484 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



July 31, 1902. 



being represented iu'the market column of 

 the AmericaB Bee Journal. If they were to 

 paj- full value for it they would find it would 

 cost them a good many dollars every year. If 

 dealing in honey is a profitable part of their 

 business, they should see to it that their quo- 

 tations are fresh and up-to-date. We stand 

 ready to change them every week, if they will 

 only send them in. 



We are glad to have the bee-keepers ■' get 

 after'' those who quote prices on honey. 

 Some of them need a good poking up. 



i 



YVeekly Budget. 



Secretary D. W. Working, of the Colo- 

 rado State Bee-Keepers' Association, has sent 

 us the following, dated July IS : 



Dear Mk. York :— I enclose a copy of a set 

 of resolutions adopted yesterday by our Ex- 

 ecutive Committee. 



We have appointed a Reception Committee 

 to look after the comfort and convenience of 

 our guests at the National convention. Mr. 

 Herman Rauchf USB is chairman; and among 

 the other well-known members are Mr. Gill, 

 Mr. Morehouse, and Mr. Aikin. 



Pres. Harris came over fron Grand Junction 

 yesterday, and is in the city to-day looking 

 after business connected with the big meet- 

 ing. Yours truly, 



D. W. Working. 



The resolutions mentioned by Mr. Working 

 refer to the death of Mr. Chas. Dadant, which 

 was noted last week, and read as follows ; 



Where.\s. We have this day received notice 

 of the death of the venerable Charles Dadant, 

 of Hamilton, III., at the ripe old age of 85 

 years; 



Whereas, The services of Mr, Dadant to 

 the science and art of bee-keeping have been 

 of the first order, and his life has been a bene- 

 ■ diction to all who have been associated with 

 him in business and social ways; therefore, 

 be it 



Jlesolved, That we, the members of the Ex- 

 ecutive Committee of the Colorado Slate Bee- 

 Keepers' Association, hereby express our ap- 

 preciation of his character and worth as a 

 man and a friend, and that we unite with his 

 friends and admirers everywhere in testifying 

 to his worth ; 



Jtesolrril, that the Secretary of this Com- 

 mittee be directed to transmit a copy of these 

 resolutions to Mr. V. P. Dadant with the con- 

 dolence of the Committee. 



James V: Harris, ) j;.„„„;„ 



Frank Raucufoss, 

 D. W. Working, 



Committee. 



On the Gsneral Managership Matter, 

 Mr. Abbott sends us the following letter for 

 publication in answer to Acting Chairman E. 

 R. Root's, as given on page 41 s : 



St. Joseph. Mo., July 14. r.i02. 



Permit nie to reply to the communication 

 of Mr. Root in a late number of the American 

 Bee Journal. , , , 



I desire to say that the Board have declared 

 that they have "authority to act in this matter. 

 My contention is that they did act, and that 

 seven out of eight votes were cast for me. 

 The question of a <|Uorum can not be sprung. 

 The entire Board were notified and were con- 

 structively present. Seven of the eight who 

 voted, voted for me. 



Now, as to the vote cast for E. M. Abbott : 

 There is no use for any fair-minded man to 

 quibble over that. Dr. Mason knows who 

 cast that vote, and it would not take very 

 long to find out what the voter intended, if 

 one'^wanled to deal fairly and honorably with 

 a fellow-worker. However, it does not re- 



(|uire a majority of the Board to constitute an 

 election, if the constitution is to be taken for 

 a guide, but a majority of those voting. Six 

 votes are. however, a majority of eleven, and 

 there were only that many of the Board to 

 vote, leaving out myself. 



You know, perhaps, that this whole thing 

 is a mere quibble and a subterfuge, and is not 

 the real reason of all this trouble, and none 

 of the parties who started this ditliculty dare 

 say that it is. This whole thing grew out of 

 the attitude of Mr, York and myself toward 

 Mr, Benton, a matter that has been adjusted 

 by the parties interested long since, 



I contend, further, that every man who cast 

 a vote for a successor to Mr, Secor, voted to 

 accept his resignation at the same time, and 

 that let him out. You wink at this, simply 

 because it is unanswerable. There was no 

 occasion for Mr. Secor to send his resignation 

 to you — he was already out — if the Board had 

 power to act — and / was in. It seems to me 

 folly to talk of appealing from my decision, 

 I had not made any decision, but the majority 

 of the Board of Directors had. 



After every bee-journal in the United States 

 and Canada had made the announcement of 

 my election, you had notified Mr. Secor, and I 

 had taken up the work of the office, then 

 these gentlemen began to look around for a 

 way to dispose of me, and I was asked to re- 

 sign. Why resign if never elected ? Drown- 

 ing men cling to straws. 



You say, " Mr, Secor's resignation has been 

 returned to him marked not accepted," By 

 whom ? Surely not by the eight people who 

 voted to let him out, seven of whom elected 

 another man to serve in his place. Does not 

 the man elected have some rights ? 



