OUR MESSAGE (continued) 
wages helped to purchase the products of our country were cut off from the 
commercial cooperation so essential to a Nation’s well-being. The sales of 
merchandise dwindled to its lowest ebb, the prices of commodities fell below 
the cost of production. Mainly firms having adequate reserves could survive. 
It was very noticeable that some lines of industry suffered more than 
other lines; this was true in particular with the nursery and flower business. 
It belonged in a large measure in a class generally regarded as luxury. As far 
as flowers are concerned I regard them as important as food, they have 
always been and will always be instrumental in helping us to express all that 
is high and fine in our daily contacts. But when millions of our people must 
count and weigh every penny they spend for a bare subsistance; shelter, food 
and clothing are the things that must come first. 
Now that every sign post points to rapid improvement, we find that in 
many cases the people who survived the storm did so mainly because of two 
reasons; first among them were the people with ample financial reserves, the 
other group were the people giving the Very highest type of commercial ser¬ 
vice which retained a loyal patronage even in the face of the most adverse 
situations. The people who were able to maintain their business without loss 
were most fortunate, very few actually increased their business to any great 
extent thru the years known as the “Depression Years.” We were not in the 
class having any particular financial reserve as our expanding business re¬ 
quired all our surplus. 
In 1929 the last of the “boom years” our catalog contained but twelve 
pages, 9 by 12 inches, we increased the size to 16 pages in 1930, and in 
1931, the beginning of the second year of the depression, we increased our 
catalog to 20 pages. In 1932 to 24 pages, in 1933-34 to 32 pages and our 
new catalog is 36 pages. We plan to have 44 to 48 pages by next year. I 
have reasons to feel that this steady, healthy growth, and normal increase of 
business in the most serious years of the depression is due entirely to the 
foundation of our business on the “rock” of that new service which, if you 
scan the horizon with care, you will find sure signs of its dawning. True it 
has always been with us in some degree, but humanity purged by suffering 
will more and more insist on this type of service. In its simplest terms, it is 
mainly this, “Give your best to the world (God’s Humanity) , and the world 
will return the same to you even in greater measure.” 
We need a simpler code of living, one of honest brotherhood and un¬ 
selfish service. Profits are an absolute necessity if any business is to func¬ 
tion under our system of society but profits should not be the main incentive 
in business. They should be large enough to pay just wages, to all workers, 
and a fair compensation to the owner, but the chief incentive should be the 
very highest service to humanity first, and then depending in faith in the great 
law, we should know that the reward is sure. Then we, like Abu Ben 
Adhem, will find our names among the blessed. 
OUR NEW CATALOG 
Is free as long as our extra copies last, but when they are gone the best 
we can do is enter your name on our “active list” and then send you our 
“Special Spring List”. This will have some good bargains but will not be as 
large and complete as our Annual, but you will receive the next seasons 
catalog and the following ones until we again re-check our list. Spring 
lists will be mailed later in the spring. 
