46 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



January, 1919 



OUR HOMES 



A. I. ROOT 



We trust in God. — I. Timothy 4:10. 



I have seen the wicked in great power, and 

 spreading himself like a green bay tree. Yet he 

 passed away, and, lo, he was not. — Psalm 37:35. 



IN the month 

 o f October, 

 1878 (just 

 40 years ago as 

 I wi-ite), when 

 we were putting- 

 up the first 

 brick building 

 just opposite 

 our railroad de- 

 pot, I had the 

 mason put in 

 the middle o f 

 the east front 

 of the building, 

 clear up to the top, a block of sandstone 

 with an old-fashioned straw hive carved on 

 it and right above it were the words in large 

 letters, " In God we Trust." This inscrip- 

 tion is, of course, still there. It is so close 

 to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad that the 

 passengers who go by daily are sure to see 

 it as they take note of the building that is 

 now simply a part of the other buildings of 

 the A. I. Root Co. During the years that 

 have passed there have been many com- 

 ments in regard to this inscription that 

 has appeared for so many years on the 

 face of our coins. Years ago they used 

 to laugh about it; but as time passed and 

 the business grew, and its reputation 

 spread further and further, I do not know 

 but the gTeat busy world began to think 

 it was not only a good thing to have " In 

 God we Trust" stamped on our coins, but 

 that it would also be a fine thing if more 

 business houses had it over their doors, 

 and better still, inscribed on the hearts of 

 the proprietors. 



I recently saw in the Sunday School 

 Times a statement to the effect that the 

 Times people had published a little book 

 giving the names of the various business 

 firms who had prospered and flourished for 

 a long period of years; and they paid 

 strong emphasis on the fact that these old 

 business houses that continue to grow and 

 prosper were, almost without exception, 

 under the management of a Christian man, 

 and, with few exceptions, a man or com- 

 pany of men who are regular attendants 

 at chu>--'' ond Sunday-school, and many of 

 *■' ..n prominent workers in Sunday-school. 

 Heinze, the pickle man (" 57 different 

 kinds of pickles"), is even yet, in his old 

 age, a great Sunday-school man; and just 

 recently he gave a splendid address to a 

 great convention of Sunday-school work- 

 ers in some eastern city. 



Some years ago the skeptics used to be 

 fond of saying that there was more crook- 

 edness among church members than 



among any oth- 

 er class of peo- 

 ple in the 

 world. I have 

 not heard this 

 lately, but occa- 

 sionally we hear 

 something of 

 the sort. The 

 whole wide 

 world has be- 

 gun to realize 

 that not only 

 peace of mind 

 and tranquillity 

 of soul come from trusting in God, but also 

 financial jorosperity — a prosperity that 

 stands the assault of years. 



Well, what brought this whole matter to 

 mind w^as that at one of our stockholders' 

 annual meetings one of the speakers, in 

 commenting on the legend cut in stone over 

 our first building, said that some years ago 

 there was much talk about adulterated li- 

 quid honey and honey in the comb manu- 

 factured from parraffin and glucose with- 

 out the bees ever having had anything to 

 do with it. Some of our older beekeepers 

 will remember about our offering $1,000 for 

 a single pound of manufactured comb hon- 

 ey, and afterward $10,000. Of course, not 

 even one pound of bogus honey was ever 

 gotten hold of. Well, this talk recalled 

 the fact that once A. I. Root Avas accused 

 of making honey mostly or entirely of glu- 

 cose, etc. Yes, it got into the papers also; 

 and one editor came down to our place and 

 charged me with it. I told him he was 

 welcome to visit the premises and go every- 

 where and look everywhere. When he ask- 

 ed me if I had any glucose on the place I 

 showed him a little bottleful — perhaps half 

 a pound. On another occasion somebody 

 on the street declared that A. I. Root's 

 honey was bogus and all of it manufactur- 

 ed. A lady who had a daughter for many 

 years in my employ called him to order 

 right there on the street. She said in sub- 

 stance: 



" My good sir, my daughter is in the 

 employ of A. I. Root, and has been almost 

 ever since he commenced business. If he 

 were doing anything of that sort, do you 

 think I would consent to let her work for 

 him, or that she herself would consent to 

 continue in the employ of such a man, es- 

 pecially when right over the front of the 

 building, cut in sandstone, is the motto, 

 "In God we Trust?" 



Now, friends, I suppose you have the 

 matter clearly before you. Would it not 

 take considerable " cheek " for any man 



