1909 



GLEANINCJS IN BEE CULTURE. 



127 



General 

 Correspondence 



THE TARIFF ON HONEY AND WAX. 



Is there Danger from the Disease Brought 



in by Foreign Honey? the Tariff 



on Wax Not Favored. 



BY J. L. EVER. 



In Gleanings for Nov. 15 you ask, Mr. Edi- 

 tor, for opinions on the tariff resolution presented 

 at the recent N. B. K. A. convention held in De- 

 troit. Not being an American citizen, it would 

 be presumption on my part to say any thing on 

 the question if it were not for the fact of there 

 having been t-xvo resolutions passed. As a mem- 

 ber of the resolution committee I might say that 

 these matters were discussed by the committee 

 quite fully, and it was thought that, as it was 

 such an important subject, perhaps it would re- 

 ceive a fuller discussion if it were brought before 

 the meeting without any reference to its having 

 been considered by the resolution committee. 

 Accordingly the two resolutions — one concerning 

 the United States and the other one Canada, were 

 drafted and handed to Mr. France, with the re- 

 quest tliat he present them to the meeting. This 

 was done, but, unfortunately, as is often the case 

 in the closing hours of a convention, there was no 

 time for any discussion, and the matter went 

 through with a single expression of opinion, 

 if I remember correctly. Not being so familiar 

 with conditions as they are in the United States, 

 my remarks will necessarily apply only to Cana- 

 da; but in many respects, no doubt, so far as the 

 honey market is concerned, the conditions are 

 much the same in both countries. If correct, 

 the duty is 20 cents a gallon on honey coming 

 into the United States, while in Canada it is 3 

 cents a pound; from the colonies and Britain, 

 under the preferential clause, honey comes in at 

 2 cents a pound. It will thus be seen that bee- 

 keepers in Canada are protected more than our 

 friends over the line. 



While there is a great diversity of opinion as 

 to how the tariff should be arranged relative to 

 many kinds of products, 1 have yet to meet the 

 first Canadian bee-keeper who would be in favor 

 of abolishing the duty on honey coming into 

 Canada. Not so many years ago it was quite 

 common to hear the opinion expressed that for- 

 eign honey would never come into serious com- 

 petition with our Canadian product; but very 

 few are now laboring under such erroneous ideas. 



I am personally acquainted with the manager 

 of one of the largest baking concerns in Canada, 

 and only a few years ago he thought that clover 

 honey was the only kind they could use in the 

 business; but he now finds that logwood honey 

 will answer the purpose, although he much pre- 

 fers the Canadian product to such an extent that 

 he will pay a cent a pound more for the clover 

 than for the logwood. This is probably the case 

 with many more manufacturers, and the trouble 

 is that this West India product can be laid down 

 in Canada so cheap — even after paying the 2 cents 

 a pound duty, that producers of clover honey can 



not compete with it. No doubt many bee-keep- 

 ers would be surprised if they knew what an 

 enormous amount of honey is used annually by 

 the manufacturers; and, while I can not give the 

 figures, from what I have learned by inquiry I 

 would hazard the guess that half of the honey 

 consumed in Canada is used in that way. 



During the past few years many thousands of 

 the darker grades of foreign honey have been im- 

 ported into Canada, as well as the comparatively 

 light-colored logwood honey already mentioned. 

 Much of this dark honey has come in under very 

 suspicious circumstances, and it was the subject 

 of considerable discussion at the recent conven- 

 tion of the Ontario Association held in Toronto. 

 Great quantities of this honey have been shipped 

 from England, and in some cases laid down here 

 as low as 5 cents a pound As Great Britain 

 produces no honey for export — particularly at 

 that price, it is only fair to assume that this hon- 

 ey was first sent into a free port of entry and then 

 reshipped as a British product in order to get the 

 benefit of the preferential tariff. That this honey 

 can be hauled half way around the world, and 

 then sold so cheaply, simply emphasizes the fact 

 that northern producers can not compete with 

 this southern product if it is allowed to come in 

 duty free. You speak, Mr. Editor, of the reso- 

 lution calling for an increase in the tariff; but if 

 my memory serves me correctly, it simply asked 

 that the present duty be maintained.* So far as 

 Canada is concerned, negotiations are constantly 

 going on with the British West Indies, seeking 

 to arrange for reciprocity in certain lines of prod- 

 ucts, and there is great danger that honey might 

 at any time be put on this list. If this were 

 done, it requires no argument to say what it 

 would mean to the Canadian producer. I am 

 well aware that there are many who claim that 

 the golden rule is not being observed when we 

 advocate protection; and this may be true in a 

 certain sense. I am at heart a universal free- 

 trader; yet I realize plainly that this ideal is not 

 possible at present, and I must content myself 

 with advocating what I believe to be the best 

 thing under existing conditions. 



Dr. Phillips advocated increased protection on 

 foreign honey, on the ground of there being great 

 danger of introducing foul brood, it being gen- 

 erally understood that the countries from which 

 most of the foreign honey is imported have a 

 great deal of this disease among their bees. 

 While there may be something in this contention, 

 I do not see that there is so much danger 

 along this line, as it is a very well-known fact 

 that in the United States and Canada con- 

 siderable foul-i)roody honey finds its way to 

 manufacturers every year. That there is a cer- 

 tain amount of danger in the handling of foul- 

 broody honey, no one will dispute; bnt the point 

 I wish to make clear is that there is no more 

 danger in the foreign than there is in our own, 

 i. e. , speaking in a general way. 



As to a duty on beeswax, I am not so sure as 

 to the benefits that would accrue from the same. 

 As has been pointed out, it would raise the price 



"The language of the resolution reads that the " present tariff 

 of 20 cents per gallon on honey be retained, and, if possible, that 

 it be increased " The same language was used in the resolu 

 tions for Canada, except that the amount (20 cents) was left out. 

 —Ed.) 



