30 



The Florists^ Review 



Fbbbuabz 3, 1921 



It is suKfresttHi Iliat tli)> luitinunl nsKociiitioii 

 make a study of tliin problem witli the idea of 

 deTlsing II simple and standardized s.VHtem of 

 uccountinK adapted to the ueedH of tlie Hmall 

 grower. If it sliould prove feasible, a set of 

 blanks might he prepureti wiiioii would, when 

 filled in from day to day, give tiie grower the 

 information he needs regarding his own busi- 

 ness. This information is sadly Iacl<iiig in most 

 establishments and its absence is the cause of 

 many of our difilcultics. 



"These are some thi^igs for your con- 

 sideration at this mooting. Besides this 

 there are for your consideration some 

 suggestions of changes, in the constitu- 

 tion and by-laws which your officers 

 thought advisable. ' ' 



Secretary Ammann presented the re- 

 port that was published in last week's 

 issue of The Review. 



Publicity Committee's Report. 



There was brought before the meet- 

 ing the plan proposed by the national 

 publicity committee at the meeting of 

 the S. A. F. executive board January 

 2!> and approved by that body. It bore 

 the signatures of Chairman Henry 

 Penn, President Thomas Roland, Secre- 

 tary John Young, Treasurer J. J. Hess, 

 George Asmus, J. F. Ammann, Wallace 

 R. Pierson and C. C. Pollworth. The 

 committee's statement read: 



We have just closed the third year of the work 

 of carrying on national advertising and, as you 

 are aware, are now entering upon the last year 

 of our original 4-year subscription pledges, after 

 which all the first-year individual pledges will 

 have to be renewed or some other plan devised 

 for raising a fund to carry on this work further. 

 There are yet. of course, ipiite a number of 

 individual subscriptions made later on this same 

 plan that will continue in elTect at least until 

 some other plan is devised and adopted. So far. 

 this plan has served its purpose well, even 

 though not so equitably as it should; it has 

 proved quite successful in spite of precedents to 

 the contrary. 



In the three years just past, the total amount 

 of $131,056.68 has l)een collected ami of this sum 

 $113,361.91 has Ijeen paid out for advertising 

 space in such magazines as the following: 

 Saturday Evening Post, Literary Pigest, 

 Collier's Weekly, Review of Kcviews, 



American Magazine, Outlook, 



Century, Harper's. 



Scribner's, World's Work, 



Munsey's, Sunset, 



Kverybody's, Indei)endeut, 



I..ife, Hed Hook. 



Hearst's, MetroiHilitan. 



Judge, McLean's Magazine, 



Scientific American, l^eslie's, 



Atlantic Monthly, Argosy. 



Tlie balance, $17,094.77, has iKcn expended 

 for office work and all other ex|)cnse in carrying 

 on the campaign. These figures siiow that alioul 

 eighty-six and one half jicr cent cif this entire 

 sum has been spent in actual advertising and 

 about thirteen and one-lialf per cent in thr 

 entire management of the cauijiaign. 



Now the question arises, "Are we to rctii'tuh 

 or press on for still greati'r achicvcnientsV " 



Your conimitlee has given the matter of a more 

 equitable and Just plan for collecting the funds 

 for future work much consideration and, we 

 must confess, with a great deal of apprehension. 

 However, since tlie first movement of organiz- 

 ing allied trade associations for the purpose of 

 carrying on local coBperative advertising, we 

 have watched carefully its progress, and while 

 there are yet only a few cities working on this 

 plan, it has proved most successful in every 

 instance. So we luive come to the conclusion 

 tliat it is the one equitable plan through which 

 each individual and every branch of the trade 

 Justly bears its proportionate sliare of the ex- 

 pense. 



We are not unmindful of the fact, also, that by 

 ail the laws of merchandising and by many 

 precedents already at liand. the producer is, and 

 primarily should be, the national advertiser of 

 ills product, wliich in our case would be the 

 grower. Now, since the growers in every city 

 where local cofiperative advertising is being 

 carried out on the percentage plan through the 

 allied trade associations are contributing mem- 

 bers of these associations, we deem it perfectly 

 riglit and proper that a certain percentage of 

 such funds collected be put into national ad- 

 vertising, as is being done b.v some of these 

 allied trade associations. 



Hence, we recommend: 



First, that twenty-five per cent of all moneys 

 collected by such allied trade associations be 

 paid to tlie National Flower Growers' Asso- 

 ciation. 



Second, that the National Flower Growers' 

 As.sociation then become responsible for financing 

 the campaign for national advertising, adding 

 to the amounts turned over to them by the 

 allied trade organizations such additional sums 

 as the.v can acquire through their membership 

 by an assessment on glass area from those 

 growers who are not associated with allied trade 

 organizations and from individual subscriptions 

 available from supply, material, bulb and other 

 firms benefiting from the progress of our trade. 



