114 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
future of our industry. Practically every one of them 
were cognizant of the facts above stated, that the 
methods of many nursery concerns were shady, that no 
concerted effort on the part of our organization was 
made prior to 1915 to correct recognized irregularities, 
hence when a forward move was made it was heralded 
with delight. I believe, and have the evidence before 
me, that because of these facts, our standing with the 
public is higher than ever before in the history of the in¬ 
dustry. In other words, we have taken the public into 
our confidence, and in all of this we have acted wisely. 
Now, suppose the June convention determines to return 
to the good old days Mr. Pitkin longs for, repudiates the 
stand taken these five years, acknowledges to the public 
that we cannot enforce Article IX. of the Constitution, 
that because of the hazards (?) “trustworthy trees” and 
the work of the vigilance committee are to be scrapped—- 
what then? We throw away the best asset we have and 
one that has cost us a considerable amount of money. 
Immediately the public loses confidence in our integrity, 
and the particular thing we have started out to do for 
ourselves, and which we can do better than anybody 
else, will be done through the federal and state horticul¬ 
tural boards. I know that we can and should live square 
up to our present high standards, and say to the world 
unequivocally that we intend to enforce through vigilance 
committees Article IX. of the Constitution, and if I mis¬ 
take not the mind of the membership this is what the 
June Convention will do. I therefore say that one of the 
results “promised so glowingly by the progressives,” is 
to-day realized in “good will” of the public, an intang¬ 
ible asset, to be sure, but exceedingly valuable never-the- 
less. 
The Past Five Years the Most Profitable Perhaps in 
the History of the Business 
That has been true of other lines as well, but the pres¬ 
ent is far from being rosy, and after all deductions have 
been made I am confident that Association activities have 
contributed largely to our financial success, and will 
steady us during the trying times just ahead. I have 
never doubted for a moment and do not doubt now but 
that a rallying round our trademark, “trustworthy trees 
and plants,” will produce business. I believe no mistake 
was made in adopting the trade-mark, and my opinion is 
reinforced by the opinion of some hard-headed business 
men in other lines. Benefits derived from advertising 
are difficult to trace, but the best business minds of the 
nation are agreed that advertising pays, and I think we 
all agree that the character of advertising done through 
our M. D. committee has been of a very high class. Now, 
to be sure, every member, whether doing a million dol¬ 
lar volume or five thousand dollar volume per year, has 
been the recipient of these benefits, and I am wondering 
if this fact enters into the opposition of our present pol¬ 
icies. 
Equal Benefits to All—Special Privileges to None 
Once upon a time in the good old days of long ago, the 
combined membership dues of the many small firms pro¬ 
vided funds for the expenses of the Association. The ob¬ 
jectives of the past were “Tariff, Transportation, Legis¬ 
lation.” Who are most interested in these matters of 
“general interest?” The business of a large majority of 
members is local, or practically so. Transportation and 
Legislation is largely a state problem, and Tariff is so 
far removed that it is seldom if ever thought of. There¬ 
fore, under the old regime the money for financing the 
affairs of the Association was contributed by many and 
expended primarily for the few, those doing interstate 
and foreign business. Under our present policies Tariff, 
Transportation, and Legislative matters are being ably 
taken care of, and paid for out of a treasury created 
through dues and fees collected on a basis of volume of 
business. The firm of large volume pays large dues, 
while the firm of small volume pays small dues. Honest, 
John, is there anything wrong with the present plan, 
and would it be fair to the majority to return to "nor¬ 
malcy” ’in this regard? 
Cost 
Of course our organization has cost some money, we 
knew it would cost something in the beginning. I have 
not regretted a penny that I have contributed for I have 
had a feeling all along that Association funds were being 
wisely expended. As far as I am able to judge, the con¬ 
structive work of our able Secretary, Mr. Watson, has 
been of the highest order. He has beyond question dis¬ 
charged the duties of the office fairly and with high ef- 
fiency, and I hope he may be persuaded to continue in a 
work for which he is so admirably fitted. If a business 
doing the volume of A. A. N. can’t afford to spend $15,- 
000 to $20,000 per annum, we do not need an organiza¬ 
tion at all, and should abandon all efforts to maintain 
one. In this regard, I feel the office of Executive Sec¬ 
retary should be given larger privileges, and that the en¬ 
tire management of Association affairs should he under 
his direction with the concurrence of Executive Commit¬ 
tee, and that said Committee should, when elected, carry 
out the will expressed in convention. I am of the opinion 
that a serious wrong was done the membership doing a 
small volume of business in the adoption of the schedule 
of dues at last convention, and right here I pledge my 
best effort to righting that wrong at the coming conven¬ 
tion. We need every one of these members of small bus¬ 
iness, as we do members of large business, anad the rate 
of taxation should be as nearly as possible equalized. 
As before stated, many changes in Constitution must 
of necessity he made from time to time, but in principle 
I believe that we are on the right track, and that what 
has been accomplished justifies us in going forward 
along present lines. I am perfectly willing to listen pa¬ 
tiently to what any member has to say on the subject, to 
consider any plan any one has to offer, aand then let 
the membership determine what character of organiza¬ 
tion it wants. Mr. Pitkin and I both want the best work¬ 
ing organization for American Association of Nursery¬ 
men. We just happen to see things differently, and 
whether the majority agree with him or me, we will both 
be found retaining our membership in A. A. N., and do¬ 
ing our dead level best to make it a serviceable organ¬ 
ization. 
J. R. Mayhew, 
Waxahachie, Texas. 
April 23, 1921. 
