AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



819 



well, and there is no doubt about their 

 coming out well in the Spring. 



As far as we have tested them, there 

 can be no fault found. As "Rambler" 

 said when he saw them : " They are re- 

 markably quiet while being handled." 



The queens are large and very heavy 

 layers. We have not been troubled with 

 over-swarming. 



Beverly, Mass. 



Trade-Mark— llliiis Convention. 



JAMES HEDDON. 



Sir.ce reading, in the Amekican Bee 

 JouENAL, the opinions of others, pro and 

 con, regarding the advisability of secur- 

 ing from the Government a trade-mark 

 for bee-keepers, I will come forward 

 again, with your consent, Mr. Editor, 

 with more thoughts upon the subject. 



I notice in your issue of Feb. 12, some- 

 thing from Mr. Latham, also from Mr. 

 John Burr, both of whom favor the 

 trade-mark idea, and I am, also, not for- 

 getful of a well-written article by some 

 brother, one or two issues previously, 

 who has as earnestly written upon the 

 other side of the question. 



Now, as I was the deviser and proposer 

 of the scheme in the first place, and not 

 at all certain at the time that it was the 

 wisest or best course to pursue to accom- 

 plish the desired end — the thought com- 

 ing to me in a moment while listening to 

 the discussions at our Detroit Conven- 

 tion — I desire to again make the point, 

 which seems not to be yet fully under- 

 stood, viz., that the trade-mark scheme 

 is of no use unless we start out for a 

 " long haul," to use the terms of freight- 

 ers. A catchy trade-mark — one which, 

 I think, was well devised and described 

 by a friend in a recent issue of the Bee 

 JouKNAL — would soon become noticeable 

 all over this country. 



Following its appearance,undoubtedly, 

 would be articles in nearly all the local 

 and general newspapers. Ready-print 

 houses, and stereotype plate concerns, 

 would at once take it up, and very soon 

 the whole people would be educated as 

 to the meaning of the trade-mark. 



A trade-mark of that kind, might con- 

 sist, in part, of an explanation of it un- 

 der the figure, so we may rest assured it 

 would be understood everywhere. 



As I said in a former letter, some one 

 individual might take $40 of the funds 

 of the Union, procure the trade-mark for 

 30 years, and then transfer individual 

 rights, gratis, to all members of the 

 Union — not only those now beioiiging, 



but to each person as fast as they join, 

 and to continue in their possession as long 

 as they remain members of the Union in 

 good standing. To those who would not 

 join the Union, it might be sold for a 

 small price, to help pay expenses. It is 

 not only a fact that " in union there i 

 strengtli," but it will be seen that in this 

 union, as in all that have gone before, 

 there is economy. 



The more I have heard on both sides, 

 and the more I think of the project, the 

 more I believe it will slowly and surely 

 defend us against adulteration, which, I 

 believe, is the object sought. I am firmly 

 impressed with the belief that any ar- 

 rests or suits, under State laws, against 

 adulteration, will end in stirring up a 

 smudge that will do us great harm. It 

 will result in nothing but a false educa- 

 tion of the people, with regard to the 

 purity and worth of our special article 

 of production. 



If, after fully discussing it, the trade- 

 mark problem shall be abandoned, I can 

 conceive of nothing better than to keep 

 still ; and I have thought about the sub- 

 ject considerable. 



I would like to say a few words con- 

 cerning one feature which, I believe, 

 will account in part for the surprising 

 lethargy shown by some of the brothers 

 in not joining the Union. 



The point is directly referred to by 

 Mr. John Burr, on page 229, and I 

 hope, Mr. Editor, that, as Manager of 

 the Union, you will act upon the same. 

 Mr. Burr wants to know how the Mana- 

 ger is to find out whether or not litiga- 

 tion was winking one eye at the appli- 

 cant at the time he applied for member- 

 ship. That seems to me to be very easy. 

 Every member who solicits aid from the 

 Union in defense of his right, should 

 send a sworn statement in regard to all 

 his troubles, including just how and 

 when they began. If that sworn state- 

 ment gives the date of the beginning of 

 the trouble prior to the date of his appli- 

 cation, one of the rigid by-laws of the 

 Union should make it illegal for the 

 General Manager to give the Union's 

 assistance. 



If the Manager has any suspicion re- 

 garding the truth of the sworn state- 

 ment, he should, at the expense of the 

 Union, have a local attorney investigate 

 it and report, when, if his suspicion 

 proves to have been well founded, he 

 should take the Union's money, in the 

 interest of morality, and prosecute the 

 perjurer. 



Let us do busiqess upon business prin- 

 ciples. I consider this one of the vital 

 points in th^ matter of securing mem- 



