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AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.. 



National Bee-Keepers' Union. 



The votes for officers for the present 

 year are all in and counted. The mem- 

 bers seem to have Implicit confidence in 

 the management of the Union, and so for 

 the sixth time have elected the same 

 officers by large majorities. 



This has not been done by any schem- 

 ing or wire-pulling — for there has been 

 absolutely none. It is the spontaneous 

 manifestation of approval, coming in the 

 form of "Well Done; good and faithful 

 servants." The expressions of the mem- 

 bers, when sending their ballots, have 

 been exceedingly complimentary to the 

 General Manager, who has again received 

 every vote but one, for that very respon- 

 sible position. Coming at it does, in that 

 unanimous manner, he cannot refuse to 

 accept the position, though he would 

 have been very glad to have welcomed 

 some energetic and reliable person as his 

 successor — for it requires much time and 

 energy to attend to the duties promptly 

 and efficiently. However, as the ballots 

 again demand this sacrifice, the General 

 Manager bows to the inevitable, and will 

 do his best to sustain the reputation, and 

 endeavor to lead the Union to even 

 greater victories than have heretofore 

 perched upon its banner. 



The ballots returned up to Jan. 31, 

 1891, give the following votes for 

 officers : 



For President — James Heddon, 175; 

 scattering, 34. 



For Vice-Presidents— Vrof. A. J. Cook, 

 187 ; G. M. Doolittle, 186 ; A. I. Eoot, 

 186 ; Dr. C. C. Miller, 185 ; G. W. Dem- 

 aree, 175 ; scattering, 78. 



For General Manager, Secretary and 

 Treasurer — Thomas G. Newman, 220 ; 

 Dr. C. C. Miller, 1. The ballots of 12 

 members contained no vote for any 

 officer but General Manager. 



The ballots are filed away, and may be 

 examined at any moment by the officers 

 or members of the Union, or any others 

 who may be interested. 



Mrs. L. Harrison, in last week's 

 Prairie Farmer, where she has ably con- 



ducted a Bee-Department for many 

 years, has this to say about the Union. 

 It is written in her inimical style, and 

 shows her appreciation of the Union's 

 grand victories in the different parts of 

 the country. Here is the article. 



Some persons have an idea that bees 

 do not pay for what they get — are free- 

 booters, pillaging on the people at large ; 

 and that hives are merely store-houses 

 for stolen goods ; that bees steal the 

 sweets from clover, thereby injuring it 

 for hay, by depriving it of its sweetness ; 

 and their owner,in turn, stealing it away 

 from them ; so that bee-keeping is a sort 

 of thieving-business, all around. 



This idea gained ground, until a cry 

 was set up that bee-keeping was a nui- 

 sance, and it echoed from hill to hill, 

 from village to village, and from town to 

 town, until it threatened the very life of 

 the pursuit. Thomas G. Newman, of 

 Chicago, " smelled the battle afar off," 

 and issued a call for volunteers in its 

 defense, enrolling them all under the 

 banner of the "National Bee-Keepers' 

 Union." 



This able general and " manager" has 

 led forth his forces into many hotly-con- 

 tested battles, in different States, and 

 returned from the field with victory 

 perched upon that banner, and to the 

 sound of martial music, "Hail to the 

 Chief." 



The Union is now six years old, and 

 defended its first case in Wisconsin, 

 when Judge Clementson remarked : 

 " This case involves new points of law, 

 upon which there are no rulings of the 

 Supreme Court. We have no law upon 

 which to instruct a jury." 



Since then "law" has been made, 

 sufficient for all reasonable purposes, 

 and the most fertile place of its growth 

 was in Arkadelphia, Ark. That town 

 arrested a bee-keeper, imprisoned and 

 fined him, and removed his bees from its 

 limits ; his case was appealed to the 

 Circuit Court, and from there to the 

 Supreme Court. The best legal talent 

 was employed by the Union, and the re- 

 sult was that the Supreme Court decided 

 that the city ordinance against bee-keep- 

 ing was " illegal and void," and that the 

 keeping of bees was not a nuisance. 



All the late cases against bee-keepers 

 have been killed by reading the decision 

 of the Supreme Court of Arkansas. That 

 decision will do more to guarantee to 

 bee-keepers their rights and privileges, 

 than anything ever before achieved. 



The Manager, with his eagle eye, and 

 glass in hand, scans the horizon, and 



