52 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jax. 15 



street-car for carrying- an apiarist to and 

 from our j-ards; and having- had some ex- 

 perience in hasing horses nearly killed ( and 

 one killed I from stings, I am now wondering 

 if I can not drive an automobile clear up to 

 the bees without its kicking up a fracas 

 and smashing things all into smithereens. 

 I have been in two or three horse run- 

 aways, and Mrs. Root has a mortal terror 

 ever}' time she gets behind a spirited ani- 

 mal. We are now hoping for a genuine 

 good time visiting among bee-keepers with- 

 out being scared to death every time we 

 pass a thrashing-engine or a street-car. 



The machine I have purchased is a Fried- 

 man, made bv the Friedman Automobile 

 Co., 3 Van Buren St., Chicago; and if you 

 wish to look at an up-to-date beautiful ma- 

 chine — a veritable "red devil" capable of 

 standing hard knocks, and of making fast 

 time, send for a circular to the above ad- 

 dress. Better do it an}- waj-; then if per- 

 chance I come through your vicinity j'ou 

 maj' recognize its '"satanic majesty" com- 

 ing down the road at a terrific clip. 



BALLOT : to be used bj' members of 

 Xatioual Bee-keepers' Association ia 

 December, MKK. 



THE RAMBLER SICK IX CUBA. 



Mr. J. H. Martin, better known as the 

 Rambler, has been very sick with fever; 

 but from the last account he was on the 

 mend. He is getting to be pretty well ad- 

 vanced in life, reaching »i3 last December; 

 and the last time I saw him lin California) 

 I could see that age was beginning to tell 

 on him. He has been working hard in Cu- 

 ba securing a crop of hone}-, and we trust 

 he will now save his strength sufficiently' 

 so we shall have the opportunity- to enjoy 

 again his good-natured chats. 



Later, Jan. /j. — The sad news has just 

 been cabled us by our Minager, Mr. de 

 Beche, that Mr. Martin is dead. Of course, 

 there were no particulars; but the run of 

 fever was evidentl}' too much for him, and 

 the end came all too unexpectedly. That 

 broken blackboard on page 946 by artist 

 Murray was almost prophetic of the end. It 

 was almost Rambler's last note to the pub- 

 lic, and as I look at the brol en and shatter- 

 ed pieces I can not but think of the genial 

 soul, the light of which for this earth has 

 gone out forever. Particulars will be given 

 in our next issue, together with a biograph- 

 ical sketch. 



TROrBLES IX THE XATIOXAL BEE-KEEPERS' 

 ASSOCIATXOX. 



Our readers will remember that last sum- 

 mer a complication arose in the selection of 

 a General Manager. The board of Direct- 

 ors, having discovered that it had appointed 

 Mr. E. T. Abbott illegally to that oflice, re- 

 called its action, and requested Mr. Secor, 

 whose resignation had not been formally 

 accepted, to fill out the unexpired term, 

 which he did. 



A good deal of bitterness and unpleasant 

 feeling was engendered, but it was finally 

 left to the December election. At the last 

 election Mr. Secor put out the following 

 ballot: 



For General Manager for U>03, to suc- 

 ceed Eugene Secor, who wishes lo 

 retire. 

 iX. E France, of Wisconsin, has been 

 r. gularl.v and properl.v nominated, 

 and is believed to be worthy of yoar 

 support. I 



(Write name voted for.' 



For 3 Directors to succeed Thos. G. 

 Newman, G. M. Doolittle. and W. F. 

 Marks. 



Write 3 names below. 



The name of Mr. N. E. France was the 

 only one of the candidates in the field that 

 was named; and immediately a good many 

 inquired why it was that other names that 

 had been proposed in the bee journals were 

 not also incorporated in the ballot, and 

 whv' there should be "electioneering" for 

 the one candidate. Some complaint was 

 made because the amendments offered by 

 Mr. Abbott at Denver were not also offered 

 for adoption or rejection at the hands of the 

 membership, and no reason given for their 

 omission. There was a call for a new 

 election, as many of the friends of Mr. 

 France believed that the ballot was unfair 

 — that either no name should have been 

 mentioned on the ballot, as has been the 

 custom heretofore, or else that all the names 

 shotild be included. In reply to these va- 

 rious charges Mr. Secor makes the following- 

 statement: 



Mr. IV. Z. Hutchinson: — I have 3-our recent letter in 

 which you saj- there is some dissatisfaction among 

 some of'ttie members of the Association regarding the 

 form of ballot recently sent out. and bccaus there 

 were no constitutional amendments submitted, i am 

 sure that any fair-minded member will, when he 

 Teams the facts in the case, exonerale the General 

 Manager from blame in 1 oth cases. The reason why 

 :Mr. France's name was mentioned on the voting- 

 blank was that he w.is the only person nominated in a 

 proper manner. His name hid been regularly pre- 

 sented to the Chairman of the Board and seconded by 

 at least half a dozen members It therefore came to 

 me official Iv, and I wis obliged to call attention to it. 



Perhaps it ma\' be slated that other names had been 

 mentioned in some of the bee-journals. Granted. I 

 no fr think I remember one person who fo nominated 

 three or four men for the iome office. B it by what con- 

 stitutional provision is thr Board of Directors or the 

 General Manager required to take cognizance of every 

 suggestion made by ;very person who may write to 

 periodicals published in' the L-nited States? Why 

 w-ere not these nominations made to the proper offi-' 

 cials of the Association? Unless these matters are 

 brought to me per.sonally I can not undertake the re- 

 sponsibilitv of endorsing them. 



Now as to the consiiiutional amendments offered at 

 the Denver convention: How could I submit so im- 

 portant a matter as that to a vote without a wo^d from 

 the Secretarv? In fact, I never saw a copy of them 

 until the voting-blanks had been mailed, and then 

 onlv a stenc graphcrs report of them. Dr. Mason 

 wrote me. soon helore his death, that he had no copy 

 of the proposed amendments: that they had never 

 been turned over to him. If the Secretary of the As- 

 sociation could not certify what the proposed amend- 

 ments were, how should'it be expected that I should 

 take the responsibility of interpreting them? 



