Jan. 28, 1904. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



67 



\von"t stop to ask how many have been helped by it. Vou 

 would say, I want that law right here now to help me. 



Mr. Wheeler — I couldn't answer that. It would take 

 too long. I rather think I would treat that with moderation. 



Dr. Miller — You would want to force them. 



Mr. Wheeler — You are not the man I took you for. I 

 have other reasons. 



Mr. Abbott — This is a matter in which I have been try- 

 ing to get certain facts before the public. I understand there 

 is a reporter taking this, so we want to be careful what we 

 say. There is no use of Dr. Miller talking to Mr. Wheeler, 

 and Mr. Wheeler talking to him. It is a fact that no man 

 can get around, that legislative committees are influenced by 

 facts, and not influenced solely by the facts tliat are presented 

 by the official. If the official, when he gets there and makes 

 his statement, cannot have it backed up by the individuals 

 who have been helped by these actions, that report of that 

 official will not be worth very much before the legislative 

 committee down in Missouri. What I was after was to get 

 such facts from the people who had been helped as would 

 make a tremendous leverage under the legislature of Missouri 

 so as. if possible, to boost them up and give us a law. What 

 we want is combined influence. Co-operation. How? If 

 these bee-keepers have been benefited in Illinois, and they 

 have been benefited in Wisconsin, and they have been bene- 

 fited somewhat in Michigan, is it not possible to use this 

 as an accumulative force to use in other States? That is 

 what Mr. Wheeler is trying to get at. I expect to be before 

 the Missouri legislature to talk on this subject, a'-d I want 

 something to talk about. I don't want to have to say the 

 commissioners report so and so, but I want to be able to say 

 that the neople who have the bees say so and so, and we are 

 interested. 



Pres. York — There are hardly enough here who have 

 been helped. In Illinois we haven't had the inspector long 

 enough. There are only a few bee-keepers here from Wis- 

 consin, and only two or three from Michigan. 



Mr. Johnson — It seems to me ss if the question to be 

 discussed is as to whether it would be important for us to 

 have this conmulsory clause in this law. The law we have 

 is good fi^r Illinois. If I get foul brood among my bees T 

 can send for Mr. Smith, and he would come and rid me of 

 it. but if my neighbors have foul brood, which they very 

 likely will have if my bees have it, Mr. Smith can't go over 

 and do anything until they are willing to have him, and if 

 they are willing he can do so, and in that way if the neigh- 

 bors are willing the law is good and it is all right just as it 

 is. It would make it more complete if we had this clause 

 in it, and that is just what we want. What encouragement 

 can this committee, Mr. Smith and others, give us that we 

 can get this in the next legislature? 



Mr. Starkey — I would like to address mvself straight to 

 the Question if it were possible. The question is one sup- 

 posed to be answered by the people who have had benefits. 

 The very fact that this law has been in force only a very 

 short time, and that possibly with the exception of three or 

 four people in this house, and also the things that have been 

 done could not apply to the auestion of the gentleman be- 

 cause none of the work that has been done has been done 

 more than three months, and if that is true, no man could 

 get up and say that two vears ago I had some things none 

 and it is well done. I believe the question is not appropriate 

 under the conditions of this convention. 



Mr. Reynolds — Mr. Wheeler was talking about the law 

 in Wisconsin. 



Mr. Starkey — The Wisconsin people are not at this con- 

 vention. My statement is still true. It cannot be answered 

 in this convention. 



Mr. France — I may be considered as a man having an ax 

 to grind. The bee-keepers of the United States — why, I don't 

 understand, but the conditions are so. Say I am insoectnr of 

 Illinois, and I should go to one of your apiaries and find the 

 disease there. It would be treated. If in mv annual report 

 I would say I have been to Mr. York's apiary, he having 

 suDolies to sell or queen-bees to sell, or he even buying and 

 •selling, the making public of the fact of foul brood the bee- 

 keepers would ignore him and they wouldn't touch him, or 

 put their hands on him. Experience has proven that we must 

 not publish the names, but if vou want a list of those whose 

 bees have had foul brood in Wisconsin, and have not g'M it 

 now. I can give you pages of them. 



