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AUGUST 22, 1012. 



The Florists' Review 



41 



THE PRESIDENT'S <;^ 

 s^ ANNUAL ADDRESS 



STRANGE as it may seem, for the 

 reason that no florists' club has 

 been more active than yours in the 

 affairs of our national society, this is 

 the first meeting of the S. A. F. in this 

 great city of Chicago since the society 's 

 organization meeting in 1884 and its 

 annual meeting in 1887. In all the 

 years which have passed since then, no 

 annual meetings have been held here. 

 At the time of the great World's Fair, 

 held here in 1893, it was thought inad- 

 visable to hold the convention in Chi- 

 cago. It was, therefore, held in your 

 annex, the city of St. Louis, although, 

 after that meeting, there was one week 

 devoted to a horticultural conference 

 in this city. Later, at the time of the 

 Milwaukee convention, our members 

 were lavishly entertained in Chicago 

 on the closing day of the meeting. At 

 various other times we have passed 

 through your city en route to our 

 annual meeting tryst, and at such times 

 we have been well and heartily 

 received. 



There is no city in the United States 

 to which we can come with greater 

 hope of a successful meeting than this, 

 for your inhabitants claim your city to 

 be the center of commerce, of popula- 

 "tion and of civilization. Their claim is 

 well put and we agree with them. 



We feel that our stay in this city is 

 ^oing to be one of wonderful interest 

 and that our sessions will be marked 

 by progress of a notable character. 



For the recommendations I am about 

 to make, I invite your earnest consid- 

 eration. Some of them may, and prob- 

 a.bly will, meet with opposition, but 

 generally through opposition only is a 

 principle best worked out. My desire 

 is that when we leave Chicago it will 

 be with the knowledge that something 

 tangible has been done for the future 

 welfare of the society of which we are 

 all so proud to be members. Let us not 

 indulge in dreams, but in action. 



On behalf of .all our members, I 

 thank you for the hearty welcome 

 received this day. 



The S. A. F. Executive Board. 



In the past history of the society, its 

 executive board, after mature delibera- 

 tion, has presented plans for the bene- 

 fit of the society which have been ruth- 

 lessly torn to pieces in general meet- 

 ing; in some instances the membership 

 has been in the right, but in most cases 

 the officers have been defeated in their 

 efforts in the direction of betterment 

 tor the society through the fact that 

 the members who influenced the results 

 of the debate had not had opportunity 

 to consider the subject from all its 

 angles, and, therefore, from lack of 

 this consideration were inimical to the 

 proposed changes, and so sought to 

 defeat them. It would be but a slight 

 expense to the society to print and 

 immediately place in the hands of each 

 individual member the full text of the 

 work of the executive board at its 



The full text of tUe Address of Uichard Vin- 

 cent, Jr., President of the Society of American 

 Florists, at the Chicago Convention, August 20, 

 1912. 



meetings. Members would then be in 

 prior possession of the reasons why 

 certain policies had been advocated 

 'And would come to a convention prop- 

 erly prepared and fully informed on 

 the subject, ready to discuss and vote 

 aye or nay, according to their convic- 

 tions. I urge that in the matter of 

 the executive board meetings more 

 light be given each individual member. 



The Office of the Secretary. 



The secretary of the society should 

 devote his entire time lo its business, 

 and his compensation should be such as 

 would justifj^ the employment of the 

 best man obtainable. I affirm that the 

 appointment of a secretary should be 

 absolutely controlled by the board of 

 directors of this society. There has 

 been much discussion on this subject 

 hitherto, but my contention is that no 

 president and board of directors of a 

 large business house, corporation or 

 bank would care to run their institu- 

 tion if its acting secretary were under 

 the control of the stockholders, and so 

 not directly responsible to himself and 

 the board. While I do not contend 



that the S. A. F. is a business proposi- 

 tion only and solely, it cannot be gain- 

 said that there is more of business 

 practice in its workings than not. In 

 other words, while our society is work- 

 ing both for the elevation of its mem- 

 bers and the benefit of the people of 

 the country at large, it is in great 

 measure controlled by its business in- 

 terests. The work to be accomplished 

 by our society in the future will be 

 due as much to its secretary as to its 

 president or its board of directors, 

 and the only men qualified to judge as 

 to the value of the secretary to the 

 society are those with whom he comes 

 in direct contact, namely, its board of 

 directors. 



A secretary whose time is to be 

 given entirely to the affairs of the 

 society can well earn a living by trav- 

 eling through the country talking up 

 the S. A. F. and obtaining members if, 

 together with the National Flower 

 Show, we present other salient benefits 

 to be derived therefrom — which we can 

 well do — such as a year book to be 

 issued by the society, a permanent 

 home, a school of horticulture wherein 

 your sons or any worthy young men 

 can be educated; all these and other 

 features will prove attractive in lead- 

 ing to an enlarged membership, the 



R. Vincent, Jr. 



I President Society of American Florists.) 



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