Third, that the campaign of national adver- 

 tising be managed as heretofore by a publicity 

 committee, provided for by the constitution and 

 by-laws of the S. A. F., with the recommenda- 

 tion that the presidents, in making appointments 

 to said committee, always keep in mind tlie 

 three branches of our trade, so that a fair 

 representation of each will always be on the 

 committee. We also recommend that an ad 

 visory board be created, consisting of the presi- 

 dent of each allied trade organization, for co- 

 operative advertising, it being tlie duty of this 

 l)oard to meet once a year in Joint session with 

 the publicity committee of the S. A. F., pref- 

 erably during the national convention, for the 

 purpose of considering and planning future cam 

 paigns for national advertising. 



We might state, further, that this plan was 

 discussed with many of the leading men of all 

 the auxiliary trade organizations, including 

 growers, wholesalers and retailers, and all are 

 heartily in accord with such a plan. It has also 

 met the unanimous approval of your publicity 

 committee. 



This will, of course, mean that allied trade 

 nssociations similar to those already working so 

 successfully in Chicago. Milwaukee and other 

 I'ities should be organized in every city where 

 there is a fiower market, giving all the re- 

 tailers, wholesalers anil growers an opportunity 

 to liccoine menibcrs thereof, by setting aside a 

 small ))crcent,-igc of their total business done 

 fur cooperative advertising, .md we recommend 

 all i'i|iiilalile assessment plan as follows: 



The grower to pay one per cent on his receipts. 



'I'lie retailer ti) |iay one per cent on his jiur- 

 ( lia^^cs of idaiits. cut fldwers and greens. 



The wholesaler to pay one per cent on his 

 r«M-cipts fi-((iii ruininissious. 



All would be divided as follows: Seventy-five 

 per cent to be used locally and twenty-five per 

 cent nationally. 



To make this plan entirely equitable, an as- 

 sessment of one per cent should be made on all 

 stock going through commigsion houses, whether 

 used locally or shipped out. All wholesale 

 plant and cut flower growers should apply this 

 one per cent on all stock sold by them direct 

 as well, to make It absolutely uniform. 



Growers who are not adjacent to a large 

 market or who sell their own product, either 

 wholesale or retail, could allot their propor- 

 tionate share on a glass area basis by becoming 

 members of some district growers' organizations. 



The principal reasons for getting the National 

 Flower Growers' Association to take over the 

 financial end is to create a greater interest 

 among the growers, who, by virtue of their 

 business as producers, should be the leaders 

 in national advertising, and also to encourage 

 closer cooperation among them for the benefit 

 of the whole trade and at the same time make 

 the S. A. F. a supervising medium rather than 

 a collector. 



Growers' Amendments. 



This report had already been pre- 

 sented at a preliminary meeting of 

 growers' delegates held January 26, 

 when a committee had been appointed 

 to draft amendments deemed to have 

 been the decision of those then present. 

 This committee, consisting of Earl 

 Mann, Carl Hagenburger, J. S. Wilson 

 and J. F. Ammann, presented the fol- 

 lowing statement: 



There Is no doubt in the minds of any delegates 

 present but that the plan read is a Just, fair 

 and comprehensive one. We must not forget, 

 however, that our organization is yet in the 

 making and therefore must go slowly in under- 

 taking the part assigned to us in this gigantic 

 enterprise and yet should support the plan in 

 every way we can. Therefore, we suggest that 

 the report and plan of tlie national publicity 

 committee be approved as read, with the follow- 

 ing amendments: (1) That this organization 

 pledges one-half of the receipts from the assess- 

 ments based on glass area along with all in- 

 dividual subscriptions secured, to be appropriated 

 to the publicity campaign, and that (2) not to 

 exceed ten per cent of the sums contributed 

 by the local allied florists' associations be re- 

 served for executive expenses of the National 

 Flower Growers' Associatipn upon condition of 

 the growers' local assessments being increased 

 by all allied associations from the present one- 

 half of one per cent to one per cent. 



Much discussion followed, chiefly over 

 the details of the plan and its probable 

 outcome. It was thought, altogether, 

 that this was the most practicable 

 means of carrying on national adver- 

 tising, provided the growers' organiza- 

 tion maintained its identity as an 

 agency to solve other problems of its 

 members also. The plan, with the 

 amendments proposed, was unanimously 

 approved. 



Tliis action necessitated the change 



Exhibits that Drew the Attention of Visitors at Washington Sho-w^ Last Week. 



Left to light— Maniltsch'g Sweet Pea, Peterson \- Sons' Begonias and Cyclamens, Strout's Donald, Hartje's Seedling 



