THE ANNUAL MEETING. 211 



Members of Executive Committee— 1:^. Chilson, of Battle Creek; Jas. Satterlee, of 

 Greenville (for full term); C. E. Coryell, of Hillsdale (vacancy). 



On motion the oflicc of librarian was created, and Mr. Eli Bidelman, of 

 Lansing, was chosen to the position. 



The finance committee reported that when II. Dale Adams, of Galesburg, 

 was treasurer of the society he retained moneys, and still has in the neighbor- 

 hood of 8500, which he neglects to pay. The collection of tliis amount is in 

 the hands of an attorney, and its payment secured by bonds given by Mr. 

 Adams when elected. Tlie attorney of the society has been directed to prose- 

 cute him and proceed against his sureties. 



The meeting adjourned till evening. 



Evening Session, 



By special arrangement, the topic 



PRACTICAL WORKINGS OF THE YELLOWS LAW 



was taken up for the first hour of the evening, and the discussion opened by 

 the following paper from the pen of Rev. J. F. Taylor, of bJaugatuck : 



The subject assigned to this paper may lead to a somewhat rambling discus- 

 sion of a very important question ; but in order to secure some degree of pre- 

 cision, we may look at it from three different standpoints : 



1. AVhat was the yellows law designed to accomplish? 



2. What is it capable of accomplishing? 



3. What has it accomplished? 



The first question — What was the design of the yellows law? — is too patent 

 to need discussion. In the early history of the disease, before its devastating 

 power was known, law seemed unnecessary; but after years of experience by 

 peach-growers, — after orchards had been laid waste and abandoned in nearly 

 all of the old peach-growing districts of the east, and after the disease had 

 well nio^li ruined the once beautiful orchards of St. Joe — nothing less than the 

 purpose of extermination could have stimulated those who sought for legal 

 protection. The result of the first efforts to secure legal protection against 

 the spread of the yellows was the law of 1875. But for reasons to which I 

 need not refer, it was made applicable only to Van Buren, Allegan, and Ottawa 

 counties. With such a law, for such a purpose, but very little could be accom- 

 plished. The people, however, in the peach-growing districts, were being edu- 

 cated by the agitation of the question and by the devastation of their orchards, 

 to demand another law of wider application. In answer to this demand we 

 have the law now under discussion. And we ask, what is this law capable of 

 doins:? 



If we notice some of the specifications of this law, wo find that the town 

 board have no authority to make it operative by appointing commission- 

 ers, until after a petition containing five or more names of freeholders is sent 

 to them asking for action. Where there is not a special interest in peach- 

 growing this clause of itself is well calculated to make the law a dead letter. 

 After commissioners are appointed the law does not require them to do any- 

 work until complaint is made in writing and on oatli that the disease is be- 

 lieved to exist on certam lands within the township. When they have exam- 