Y'ou say you are for the Association. So 

 am I ; and I think I am sate in saying that I 

 have done as much hard work, and spent as 

 much cash to promote its interests, as any 

 other man in it, 1 did not want to be General 

 Manager, neither do I want to be kicked out 

 of the Board simply because I am not willing 

 to see the affairs of the Association misman- 

 aged, I openly charge that its business has 

 l>een neglected, and, further, that Mr. Secor him- 

 self was placed in office at least once when he 

 was not legally elected. At the last election 

 he received only 172 votes out of over 1100 

 members, which would show that the member- 

 ship is not overly enthusiastic, to say the 

 least, about having him tor General Manager, 

 At an election before this he received a less 

 number of votes than another man, and yet 

 he was declared General Manager. I was 

 Chairman of the Board and said nothing 

 about this, simply for the sake of harmony, 

 hoping that the time might come when the 

 affairs of the Association would be conducted 

 on different lines. However, I do not have to 

 base my contention of mismanagement on 

 anything but his own statement. He has said 

 over his own signature, that owing to the 

 press of other business he neglected the work 

 of the Association, and I say without any 

 hesitancy, as a member of the Association 

 who has its welfare at heart, that the time 

 has come for this neglect to stop. 



I am for the Association, but I am, also, for 

 right, justice, and fair dealing, I am not 

 asking any favors of the Association ; I never 

 asked any. It was not my will that 1 be 

 elected General Manager, It was none of my 

 seeking. I am not one who is given to wink 

 at what he believes to be wrong, simply to get 

 the good-will of a few individuals, even 

 though this might promote the interests of 

 the Association. I do not hesitate to say that 

 if the life of the Association hinges on the 

 unfair treatment of any individual, then it 

 would be better that it die iwia : for no insti- 

 tution which openly defies the rights of one 

 of its otiicers and active members, let it be 

 ever so meritorious at the start, can live very 

 long. 



1 am ready to meet these gentlemen at any 

 time and discuss this matter in a fair and 

 candid way. I, too, was a member of the 

 Board, and was elected by the same constit- 

 uency that elected them, and as I see things 

 I am now a member of the Board, and its 

 Chairman, if I am not the legal General Man- 

 ager, You do not place before the member- 

 ship the real reason for this trouble; neither 

 do you tell them that all of this was worked 

 up ajter the Board had voted and the vote 



had been declared, I am at a loss to see how 

 the Association is to be benefitted by such a 

 procedure as you suggest. Yet it may be per- 

 fectly clear to you, 



I have no personal grievance against an,v 

 member of the Board, and I can co-operate 

 with any of them, but I do object to being 

 held up before the public by you, or any one 

 else, as trying to elect myself General Man- 

 ager. If we want to be fair and just, Ictus 

 hear from the man who voted for " E. M. 

 Abbott;" let us hear from any man on the 

 Board who thinks his rights have been in- 

 fringed upon, and perhaps we can get at the 

 real facts in the case. 



Here is what a member of the Association 

 says in regard to the matter ; 



Stanislaus Co., Calif., July 9, 1903. 

 Mr. E. T. Abbott. St. Joseph, Mo. 



Dear Sir; — In the marked Modern Farmer 

 you sent, the members of the National Bee- 

 Keepers' Association are requested to give 

 their views on the miserable smash-up of the 

 Association. As the latest Gleanings is at 

 hand, and I should desire the information, if 

 in your position, I now complj' with your 

 request. 



In my opinion the Directors had the author- 

 ity to accept the resignation of Mr. Secor, and 

 elect his successor, which they did at one and 

 the same time. Their easiest way now to get 

 rid of you is to declare your election valid, 

 which it certainly is. 



Your offer to leave the matter to the mem- 

 bership is certainly fair, but I doubt verj- 

 much if the Directors will leave it to a vote. 

 The Executive Committee would probably 

 stand with the " push," If left to the mem- 

 bers at a special election, I fear you would 

 be defeated by a strict party vote. 



Of course, you can do little for the Associa- 

 tion, as things now stand. Were I in your 

 place I should endeavor to hold all funds in 

 my hands until a successor should be elected. 

 I see no opposition to the Colorado Director 

 keeping your old seat warm — all legal, I guess. 



This letter is not founded on personal 

 grounds in the least. Why men usually so 

 fair, as are the most of your present oppo- 

 nents, should take the contradictory and 

 absurd positions they have, staggers my com- 

 prehension. 



You have my consent to use this letter any 

 way you please, provided the entire letter is 

 used, Y'ours truly, 



W, A, H, Gilstrap. 



Another member says in the name of a half 

 dozen others: 



'*We recognize no General Manager except 

 you, and will never pay a cent of dues to any 

 other but you, and your properly-elected suc- 

 cessor. So hold your ground, and contend 

 for your rights. It much of such doings is 

 kept up by the leaders, our Association will 

 be busted, and no mistake, sooner or later," 



I hold that I am the only legal General 

 Manager in existence. I want to say to all of 

 those who have sent their dues to me, that 

 they need have no anxiety about them, I 

 will see that their rights are protected, I 

 have receipted for all dues sent nie the day 

 they were received, and I shall continue to do 

 so until the Association elects another Gen- 

 eral Manager, When it does, I shall make a 

 report to him, and give him a check in full 

 for the amount due the Association, 



In conclusion, I desire to say that I am per- 

 fectly willing to leave this entire matter to 

 three disinterested men. If they say I was 

 not legally elected, that ends all opposition 

 on my part. 



Yours for justice and right, 



Emerson T. Abbott. 



In order that this controversy might be 

 ended this week (so far as the American Bee 

 Journal is concerned), we requested Mr. Root 

 to forward his reply so that both might ap- 

 pear in the same issue. Here it is ; 



Editor American Bee Journal; — I am 

 sure your readers must be tired of this thing, 

 as it is a matter that concerns the Association 

 alone, and not the general public; and I, for 

 my part, do not feel like inflicting on your 

 readers a further discussion, any more than 



