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ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 



135 



nine, and ten cents a pound, do not 

 for goodness sake get the idea that we 

 will sell honey a pound M a time, or 

 three or five, or even 60 pounds at a 

 time for that price. 



There has been big improvement in 

 these things the last few years, but 

 some of us have not learned all yet. 



The price to the consumer must be 

 different than that to the retailer — 

 taut, when Mr. France sells to the re- 

 tailer at the same price he will sell 

 to the consumer, he certainly is doing 

 all he can to discourage that retailer 

 handling his honey, and yet that re- 

 tailer could perhaps sell a lot of honey 

 if he had fair protection. 



There are three prices: to the 

 wholesaler, the retailer, and the con- 

 sumer, which we have to consider. 



If we do not make it interesting to 

 the dealer, by giving him a margin 

 of profit, we are cutting off the pos- 

 sible channel for the marketing of 

 honey. We will have nobody but the 

 consumer to sell to eventually, and 

 that is just what is happening. We 

 are doing all we can to cut our own 

 throats in selling honey to the con- 

 sumer at so low a price that there is 

 no margin left for the dealer. W^e are 

 discouraging the natural means of 

 putting honey into the hands of the 

 consumer when we do that. 



Up to two years ago there were not 

 one-half the grocers that handled 

 honey at all; and during six months 

 of the year twenty-five per cent of 

 them will not sell you honey because 

 they have not got it. 



You educate people in the use of a 

 product and then cut off their supply 

 for six months of the year, what ad- 

 vance will you make? 



In fiurope they are using four or 

 five times as much honey per head as 

 we are and about a third as much 

 sugar, and they are paying more for 

 honey than we dare ask here. 



What makes the market price on 

 honey? I wish I knew. I do not. 

 This year we got, at wholesale, a cer- 

 tain price for honey. Why did we not 

 get twice that, or more than half that? 



What established the market price 

 on honey? If we ship something to 

 the commission man, he sells it for 

 what he can get for it, and he knows 

 a whole lot about the market price, 

 but we do not know anything about it, 

 and it is mighty good for us that we 



have honest people handling our honey. 



With eggs selling for 25 per cent 

 more than they did a year ago; sugar 

 selling for twice what it did nearly two 

 years ago; nearly every food product 

 increased from 25 to 200 per cent, is 

 it not possible to boost the price of 

 honey at least one per cent? 



Are we having more honey? 



Should there not be some under- 

 standing among bee-keepers that we 

 would have something to say about the 

 price of honey? 



Some sort of an organization? Some 

 means of communication — some way of 

 considering this matter? 



If you bring your honey to the depot 

 and say that you want to send this 

 honey to so and so in Chicago; and 

 you say to the depot man, I will pafy 

 you one-fourth cent per pound for 

 taking this honey in there — you will 

 find the price is set for hauling — the 

 commission man has his price — the 

 cartage man his price, and you have 

 nothing to say about it. 



Do you set the price you will sell 

 your honey at? 



You take what is offered you. Is 

 that business? Is there a business 

 manufacturer or any other kind you 

 can think of that sells his goods the 

 way you do with your honey? 



You say to the Harvester Company: 

 "I will give you ninety dollars for a 

 binder." You will not get it for that 

 unless that is the price they have set 

 on it. They know what the .goods cost. 

 Do we know what our goods cost? 



Can we tell what it costs us to pro- 

 duce one pound of honey this year? 



It is said that ninety per cent of 

 the business firms of the United States 

 today do not know whether they are 

 making money or not. I believe it is 

 true. I imagine that that is true of 

 the honey business the same as any 

 other business. But what does make 

 the market price on honey? 



Last year we sold our honey at so 

 much. This year we paid twenty-five 

 per cent or more for sections, for tin 

 cans, maybe fifty per cent more unless 

 we are fortunate. 



Our time is worth more because it 

 costs us more to buy the things we 

 have to live on. But are we getting 

 any more for our product that last 

 year? 



Who makes the market on honey? 



Whose fault is it we are not getting 

 more? 



