1905 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



437 



right away they will very soon after the 

 thing is known to anybody. And there are 

 now good books on almo.«t every subject 

 imaginable, and you can almost always get 

 a nice book giving all the information to be 

 had on the subject for a lesser price than 



you pay for one single secret. By the way, 

 this honey-man says, in a "dollar book of 

 secrets," that you can make cheaper honey 

 for every-day use by using common brown 

 sugar. What a wonderful piece of news 

 that is, any way ! 



Honey Producers* 

 Leag'ue. 



Prospectus and Constitution. 



A crisis has been reached in bee-keeping. The time 

 is now here when bee-keepers must band together, as 

 never before, fight an insidious foe, and cope with the 

 conditions of modern times. In short, the wide-spread 

 ignorance regarding the value of honey as a food (its de- 

 liciousness, cheapness, and digestibility), coupled with 

 an almost universal belief in its adulteration, which be- 

 lief is fostered by the continued publication of untruth- 

 ful stories concerning so-called manufactured comb hon- 

 ey, to which may be added the fact that cheap syrups 

 are being pushed upon the market with great vigor— all 

 these combined are depressing the honey market beyond 

 all precedent; and, unless something is done to counter- 

 act these influences, our occupation, or, at least, a good 

 share of its profitableness, will soon be gone. 



A large share of last year's honey crop is still unsold, 

 while the market is practically dead, as is easily shown 

 by reference to the market reports. The crop of the 



coming season will soon be here; and, should it prove a 

 bountiful one, with last year's crop still unsold, where 

 will prices go then ? We may as well face the situation 

 squarely. Then comes the all -important question: 

 What shall we do about it? 



Three or four of us began recently to discuss this 

 question, privately, by mail, and we decided to act 

 promptly, to the extent of summoning (some by tele- 

 phone and telegraph) to a conference in Chicago, some 

 eight or ten representative manufacturers, dealers, pub- 

 lishers, and honey-producers. As a result, such a meet- 

 ing was held March 14th and 15th, the whole two days 

 being occupied in forming an organization, and in dis- 

 cussing ways and means whereby said organization can 

 increase the demand for honey. 



The first step was the drafting of a constitution 

 which reads as follows : 



Constitution. 



ARTICLE I.— NAME AND HEADQUARTERS. 



Sec. 1.— The name of this organization shall be "The 

 Honey-producers' League." 

 Sec. 2.— Its headquarters shall be Chicago, 111. 



ARTICLE II.— OBJECTS. 



Its objects shall be to create a larger demand for hon- 

 ey by popularizing its use among the consuming public 

 through advertising in newspapers and magazines its 

 great value as a food, and by such other methods as 

 may be considered advisable by the Executive Board. 

 Also by publication of facts concerning the production 

 of honey to counteract any misrepresentation of the 

 same. 



ARTICLE III. — MEMBERSHIP AND DUES. 



Sec 1.— Any bee-keeper may become a member by 

 paying to the Manager an annual fee of $1.00 for each 

 20 (or fraction of 20) colonies of bees (spring count) he 

 owns or operates. 



Sec 2.— Any honey dealer, bee-supply dealer, bee- 

 supply manufacturer, bee-paper publisher, or any other 

 firm or individual, may become a member on the an- 

 nual payment of $10.00, increased by one-fifth of one (1) 

 per cent of his or its capital used in the allied interests 

 of bee-keeping. 



Sec 3.— The annual dues shall be payable in advance, 

 on or before May 1 of each year. 



Sec 4 —Membership shall cease when dut s are in ar- 

 rears three months. 



ARTICLE IV.— EXECUTIVE BOARD. 



Sec 1. — An Executive Board consisting of seven 

 members shall be elected by mail ballot annually in the 

 month of March (after the first election), the ballots to 

 be sent to the membership between March 1 and 5, the 



polls to be closed at noon April 1. They shall be the 

 seven members receiving the highest number of votes 

 cast. In case of a tie-vote the other members of the 

 Board shall decide it. 



Sec 2.— The votes shall be mailed to the secretary, 

 who, with another member to be selected by the remain- 

 der of the Executive Board, shall, together, count the 

 votes, and certify the result to the Manager, who shall 

 then forward copies of the same to the United States 

 bee-papers for publication, also give same in his annual 

 report. 



Sec 3.— The Executive Board shall have the general 

 management of the League, and shall elect from their 

 number the otticers named in Article V. Section 1, who 

 shall execute the orders of the Board, and hold their sev- 

 eral offices until their successors are elected and quali- 

 fied. 



Sec 4.— The Executive Board shall meet annually, on 

 the third Wednesday in Apiil, in Chicago, for the elec- 

 tion of officers, and for the transaction of such other 

 business as may regularly come before it. 



Sec 5.— Special meetings of the Executive Board shall 

 be held when called by the President, upon request of 

 three or more members of the Board. 



ARTICLE v.— OFFICERS. 



Sec 1.— The officers shall be a President, Vice-Presi- 

 dent, Secretary, Treasurer, and Manager. 



Sec 2.— The duties of the President and Vice-Presi- 

 dent shall be such as usually devolve upon these officers. 



Sec 3. — The duties of the Secretary shall be to keep a 

 record of the meetings of the Executive Board, and to 

 count the ballots of all votes of the membership, as pro- 

 vided by Article IV., Section 2, the result of which he 

 is to forward at once to the Manager. 



