206 



THE BEE-KEEPEKS' REVIEW 



position he occupies, or circumstances 

 may exhibit some other man's qualities 

 in such a light as to show, decidedly, 

 that he is the best possible man for a 

 Director or a General Manager. The 

 constitution is now changed so that the 

 President, Secretary and Vice Presi- 

 dent are to be elected by a vote of the mem- 

 bers at the annual election, the same 

 as we have been electing the Directors 

 and the General Manager. I approve 

 of the change, but this same objection 

 comes up; we will probably keep right 

 on electing the same men right over 

 year after year. With our present 

 method it would be simply impossible 

 to vote an undesirable man out of 

 ofifice, and vote in the better man. We 

 can not come publicly and say that 

 Mr. Blank is behind the times, or too 

 slow, or lacking in business methods, 

 or neglects his business, or has this or 

 that fault. It would be too cruel, and 

 could not be thought of for an instant; 

 but, if we were in the habit, each year, 

 of nominating, say, two candidates for 

 each officer that is to be elected, there 

 would then be an opportunity for voting 

 this man out of office,, and electing his 

 successor. When two men are nomi- 

 nated for the same office, it is not 

 considered a reflection upon the one not 

 elected, as it is simply impossible to 

 elect both. 



The weak point, or, at least one of 

 the weak points, in the management 

 of the National Association, is that 

 no nominations are made in advance 

 of election. I believe that the ballot, 

 the actual power of electing officers, 

 should remain right where it is — in the 

 hands of the members — but so long as 

 no one knows how, or for whom, his 

 neighbor will vote, each officer will 

 simply succeed himself. 



One of the recent amendments to the 

 constitution allows the Directors to 

 prescribe rules and regulations in 

 regard to nominations, and I believe 

 some action ought to be taken along 

 this line before it comes time for the 



annual election next November. When 

 this question was up for discussion 

 two years ago, Mr. W. F. Marks pro- 

 posed that the Secretary, General 

 Manager, or President, send out 

 notices, in August, to the bee journals, 

 requesting each member of the Asso- 

 ciation to send, on a postal, his pref- 

 erence for each officer that is to be 

 elected. On the first of October such 

 votes are to be counted, and the two 

 men receiving the greatest number of 

 votes for a certain office are to be the 

 nominees for that office. Such nomi- 

 nations are to be published in the 

 October journals, thus allowing a 

 month for canvassing before the elec- 

 tion in November. 



This would give all, who wished to 

 do so, a chance to take part in the 

 nomination of candidates, without 

 prejudice, and at the election follow- 

 ing they would again have a choice of 

 two candidates, for each office. It is 

 quite likely it would often happen that 

 the man in office would be one of the 

 nominees, but there would also be 

 another candidate, and if an}' voter 

 did not think the old officer was a 

 suitable man for the position, he would 

 know for whom some other man would 

 vote if he held similar views. If the 

 officer were re-elected, it would show 

 that the members still preferred his 

 services, but there would be an im- 

 mense satisfaction all around if it were 

 known that the members could have 

 elected some other man if they had 

 preferred him. 



I have in mind the making of a mo- 

 tion for the adoption of this plan, but, 

 before doing so, I would like to have 

 the benefit of any criticisms or sugges- 

 tions that any one can make. 



■kjr»«i^U»«-«ar-^ 



BEE-KEEPING AS A BUSINESS. 



In reply to the quer}', "What will 

 best mix with bee-keeping?" I have 

 always replied: "Some more bees." 

 When the conditions are favorable, I 

 am decidedly in favor of bee-keeping 



