THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
247 
port comes in promptly, giving definite numbers and rea¬ 
sons, the probability is that it is right and allowance for 
such cases is a legitimate over-head expense for every 
nurseryman, and should be figured in our selling prices. 
What about the unjust ones? A nurseryman once told 
me that he figured on paying freight bills with bis claims 
for shortage and rejected stock, and am quite well con¬ 
vinced that others are working on about that basis, al¬ 
though they don’t tell about it. If you have sand enough 
to call for a show down and run the risk of offending a 
customer (although such customers are generally costly 
ones in the end) it is easy enough for them to claim a 
mistake in reports from cellar or that goods have been 
misplaced or destroyed. Eliminating all proper and hon¬ 
est claims, think any of you engaged in the wholesale 
business will agree with me, that there are many claims 
made, aggregating large amounts, every season that 
should never be entertained or allowed, that in some in¬ 
stances we are forced to carry the risks of our customer’s 
business and have thrown back on us, the damage to 
goods in transit, or caused by improper handling and 
care for stock after received, saying nothing of claims 
from the man who bought early and finds the market go¬ 
ing against him, or the man who overbought and figures 
will have a surplus. In fact, the man who tries, and 
often succeeds in making his creditors stand part of tlie 
loss caused by bis poor judgment as to when and what 
to buy. Common business integrity should cause us to 
stand our own losses and to report promptly on receipt 
any claims we may have for adjustment, and yet every 
June and December in response to season statements come 
deduction and claim for allowance on stock shipped some 
times months before, and for which no previous report 
or claim has been made. 
What are we going to do about it? Judging from past 
experience, grin or not, but surely bear it, and in effect 
put our seal of approval on the other fellows’ sharp or 
dishonest practices. Perhaps it might be well for all ol 
us to do a little thinking along the line of grading, both 
our own and the other fellow’s stock. Remember just 
what was done with the block that was a little injured 
one winter, or that made up almost, but not quite to best 
grade. Give the other fellow credit for being just as 
anxious for a square deal as we are until we know to 
the contrary. 
Those of us who have two sets of graders, one working 
on stock received and one on our own growing might 
switch the gangs, say once a week. Does any one really 
think if the members of the American Association oi 
Nurserymen would live up to our long established terms? 
No claims considered that are not made within live days 
after receipt of goods; that we are not responsible for 
loss or damage alter delivery to carriers in good condition 
properly packed, that we would not shut off at least the 
larger part of unjust rejections. If we held our accounts 
open, refused to give more credit until settlement was 
made, in fact insisted on what was right, and only that, 
while it might cost some of us on the send off the loss ol 
a few orders, it certainly could not held in the end. all 
who are honestly striving for the betterment of our bus¬ 
iness. It does seem that this class, the vast majority ol 
our members ought to have the sand to stand together on 
a few business propositions and not allow a small min¬ 
ority to establish terms that are neither right nor just 
because we may possibly lose the profit on a few orders. 
THE REAL EFFECT OF PRICE CUTTING ON THE 
TOTAL CONSUMPTION OF NURSERY STOCK 
By Lloyd Stark, Vice President of Stark Bros., Nursery¬ 
men, at Louisiana, Mo. 
U PON my return from a southern tour, during the 
course of which I conferred with our honored 
president, Mr. Henry R. Chase, it occurred to me 
that we nurserymen needed to got together on the subject 
of cut throat salesmanship. 
Rut before going further, let me ask YOU a question 
let me ask each individual member! 
As an investment, which looked best to you last spring 
—top size apples at 5 cents or top size ‘ Cherry” at 17 
cents. “Cherry” of course! You had confidence in 
“Cherry”—you knew if you bought a few more than you 
needed you could sell them, but even at 6 cents you had 
not faith in “Apple.” 
Let me ask you the same question in another way. 
Did you buy more apple because they w ere selling at 
6 cents than you would have had the price been 12 cents? 
Of course you didn’t—the chances are 10 to 1 you 
bought less—bought them from hand to mouth just 
enough to cover your immediate needs. 
Or again—w ere you not more anxious to buy good No. 
1 Apple seedlings at $6.00 early in the season than later 
on at $2.60? When apple seedlings got down to about 
one-third the cost of production did you want to buy any 
at all -did you think them a good investment—or—more 
to the point— did you buy more seedlings at $2.60 
than you would have if they had advanced from $6 to $7? 
No, you didn’t. 
Now, it seems the good Lord lias made us all very 
much alike and we are very apt to fall in line whether 
the procession is going up bill or down bill—just like a 
lot of fat sheep being led to the slaughter. 
It reminds me of an old game we used to call "Follow 
the Leader,” but do w e ever stop to think who our leader 
is? 
The “Leader,” gentlemen, is probably the poorest nur¬ 
seryman in the country—not even a member of our Asso¬ 
ciation—he is usually a man whose trees aren l worth 
buying at any price—trees you wouldn't ship to cus¬ 
tomers as gifts. 
Yet we permit him and his little job lots to establish 
our scale of prices. We try to make prices on our good 
trees "just a little under'' his, then the fellow sit¬ 
ting on your right sees your list and in order to slip one 
over on you he chops his prices down once more just 
a little bit under " your list. 
Briefly, gentlemen, the men w ho produce 96 per cent, 
of the trees permit tlx* little fence corner nurseryman 
who grows the 6 per cent, to make the price. Ibis is a 
fact—you know it and wo have only ourselves to blame. 
Lack of confidence and ignorance are the real cause ot 
cut throat prices. Are wo going to permit this state ol 
affairs to continue? Haven't we foresight enough and 
brains enough to set* the asinine absurbity ot going 
ahead in the same old blind fashion——every fellow for 
himself and the devil take the hindermost? I believe so! 
