1889 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



15 



most successful honey-producers of the continent. 

 With a positive dislike for financial transactions, 

 he is fortunate in his son, Alfred H., who has abili- 

 ty in that direction. Hesides this son he has two 

 daughters, all married, :tnd five grandchildren. 



In 1879 he went to Europe, at his own expense, as 

 American representative to the various bee-keep- 

 ers' societies, and attended conventions in Eng- 

 land, France, Italy, Austria, Germany, etc., and 

 was awarded several g-old medals for exhibitions of 

 American apiarian implements. He has been 

 elected an honorary member of 14 bee-keepers' as- 

 sociations, and is also life member of the North 

 American Bee-Keepers' Society (of which he was 

 twice elected president), and treasurer of the North- 

 western Bee-Keepers' Association. 



He has been twice elected Grand Commander of 

 Illinois of the "American Legion of Honor," and is 

 an officer of some ten different societies in Chicago, 

 social, fraternal, insurance, etc., and spends much 

 time in visiting- the sick and relieving- the distress 

 of those in fraternal and social relations with him, 

 thus fulfilling the injunctions of the Book of all 

 books, of which he is a diligent student. 



In 1885 he was elected the first manager of the 

 National Bee-Keepers' Union, which, under his 

 management, has successfully defended a number 

 of bee-keepers in suits at law brought against 

 them. His successive re-election each year gives 

 evidence of the satisfactory manner in which he 

 has performed the duties of his office. 



In no one thing has friend Newman shown the 

 persistence with which he follows up any matter he 

 undertakes, more than in his tight against adultera- 

 tion, and in connection with it what he so con- 

 stantly calls the " Wiley lie." Prof. Wiley, with all 

 the weight of his official position under govern- 

 ment, perpetrated the "scientific pleasantry" that 

 comb honey was manufactured without the aid of 

 bees. Far and near it vas copied by the papers, 

 the professor looking on complacently at the mis- 

 chief he had wrought, without offering a word to 

 stop its course. Mr. Newman demanded a retrac- 

 tion, with no success, for a long time, but he kept 

 up the warfare, denouncing the falsehood with 

 ever-increasing vigor, using such strong language, 

 and such bitter denunciations that one could hard- 

 ly withhold sympathy for the poor professor, so 

 mercilessly belabored. But it is probable that 

 nothing short of such vigorous language would 

 have wrung from Prof. W. a tardy denial of the 

 truth of his statement, and a mingled attempt at 

 apology and self-justification. 



Notwithstanding the use of vigorous language on 

 the printed page, in his attacks upon that which he 

 deems unjust or false, in personal intercourse 

 friend Newman is always the courteous gentleman. 

 Hardly up to medium height, he is of strong build, 

 and of active temperament. In convention he is a 

 good presiding officer, and an easy speaker, some- 

 times rising to flights of eloquence on themes 

 which, treated by others, would be but common- 

 place. 



Let us all heartily join in the wish that Thomas 

 G. Newman may long be continued at the helm of 

 the good old American Bee Journal. 

 Marengo, 111., Oct. 20, 1888. C. C. Miller. 



In addition to the above I will say that 

 my acquaintance with the subject of this 

 sketch began when friend Newman first as- 

 sumed the editorship of the American Bee 



Journal. A good many things were in rath- 

 er bad shape when he took hold of it, if I am 

 correct, and I was forced to admire the cor- 

 teou.s and gentlemanly way in which he 

 commenced to put things into shape. Any 

 one who can not get along with friend New- 

 man in business matters, is certainly very 

 hard to please, unless, indeed, it is one of 

 those queer individuals who prefer to have 

 no sort of understanding or settlement eith- 

 er. During our long business acquaintance, 

 very seldom if ever has any thing occurred 

 to prevent a regular settlement of accounts 

 at the end of every thirty days ; and in this 

 respect friend Newman is a good model for 

 bee-keepers at large ; for my experience 

 seems to indicate that the whole bee-keep- 

 ing world, as a rule, has a dislike for regu- 

 lar, systematic ways in finances ; that is, for 

 having a regular settling-up and perfect 

 understanding the first of every month. 

 Things are received that are not satisfacto- 

 ry, perhaps not as ordered ; but some of the 

 brethren will wait a year and then com- 

 plain. It is an old adage, that " two of a 

 trade can never agree ; " and I am sorry to 

 say that at one time it seemed to bid fair to 

 be the rule among bee-journals. May God 

 forbid that it should ever be so any more. 

 Friend Newman has always stood ready to 

 go more than half way toward amicable re- 

 lations toward all the bee-journals publish- 

 ed, so far as I know. 



CONVENTIONS ET BEE-JOURNALS. 



SHOULD THEY AMOUNT TO ONE AND THE SAME 

 THING? IF NOT. WHY NOT? 



|EI| N page 9&5 is an item headed " Conventions 

 Tm ver sus Bee-Journals." Allow me to change 

 fc<j| versus to et, because there is no conflict. 

 ^* "Bee-journals fill a place that conventions 

 can not fill, and it is equally true that con- 

 ventions fill a place that bee-journals can not fill." 

 Quite correct. "The information then furnished 

 by the bee-journals will have an added interest " 

 (after you've attended a convention), "and you 

 can read very much more understandingly." True 

 also; but with threefold emphasis is it true that 

 you can hear the discussions at a convention un- 

 derstandingly after you have thoroughly read up 

 all that is said in the bee-journals and in the bee- 

 books. I have heard men ask questions in a con- 

 vention that showed they had a poor understand- 

 ing of what was going on, which questions would 

 have been readily answered by any one who had 

 done even a small amount of reading beforehand. 



Although bee-journals and conventions are dif- 

 ferent in their uses, and both needed, I do not be- 

 lieve there is any great harm in trying to have a 

 bee-journal approach somewhat in character to a 

 convention. The familiar talk and friendly dis- 

 cussion, getting the views of a number on the 

 same point— such things make the printed page 

 quite a little like meeting our fellows face to face. 

 So. as far as possible. I like to have every bee- 

 journal that arrives seem like a convention; and if 

 v c rmrid have one that should have all the advan- 

 tages of a convention, with only the ordinary cost 

 of the paper, it would be a great gain. But to have 

 a convention modeled after a bee-journal is another 



