THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



247 



inijhthe vaoxe feasible to modify the con- 

 stitution of the existing Bee-Keepers' Union 

 so as to cover the objects above set forth. 

 We have no doubt that every member of 

 that organization would vote to have this 

 change made, providing that General-man- 

 ager Newman should sanction it. It may 

 not be best, however, to interfere with or 

 enlarge the scope of an organization that 

 has already done great good by the prece- 

 dents in law which it has established in the 

 interest of the bee-keeper. While we do not 

 believe that adulteration of our product has 

 been carried on extensively, we cannot deny, 

 in the face of some facts that have been 

 brought to light, that it has been done to 

 some extent, and we therefore need— yes, 

 must have — an organization whose business 

 it shall be to ferret out the adulterators and 

 bring them to justice. Honey will probably 

 be a little scarce this year, and the tempta- 

 tion to mix in glucose will be great. A 

 union such as Mr. Mclntyre outlines, with 

 competent, conscientious otficers, it seems 

 to us ought to secure easily a membership of 

 not less than 1,000. With annual fees of 

 $1.00 from each member, some telling and 

 effective work could be done. Let's hear 

 from you, brother bee-keepers." 



In union there is strength. Creating two 

 Unions where one can do the work is more 

 like division than union. One man alone 

 can do but little in fighting adulteration. A 

 Bee-Keepers' Union, if large enough and 

 rightly managed, can be made a terror to 

 adulterators. There is no necessity for two 

 Unions. One is better than more, but its 

 constitution should be broadened so that its 

 money and power can be used for any pur- 

 pose that its managers think best. 



There has been a great deal of wonder ex- 

 pressed as to why more bee-keepers do not 

 join the present Union. The only wonder 

 to me is that as many join it as have. The 

 man who isolates his apiary, or surrounds it 

 with trees or high fences, or keeps gentle 

 strains of bees, or, if his bees are so located 

 that they may give annoyance, handles them 

 only at dusk when they are not gathering 

 honey, the man who takes all these precau- 

 tions, feels that there is small chance that 

 he will need the assistance of any Union. As 

 the Union is now managed, the men who put 

 in the dollars derive little benefit unless 

 they get into trouble; and, usually, if a man 

 tries hard enough he can keep out of trouble. 

 If he does get into trouble which it would 

 have been impossible to avoid, he does not 

 need assistance any more than the man 

 whose honey crop is a failure. 



Change the constitution of the present 

 Union so that it can fight adulteration, and 

 every bee-keeper can see at once that the 



dollars that he puts in may be of some bene- 

 fit to him. The adulteration of honey, if 

 carried on to considerable extent, increases 

 the amount of honey put on the market, 

 thus having its influence upon the price, 

 which touches every bee-keeper in a tender 

 spot. 



Since the foregoing was written, the A. B. 

 J. has taken up this matter and General 

 Manager Newman gives his views, from 

 which I clip the following:— 



" In order to add this new feature to the 

 National Bee-Keepers' Union, the constitu- 

 tion must be amended: and, perhaps, the 

 best way will be to have ten members sign a 

 request and send it to me, to have the pro- 

 posed amendments submitted to vote. Then 

 let the matter be fully discussed in all the 

 bee periodicals, so that the members may 

 vote understandingly, after mature deliber- 

 ation. 



If it is voted to add the new feature, then 

 the Washington convention can formulate 

 plans to make an aggressive war upon adul- 

 teration and adulterators. 



The greatest difiiculty to be encountered 

 will be the diversity in the laws of the sev- 

 eral states. A national law should be en- 

 acted by congress against adulteration, ap- 

 plicable alike to every state and territory. 

 Then somethiiig may be accomi)lished— 

 until then, I fear much of the labor will be 

 in vain. 



Another trouble is that the honey from 

 different localities varies so much in conse- 

 quence of the diverse soils and atmospheric 

 conditions. On that account even the analy- 

 zation of honey by chemists of national 

 reputation is totally unreliable. 



Another thing must be provided for— the 

 new departure would require so much time 

 and energy of the General Manager that a 

 salary should be attached to the office. I 

 have done the best I could for the love of the 

 pursuit alone, but it is hardly probable that 

 my successor would accept the office on that 

 condition, with that additional feature at- 

 tached, to prosecute all honey adulterators. 



Such a union will require a young, ener- 

 getic and persistent man, and he should be 

 a good lawyer. None of "these essential 

 qualities " will be found in the present 

 General Manager, and therefore a new man 

 will have to be elected to that import nt 

 position. Fraternally yours, 



Thomas G. Newman, 



General Manager, 



Chicago, Ills.. Aug. 29, 1892. 



Certainly no one could do better as Gen- 

 eral Manager than Bro. Newman has done. 

 If he feels that he would not be able to bear 

 the burdens that the proposed change would 

 bring to its chief executive officer, let the 

 Union, as it ushers in a salaried successor, 

 do something more than thank him for the 

 labor of love that he has done in the past. 



