April, 1917 



GLEAN.INGS IN BEE CULTURE 



301 



steady pursuit of their object without liaste and 

 without pause, their refusal to put out reports of 

 their incomplete work, their avoidance of publicity, 

 is as refreshing as anything we Ifnow in an age 

 when inventors get almost as much space in the 

 newspapers as chorus girls. There never was a 

 finer character than Wilbur Wright. He was the 

 American we read about more often in books than 

 meet in actual life. It was delightful to observe 

 this composed, shrewd, humorous, welVbalanced 

 product of Ohio coming out of his workshop to 

 meet with level eyes and imperturbable smile the 

 gushing world, putting his own and nobody else's 

 value on what he saw and heard, and treating even 

 flattery with perfect good nature. We don't think 

 the American people will consent to see the memory 

 of such a man deprived of any of the fame that 

 belongs to it, or that they will hesitate to display, 

 if the need arise, their gratitude for the honor the 

 Wi'ights have brought to their country. 



Misinformation cannot long obscure this fact of 

 history — that the WTight brothers were the first 

 persons to leave the earth in a mechanically pro- 

 pelled plane and to invent the means of controlling 

 that plane. 



In connection wilh the above it may be 

 well to state tliat Gleanings was privileged 

 to give the first account, by an eye witness, 

 of their invention of any magazine or 

 periodical in the world. See Gleanings 

 for January 1, 1905, p. 32. 



Just a word in closing about Wilbur 

 Wright. We had many discussions dur- 

 ing the days I was with them in regard 

 to the value to the world of their invention. 

 I insisted it would result in something 

 like Columbus' discovery of America, etc., 

 but Wilbur, with a sad, far-away look on 

 his face, declared its first use would be 

 for war purposes. God knows he had no 

 sympathy for anything along that line. As 

 the years have passed, and we hear of the 

 invention only in connection with war, I am 

 reminded of his proi:)hecy. 



HEALTH NOTES 



" THE HIGH COST OF "•' — BUTTER. 



By some means or other, Mrs. Root and 

 I have for years past had a sort of notion 

 that it is almost as " wicked " to buy 

 " oleo" in place of butter as to buy glucose 

 in bottles in place of honey ; but when the 

 boyeotting women of Cleveland, Ohio, ad- 

 vised using oleo until dairymen came down a 

 little, it Avas quite a jolt. Well, down 

 here butter has been fifty cents; and when 

 we got some tliat was rancid, Mrs. Root 

 said " try oleo," which was only 33 cents. 

 To my surjDrise I liked it just as well, and 

 it seemed just as wholesome. When Mrs. 

 Root found most people down here were 

 also using it she didn't feel ashamed any 

 more to go into the grocery and ask for 

 it. Well, now, read the following from 

 the Jacksonville Times-Union : 



The business managers of the homes of Jackson- 

 ville will meet tonight for a further discussion of 

 the high cost of living. Mere discussion is not 

 entirely unavailing, but discussion accompanied by 

 action is far more effective. The price charged for 

 butter is outrageous. Agitation has somewhat low- 

 ered the price of eggs, but the price of butter is 

 fully as oppressive. 



The women of .racksonville can take action to- 

 night in a way that, if followed up elsewhere, will 

 reduce the price of butter ten cents a pound. .\t 

 least ten cents of the price of butter is a matter of 

 law. It is due to a law enacted for no other ])ur 

 pose than to make the people pay an exorbitant 

 price for it. 



A bill is now before congress to have this tax 

 repealed. Tlieie is a special reason why the people 

 of the South should advocate its repeal. It dis- 

 criminates against Southern products. Last year 

 30,000,000 pounds of peanut and cotton-seed oils 

 were used in the production of margarine. If the 



tax intended to decrease its production were re- 

 pealed, much more of it would be produced and more 

 of these Southern products would be used in its 

 manufacture. 



Margarine is rigidly inspected, and those who buy 

 it know it is clean. They don't know this of the 

 butter they buy. They also know it is healthful. 

 We are sure State Chemist Rose will pardon us for 

 quoting a remark he made in the Times-Union office 

 a year ago or more when asked about margerine. 

 He said : " When I am at home in Tallahassee I 

 eat butter because I know it is clean and fresh. 

 When I am traveling I ahvays eat margerine be- 

 cause I know the inspaction laws guarantee its 

 cleanliness, and I don't know anything about the 

 butter." 



There are some who are prejudiced against this 

 product; but w^e do not know why. There are some 

 who like butter better, and others who do not 

 M'ish to appear to economize. But this matters not 

 at all. There are some who eat margarine, and 

 the number of those who use it would be increased 

 i|f the tax were taken off and they could get it 

 cheaper. Those who use it would not use butter 

 or would use less of it. With a smaller demand 

 for butter the price would decline, and those who 

 prefer it would be able to buy it for much less 

 than they have to pav now. 



If the Women's Club would indorse the Aswell 

 bill for the repeal of the tax on margarine and of 

 the unreasonable restrictions that hamper its sale, 

 and that were imposed for the purpose of hamper 

 ing its sale in order that the dairymen might gel 

 higher prices for butter, they would greatly help 

 in the passage of the bill; and by giving such people 

 as would use it a cheap substitute for butter they 

 would reduce the price of butter. 



I confess it is entifcly new to me that 

 " margarine," as they call it, is a vege- 

 table i:)roduct, or at least largely so, 

 "Thirty million pounds!" Dear me! 

 Where is Dr. Kellogg and the Michigan 

 sanitarium? Why have they not, yeai-s 



