ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPEES ASSOCIATION". 



109 



who are deciding on the big producing end 

 and feel that the sales should belong to 

 the regularly organized channels of trade 

 that will give it their energy and time and 

 push the line, leaving the producer to pro- 

 duce in a larger way if he is in a territory 

 or locality where he can do that, and there 

 are many people going into the business 

 that way. 



Perhaps the criticism heard most often 

 is that in the price at which the honey is 

 retailed from the retail grocer, and the 

 price which the producer receives, there is 

 too great a difference. It does look like 

 a large difference, but costs have been 

 mounting every year, and when you 

 realize this, that there are advertising 

 costs added to our sales costs, there is 

 first the broker, there is the wholesale 

 grocer, there is the retail grocer, there are 

 the freights from the producing locality 

 to the packing plant and freight from the 

 place where goods are packed to the whole- 

 sale grocer, and all these must be taken 

 from the price paid the producer and the 

 price which is paid by the consumer, and 

 if you give those careful analysis and are 

 willing to sit down and figure it out for 

 yourself, you will discover that the other 

 man is not getting perhaps a larger profit 

 than he should get. 



I think this is one thing that you people 

 recognize along other lines, or all producers 

 do along other lines. They have had to 

 recognize the fact that we must learn to 

 think and be willing to pay the cost of 

 modern distribution. When someone can 

 come and show us a system of distribution 

 that is more economical than the one we 

 are using, then we are all, I think, every 

 one, ready and only too glad to have that 

 system. 



You may not have thought of this, but 

 I believe it looks as though there was one 

 danger ahead of us for next year. Now, I 

 presume that there are many bee-keepers 

 who felt that they have sold their honey 

 this year, perhaps too early, and that they 

 would have made more money if they had 

 sold it later. I do not know if that is 

 true, because as an article becomes scarce 

 of course the price naturally advances. 

 That is the simple law of supply and de- 

 mand. But the danger next year is, I 

 believe, that a good many — now, I admit 

 I might do the same thing myself — will 

 say to themselves, "I am not going to 

 be in a hurry to sell my honey next year." 



The last few years the people have been 

 encouraged to use honey that have never 

 used it before, people in cities that are not 

 able to have homes, that have just com- 

 menced to use honey. They are using it 



in a small way. Many of them are dis- 

 continuing the use of honey that have just 

 started. They haven't used enough to get 

 the habit but they are going to discontinue 

 now because the price is high, and they 

 feel that all they can do is to buy bread 

 and potatoes and just the barest necess- 

 ities of life. They do not look upon honey 

 as a necessity, it is in the luxury class. 

 After those people get in the habit of using 

 a substitute, it is going to be harder to win 

 them back to the use of honey when so 

 many find it a strenuous effort to make 

 both ends meet; and it is going to take 

 more effort on the part of the bee-keepers 

 and everyone else to get them back when 

 times become normal again. Next year 

 many will say, " I am not going to sell so 

 early." Remember this, that September 

 and October, I believe, are the two biggest 

 months in the year for selling honey. If 

 honey which should be consumed during 

 the months of September and October 

 next year is not consumed, that quantity 

 is not going to be consumed during the 

 balance of the year. There is no amount 

 of figuring that will convince me it will be 

 otherwise,. This is merely my personal 

 opinion but I think these are all things we 

 need to think of, that there is such a thing 

 as holding the market back too long. 



I believe that another thing that is 

 needed to make a stable market is con- 

 fidence between the seller and the buyer. 

 You all know that there are some localities 

 where it is almost impossible to get an 

 accurate statement of the production. I 

 was interested in the information brought 

 out at the Wholesale Grocers' Association 

 at Philadelphia, which is made up of the 

 largest wholesale grocers throughout the 

 East. In the meeting the following situa- 

 tion was disclosed: In handling many 

 California fruits last year, these eastern 

 buyers were disappointed. They placed 

 their orders, then the report came in, 

 "We can't get the goods," and the con- 

 tracts were only partly filled. But later 

 on those goods were shipped at a higher 

 price. They couldn't get accurate reports, 

 and it is a common joke in the East that 

 every car you buy in California is the 

 last car, whether dried fruit, prunes, 

 oranges, raisins, or whatever it may be. 

 They apparently believed that by not 

 letting the actual producing conditions be 

 known, they would get a higher price. It 

 may have served them in some individual 

 cases, but if this movement, which I know 

 is under way throughout the East develops, 

 it is going to react to their detriment, 

 because they have lost the confidence 

 which they should have of the eastern 



