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40: 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



AUQTJST 17," 1911: 



TABIFF AND LEGISLATION. 



[The following Is the report of the Tariff and 

 Legislative Committee, read before the Society 

 of American Florists, in conTention at Baltimore, 

 August 15 to 18, 1911.] 



The attention of your committee was 

 called to the importance of reciprocal ex- 

 change of floral products between the 

 United States and Canada. An attempt 

 on the part of your chairman to obtain 

 the opinion of not only the committee, 

 but of some of the persons who were 

 likely to be vitally interested, brought 

 out such a diversity of opinion that a 

 reconunendation was made to the execu- 

 tive committee of the S. A. F. to have 

 the subject discussed from both sides of 

 the boundary line, at this convention. 

 This was acted upon by the executive 

 committee and it is the hope of the tariff 

 and legislative committee that, after Mr. 

 Mepsted and Mr. Welch have given their 

 views on the subject, the matter will be 

 thoroughly discussed and your committee 

 fully instructed by the S. A. F. as to 

 future procedure in the matter. 



In order to view this subject intelli- 

 gently, we herewith give the American 

 duty on floral imports, the Canadian duty 

 and the concessions the Canadian Horti- 

 cultural Society was willing to make last 

 year: 



American Canadian Tw„H„„t. Canadian Duty 



Duty. Duty. iToducts. j^^^^^ p„, 



25% 171/4% Cut flowers 17%% 



Free 17%% Cut smllax and asparagus. 17%% 



Free 20% Laurel roping, laurel 



branches, bay leaves, 

 magnolia leaves and 

 branches, galas leaves, 

 leucothoe sprays, wild 

 smllax, long needle 

 pines, palm crowns, 

 cut boxwood, and all 



natural greens Free 



4c ea. 20% Rose plants, outdoor or 



greenhouse grown 20% 



25% 20% Carnation plants or cut- 

 tings 20% 



25% 20% Geraniums, coleus, salvia, 

 I>etunias, heliotrope, 

 fuchsias, Vernon be- 

 gonias, and all soft 

 wooded plants for 

 bedding 20% 



25% 20% Greenhouse plants known 



as stove plants 20% 



25% Carnations, new varieties 

 of greenhouse plants 

 and roses, free-rooted 

 cuttings or large plants 

 of carnations, roses, 

 chrysanthemums, gera- 

 niums, ferns, violets or 

 any new variety of 

 plant being sent out for 

 the first time Free 



25% Palms, azaleas, pot-grown 

 lilacs, rhododendrons, 

 aspidistras, Ficus elas- 

 tlca, Ficus pandurata, 

 bay trees, box trees, 

 aquatic plants, cacti, 

 Dutch and French 

 grown bulbs, caladlum, 

 tube -rose begonias, 

 peonies, etc Free 



25% 20% Ferns, flower pots, etc... 20% 



25% 20% Orchid plants, hardy 



perennials Free 



25% 20% Insecticide for fumigating 



purposes Free 



$5.00 per M. Free Liliums of all kinds Free 



Lily of valley pips, tulip, narcissus, begonia 



and gloxinia bulbs, |1 per thousand. 



Hyacinth, a8tlll)e, dlelytra and valley clumps, 



$2.50 per thousand. 



Lily bulbs and calla bulbs, $5 per tbonsand. 

 Peony, Iris Kaempferi and Germanlca, canna, 



dahlia and amaryllis bulbs, $10 per thousand. 

 All other bulbs cultivated for their flowers or 



foliage, 50 cents per thousand. 



Your chairman made a suggestion to 

 the Canadian Horticultural Association 

 that its members further discuss the sub- 

 ject this year, and if possible notify us 

 of a minimum rate that they would be 

 willing to accept. Mr. Mepsted, in his 

 address, will no doubt furnish this infor- 

 mation upon this subject. Your com- 

 mittee would suggest that if both socie- 

 ties could agree upon the same rate, it 

 would undoubtedly make it easier work 

 for both committees to secure what was 

 mutually desired. 



Another important subject is: House 

 Bill No. 8611 and Senate Bill No. 2870, 



both giving the Secretary of Agriculture 

 large and possibly dangerous discretion- 

 ary power over the importation of nur- 

 sery stock and some kinds of floral prod- 

 ucts. The nurserymen ask our coopera- 

 tion in their effort to have the bill amend- 

 ed, so as to have the discretionary power 

 placed within reasonable bounds. Your 

 committee again asks that you give this 

 matter earnest, not slipshod attention, 

 and that you give specific instruction as 

 to your wishes. \ 



Complaints About Express Service. 



A complaint concerning the dilatory 

 delivery of cut flowers by the U. S. Ex- 

 press Co. has been taken up with the 

 company. This complaint is brought 

 about as a result of the recent strike and 

 its solution has not progressed far enough 

 to make a definite report possible. The 

 labor trust seems to be master of the sit- 

 uation. Your chairman proniJFes to carry 

 it to its ultimate conclusion, even if it 

 leads to the Inter-State Commerce Com- 

 miaeion. 



Another complaint concerning the 

 routing of goods was taken up with the 

 express companies, and an admission that 

 their officials were in error was secured. 

