1872.] 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



223 



"Come oil my confederates !" for this is tlie in- 

 terpretation which I cannot heli> putting upon 

 that "shameful f^arbling" — " now is the best 

 time to trample on this troublesome old man — 

 for he is already down, and may never rise 

 again ! Dejected, sick, poor ! What more to 

 our purpose could he admit ! and what rights 

 lias he now left which we who are strong are 

 bound to respect !" 



Am I carried awaj"^ by some strong delusion ? 

 Has " the prejudiced old man" forgotten what 

 an honorable man he thus assails ? He I garble 

 my letter ? He ! suppress one '"jot or one tittle" 

 essential to a fair understanding of the whole 

 matter? He ! who is "so jealous of his honor," 

 that he must needs vindicate it from the suspi- 

 cion of an interpolated "the!" Is not this 

 indeed "tithing the mint, and the anise and 

 the cummin — while all the weightier matters of 

 the law are omitted V This infatuated man ! 

 whom I would fain have spared such an expo- 

 sure, if justice to the dead had permitted — how 

 much longer will he imagine that— ostrich fash- 

 ion — he can hide his scheming head under the 

 shifting sands of misrepresentations, and yet 

 not reveal the monstrous proportions of his 

 shameful acts ? 



Fellow bee-keepers — honorable men and wo- 

 men, knowing as you now do, some of the facts 

 about that letter, can you blame Mr. Wagner 

 for asserting that for a base picrpose it was shame- 

 fiilly garbled? At first I was sorry that he al- 

 luded to it, but now I feel rather that the hand 

 of Providence guided his pen. 



Just one year ago, I was sitting at the same 

 table with my friend, as he was writing that 

 article, which unfolded " the false assertions 

 and baseless claims" of Mr. H. A. King's pat- 

 ents, in language almost as dispassionate as the 

 summing up of an impartial judge — and which 

 he concluded with the following offer : 



" And now to avert all misconception or misoon- 

 Btruction, we here ofier the columns of the American 

 Bee Journal to the extent of two pages monthly, for 

 three months to come, to Mr. King for anything he 

 may have to say in refutation of our remarks, or in 

 explanation, exculpation or vindication of his course 

 as a patentee, inventor or dealer in bee hives, or 

 articles in connection tlierewith. And should Mr. 

 King fail to avail Iiimself of this ofl'er, we extend it 

 to any purchaser of teriitorial rights under him who 

 may feel disposed to undertake the task." 



Neither Mr. King nor any one in his interest 

 ever dared to accept this offer — but for months 

 he assailed the motives of Mr. Wagner and my- 

 self, neither of us making any reply — until at 

 last in the December No., emboldened perhaps 

 by our silence, he sought to make us suspected 

 of crimes, which if proved, would have consigned 

 us both to infamy, and mj'self to the walls of 

 the Penitentiary. Had not the time fully come 

 for us to vindicate our characters ? 



But for Samuel Wagner, and his American 

 Bee Journal, Homer A. King imagines he might 

 liave had the same control over the bee interests 

 of this country, that the Tammany i2«/;/7 wielded 

 over the finances of the city of New York — 

 therefore, he misrepresented and slandered the 

 man whose wide and accurate knowledge, incor- 



ruptible honesty, and manly courage have so 

 completely baffled his schemes by revealing their 

 author in his true character to a discerning 

 public. 



The generous bee-keepers of this great conti- 

 nent will long delight to honor the name of 

 Samuel Wagner, as that of the friend to whose 

 protracted, wise and unselfish labors, they owe 

 a debt of respect, love and gratitude, which they 

 can never hope sufficiently to repay. 



Justum et tenacem propositi virum, 

 Non civium ardor prava jubentium, 

 Non vultus instantis tyranni, 

 Mente quatit solida * * * 

 Si fractus illabatur orbis, 

 Impavidum ferient ruinae. 



Immutable in purpose, the Just Man must learn, 

 The wroni; demands of heated citizens to spurn, 

 And ne'er from urging Tyrant's frown, dismayed to 



turn. — 

 Should earth to fragments dashed, against This 



Man be hurl'd, 

 Unfearing, he'll be buried 'neath a ruined world. 



L. L. Langstkoth. 

 Washington, D. C, March lS7:i. 



[For Waguer's Americaa Bee Joarnal.] 



Sworn and Unsworn. 



" Destroy his fits and sophistries ? In vain 1 

 The creature's at his dirty work again." 



Pope. 



For the amusement, if not the instruction of 

 the readers of the Journal, we give the last King 

 circular which has come to hand. 



TO THE BEEKEEPERS OP AMERICA. 



On the evening of Febriuiry first, about six 

 o'clock, Mr. R. C. Otis called at the hotel where 

 I was stopping, and asked me whether I was en- 

 gaged, stating that he wanted to talk with me. 

 I replied that I had an engagement at half-past 

 six, but could spend half an hour with him, and 

 invited him to be seated. He said we had better 

 go to his room in the hotel where he was stop- 

 ping. I consented and went with him, and 

 while on the way, and after we reached his room, 

 he spoke of his failing health, of his poverty, 

 and of the poor chance he had for success in our 

 conflict, stating that I had nine chances out of 

 ten for success. Consequently he had looked 

 over the whole matter and concluded to see me 

 and have a talk. He then discoursed eloquently 

 upon my success in life, and present position 

 and prospects, comparing my past success to 

 that of Orange Judd, and said that if I would 

 unite with Mr. Langstroth and obtain the re- 

 issue of his patent, we could achieve a vast for- 

 tune, or words to that effect. I told him that 

 there was a time when I could have accepted 

 such a proposition honorably, when I was igno- 

 rant of the facts lately brought to light by my 

 trip to Europe and investigations in the United 

 Stiites ; that now I could not accept such an 

 offer honorably, and would not if a million of 

 money were laid at my feet. He argued tliat I 

 could take such a course honorably, and buy him 



