1 98 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEiPER. 



October 



her days of need and in a financial 

 way. It looks now as if ft were on 

 a basis of permanency. ***** I 

 don't believe this association wants a 

 big amount of money lying idle, but 

 I do want to see this association have 

 a treasury we can fall back upon to 

 spread educational literature abroad." 

 The president appointed the follow- 

 ing persons temporary committee: F. 

 E Brown, California; H. S. Ferry, 

 New York; E. E. Pressler, Pennsyl- 

 vania; J. Q. Smith, Illinois, and E. S. 

 Lovesy, Utah. 



When this committee assembled one 

 member said: "Gentlemen, I think 

 we should select men of good financial 

 standing and influence in the National 

 to act as the first five directors, and I 

 would suggest Messrs. E. R. Root, G. 

 W York, W. Z. Hutchinson, Dr. C. 

 C. Miller and N. E. France." Mr. 

 Pressler at once objected and said: 

 "There is really only one man in your 

 list who is a practical honey-producer. 

 While I have no personal objections 

 to the names mentioned, yet I would 

 vote but for that one." Mr. H. S. Ferry 

 seeing "the handwriting on the wall," 

 says: "This is a very important step 

 the National has undertaken and I 

 am in favor of going to dinner and take 

 the matter up with a full stomach," 

 which met the approval of all. 



On re-assembling, the following 

 honey producers were chosen to serve 

 as the first five (5) directors of the 

 National Honey Producers' Associa- 

 tion of America: F. E. Brown, Cal- 

 ifornia, chairman; N. E. France, Wis- 

 consin; J. W. Harris, Col. W. L. Cogg- 

 shall and H. S. Ferry, New York, 

 which the committee so reported to 

 the session. When the report was call- 

 ed for by the president and read by 

 Mr. E. E. Pressler, there was a sud- 

 den commotion and whispering among 

 the persons whose names were first 

 suggested but the report was unani- 

 mously adopted by a vote of the N. B. 

 K. A. and the committee discharged. 



This Board of Directors organized 

 and started the preliminary steps for 

 the formation and incorporation of the 

 Honey Producers' Exchange of Amer- 

 ica, and before the final adjournment 

 of the National Association thirty men 

 had subscribed for stock. 



This list and some other papers 

 were turned over to one of the direct- 

 ors that he might secure further sub- 

 scribers, his work taking him among 

 the bee-keepers. 



»g' 



Later, some other directors sent fo 

 these papers. But repeated request 

 for their return failed to bring then 

 until about the last of March the; 

 were returned, but in the meantim 

 the League was formed with one 

 these directors as an officer. Partic 

 ulars of this will be found farther on 

 From the foregoing it will be see: 

 that the leading members of the as 

 sociation advocated and urged th 

 body to adopt a campaign of advei 

 tising and education, a policy at one 

 progressive and aggressive; that th 

 association adopted such a policy 

 that it created the necessary commil 

 tees to put this policy into execution 

 and in order that everything shoul 

 be done thoroughly and carefully : 

 left the matter of incorporation to 

 committee to be reported on after . 

 year's consideration, and made th 

 other committees permanent. 



Furthermore, as a part of this pre 

 gressive policy, the association pre 

 ceeded in another manner to protec 

 the honey producers by starting th 

 formation of a co-operative compari 

 to handle the products of the sai 

 producers and to supply them wit 

 such merchandise as they need i 

 their business. They called this con 

 pany the "National Honey Producer 

 Association of America." Thus fa 

 everything seems direct and is a ma 

 ter of record, though unknown to fe 

 outside the membership, the pre; 

 committee not yet having produce 

 visible results. 



The meeting where all these a; 

 tions were taken was held in St. Loui 

 September 27, to 30, 1904- 



The next bit of history is embodie 

 in the following: In Chicago on Marc 

 14 and 15, 1905, there was formed a 

 organization known as The Hone 

 Producers' League. Note the nam 

 Heretofore, until the action at S 

 Louis, everything has been designate 

 as a "bee-keepers' " this or that. Tri 

 secret and precipitate m;iiiner of i 

 formation, and the reasons given then 

 for are all matters of public knowledge 

 but it may be well, by way of eir 

 phasis to refer here to a few of th 

 statements given in the League's pro 

 pectus and constitution and quel 

 some parts thereof. The prospectu 

 opens with: "A crisis has been reache 

 in bee-keeping. The time is now her 

 when bee-keepers must band togetV 

 er, as never before, fight an insidiou 

 foe, and cope with the conditions c 

 modern times," which implies that thi 



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