578 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Evils Correcting ThemselTes. 



A recent exchange says " the glu- 

 cose factories are slowly but surely 

 succumbing to the inevitable, and 

 closing up. The Des Moines factory 

 ran two or three years, and has gone 

 to wreck, after using up $90,000 of 

 cash capital." 



"History is but repeating itself " 

 As '-murder will out," so will great 

 wrongs correct themselves, and vile 

 and dishonest corporations become so 

 arrogant and burdensome as to hasten 

 their own destruction, and the 

 public good. When glucose, as a com- 

 mercial product, was first brought to 

 the public notice, much was expected 

 from it as a cheaper substitute for 

 cane and other sugars, in many uses 

 where it could be made to answer 

 without prejudicing public health and 

 corrupting the morals of society ; and 

 perhaps at that time it was honestly 

 made and wholesome, but competition 

 was soon stimulated, unscrupulous 

 men became engaged in its manu- 

 facture, greed usurped the place of 

 conscience, deception and fraud were 

 resorted to in its use, plausible stories 

 and pious cant were employed to popu- 

 larize it with the public, poisonous 

 acids and deadly chemicals helped to 

 cheapen its manufacture, and it was 

 forced upon the consumers by " fair 

 means and foul," till its use.beoame a 

 matter of necessity, as nothing could 

 be purchased that was free from its 

 taint. New and dangerous diseases 

 were traced directly to its use. Com- 

 plications arose which baffled the skill 

 of physicians — they could surmise 

 the cause, but could not prescribe the 

 remedy. Strong men and women be- 

 came afflicted with chronic complaints, 

 but no cure was inaugurated ; children 

 were poisoned with it, but there was no 

 law to punish the murderers ; and 

 everywhere the papers teemed with 

 cases of cheese poisoning, etc., but 

 nothing could be done to punish the 

 manufacturers of the poisonous, vile 

 stufiF, and the merchant continued to 

 vend the spurious goods under an 

 honest name, because a genuine arti- 

 cle could not be obtained. 



And in all these dishonest practices 

 the consumer is not the only person 

 who has suffered, although perhaps 

 the principal sufferer, because he has 

 suffered pecuniarily as well as physi- 

 cally — his health has suffered with 

 his pocket. The honest producer has 

 often been driven from his occupation, 

 and forced to quit business, or him- 

 self become dishonest. Sugar re- 

 finers who would have been above de- 



ception; have themselves gone largely 

 into the adulteration business rather 

 than suffer financial ruin ; dealers in 

 syrups and honey have sold tons of 

 poisonous compounds as silver drips, 

 golden syrup, rock candy drips, maple 

 honey, strained honey, maple syrup, 

 etc. Dairymen have used the poison- 

 ous meal to feed their cows, and sup- 

 ply dealers have sold the glucose to 

 feed to bees. In each case its use 

 has incurred a penalty, and generally 

 the penalty has been paid by some- 

 body. 



Thank heaven, the people are be- 

 coming educated to a realization of 

 the wrongs which have been perpe- 

 trated upon them. Farmers are mak- 

 ing their own syrups, and using less 

 sugars ; ftimilies are buying honey 

 from those they know to be honest ; 

 parents are denying their children the 

 poisoned confectionery which has so 

 often entailed a doctor's visit and bill ; 

 and the consumption of glucose under 

 various respectable names is so greatly 

 on the decrease as to threaten the 

 majority of the manufacturers with 

 bankruptcy. 



We are assured by a person in this 

 city who uses honey largely in manu- 

 facturing, that he purchased several 

 barrels of what was guaranteed to be 

 chemicalhj pure (whatever that means) 

 honey. One of his employees, by 

 some oversight, one evening left a 

 portion of a barrel of it uncovered, 

 and during the night an unfortunate 

 mouse in quest of plunder aceidently 

 became submerged in the stuff. In 

 the morning the workmen found the 

 poor mouse floating around in the 

 liquid, still alive but quite exhausted ; 

 they lifted it out, but found the hair 

 completely eaten away from its legs, 

 body and neck. On the head and 

 ears the hair still remained, present- 

 ing a very laughable, as well as in- 

 structive sight. If poisonous glucose 

 will cause cheese to " rot down in 

 thirty days," and skin a mouse alive 

 in twelve hours, what will it not do 

 with the human stomach if its use is 

 persisted in ? 



We can sympathize with those who 

 meet with financial reverses, if en- 

 gaged in honest, commendable busi- 

 ness enterprises, but greatly fear we 

 feel an inward chuckle of delight 

 whenever we read of disaster over- 

 taking these traffickers in the " un- 

 clean things." 



The Marliet Seeliing tlie Producer. 



®" When changing a postofflce ad- 

 dress, mention the old as well as the 

 new address. 



Less than one year ago, the Bee 

 Journal advised its readers that in 

 the near future the market would as 

 eagerly seek their product as then did 

 the general market seek the producers 

 of butter, cheese, etc., and that with 

 a choice article to dispose of, cash 

 could easily be realized, at paying 

 figures. The prediction has been 

 verified even sooner than we had dared 

 to hope. Several weeks ago Cali- 

 fornia was eagerly visited by agents 

 of several extensive European houses, 

 anxious to buy up almost fabulous 

 amounts, and at handsomely paying 

 prices ; but they met with disappoint- 

 ment, as the season has not been so 

 good in that State as was earlier an- 

 ticipated. Honey in San Francisco 

 now brings as high a price as in the 

 principal markets of the Atlantic 

 States, and offerings are very small at 

 any price. 



On Tuesday, Sept. 4th, we were 

 pleased with a call from Mr. F. L. 

 llipley, a member of the old and re- 

 putable house of Crocker & Blake, 57 

 Chatham street, Boston, Mass., who 

 is making an extended tour of the 

 West, buying up full crops of honey 

 from first hands — producers. He re- 

 ports the honey crop in New York is 

 not altogether a failure, and gave 

 the names of several extensive bee- 

 keepers who had realized very satis- 

 factory yields of choice ivhite honey, 

 and for which they were expecting 

 high prices. 



With but occasional exceptions, the 

 crop is quite large throughout the 

 country, the grade generally extra 

 good, and the movement lively, but 

 the season for rapid sales is yet quite 

 early. October is usually the best 

 month for effecting sales and realiz- 

 ing prices, as till that time more or 

 less of doubt prevails in the minds of 

 both seller and buyer regarding the 

 extent of the crop and what should 

 constitute a fair valuation. Pro- 

 ducers should feel no anxious doubts, 

 and above all, make no sacrificial 

 sales ; but fairly determine upon a re- 

 munerative price for their honey, and 

 insist upon receiving that amount. 

 From all the principal cities our com- 

 mercial correspondents report choice 

 A 1 honey fairly active, and prices 

 good, though not exorbitant. 



i^We regret to state that Mr. 

 Frank Benton has lost his little girl, 

 Thekla. She was born in Cyprus, and 

 died in Beyrout on July 5, 1882. 



