1896 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



307 



Be kindly atfei-tioned one to another with brotlier- 

 ly love; in honor preferring one another. — Romans 

 13:10. 



Among the Kind Words in our last issue, page 

 283, there is one kind letter that lies heavily on 

 my conscience— not because there is any thing 

 unkind about it, or any thing out of the way at 

 ail with what the good brother said who wrote 

 it, only it was a private letter, and was sent us 

 for our encouragement. It was all right and 

 appropriate as such; but we here — 1 guess I had 

 better not say ive after all. for I think it must 

 have been I myself — A. I. Root, who decided to 

 give it a place in print. Here is the kind word: 



Gleanings is the only bee-paper that I am now 

 taking. I have taken it ever since its advent, and 

 don't expect to cut it off very soon. It is away 

 ahead of all others, and the cheapest bee-literature 

 published. W. D. Wright. 



Altamout, N. Y., Jan. 6. 



The first sentence would be all very well for 

 publication, and the same with the next one. 

 The words, however, where it says, "Glean- 

 ings is away ahead of all others," was certainly 

 out of place in print, especially in our own jour- 

 nal. I know such things are customary, per- 

 haps even in religious papers; but since I have 

 professed to be a follower of Christ Jesus, things 

 of this kind have always pained me like dis- 

 cordant music. It is hardly within the line of 

 Christianity. I do not know that any one of 

 my good friends who are editors of the other 

 journals saw it or felt pained by it — I hope they 

 didn't. But it has pained vie, not only every 

 time I saw it, but sometimes when I lay awake 

 nights thinking of different things. Just at 

 this point my stenographer informs me that 

 not all of the kind words in that letter were al- 

 lowed to go into print. Well, I am very glad if 

 that is true; but I am sorry that the one who 

 did the crossing-out did not cross out the last 

 sentence. I am sure that both Ernest and John 

 will heartily agree with me in this, although I 

 have not talked with them about it. I know 

 how customary it is in business for a business 

 man to proclaim loudly that he is selling goods 

 cheaper and of better quality than anybody else 

 in the world. I have noticed seed catalogs, and 

 advertisements of seedsmen, where they say, 

 ''Our seeds grow. Our seeds produce better 

 crops and finer stuff than those sold by anybody 

 else." Some of you may suggest that perhaps 

 these statements are true, and it is always right 

 to tell the truth. My friend, it is not always 

 right to tell things everybody should he ashamed 

 of, even if it is "the truth." The Bible says it 

 is not. If you always tell all the truth, you will 

 not be in line with the closing words of the 

 beautiful text I have chosen — " In honor prefer- 

 ring one another." Suppose the editors of our 

 several bee-journals were to meet together at 

 some convention (God grant that they may thus 

 meet again and again), and suppose they were 

 to sit down side by side, like a lot of brothers. 

 Whyl the very thought of it tills me with en- 

 thusiasm. Now, while they are thus sitting to- 

 gether, and chatting, in a brotherly way. sup- 

 pose somebody should say that he thinks 

 Gleanings ahead of all others. I do not think 

 anybody would say that— that is, if he knew he 

 was in the presence of the editors of the differ- 

 ent journals. If he did not know to whom he 

 was speaking, we might excuse him; but even 

 then I believe I should blush for shame. I do 

 notwant Gleanings to be "ahead of all others." 



May be when I forget myself, some such fool- 

 ish ambition crops out. If so, it is surely the 

 prompting of the evil one. We want to make 

 Gleanings as valuable as we possibly can, but 

 never at the expense of crowding others down 

 or out. May God help me to make this state- 

 ment true so long as he shall permit me to live; 

 and may he help me to rejoice in seeing the 

 others grow and prosper— yes, to feel even more 

 joy and pleasure in seeing them prosper than 

 our own, for that would be in the line of our text 

 — "In honor preferring one another." Dear 

 friends, do you think that sort of spirit would 

 spoil our own journal or our own business, 

 whatever it may be? Why, nothing of the sort. 

 It vi^ould be just the contrary. It is the broad, 

 whole-souled, generous man who prospers and 

 builds up a great business; and, better still than 

 a great business, is the esteem and brotherly 

 feeling that he builds up in the hearts of all 

 men. When I get glimpses of the way these 

 thingscome out when we have a Christlike spirit 

 in our hearts, it brings back again and again 

 that old text of mine, "O thou of little faith! 

 wherefore didst thou doubt?" These were the 

 words of Jesus to poor Peter when he began to 

 sink in the water; and they fit the case exactly 

 that is right before us. When a man begins to 

 be afraid that it will not do for him to be fair 

 and generous, and to love his neighbor as him- 

 self, then he straightway begins to sink down 

 into the waters of selfishness and self-interests. 

 May the dear Savior be always near at hand to 

 reach down as he did to Peter and lift him up. 



A great many times we get an idea that there 

 is no room for all of us in the world. Dear 

 brother, when you get to feeling that way, take 

 the little text 1 have given you. commencing, 

 " O ye of little faith !" If we all undertake to do 

 one and the same thing, or if we try to copy af- 

 ter a neighbor who has been successful, there 

 may not be room for all of us; but God did not 

 intend us to nil follow in one channel. Don't 

 you see how difl'ei'ent we are? Every one of our 

 bee- journals has some characteristic of its own. 

 If its editor is a good man he very soon strikes a 

 field that has been comparatively neglected. 

 God did not intend that we should all be alike. 

 There should not be any better or best about it. 

 Mind you. I am not criticising the friends who 

 write me such kind words, for I happen to know 

 that other editors get many similar kind words. 

 Kind words are all right. However, it is not 

 always in good taste to print all of them. I am 

 afraid I have allowed others to go into print 

 that were not intended for it. and should not 

 have been printed. May God help me to be 

 careful in this respect; and may I be enabled to 

 hold that beautiful thought nearer to me — "In 

 honor preferring one another." 



Years ago there used to be clashing among 

 the bee-journals. May God be praised for the 

 fact that there is but very little of it now. In 

 fact, some of the brethren have found fault 

 with us. and called us a " mutual-admiration 

 society." Yes. there have been several criti- 

 cisms, to the effect that we as editors of bee-peri- 

 odicals were too careful about any reflections 

 on each other, and that our leading contributors 

 are afraid to speak out the plain truth. I hope 

 it is true that most of us are professing Chris- 

 tians, and that we have a (Christian spirit toward 

 each other, and. in fact, toward all men, wheth- 

 er we are really church -members or not. If 

 you want to see exhibitions of acts and woi^ds 

 that are unchristianlike. look over the class 

 joTirnals published now over almost all the 

 world. Occasionally I hastily scan some of 

 them. Sometimes I see page after page tilled 

 with quarrels and harsh words. Valuable space 

 is taken up with something that does not teach 



