THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



315 



bees seven or eight miles hj' wagon after 

 dark, over roads not too good. The 

 picture brings 1)ack a whole army of 

 recollections. 



That New Constitution. 



Before the next issue of the Review 

 is out, the readers will no doubt have 

 had a chance to vote on the new Na- 

 tional Constitution. Two things about 

 it will cause serious thought. One, the 

 membership fee, and the other the form 

 of organization. 



Regarding the first, it is proposed to 

 raise the membership fee to $1.50 per 

 year. One-third of this, however, goes 

 into the funds of the local branch, so 

 it is no higher than many State Asso- 

 ciations, united with the National, are 

 now collecting. The Michigan has col- 

 lected this amount for several years, 

 and has prospered. 



It may seem to some that this raise 

 is a mistake, and that bee-keepers will 

 not pay the advanced price. But we 

 must not forget that sometimes a small 

 fee is really more expensive than a large 

 one. It is not so much what we pay, 

 as zvhat we get for what we pay. If 

 our fee is so small that the whole 

 amount is necessary for running ex- 

 penses, and nothing left for progress, 

 that fee is apt to be expensive, while a 

 larger one, leaving a surplus for doing 

 something extra for the members, might 

 be really cheaper. 



The present fee of the National just 

 about provides for the expense of the 

 National Convention and getting out the 

 annual report. Manager France will tell 

 you he must economize even to do that. 

 This leaves nothing for the larger work 

 of organization, looking up market con- 

 ditions, advising members regarding 

 their honey sales, assisting states in get- 

 ting foul brood laws, and many other 

 things that might be mentioned. This 

 question of shipping packages, railroad 

 rates, requirements of certain markets. 



uniform packages and supplies, should 

 all in time be taken up and cared for. 

 But the first requirement is proper 

 organization. 



This brings us to the second part, or 

 the plan. Before this the National has 

 been a single body composed of individ- 

 uals. No local body of bee-keepers had 

 any representation as such body, and to 

 my knowledge hesitated to make recom- 

 mendations to the National, feeling that 

 they would be presumptuous in so doing. 

 The National Conventions then were 

 simply great big local meetings, with no 

 delegated power. The whole work had 

 to be done then by the few officers, and 

 in late years this has been left almost 

 entirely to Manager France, who has 

 probably been criticized because he 

 didn't do more. The wonder is that he 

 was able to do so much. 



The board of directors, while capable, 

 were entirely too unwieldy. Always ap- 

 point a big committee if you want noth- 

 ing done. This is not because they 

 can't do the work, but because of the 

 difficulty of getting together or getting 

 decisions. Ask Chairman Taylor. The 

 new plan proposes to reduce the number 

 of directors to five, place in their hands 

 the running of the organization, and the 

 action and compensations of the officers. 

 These directors and officers will be 

 elected by delegates. These delegates 

 will be elected by the local branches, or 

 associations. Could anything be more 

 simple or effective? 



If the new Constitution passes, it will 

 mean that the directors must get to- 

 gether at once and provide for an organ- 

 izing campaign to be carried on this 

 winter. This is simple, and can be 

 easily carried out. A plan must first 

 be decided upon, and then that plan 

 pushed to the limit. 



Personally, I feel that if every mem- 

 ber fully realizes what this proposed 

 Constitution means to the National, they 

 will vote for it without the slightest 

 hesitation. 