Mr. Coverdale — Nineteen years ago foul brood was in- 



troduced right close to me. It happened that I was right on 

 the ground and saw it before it got into more than three 

 colonies. These colonies were hunted up and treated, and 

 exterminated, and banished on the spot. If I hadn't seem 

 these we wouldn't have been able to do that. There isn't a 

 case of foul brood among my colonies now. I think a great 

 harm was headed right off. I believe in extermination of 

 foul brood. I thought I did a grand thing. 



Mr. Wheeler— I doubt if those bees had foul brood at all. 



Mr. Coverdale— I am familiar with it. I can tell or smell 

 it, or if any other bee-disease, 1 can tell it, 



Pres. York — I think so. 



Mr. Smith— If there are any in this audience that 

 haven't seen foul brood, or don't know anything about it, I 

 have a full comb of it in the other room. They can go in 

 there and acquaint themselves with the condition. If you 

 get a smell once, vou will never forget it. 



Mr Duff— We bee-keepers in Cook County ought to know 

 the names of the queen-breeders who sent out diseased 

 queens. It is only just. An ounce of prevention is better 

 than a pound of cure. _ t ■ j j 



Mr. Smith— I will just state that in this case I judged 

 from the results. They were persons whose bees never had 

 foul brood until they got queens from that dealer. 



Mr. Duff— I should think that would be enough. 



Mr Smith— That man has an apiary at his home place, 

 but I understand that he had three out-apiaries. I am going 

 down there to demand inspection of his apiaries, and he will 

 say "That's where I rear mv queens, go and look at it. i 

 look there and find no foul brood, but I don't know the con- 

 dition of his out-apiaries, and as long as I I-iave "o law to 

 go there and demand an inspection, he might say. My bees 

 are all right, and vou mind your own business.' UntU we 

 have a law of that kind I would not be willing to say who 

 the party is but Mr. York knows those in Cook County that 

 have had queens from him, and their results are the same 

 They never had foul brood until they got queens from that 



Mr Hogge— The main point is, Do we want help from the 

 le°-islature in the wav of this compulsory clause. It is not 

 a "question whether somebody has been done good or not, 

 but the question is. Do we want the inspector to be em- 

 powered so that he can go in case we do know, or do be- 

 lieve, there is foul brood near us? 



Pres. York— Do you want to put it to a vote? 



Mr. Hogge — Yes, sir. 



Pres York— All in favor of having such a compulsory 

 foul brood law in this State, raise your hands. [Practically 

 a unanimous vote in favor.] 



Mr. Clarke— Foul brood being carried by queen-bees, 1 

 would like to know in what way it is carried. 



Mr Smith— Bv the honev that is in the queen-cages, and 

 by the no doubt taking out the infection of the queen-cage. 

 I think it can be carried that way. 



Mr Kanenburg— As long as we have voted that we want 

 this compulsory clause in the law, I wish to make a motion 



^ Mr Moore— Some of us may not know that the legisla- 

 ture meets onlv every two years, so nothing can be done until 

 December, 1964. This is merely breaking the ground for 

 what we want to do at that time. 



Pres York— What will you do with the report of the 

 foul brood committee? They can do nothing more until the 

 legislature meets, which is a year from this fall. 



Mr. Starkey— Thank the committee for its work, and 



'^"^ Dr^ M'iiler— I want to mention one point which possibly 

 might surprise you a little. There was a certain amount of 

 money raised to pay the expense of the log-rolling that wa 

 to be done to get what legislation we could get. As you 

 know there were some of us who were appointed an auditing 

 committee to look over the accounts of the treasurer, and 

 one of the items that surprised me was a certain sum, some- 

 thing like $9.00. that was turned into the treasury of this 

 socifty that was left of the amount raised to pay for the 

 work of that foul brood committee. Now, I would like to 

 know why this committee didn't use up all the money in 

 junketing?^ I don't understand it. So instead of this society 

 being out any monev, it actually made a profit out of it ! 



Mr Horstmann-I like Mr. Starkey's motion with the 

 exception of discharging the committee. I think they should 

 be continued. I offer an amendment, that the report of the 



