FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
93 
Florida Horticulturists, and this league 
represents in a concrete and definite form 
the evolution of this idea. 
It is well that we have the purpose of 
the League clearly in mind. Perhaps I 
can do no better, indeed, I am very sure 
that I cannot, than quote from the re¬ 
port of the committee on organization, 
made at the Tampa meeting of April 17, 
1913. The purposes as outlined by this 
committee have been the standards 
toward which we have been working dur¬ 
ing the few months the League has been 
fully established. The following para¬ 
graphs very clearly outline these stand¬ 
ards. 
“The purpose of the organization is to 
secure equitable rates of transportation to 
all markets, on all Florida fruits and veg¬ 
etables, and on materials and supplies per¬ 
taining thereto, and to otherwise protect 
the interests of the fruit and vegetable 
growers and shippers of the State of 
Florida, including such legislation as may 
be necessary, and endeavor by every 
proper means to procure the enactment of 
laws both national and state for the prop¬ 
er protection of the fruit and vegetable 
industries of Florida, and to take 
from time to time such action to further 
extend and inprove the fruit and vege¬ 
table industries as may be deemed 
advisable; and to do any and all 
other things that will advance the 
fruit and vegetable interests of the state. 
Your committee suggests that the 
League should be organized for the pur¬ 
pose of attending to the various matters 
that are of vital importance to the fruit 
and vegetable growing interests of the 
State—that it should be entirely sepa¬ 
rate and apart from any marketing or¬ 
ganization of any kind, and under direct 
control of the delegates appointed by the 
growers themselves from the various 
fruit and vegetable districts of the state, 
and should have in charge all matters 
relating to the tariff, reciprocity treatise, 
legislation as to railroad rates, private car 
lines, routing, icing, etc.—the protection 
of growers by the passage of proper laws 
such as are in force in other states to pre¬ 
vent the introduction of insects and dis¬ 
eases, and all other kindred matters in 
which fruit and vegetable growers are 
alike interested.” 
The history of the League during 1913 
is well known to the most of you. Mr. 
Hamner carried on his vigorous cam¬ 
paign of organization, holding meet¬ 
ings at many points in the state, and 
emphasizing with great force the need 
of such an organization. Mr. Hamner 
was especially well qualified for this 
type of work, and it is due to his un¬ 
tiring efforts that a membership list of 
1,002 was handed over to your new sec¬ 
retary on the first of January. Dur¬ 
ing the organization work the head¬ 
quarters of the league were located in 
Tampa. When it came to establishing 
permanent headquarters every one felt 
that we should make no mistake. The 
matter was gone into carefully, and 
many different places were considered. 
Members of the league from different 
parts of the state were consulted, and 
there was practically a unanimous 
choice in favor of Orlando. Suitable 
office facilities could be obtained there. 
There were good railroad connections to 
nearly all parts of the state, and what 
