664 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Tlie Situation.— The following 

 from Hon. J. M. Harabaugh, at Spring- 

 field, Ills., will explain the present 

 standing of the various matters pertain- 

 ing to bee-culture now before the Legis- 

 lature : 



I was probably a little premature 

 when I stated that we had safely carried 

 every bill pertaining to bee-culture 

 through the committees, except that 

 of the $5,000 appropriation for the 

 Columbian Exposition. 



The Smith Foul-Brood Bill went 

 through the committee, to which it was 

 first assigned, by a unanimous vote, but 

 when it came back to the House, in con- 

 sequence of its having an appropriation 

 clause in it, the Speaker again recom- 

 mitted it to the Appropriation Commit- 

 tee, and some of. the honorable members 

 seem to question its virtues, from the 

 fact of there being no pressure or favor- 

 able expression from the bee-keepers, 

 and a vote was taken, and its further 

 consideration postponed for the present. 



Now, I cannot say how true this may 

 be, but it seems to me the bee-keepers 

 are stai\ding in their own light when 

 they do not come forward in a body, and 

 signify a willingness to help in the mat- 

 ter that is of such vital importance to 

 their interests. 



Foul-brood is becoming more and more 

 wide spread, and like pleuro-pneumo- 

 nia in cattle, sooner or later will be past 

 control. 



We are willing to work, and are bend- 

 ing every energy towards laws that will 

 be to the benefit of bee-keepers, and 

 should we fail, it may be partially at- 

 tributed to apathy and unconcern on the 

 part of bee-keepers themselves. 



There must be some pressure brought 

 to bear upon any subject, before the 

 law-makers will take action, and we 

 trust this will be a warning to the 

 fraternity, and that they will act ac- 

 cordingly. 



The $5,000 appropriation for the 

 World's Columbian Exhibition has not 

 been reported by the committee as yet, 

 and probably will not be, and it, with 

 that of many other bills, will go into the 

 general State exhibit. By the defeat of 

 the Merritt Bill, it now looks as if the 

 Illinois State Agricultural Society will 

 have control of the Exposition, and the 

 Secretary of that institution, and one of 

 its members, have promised me a just 

 allotment, and are anxious to see us well 

 represented ; but it looks now as though 

 no special appropriations will be granted 

 to any industry. 



As regards the $500 appropriation for 

 publishing the bee-keepers' report, it 

 repeived some antagonism in the Com- 

 mittee on Appropriations, to which it 

 was referred, but it came out with a 

 respectable majority. 



The grounds upon which its enemies 

 instituted a warfare were, that the State 

 has no right to foster these institutions, 

 and that they should stand upon their 

 own resources, etc., and my argument 

 to offset this was, that we are a part 

 and parcel of the State, as well as the 

 Dairymen's Association, Horticulturists, 

 Agriculturists, etc., and that, as the 

 State had granted them the privilege of 

 publishing their reports, why not us ? 



The Fruit Bloom Spraying Bill has 

 been advanced to a third reading, and 

 may pass the House soon. There were 

 some committee amendments, but they 

 do not alter the nature of the bill. 



J. M. Hambaugh. 



Springfield, His., May 12, 1891. 



We have done all we could to create 

 that "pressure" upon the committee, 

 not only through the columns of the 

 Bee Journal, but also by private let- 

 ters written to each member of the 

 committee, and to our Senators and 

 Representatives. If the desired apicul- 

 tural legislation is not obtained, after 

 all that has been done by our apiarists 

 in the Legislature and a few outside, 

 who have spent much time and labor in 

 working for the interest of the pursuit, 

 one consolation is certainly left us — our 

 duty has been done, and the fault will 

 be honestly chargeable to the apathy of 

 apiarists themselves. 



In Hngfland there are some who 

 imagine that bees are a nuisance, and 

 have made it uncomfortable for neigh- 

 boring apiarists. One case is mentioned 

 on page 201 of the British Bee Journal. 

 Three unfriendly neighbors are trying 

 to get the bees removed, on the plea of 

 the bees being " a nuisance," though it 

 is not claimed that any one has been 

 stung, or that any injury has been done 

 by the bees. It is purely spite work, 

 and, like some cases now receiving 

 the attention of the Union in this coun- 

 try, grows out of some unfriendliness 

 about politics or religion. 



