218 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
chiel’s amang ye takin’ notes, and faith lie’ll prent ’em.” 
This association does not lay claim to a great share ol 
the total results for good which have been brought about 
by various activities of similar associations during the 
past few years, but we do lay claim for being the first 
to demand of its membership the constant application oi 
the golden rule in all transactions with each other and 
the consumer. We felt that in the business world stock 
taking did not mean the mere taking of inventory; it 
meant in its broadest sense a general survey of the en¬ 
tire business from every viewpoint. It was trouble¬ 
some business; it needed a great deal of patience; it re¬ 
quired much determination, but when it was done, we 
were well repaid, for it showed up the weak places be¬ 
fore they became embarrassing circumstances, and after 
the facts of stock taking were known, it was a simple 
matter to adopt new plans and methods to increase ef¬ 
ficiency. 
In nearly every avenue of endeavor it becomes neces¬ 
sary for trade organizations to lay down rules and 
ethics to guide its membership; ethics that members 
do not dare violate. There was a time when the indiv¬ 
idual could walk alone with a reasonable amount of as¬ 
surance tthat his business would succeed, a matter of 
bartering—buying and selling, but the public now de¬ 
mands something more, something separate and dis¬ 
tinct from commodities and dollars, something we call 
confidence, the dominant article in every transaction. 
This confidence cannot be inspired by the individual 
working alone. He cannot combat the sinister effect of 
unscrupulous dealers though their activities may be 
wholly sporadic and negligible in quantity, and so it 
has become necessary if we wish to gain and hold public 
confidence in the wares we sell, we are compelled by 
their demand to be our brother’s keeper. 
This is why it has become necessary that the nursery 
business, like every industry, profession and trade, must 
have its national association as well as district and state 
associations to wield the power of united organization 
whose ethics must be above reproach, in order that we 
may grow in ever-widening circles, till the boundaries 
of our activities shall be broadened and unquestioned 
by those who place their confidence in us and the pro¬ 
ducts we sell. 
It was a splendid day for the nurserymen in this 
country when a few unselfish, far seeing men got to¬ 
gether and decided to renovate the old organization 
known as the American Association of Nurserymen. The 
old structure was of little service measured by present 
day demands. The old structure only offered shade in 
fair weather. It was just a good place for members to 
gather, to barter and trade, a clearing house for stocks 
of questionable value in many instances. The old struc¬ 
ture was built by honest hands in the good old days 
when harmony was the chief requisite to a successful 
meeting, but it could not withstand the .storms of pres¬ 
ent day conditions. So a new structure has been erected. 
It has a sure foundation. Its walls are thick and solid, 
its roof safe under the stress of any storm, and within 
its chambers one is safe and secure if he lives up to cer¬ 
tain codes of ethics. 
Assuming that I am correct in making these state¬ 
ments, it is needless to say that every nurseryman in 
the country should be affiliated with our National As¬ 
sociation. I venture the assertion that within a very 
few years the buying public will demand the associa¬ 
tion’s trade mark, “Trustworthy Trees,” stamped on 
every tree and plant that is sold. This trade mark will 
be the compelling force that will define the public’s 
approval or disapproval in the majority of future trans¬ 
actions when the buyer knows for what it stands, be¬ 
cause there is no question but that the plans, purposes 
and services outlined by the American Association of 
Nurserymen, marks a higher plane for trade organiza¬ 
tion work than has heretofore been attempted. The en- - 
tire program is a broad one and calls for broad and lib¬ 
eral cooperation and work, which from every view¬ 
point should have the hearty and wholesome support of 
every nurseryman throughout the country. 
I do not believe in membership of the American Asso¬ 
ciation of Nurserymen to the exclusion of district and 
state organizations. The latter are very necessary in 
dealing with local, state or district matters. In their 
separate ways each are important and wholly necessary, 
and active membership should be promptly taken by 
every non-member so that individual service could ren¬ 
der some aid to the onward movement which is so ne¬ 
cessary to our mutual welfare. We must not forget 
that this is still a time of sore distress and world agony. 
Political readjustments must be made. The struggle to 
achieve for peace-time industry a stable basis for that 
resumption of what is left of its normal relationships, is 
quite as difficult a task as conducting a war. Our only 
emancipation is a hearty, active cooperation in the var¬ 
ious organizations which offer those permanent safe¬ 
guards against those things which we know to be un¬ 
safe and unsound. 
I trust you will pardon me for endeavoring to stress 
this matter as I have, but “united we stand, divided, we 
fall.” Unity of spirit and purpose should carry us far 
along to better and permanent things. Efforts should be 
made to prevail on every worthy firm in the South, who 
are now non-members, to join our association as well 
as the American Association of Nurserymen. If worthy 
of membership, they should be participants in the good 
things that would surely be their’s, because there is no 
other substitute for the vital relationships of man to 
man. I further suggest that a permanent Committee of 
Membership be appointed to work to this end. 
The past season was one of prosperity for the nur¬ 
seryman. We could possibly have no greater illustra¬ 
tion that scarcity of stocks mean good prices, an object 
lesson given us by conditions over which we had no con¬ 
trol. It is apparent that the peak of high prices has been 
reached, and if we desire to maintain a parity between 
commodities and values, our future plantings should 
have an eye to quality rather than quantity. The Amer¬ 
ican buyer demands, above all things, quality. He is 
willing to pay the price if the product meets with his 
approval, besides he has the right to demand a square 
deal and even justice in every transaction. 
During the past season a few unscrupulous tree 
dealers were active in disposing of trees and plants in a 
few sections ol the South, and especially in the state of 
Mississippi. To procure sales various prizes were of¬ 
fered with orders to tempt the buyer, and as usual, under 
