THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
255 
W. P. STARK’S ADDRESS 
A Masterly Review: Many Suggestions. 
Restlessness, mutability, alternating fluctuation, tran¬ 
sientness, mobility, but development withal. These are the 
keynotes of the world—and the loud pedal has been used 
especially to emphasize them in the nursery business the past 
few seasons. 
There is a new hand wielding the gavel each spring; old 
names are passing and new ones being added to the roll each 
year. Old friends are moving across the Jordan to work in 
the gardens beyond. 
The knowledge of science is being brought to bear on all 
phases of propagation. Business conditions are progressing; 
the present system of credit and trust has made possible the 
wonderful development of business as we know it today. A 
new element has been growing and developing. This new 
element in business is world-old and its greatest advocate is 
the “Man of sorrows,” who moved the sodden world by his 
force of character and simple truths so plainly told that to 
this day we have not under¬ 
The primary object of our association is business in its 
broadest sense, but I wish to repeat and emphasize that the 
greatest good of our meetings comes from the personal rela¬ 
tions made possible, the friendships formed, the business 
transactions made in person and the discussion of different 
.subjects as a body. Here it should be added that to get best 
results there should be full attendance and participation at all 
of the daily meetings. 
INSPECTOR AND INSPECTION 
full 
stood or realized the 
meaning of them all. 
I speak of this as a new 
element and it may be re¬ 
garded as such in business 
where competition and co¬ 
operation were foreign to 
each other, where a com¬ 
petitor was an enemy. 
This spirit of fraternity, of 
mutual help, of pulling to¬ 
gether was not thought 
possible in the business 
world. 
The new order of things 
has been growing slowly. 
The human race develops as a whole and moves very, very 
deliberately. What each individual does and thinks leaves 
an imprint on the whole race, though its effect is seldom per¬ 
ceptible. 
The change which is becoming so apparent in our own day 
has been working beneath the surface all the past centuries. 
Our natures are not undergoing any sudden change; rather 
we are just coming to a general realization of the fact that 
competition of the c-ut-throat type is self-destructive, like 
war or any disease, and that real competition means the 
profiting of each in proportion to his efforts in elevating and 
promoting the business as a whole as well as his own 
individual interests. 
The greatest value of our meetings is the promotion of a 
spirit of personal friendship, of trust, of getting together and 
pulling together. It helps us realize and adapt ourselves to 
the constantly changing conditions which influence each in 
spite of all efforts to the contrary. Everyone, yes all, must 
adapt themselves to these changes, else they will be more or 
less gradually, but none the less certainly set aside, sloughed 
off, discarded—eliminated by the evolutionary forces of 
nature. 
We, as a class, are often slow to change—to grasp a new condition; 
we have given color to some of the charges made against us. But from 
such teachers and leaders as we have in Missouri—and each state has 
many such men—there has been nothing but co-operation, assistance, 
and I might add patience, for these men are usually the first to recognize 
the relation between theory and practice. On the other hand, it is 
necessary to say that while these men are representatives, all men in the 
government employ are not of this stamp. For lack of funds the states 
are sometimes forced to appoint 
APPROACHING HEADQUARTERS OF ANHEUSER-BUSCH 
ESTABLISHMENT: EXPECTANCY 
inefficient men, or to give one 
man more territory than he can 
properly cover. Some of the 
smaller men, in a few cases, have 
misused their offices and this has 
given rise directly and indirectly 
to a deal of hard feeling. 
Politics have been allowed to 
interfere in this as in other 
th'ngs, hindering the work of the 
officials and causing loss to the 
interests they seek to serve. 
These are thmgs which should 
be recognized. The individual 
success of each depends upon 
promoting the general welfare of 
the horticultural public and the 
nation. 
The National Inspection Bill 
is one of the issues of the day—it affects you. Years ago such meas¬ 
ures were discussed by this association. We do not intend to bring up 
the subject of States’ rights versus a centralized form of government at 
this time. Each has its own part to play in our government. There 
are some things which must be under the control of the State—there 
are others which apparently should be governed by the Nation. 
Regulation by congress of standard packages or fruit seems a simple 
matter, yet up to this time they have been unable to adjust it satisfac¬ 
torily to all concerned. Practical regulation is not as easy as it some¬ 
times seems to be. I personally believe that there are certain phases of 
protection from injurious insect pests and diseases which are best con¬ 
trolled by the National government, while certain other places must be 
left to the states. The Simmons Bill as finally proposed was, with the 
exception of one point, satisfactory to nearly everyone concerned. The 
handling of this bill was, as stated by a professor of the University of 
West Virginia, unfortunate throughout. The first drafting called for 
inspection at port of entry, which was soon proven impracticable if not 
impossible, and the bill was revised and re-introduced. Further, in 
speaking of this matter he referred to the way the Insecticide Bill had 
been prepared and presented. In preparing the Insecticide Bill the 
interests concerned were first consulted and the manufacturers of insec¬ 
ticides were as hearty in its support as any. While the Insecticide Bill 
may not be ideal, it is giving manufacturers, as well as the public, good 
service and is giving it now, today, when it is badly needed. 
For some reason the nurserymen as a body were not given a chance 
to speak either through the Association or individually. Had this been 
