FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
Mr. Temple was born in this state at 
Starke in 1862 so that he was a compar¬ 
atively young man of 55 when he died. 
His early youth was spent largely in grove 
or lumber camp and before he was 21 he 
was in full charge of a grove for a promi¬ 
nent grower of that time. However, the 
call of the world was loud, and to a man 
of his vision, appealing, and so in 1884 we 
see him going north to seek his fortune. 
We are all inclined to look at Mr. Temple 
as a very wealthy man but this was not 
always true as he has told me that there 
were times when the scratching was very 
hard and that he hardly knew where the 
next meal was coming from. I thing it 
needless to recite his biography, to tell 
how he finally succeeded and became a 
great factor in the steel business, and as¬ 
sociate of Carnegie and Mr. Frick and a 
trusted advisor. It is my understanding 
that when the great steel trust was formed 
Mr. Temple sold out his holdings for a 
substantial sum and came back to his be¬ 
loved Florida, not, however, without try¬ 
ing California and other places but never 
finding one as dear to him as his own 
native state. We all know more or less 
of his connection with the citrus industry 
and the formation of the Florida Citrus 
Exchange, of which he was manager from 
June, 1910, to May, 1912. We can re¬ 
member his strenuous work for the affili¬ 
ated growers, of his strong fight against 
the shipment of green fruit and how he 
made bitter enemies by his vigorous 
work. Whether or not Mr. Temple’s 
policy was right we all concede that he 
was fighting for what he believed to be 
right and doing his best for the industry 
as a whole as he saw the light. 
151 
Mr. Temple was almost a life-long 
member of this society, believing in its 
work and being a consistent attendant, 
and it is fitting that we, assembled here, 
should pay tribute to him and his memory 
and I am glad indeed that the constructing 
of this testimonial should have fallen to 
me, the one who appreciated his goodness 
and loved him well. He was the best 
friend I ever had outside of my own 
family and to his wisdom and forethought 
do I owe not a little of the worldly gain 
I am possessed of today. 
Were a star quenched on high, 
For ages would its light 
Still downward through the sky 
Shine on our mortal sight; 
So when a great man dies 
And fades beyond our ken, 
The light he leaves behind him lies 
Upon the paths of men. 
I could tell many a tale of Mr. Temple’s 
kindness and generosity, to others and 
to myself, but he was not one to brag of 
such deeds, and I shall not for him, but 
I am sure that the recording angel has a 
shining page made up for him to counter¬ 
balance any lack of piety, for Mr. Temple 
was not a religious man. 
It was my melancholy duty to attend 
the funeral of my old friend, and as I 
looked upon that strong face for the last 
time the thought came to me of one of his 
sayings, "that every successful business 
is a monument to some one man,” and I 
realized that here had been a master of 
men indeed, one that had made a splendid 
success in every line he had ever under¬ 
taken, and then I looked over the sorrow- 
