84 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
PRESIDENT HALE’S ADDRESS. 
Congratulation on Year of Prosperity—Necessity for Interstate 
Commerce Legislation for Nurserymen — Importance 
of Freight Classification — Acknowledge¬ 
ment to Members for Assistance. 
Gentlemen of the American Association of Nurserymen: 
I have no language capable of expressing my regret at being 
unable to be present at your meeting in Atlanta. Since I 
was elected president I have had my heart in the work, to the 
(Mid of trying to make, in my humble way, this meeting one 
of the very best. I have a selfish motive, perhaps, in so doing, 
having been honored as your president for the past year; 
but I have had a higher motive than that — the good of our 
great Association—which, after all, should be uppermost 
in all of our minds and efforts. We must strive to make it 
better every year. Then further, I had in view the fact that 
the Association came South, to some extent, out of its way, 
largely because my friends and I, who live in this Southland, 
requested this favor: and now that you have gathered in one 
of our best cities in the South, I want you to feel at home. 
The South is not a land of prejudice. The white-winged 
dove of peace and fraternity spreads its wings over all our 
land, and the angel of plenty has visited every section. We 
are one people, for one flag, all for the Union, and all traveling 
to the same destiny. Nothing has brought about this blessed 
result more speedily, surely and permanently than the busi¬ 
ness of our country, and the coming together of our people 
in different associations, commercial, fraternal and religious, 
from all parts of our Union; and now, as no people, in our 
great country, are more liberal in their views, social in their 
habits, and stronger in their characters than the people of 
our profession, I want to join my brethren in the South in 
welcoming you to our happy land of mountains and rivers, 
of song birds and flowers, of peace and contentment, of love 
and fraternity. May you all run over with business and 
pleasure during this meeting. 
I congratulate the nurserymen of our country on having 
had another year of unbroken prosperity; nothing has ever 
been seen like the general prosperity that has come to us, 
along with other business during the last year. Where men 
have worked hard, have been honest and faithful they have 
succeeded. 
As our worthy vice-president will preside, and has, no 
doubt, prepared an address, 1 shall not go into detail in giving 
advice or offering suggestions. However, a few ideas I shall 
leave with you. 
I am more thoroughly than ever convinced that we need a 
national law to govern interstate-commerce business. No 
two states have laws alike, and each year the laws are revised 
or amended. The most serious problem confronting nursery¬ 
men now is the subject of shipping under the laws of our 
states from one state to another, on account of inspection, 
license and different methods that the different states have 
governing this business. A business big enough to take in 
all the states in the Union is big enough to be controlled by 
the federal laws governing the Union. If one state has a 
good law it should be big enough to help other states who 
have bad laws, bet us work together for general good, rather 
than individual good. 
Different classification committees, composed of the differ¬ 
ent railroads of our country, have given different rates on 
shipments of nursery stock, both in less than carload and 
in carload lots. I believe a committee from your Associa¬ 
tion should look after this matter, and get all sections of our 
country to give the same freight rate and classification. 
What could the Association do that would result in more 
general good to our business than this? 
I further believe that we should make an effort, through 
the National Association, upon all the railroads of our country, 
through their proper committee or officials, to have a more 
rapid movement and handling of nursery stock. Hundreds 
of thousands of dollars are lost to our business annually on 
the account of unreasonable delays in transit. This could 
be done, and would be done by the railroads, in my judgment, 
if they knew how much we suffered along this line, but they 
have newer known it, except as one firm here and another 
yonder complains or files a claim for damages and loss. This 
Association could, in my judgment, do much by a concerted 
effort along this line. 
I also think it important that the legislative committee 
take up properly the subject of license and other illogical 
and hurtful legislation in the various states, such as we now 
have in West Virginia. A vast amount of good can be done 
along this line, and we should not hesitate to fully equip, 
advise and command the committee on legislation, some 
strenuous work on this subject. 
Such matters as tariff, insurance, cost of trees and various 
other things which committees, who are to report at this 
Association, have in hand I shall not mention, but leave it 
with the Association. 
In order that the Association may be equipped to do all 
kinds of necessary work through its committees, and other¬ 
wise, I earnestly recommend that the membership fee be 
made $4.00 per annum instead of $2.00. I believe this is 
very important. 
In closing I will suggest that the Association furnish our 
secretary with a book in which to record the death of our 
members, with such eulogies and references as the Association 
and others may furnish. Many strong members of our Asso¬ 
ciation have gone down in death, and the Association, so 
far as I know, has no record of the same. Of course I know 
that the right way to do is to say the good things we have 
to say about our friends while they arc alive and can hear it, 
and not wait until they are dead and gone and cannot hear it, 
but as we do not do this, and defer these good things until 
after death I, therefore, think the above suggestion would 
be wise. 
I cannot close without heartily thanking Mr. Seager, our 
esteemed secretary; Mr. McFarland, who has had a very 
arduous task in reference to programme work, Mr. Pitkin, Mr. 
Watrous, Mr. Albertson and others for their hard, honest 
and faithful work during this year. Under all circumstances, 
if you have a successful meeting give them the credit for it 
all, they deserve it. 
I now want to divest myself of any official relations to your 
Association, or utterances on this subject, and speak only as 
a member of the Association, and say, that I heartily favor 
