116 



SIXTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE 



war started at thirty-three cents, 

 American money, a pound for ex- 

 tracted, where all the other food stuffs 

 are much cheaper than they were in 

 the United States. Thirty-three cents 

 a pound for extracted honey in 

 Europe? The prices in Switzerland 

 are slightly higher, but honey always 

 brings a paying return to the bee- 

 keepers in Europe. Why? Because 

 they are organized, or they were or- 

 ganized. 



And now during this war — our 

 honey is going to Europe by the car- 

 load — is going there at the rate of 35 

 and 40 cents — simply because we do 

 not know how to market. 



Once a year the big men of this 

 country ought to meet in the United 

 States and talk matters over. If we 

 have no National Bee-Keepers' Associ- 

 ation, we will be scattered here and 

 there and we will not obtain results. 



The National Bee-Keepers' Associ- 

 ation has to take up some political ac- 

 tivity — I am a firm believer in State 

 and Government aid. I do not believe 

 we ought to spend our money doing 

 organizing work. I believe the Gov- 

 ernment and State ought to do it. 

 They have done it for others. Why 

 not for us? 



Don't you think if properly ap- 

 proached the Government will do 

 something for us? They are beginning 

 to do it. Last year, in Washington, 

 they appropriated $5,000 for bee-keep- 

 ing in America. We just asked for it 

 and they gave it to us. 



Take our state of Minnesota — We 

 have been hammering at our legisla- 

 ture and asking for more and more 

 and more — and $11,000 a year we have 

 now got. 



To do this, however, gentlemen, we 

 have to be organized. 



When you go before the politicians — 

 you have got to be organized. When 

 you go before the Senate and Legis- 

 lature and Finance Committees — they 

 look at you first and you feel like being 

 pigeon holed right away, and then they 

 look so indifferent and worried — not 

 worried, but bored. Then you say to 

 them: "Gentlemen, we are here, a 

 committee of three, representing 20,- 

 000 Bee -Keepers of the state,'' and 

 right away, the moment you tell them 

 there is somebody behind you, then 

 you are a power — and alone, no matter 

 what your name, you have as much 

 show before the politicians and legis- 



lature as a queen would have in a hive 

 without bees to raise a colony. It can- 

 • not be done. 



Now, to have our state aid, we need 

 strong state orgar^izations, like yours, 

 well organized, so when those gentle- 

 men go to Springfield, they say: "We 

 represent (you have about 20,000 bee- 

 keepers in the state) 20,000 Bee -Keep- 

 ers in this state, and this is what we 

 ask" — and they give it to you. 



When you go to Washington, and 

 ask for Government appropriations for 

 our industry, you must state we have 

 so many thousands of people standing 

 behind us, and then we will get it. 

 - What do we want from the Gov- 

 ernment? 



First I may speak of the educational 

 work which is going on today. Dr. 

 Phillips has a large force of men to 

 do the educational work. Some object 

 to education. Probably we don't want 

 any more bee-keepers but we want 

 those we have educated. We have too 

 many ignorant men, who never sub- 

 scribe for a paper, never attend a Con- 

 vention, never join an Association, men 

 who never read, men of that kind, we 

 have too many of those. Now if we 

 do not keep educating, the conditions 

 are going to remain the same. If edu- 

 cation goes on the future bee-keeper 

 is going to be intelligent, and, while 

 ignorant men are dying off, they will 

 be replaced by -educated men. 



In Switzerland they take the bee 

 census every five years. 



The Government appoints enumera- 

 tors and a complete census is taken of 

 every bee-keeper, hive, condition of 

 bees, amount of honey produced; and 

 the Government publishes a nice book 

 giving out this information. The Gov- 

 ernment is doing that in Europe. 



Do you know, gentlemen, how much 

 shoiw we had before our Government 

 here? Of course the census was taken 

 in 1910, but only those bees were enum- 

 erated that were outside of city or 

 village limits, and therefore the gov- 

 ernment census was absolutely worth- 

 less. 



You people who are gathered here 

 and who brag about what great men 

 you are, the Government credits you 

 with 5,000 pounds of honey per colony, 

 that is your average which you pro- 

 duce. 



Those things will continue just as 

 long as you remain where you are and 

 do not take up things on a large na- 



