138 



TWELFTH ANNUAL, REPORT OF THE 



and I think the National should do the 

 same thing. What are we paying in 

 there for? Do the National do any 

 more for us than we do for them? I 

 think that either the National or this 

 Association should pay the expense of 

 a delegate. 



Mr. Dittmer — How much surplus has 

 the National? 



Mr. Kannenberg — The National has 

 more in their treasury than the Chi- 

 cago-Northwestern ! 



Pres. Huffman — Mr. Dittmer has 

 asked a question which I believe it is 

 a little hard to answer. I have kept in 

 close touch in regard to the financial 

 condition of the treasury of the Na- 

 tional, and I will say this, that, as a 

 rule, whenever there was a deposit 

 made there was issued a check that 

 would balance it up, and maybe a 

 little more; so that you can judge in 

 what shape the National treasury is. 

 I don't believe there is a dollar in 

 the treasury today. 



Now, if it is not out of order, I might 

 say this: 



Twice to my knowledge the treasury 

 was drawn upon and it was bankrupt, 

 and orders on it had to be sent back; 

 I think I can prove this statement, and 

 I know I can. You know who the 

 treasurer is, Mr. France; he is a very 

 careful man and won't say much; that 

 is the only reason why he is not here 

 today. He said to me — "I don't want 

 to have any questions asked me and 

 I don't want to say anything." 



I don't believe the National Associa- 

 tion today has a dollar in its treasury. 



Along this same line — as to the way 

 the business was conducted prior to 

 the new Constitution — we would have 

 our annual report, and other expenses, 

 and usually have money enough in the 

 treasury to pay fbr it, and if we did not 

 have, Mr. France would go down in his 

 pocket and pay the bill and trust to the 

 people to send it in later on. And all 

 that Mr. France had for his services 

 was 20 per cent of the proceeds that 

 came into the National Association. 

 That is why we, as members of the 

 National, appreciate his services and 

 the work he has done and everything 

 else along that line, and has charged 

 nothing for it; and I don't believe that 

 you can, in the whole National as- 

 sembly, find a man that would do any 

 better, or any more than Mr. France. 



Mr. Cavanagh — I thought of some- 

 thing yesterday, and while we are on 



the subject of Mr. France, I would like 

 to spring it. In accordance with the 

 Christmas spirit, why can not we young 

 fellows, and the boys that are here, 

 chip in and buy Mr. France a little 

 Christmas present and send it to him? 

 Why, that man has 'helped me out 

 dollars and dollars' worth — little favors 

 I have asked of him that I had no right 

 to ask, and he charged nothing for it; 

 he don't ask any consideration. 



Pres. Huffman — I want to say this: 

 What seems to hurt Mr. France the 

 worst of all (being intimately ac- 

 quainted, he has told me quite a. little) 

 — after he had worked these years, and 

 worked up what he called a "Bureau", 

 getting the consumer and the producer 

 together — he was then turned down and 

 never thanked for it or for anything 

 else; and not only that. But use his 

 name, if you might so term it, in dis- 

 guise, making it — "Treasurer- Genera] 

 Manager." 



And right along that same line— 

 "Manager" has nothing more to do with 

 it than you and I have. Pick up the 

 Constitution and see what the treasurer 

 has to do — but we helped to formulate 

 the Constitution — it was new to us — 

 they were cute enough to get in that 

 clause that cut him out and left him 

 nothing more nor less than the pocket 

 book— ^that means — treasurer. There 

 are two or three of us who were on 

 that committee, that had we known a 

 half an hour after we were in that 

 Committee room what we knew then, 

 we never would have voted, and I don't 

 think we would have had the new Con- 

 stitution. There were things that came 

 up there that we did not know any- 

 thing about. The formulated resolu- 

 tions we hoped when it went before the 

 Convention, section by section, they 

 would vote down, but everything 



went through. 



Mr. Cavanagh — That is a line of talk 

 I have been wishing would come out. 



What has Mr. France done for us? 

 He has actually formed the Bureau 

 o^ Buying and Selling products; he has 

 helped more bee-keepers out of scrapes 

 than any other man I ever knew of. 

 He has been the Buying and Selling 

 Bureau, without any capital, and has 

 given his time. 



They had a selling campaign — some 

 one in Michigan got out a booklet of 

 the honey producer and the buyer to- 

 gether; it was not a success. 



Are we going to turn Mr. France 



