Oct. 1, 1903. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



629 



and— and— well, so many other geuial Californians, who couldn't havB 

 had a good and profitable time for a few days? 



But as to what was done and said during tlie convention, that 

 will be found in the regular published report which is now appearing 

 in these columns. In some ways it was the greatest convention of 

 bee-kfeepers ever held on this continent, or in the world. We were 

 glad to be permitted to be present— to be one ot that goodly company. 

 We will never forget it. We will look back to it for years to come, 

 and only wish that we could have remained several weeks after the 

 meeting, instead of only two or three days. But a weekly paper re- 

 quires constant attention, and lots ot " copy," so it was necessary for 

 us to hasten home instead of visiting, as we would so much have 

 preferred to do. The next time we go out there, we hope to be able 

 to stay a month or so. 



Some after-convention experiences will be reserved for our next 

 week's installment of these notes. 



Convention Proceedings 1 



THE LOS ANGELES CONVENTION. 



Report of the Ppoeeedings of the 34th Annual 



Meeting- of the National Bee-Keepers' 



Association, Held at Los Ang-eles, 



Calif., Aug-. 18, 19 and 20, 



1903. 



(Continued from pag-e 615.) 

 CO-OPERATIVE MARKETING. 



Prof. Cook— If any of you would like to ask any 

 questions, I am sure Mr. Reed will be glad to answer them. 



Dr. Miller— It is now 10 minutes of 11 ; some of us have 

 come a long way, and we have not struck any bee-talk. We 

 don't know about oranges; we don't care about oranges, 

 but I want to say to you that I feel like giving a very hearty 

 vote of thanks to the citrus producers in general, and to 

 Prof. Cook and Mr. Reed for talking to us about oranges. 

 They have blazed the way that we ought to go. If we heard 

 nothing else in this convention, and could go away feeling 

 that something was going to be done as they have done, 

 our coming would not have been in vain. I want to move a 

 standing vote of thanks to Mr. Reed. 



Motion carried. 



Dr. Miller— I think there is a string of questions about 

 that long [indicating by extended arms] that we would like 

 to ask him, but I believe we are ignorant ; we do not know 

 what we want, and if there is anything in particular— I am 

 all at sea— I do not know what is the right thing. If any 

 of you know more than I do, and can ask questions, go 

 ahead. I feel there is a great deal to be said on this subject. 



Dr. D. W. Edward— At a number of meetings that I 

 have had the pleasure and privilege of attending of the 

 bee-keepers, I have heard this matter thoroughly discussed, 

 and I respond heartily to the vote of thanks. However, this 

 IS the National Bee-Keepers' Association, not a citrus fruit 

 convention. I am interested in both in a financial way, 

 and I would say, that so far as my interest in the honey is 

 concerned, the only interest I feel in this subject is in a 

 lecture on the orange and lemon blossoms. It seems to me 

 we are ignoring the fact that wliatever this is, it has ex- 

 isted for years, and there is already an organization which 

 is doing business to-day successfully operated by honey- 

 producers exactly on the line that has been suggested, and 

 which has been entirely ignored, so far as this discussion 

 has gone. I would like to hear from these men of their 

 organization, so that they are all converted to the idea of 

 co-operation, or organization to carry out the same ideas 

 advanced by Prof. Cook. And if that has been the begin- 

 ning of the citrus fruit growers' association, why go back 

 and rehash all that— why not go back to the bee-question ? 



Prof. Cook — I do not agree with the gentleman one bit. 

 We have formed here a honey association, but it is just 

 started. We want to form on something akin to that that 

 has succeeded. In all essential respects they are just the 

 same — it is the marketing of a product produced by people. 



If these honey exchanges had been of long standing, we 

 would not say a word about oranges. We have an organi- 

 zation that is in California. This is the United States I 

 We want to touch questions that affect the whole country. 

