ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 



147 



order, having a certain num'ber of 

 packag-es made up to be held subject 

 to our future orders. 

 , I am frank to say that the sale of 

 :glass packages has not been what I 

 had hoped it would Tie, and I am not 

 very optimistic over this particular 

 line of goods for the members. At the 

 same time I believe it would be advis- 

 able to furnish, our members glass 

 packages until we know positively the 

 amount of business that can be ex- 

 pected from that source. Wef havle 

 sold during the year $3,535.11 worth 

 of tin and glass packages. Of this 

 amount $3,15'9.67 represents our sales 

 of tin packages. We have furnished 

 our members the five gallon square 

 can, packed two in a case; the same 

 kind packed) singly; the same kind 

 packed in crates of fifty; the ten pound 

 friction top pail; the five pound fric- 

 tion top pail, and in a few cases a three 

 pound friction top can. No orders 

 have been received for slip cover pails, 

 and I would not recommend the list- 

 ing of slip cover pails another year. 

 These slip cover pails are similar to 

 the pails you purchase lard in from 

 your local grocery, and are not suitable, 

 in my estimation, for shipping honey. 



During the early part of the year, 

 I saw that my work as publisher ...f 

 the Bee-Keepers' Review, running it 

 as a private business, would conflict 

 very much with my work as Secretary 

 of the National Association. I also 

 found that there was considerable con- 

 fusion among the National members 

 regarding the change in membership 

 from 50 cents to $1, and also with 

 reference to the establishment of Na- 

 tional Branches. I saw very plainly 

 that the Association needed an official 

 organ of its own, and naturally it 

 occurred to me that if the National 

 would purchgise the Review, much 

 better results coxild be obtained. 

 Whether I was right in my deductions, 

 or not, I am willing to leave to you 

 for your decision after hearing the 

 financial report which I will give you 

 shortly, and also after discussing the 

 matter fully at this convention. What- 

 ever decision is finally made toy the 

 ■delegates I assure you that I shall try 

 to help you carry it out. 



The proposition of purchasing the 

 Review was made to the Directors, by 

 mail, and it required considerable 

 correspondence before an agreement 

 was finally reached'. 



Before proceeding further it will be 

 well perhaps to give you a general 

 financial statement of the work for the 

 past year. On January 1st, there was 

 in the National treasury, according to 

 a report sent me by Treasurer France, 

 $28.0'9'. I wish to say in connection 

 with this that several of the State As- 

 sociations, after the Minneapolis meet- 

 ing, sent notices to their members that, 

 if they renewed membership prior to 

 January 1st, they could do so at the 

 rate of fifty cents per memiber, and 

 this brought in a large numlber of re- 

 newals at the fifty cent rate, which it 

 was necessary to use in clearing up 

 the business for the yedr previous, so 

 that while we only had $28.09 to begin 

 the year on, we also had a large num- 

 ber of members who had paid theii' 

 membership fee. Prom January 1st 

 until May, we collected in membership 

 fees, $273.59; our expenses during that 

 time were $222.75, so that at the time 

 of purchasing the Review, which really 

 took place May 1st, although the con- 

 tract was dated June 1st, we had $50.84 

 on hand. Tou must remember that the 

 Review was purchased at a time of 

 the year when it is supposed that a 

 publication will hardly pay expenses, 

 because the renewals are at that time 

 practically all in and the only source 

 of income is the advertising and the 

 new subscriptions, and what few re- 

 newals there may be at that time of 

 the year. You will remember, in this 

 respect, that one of the other Bee 

 Journals mentioned editorially that 

 possibly the Directors might have to 

 go down in their pockets and tide the 

 Review over a hard time, but I am 

 pleased to state to you that we have 

 conducted the business during the 

 year; paid all our bills as they came 

 due, and the Directors have not had 

 to advance one cent towards the main- 

 tenance of the Review. 



I regret very much that the Direc- 

 tors, who so kindly and loyally came to 

 Detroit for a Directors' meeting in 

 January, have not had their expenses 

 of that trip paid, but I hope we will 

 be in a position in a very short time 

 to take care of those outstanding ac- 

 counts. At the Directors' meeting there 

 were also two law suits preisented to 

 them for consideration, and they voted 

 that the National should pay these 

 suits on the same basis as previous 

 suits had been paid, which was one- 

 half of the actual expenses involved. 