 Directions were given by the express 

 companies how to secure proper service in 

 the future. 



Your committee would also suggest 

 that any information concerning the cost 

 of production, at homo or abroad, of 

 glass or any other product, entering into 

 the construction of greenhouse establish- 

 ments, will be gladly accepted and filed 

 for future use, whenever the time arrives 

 to make the information eiTectivc. 



The opinion of your committee is di- 

 vided as to the advisability of api)earing 

 before the Inter-State Commerce Com- 

 mission, against express companies, pome 

 contending that inasmuch as concessions 

 have been made in favor of flowering 

 plants and generally satisfactory service 

 has been rendered, it would not bo ad- 

 visable to make ourselves too prominent 

 in the matter. My own opinion is that 

 we should have the. evidence to make a 

 good case before we carry a grievance 

 to the commission, and that in all cases 

 it might be well first to endeavor to 

 rectify the matter complained of by ap- 

 plication to the companies themselves. 

 EespectfuUy submitted, 



John G. Esler, Chairman. 



J. C. Vaughan, 



J. Otto Thilow, 



Prank Traendly, 



P.. Welch, 



E. G. Hill. 



WASHINGTON REPRESENTATIVE. 



[Report of Wm. P. Gude, permanent Washing- 

 ton representative of the S. A. F., presented at 

 Baltimore.] 



I appeared before the committee on 

 postoffice and post roads of the House 

 of Kepresentatives of the United 

 States, at its meeting June 14, 1911, in 

 favor of a parcels post and lower postal 

 rates. 



My address was along lines essential- 

 ly needed by the florists and seedsmen 

 and was in favor of a flat rate. To 

 make this clear to some few members, 

 who have not made a detailed study 

 of the matter, a flat rate is one rate 

 from any given point to all other 

 points, so that we can ship our product 

 to any point for one flat postage rate. 



Some bills are now under considera- 

 tion for a zone system, say twenty-five, 

 fifty, seventy-five or 100 miles or more, 

 where the postage would be according 



to distance, and have much in their 

 favor, for anything that will lower the 

 cost is good. 



The national granges favor the flat 

 rate, while the jobbing and commercial 

 elements favor the zone system. 



In answer to the chairlnan's inquiry, 

 "In what way do you represent your 

 organization?" I stated that I was 

 appointed by the president of the or- 

 ganization and I told him that our 

 charter, which we hold from the United 

 States government, is signed by Presi- 

 dent McKinley. I stated, further, that 

 at our convention held three years ago, 

 a unanimous vote was passed in favor 

 of parcels post. The seedsmen and flo- 

 rists probably need a parcels post more 

 than anyone else, for the reason that 

 they need a service by which they can 

 send their goods at a rate they can 

 afford to pay. The chairman asked, 

 "You are here as a representative of 

 that great organization?" "Yes, sir." 

 ' ' And to give their views as to parcels 

 post?" "Yes, sir." "Go ahead." I 

 said: "I am here to state that this 

 resolution has been passed, not by a 

 few members, but in an annual conven- 

 tion the matters were discussed fully 

 and three separate and distinct times 

 they have passed a unanimous resolu- 

 tion favoring the establishment of a 

 parcels post by the United States gov- 

 ernment similar to that which has been 

 passed in other countries." In speak- 

 ing of a rate we could afford to pay, I 

 stated it should be a happy medium 

 between the rate charged by the ex- 

 press company and the first-class post- 

 age rate now charged on flowers. 



Nature of Florists' Shipments. 



The great majority of our shipments 

 weigh more than four pounds, which we 

 are permitted to send on account of 

 the packing in some material sufficient- 

 ly strong to reach the purchaser in 

 proper condition; frequently the pack- 

 ing itself weighs more than the con- 

 tents. 



The express rate on flowers is more 

 than that of ordinary merchandise. The 

 increase to the eleven-pound limit would 

 increase the florists' shipments four 

 times. 



Our goods are shipped by first-class 

 postage because we believe they go 

 through more promptly, even though 

 they must be called for at the rural 

 offices. This is the best kind of busi- 

 ness for the United States government 

 to handle, being short hauls only, at 

 first-class postage rates. 



In the south we are somewhat handi- 

 capped on many shipments by having 

 to wait twenty-three hours before flow- 

 ers leave by express. This condition, 

 we believe, would be altered by parcels 

 post. In a good many of the larger 

 cities of the south there is only one 

 express service a day. The south will 

 be helped materially if we can get 

 flowers and seeds by an eleven-pound 

 parcels post, well managed (as we man- 

 age all things well in the south when 

 we have the opportunity). 



Now, gentlemen, speaking for the 

 Society of American Florists, an organ- 

 ization composed of men who are emi- 

 nent florists and horticulturists, as well 

 as seedsmen and nurserymen, and men 

 who do business largely to promote the 

 assthetic part of man and act as a lift- 

 ing power, if I may so put it, to hu- 

 manity, let me say: The most promi- 

 nent men in our line in all the large 

 cities are members of this organization, 

 and it comprises more than 1,000 mem- 



