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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. 1. 



3. How imported malt and beer arc placed on the 

 market, etc. 



The motive of this circular being the enlargement 

 of American trade, you will not confine yourselves 

 to the above interrogatories, which are to a large 

 degree suggestive only, but will give as much in- 

 formation as possible concerning every phase of 

 the malt and beer business, so that^tlie malsters and 

 brewers of the United States may fully understand 

 the requirements necessary to successful trade in 

 each di.strict. 



All foreign weights, measures, and money sliould 

 be stated in American equivalents. 



I am, gentlemen, your obedient servant, 



Wm. F. Wharton, 

 Assistant Secretary. 



Listen, citizens: I read from the report of Warner 

 P. Sutton, one of these consuls. He says: "If the 

 duties were reduced one-half, we could easily send 

 in a million dollars worth of our beer." 



You will notice that St. John reads the above 

 from a government document. The date, how- 

 ever, is Dec. 15. 1889. I read tlie rest of his 

 speech clear through anxiously, to notice wheth- 

 er, during the last three years' that have passed, 

 something hadn't been done to change or stop 

 the business of e.xtendinir the beer-trade in for- 

 eign lands where we are sending missionaries to 

 preach Christ Jesus. Then, again. 1 reflected 

 that we as a people have different ideas con- 

 cerning the beer-trade. I supposed, however, 

 that the government itself had only 07ie idea. 

 While in Arizona and California 1 asked in dif- 

 ferent places and at different times in regard to 

 intemperance among the Indians. I was great- 

 ly rejoice<l on being told tliere was very little 

 of it. Saloon-keepers may sell liquors to white 

 men, but not to Indians. The laws of the 

 United States are terribly severe on anybody 

 who sells intoxicating liquors to the Indians. 

 I think my brother at Tempe told me that it 

 was a penitentiary offense to sell an Indian a 

 single drink. If a savage becomes intoxicated 

 he is crazy. He knows no restraint such as a 

 white man generally does. His old savage na- 

 ture tiiat has been under control and very quiet 

 a few years breaks out witli the fury of a mad 

 man. It would not do at all to let Indians have 

 access to drink as we do white men. If I am 

 making a blunder in this, there are certainly 

 those among our readers who can correct me. 

 I know that I am at least partly right about it. 

 Well, then, how is it that this same government 

 of the United States, that has taken such pains 

 to keep liquor from the Indians, proposes to cii- 

 coura(je the very thing? You may say this 

 scheme of sending our beer, and teaching for- 

 eigners oi' savages 'to drink, is outside of the 

 United States— it is. in SmdJi America. What 

 sort of reasoning is that? Why, there is some- 

 thing terrihly wrong about the management of 

 our affairs, surely. This William F. Wharton 

 is. I believe. Assistant Secretary of State of the 

 United States. Perhaps I am only exposing 

 my ignorance further and further. Never mind. 

 Perhaps Gleanings can not give very much 

 publicity to this document; but it can give 

 some: and, even though its readers may be 

 corn})<ir((tlvclij few, they are earnest, intelligent, 

 and thinking men and women. I know, because 

 I read your letters. 



Some of you will tell me that \Jtie government 

 of the United States is a peculiar institution: 

 that it is a pretty hard matter to have it even 

 consistent in all its branches and ramifications; 

 and I presume some allowance should lie made 

 for this. Others will tell me that it is r»7i cor- 

 ruption and greed and bribery, any way. 1 

 think I know this latter is not true. It is the 

 best government, the most Christian govern- 

 ment, that can be found on the face of the 

 earth: and I believe it is the best govern- 

 ment under which a poor man can live. If 

 it is not. where is there a />ett//' one? and are 



people flocking to it as they are Hocking to our 

 shores? A great many times, when people find 

 so much fault with our laws and law-makers, 

 and of our government in general. I feel a good 

 deal like saying. "' Why, my good friend, if 

 things are so mrfiil bad here, why don't you go 

 off' to live in some other country, where they 

 are honest and righteous, and upright and 

 pure?" Well, it transpires tliat this govern- 

 ment is even now pushing the beer-trade into 

 foreign countiies, right along side by side with 

 our missionaries; and I think I have before 

 heard it intimated that whisky, and other in- 

 toxicants to be sold to the natives, often go on 

 the same vessel with the missionary. If this is 

 true, what shall be done about it? In one 

 .sense I do not know; but when I say I do not 

 know, of late there comes up in my mind again 

 and again a fiagment of a little hymn: 

 1 am weak, but tliou art mighty; 



and we Christians Know — or. at least, we ought 

 to know— that one man with God on his side is 

 more than a match for hundreds or thousands 

 of the ungodly. The first thing to be done, 

 then, is to be sure that God is on our side. Of 

 course. God does not take sides or change sides; 

 hut if he does not. he do. because we are weak 

 and human, therefore we want to be on tiod's 

 side. But who shall tell us which is God"s side 

 and which is not? He himself will tell us by 

 his Holy Spirit; if we seek his counsel and his 

 aid he will certainly make it plain to tis sooner 

 or later what his wishes are: and this is a very 

 comforting thought to me. It is not my duty 

 to depend u})on anybody as to wh;it I should or 

 should not do. *" Him That cometh to me I will 

 in nowise cast out." I wish to make another 

 quotation. This time I am going to quote St. 

 John himself. Here is what he says: 



OOVEKNMENT COMPLICITY IN THE BUSINESS 



Did you ever think of it, you church people, that 

 our government is in partnership with this business? 

 It runs every distillery just as much as it runs the 

 postofflce. Its officer carries the distillery key ; he 

 unlocks the building in the morning, and locks it 

 up at night. 



My impression is, that the above is rather 

 extravagant. Well, if it is not true, that mak- 

 ing whisky is getting to be like managing the 

 postal department, what is true? I think there 

 is some truth in it, from a little circumstance 

 that came under uiy observation a year ago. 

 One of the boys who used to work foi' us went 

 to Oberlin to school, and is now principal of the 

 schools in a small town in our State. I visited 

 his school, and objected to a certain loose way 

 they had in that community. Certain big boys, 

 who looked as if they were more at home in a 

 doggery than in a schoolroom, had a fashion 

 of coming to school and calling themselves 

 "visitors.'" The visiting was done by going 

 and sitting by tlie nice-lookiug girls, and whis- 

 pering silly things in their ears during recita- 

 tion. Of course. I did not licar what tlie whis- 

 pering was — I judged only by the result. As 

 soon as school was closed I made a vehement 

 l)rotest. Our young superintendent said it was 

 a "fashion" they bad in that neighborhood, 

 and it could not well be stopped without mak- 

 ing a commotion. I pi'essed my point as fol- 

 lows: 



" Why. go to the directois: state the case to 

 them: give them your opinion in regard to the 

 matter, and. with tlieii' sanction, let the com- 

 motion come. I would stoji it or I would hand 

 in my resignation.'" 



•'Mr. Root,'" said he. "if you knew the di- 

 rectors as well as I do. I don't think you would 

 undertake it. The principal one is the largest 

 owner in the governmi'nt distillery right over 

 there on the side of the hill. He is the most in- 



