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NOVEMBEB 11, 190S). 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



29 



John Walker, Youngstown, 0. 

 W. J. Smytb, Chicago. 

 A. Lange, Chicago. 



E. Wlenhoeber, Chicago. 

 John Mangel, Chicago. 



' Pennock Bros., Philadelphia. 

 Clarke Bros., Portland, Ore. 

 C. A. Samuelson, Chicago. 

 Jacob Schulz, LoulSTiUe. 

 Schiller Estate, Chicago. 

 S. A. Anderson, Buffalo. 



F. C. Weber, St. Louis. 



F. H. Melnhardt, St. Louis. 



Mark Aitken, Springfield, Mass. 



W. J. Palmer, Buffalo. , 



J. S. Wilson, Dea Moines, la. 



C. P. Mueller, Wichita, Kan. 



A. Graham & Son, Cleveland. 



A. S. Swansou, St. Paul. 



YouDg & Nugent, New York. 



Arthur Newell, Kansas City. 



Holm & Olson, St. Paul. 



A. Sunderbruch & Son, Clncianati, 



C. H. Frey, Lincoln, Neb. 



A. R. Baumer, LouiSTlUe, Ky. 



A. W. Smith, Pittsburg. 



Hoyt & Bros. Co., Spokane, Wash. 



Byron H. Itcs, Albuquerque, N. Mez. 



F. H. Lemon & Co., Uichmond, Ind. 



Koenig Floral Co., St. Louis. 



Qude Bros. Co., Washington. 



J. T. Temple, Davenport, la. 



J. P. Wilcox, Council Bluffs, la. 



H. R. Comley, Boston, Mass. 



Hess & Swoboda, Omaha. 



W. H. Culp, Wichita, Kan. 



Chapin Bros., Lincoln, Neb. 



Jacksonville Floral Co., Jacksonville, Fla. 



W. L. Rock, Kansas City. 



J. Breitmeyer's Sons, Detroit. 



Sam Murray, Kansas City. 



J. F. Sullivan, Detroit. 



Delivery in Other Cities. 



Probably there is not a retailer present 

 today who has not, at some time, been 

 worried as to haw he could properly 

 effect a delivery at some distant point. 

 Most of us have had some unpleasant ex- 

 perience resulting from selecting a name 

 haphazard from the Florists' Directory. 

 Such a man may have gone out of busi- 

 ness, he may have a place largely de- 

 voted to vegetables and treat the flower 

 business as an insignificant side issue, or 

 he may be one of those cautious people 

 afraid to hand out the flowers unless he 

 can take in the coin at the same time. 



Then there comes the matter of dis- 

 counts. Some say fifteen per cent should 

 be allowed, others say twenty per cent, 

 and I find that still others say twenty- 

 five per cent. 



Some florists will remit as soon as they 

 get a bill; the majority take thirty days 

 and some settle when they have no other 

 pressing need of the money. 



The detailed directions for delivery 

 often make it necessary to send long and 

 expensive telegrams. The florist in a 

 small town may gladly fill an order for 

 a dollar's worth of carnations and think 

 himself properly paid at 50 cents per 

 dozen, while the man on Fifth avenue 

 will feel that the expense of a long de- 

 livery would make an order for a dollar 

 a nuisance and that high rents compelled 

 him to charge three times as much per 

 dozen as the village florist. 



We will have accomplished a great deal 

 if we can form an organization that shall 

 include one or more representatives in 

 every city of the country, who can be de- 

 pended on to properly fill orders from 

 any other member, at a rate of discount 

 fixed in advance. We must devise some 

 plan where the prompt payment for such 

 orders is made certain. 



We must have a telegraph code that is 

 practical, concise and comprehensive. 

 The members should be kept as fully 

 posted as practicable concerning the 

 prices prevailing in different localities. 



I think we will find no serious diffi- 

 culty except in the two points, which may 

 be said to involve the character of the 

 members; viz., will the recipient of an 

 order fill it properly and will the sender 

 pay for the goods f 



Of these two questions the former is 

 the more difficult, but I believe it will be 



Table of Orchids Shown at New York by Lager & Hurrell, Summit^ N. J. 



solved. Any member should see that his 

 self-interest demands the proper filling 

 of orders intrusted to him by another 

 florist. We must not allow the adoption 

 of any rule that would compel members 

 to send their orders to any given florist. 

 This would be fatal. Each member must 

 feel that the securing of orders is as- 

 sisted by membership in the organization, 

 but that the retention of patronage de- 

 pends upon the quality of the service 

 rendered. 



An offender may not attend the annual 

 conventions, but he may be sure others 

 will do so, and that they will exchange 

 notes and get a line on how orders are 

 being filled by different people. If serv- 

 ices were bad enough it might well be 

 the cause for expulsion, but if it were 

 at all bad the majority of members 

 would soon know about it. 



We should encourage our customers to 

 make inquiries from their friends and to 

 report on all deliveries, but in consider- 

 ing such reports we should bear in mind 

 the disposition of some people to com- 

 plain in season and out of season. 



The Credit Problem. 



The matter of credits is difficult at 

 first sight, but seems certain of solution. 

 In the first place the membership should 

 cost enough so that it will be too valua- 

 ble to lose for a trifling bill. In the 

 next place make the annual dues enough 

 so that the organization can afford to 

 exercise close supervision in the matter 

 of accounts. 



I have given considerable thought to 



this particular feature and am inclined 

 to think that the following plan is prac- 

 tical and equitable. In addition to a 

 fixed membership fee, let the member or 

 members from each city pay into the 

 treasury a sum based on the population 

 of their city. If there is only one mem- 

 ber from any certain city he should pay 

 it all; if a second member comes in from 

 that city he should pay one-half of the 

 population fee, which should then be re- 

 funded to the first member, and so on, 

 no matter how many come in from that 

 one city. The total population fee in the 

 treasury from each city should remain 

 constant, and each member from each 

 city should have paid an equal amount 

 with the other members from his same 

 city. 



Let the money so paid be invested and 

 the interest from such investment be 

 combined with the -membership fees to 

 form a guarantee fund. Should any 

 member fail or refuse to pay a bill, due 

 to any other member, within a specified 

 time, say sixty days, the bill should be 

 presented to the proper committee and, 

 if it is found correct, it should be paid 

 from the guarantee fund, thus consuming 

 the membership fee of the delinquent 

 member and severing his connection with 

 the association. 



In case the account is a disputed one, 

 provide that the debtor may pay, to the 

 arbitration committee, the amount 

 claimed, to await their decision as to 

 what amount is justly due, and in such 

 case his membership would not be af- 

 fected. 



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