 One year ago this came up the first time in the National 

 Association. It is a new thing, and we have nothing to re- 

 fer to in bee-interests, and in this fruit exchange we have 

 an example, and that is why I wanted Mr. Reed to come 

 here this morning. These bee-men have a year or two at 

 the most ; they have just started. Our friend, Mr. Brown, 

 went to Denver, last year, and stirred up the whole country. 

 But it is very little we have done — hardly anything yet. 



T. O. Andrews— Has your co-operation, the Citrus Fruit 

 Exchange, worked much of a revolution in the freight 

 rates ? That is one of our difficulties. 



Mr. Reed— No, we have not. We are practically owned 

 by one railroad. We have done a good many things though 

 that have aided and helped us at times in the rate business. 

 There was one year we asked for a special rate to fight the 

 foreign oranges. They gave it to us for four months, and 

 that was the first time citrus oranges had been introduced 

 to any extent. We went into the New York market and 

 drove the foreign oranges out of it. Then the lemons. 

 Without our fruit exchange we could never have accom- 

 plished what we did. I believe the citrus growers owe to 

 the organization of the Southern California Fruit Exchange 

 more than to anybody or all else together, the fact that they 

 organized and could fight for a tariff and get it. 



E. T. Abbott — I do not believe in anything he says — ■ 

 that is, in his theory. I want to talk about it later. I want 

 to say, however, that in the five days travel it took me to 

 get here, I have only traveled in a portion of the United 

 States. I live in the center of the United States. The 

 United States is a little portion of the territory covered by 

 the territory of this National Association. This Associa- 

 tion does not belong to the United States. It belongs to 

 Canada, also. And to use illustrations by what has been 

 done in a little patch of country that is not as big as a little 

 neck of New York, is all fallacious. 



F. E. Brown — I had not expected to say anything at 

 this time ; I have made no preparations whatever, but I am 

 to have the opportunity of saying a few words along these 

 lines. I am sure, as has been stated by Mr. Abbott, that 

 this is a great question. It is one that has great magni- 

 tude. It reaches over a large space of territory, but at the 

 same time there is not so much more business transacted by 

 the honey-men than there is, perhaps, by the Fruit Ex- 

 change. But it is also true that the citrus fruit industry is 

 centered in one locality, so to speak, while ours is spread 

 out; but I do not see that this matters so much. I have 

 been much interested this morning by the talk of Mr. 

 Reed, because experience is a great teacher, and if we can 

 profit by this experience, it will save us money ; it will save 

 us time, and a great deal of time, and a great deal of an- 

 noyance. 



Now, I say to this assembly, we are inclined to believe 

 that because we are producers of honey we are capable of 

 transacting and carrying on our own business, regardless 

 of the fruit-growers. This is a pride that we have of our- 

 selves. This is all right. I am glad we have ambition 

 along these lines. And while the fruit-man has organized, 

 and while his organization has been a success, it has not 

 been due to previous experience, as Mr. Reed has told us. 

 But he said, " We have men of brains," and, ladies and 

 gentlemen, we have men of brains in our ranks. 



Now, while our honey interests are situated in localities 

 from California to Maine, it is necessary for us to organize 

 in localities. We believe this is so. Prof. Cook believes 

 this is so, and he is writing along these lines. We are or- 

 ganized, and we will organize in localities. We will or- 

 ganize and transact business in localities. Then we will 

 simply take hold of hands and march along to success. Is 

 not that reasonable ? Is not that so ? Eook at the associa- 

 tion in Colorado. They are a strong organization that any 

 bee-man should be proud of. 



Look in other localities — Central California I should 

 not pass, because I am from Central California. I have 

 worked in that association from its beginning, and we have 

 made a record that I am proud of, and I am glad to say it 

 to my brethren here to-day. Look at Southern California — 

 some 200 to 300 miles away from Central California. They 

 have made a beginning that we bee-keepers of the Pacific 

 Coast should be very proud of. It is a good thing. They 

 are doing well. Look at their name — The California Na- 

 tional Honey-Producers' Association 1 



Dr. Miller made this remark: "What is that word 

 ' National ' attached to the Honey-Producers' Association 



