 the national publicity committee and 

 approved by the S. A. F. board of di- 

 rectors, that will, if carried out, bring 

 a new era in florists' publicity. There 

 is evidence that the plans, if given 

 support by the trade in general, will be 

 carried out in the list of officers elected 

 at the first annual meeting, legally 

 speaking, of the association, January 27. 

 W. J. Keimel, of Elmhurst, 111., was 

 reelected president. James W. Hea- 

 cock, of Philadelphia, was elected vice- 

 president. Secretary J. F. Ammanni 

 and Treasurer Wallace R. Pierson will 

 be continued in their offices by the 

 board of directors, it is believed. The 

 directors, now seven in- number, are: 

 Earl H. Mann, Richmond, Ind.; ioseph 

 Kohout, Libertyville, 111., and E. Allan 

 Peirce, Waltham, Mass., for three years; 

 Carl Hagenburger, West Mentor, O., 

 and Wallace J. Pilcher, Kirkwood, Mo., 

 for two years, and Thomas Roland, 

 Nahant, Mass., and J. S. Wilson, Des 

 Moines, la., for one year. 



President's Address. 



The big subject to come before the 

 meeting was foreshadowed by Presi- 

 dent Keimel 's remarks in his official 

 address. He said: 



"The main object of this organiza- 

 tion is to put our business on an equal 

 plane with other up-to-date business 

 organizations and we can only accom- 

 plish this through thorough cobperation 

 and national advertising, keeping our 

 product continually in the mind of the 

 public. In the last three years, through 

 the publicity campaign of the S. A. F., 

 much has been accomplished, and it is 

 the duty of the men on the producing 

 end to carry on this work and put it on 

 a solid footing. 



"To do this it will be necessary for 

 us to set aside a small part of our earn- 

 ings for this purpose. There is now a 

 plan started in several cities by which 

 the grower is assessed a small percent- 

 age of his gross receipts and the retail 

 florist a percentage on his purchases. 

 In most cases seventy-five per cent of the 

 amount so collected is used for local 

 advertising for the benefit of the re- 

 tail florist and twenty-five per cent for 

 national publicity for the benefit of all 

 Up to date I believe this assessment on 

 the retail florist affects only the local 

 people in the city where such assess-* 

 • ment is made, and as at least fifty per 

 cent of the stock usually sold through 

 the wholesale houses of such cities is 

 shipped out, it has been considered 

 equitable to assess the grower half the 

 amount of the retail florist. This is the 

 plan now in effect in Milwaukee and 

 Chicago and, I believe, expected to be 



S« '^f A" '"'"^ °^ t^*' «ther large 

 cities of the country. Now I would 

 recommend that this plan be started 

 wherever possible through the local dis- 



tricts of the National Flower Growers' 

 Association and the plan be so changed 

 that the assessment be levied on all 

 retail purchases, local and shij)piug, and 

 the grower be assessed the same per- 

 centage on his gross receipts, seventy- 

 five i)cr cent of the amount so collected 

 to be used locally for advertising and the 

 other twenty-five per cent to be turned 

 over to the National Flower Growers ' 

 Association, which will use it, in addi- 

 tion to sucli funds as will be collected 

 from growers not contributing tlirough 

 the assessment plan and sums collected 

 through other sources, in financing na- 

 tional publicity. If this plan is worked 

 out there is no doubt that in a few years 

 the growers' association will be as 

 strong and do as much good for the 

 growers as the Florists' Telegraph De- 

 livery Association is doing at present 

 for the retail florists. 



"Such a plan will naturally induce 

 the grower to pay more attention to his 

 accounts. This opens another field for 

 this association by helping its members 

 in working up a uniform system of 

 bookkeeping, whereby a cost system can 

 be worked out to show if a business is 

 run at a profit or a loss and in this way 

 help to overcome unfair competition. 



"Si;caking of unfair competition, a 

 district organization ' sent to the na- 

 tional office the following communica- 

 tion: 



At a inc'ctiiiK of llic executive oniiimittee of 

 llie westini New York district of tlie Xiitional 

 FIowi r CroHers' .\sso<iatiiiii, tlie matter of bulb 

 auctions iu New Yorli cit.v was discussed. 



M:iii.v of our meuil)ers. being assured tliat no 

 liiiil s would Ih- sliipped to tliis country frim 

 ll(dl.ind except sucli as were ordered in ad- 

 v:inie. iHHiKlit tlieir supplies of Dutcii bulbs and 

 conlnictid to pay for tliem at tlie liigli prices 

 (pioted by tlie bulb salesmen in the spring. 



Xow, in siiite of these assurances, millions of 

 bulbs which England refused to accept at the 

 exorbitant prices are being thrown on the 

 .\merican market. This exposes our growers to 

 c<inipetition from those who l)Ought surplus 

 bulbs, which are being sold far below the con- 

 tract i)rices. 



Our association wishes to register a protest 

 agiiinsi tills situation and urge the national 

 jiKsociation to take drastic action to prevent the 

 repetition of this situation. We would also 

 request the natituial association to Investigate 

 and determine the source of these bulbs which 

 are being thrown upon the market and publish 

 this infoimaticn through the membership so that 

 lliey may refuse to pay the long price in cases 

 «here there has l)een misrepresentation. 



"Another district organization sent 

 the following: 



This .■issocliition would welcome from you some 

 suggestions as to the correct methods for taking 

 inventory in greenhouses from the viewpoint of 

 inc(mie tax. 



The (piestion also arises as to the proper rate 

 of depreciation on houses of iron-frame and 

 wood constructicui and the correct method of 

 accounting for it. 



James W. Heacock. 



(Kloctod Vice-president of the National Flower O.-owers' Association I«ist Week.) 



