iillE MIl, iklE, 





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FLINT, MICHIGAN, OCTOBER 10, 1889. 



NO. 10. 



Tlie Influences of Conventions are Ele- 

 vating. 



DE. A. B. MA.SON. 



Mrs 



niEN I SAW an article by 



swrs) Cliaddock, entitled "Bee Conven- 

 j(| tion«," on paj^'e ISf) of the Rkvikw 

 lor December last, I wanted to 

 say sonietliiny on the snl).ieGt, but realizing 

 that the K kview was devoted to some special 

 subject each month, and feariuf^ what I 

 miiiht write would tind its way into the waste 

 basket, I "held my peace." I now see that 

 the ( )ctober number is to discuss " Bee- Asso- 

 ciations and (jonveutions." 



It may be true, as the Review says, that 

 " not many up-with-the-times bee-keepers 

 now iio to these meetings expecting, as the 

 result, to come home loaded down with in- 

 formation. It isn't for tliat they go. It's to 

 see the ' boys.' " (And girls V) It may be 

 that such "shining lights " as " ye editor " 

 don't learn anything, but there are some 

 who may not be classed with " up-with-the- 

 times bee-keepers" who do learn many 

 things at these meetings. 



Is Mrs. Chaddock's opinion, that it does 

 not pay to attend these conventions, unless 

 one has an ax to grind, of any value? Has 

 she had any experience in the matter? I 

 have never heard anyone who has attended 

 "these conventions" express any regret for 

 the time and money spent in so doing ; but 

 I liave freijuently heard the expressions : 

 " I'm glad I came." " I feel well paid." " It 

 has been a real treat." Etc., etc. Mrs. 

 Ohaddock is certainly not posted when she 

 accuses certain ones of having "an ax to 

 grind ;" unless her meaning of that expres- 

 sion is different from the generally accepted 

 one. I had supposed that the saying meant 

 that persons "having an ax to grind " were 

 those having something to sell, or those 

 working to secure some influence bj^ which 

 money was to be made. I have never known 

 Prof. Cook to make any effort at any con- 

 vention to sell his book, or to secure an hon- 

 orable position, but he is always trying (and 

 succeeding) to help others to get upon a 

 higher plane of intelligence and goodness. 

 So I guess, after all, I'll have to admit that 

 it (Iocs pay him to attend conventions ; and 

 I kmiiv he helps make it pay others to attend. 



Thank fortune, or any good influence, all 

 the people in the world are not so many bun- 

 dles of selfishness ; and many have learned 



the truthfulness of the statement that : " It 

 is more blessed to give than to receive." 



That it pays Messrs. Hutchinson and Root, 

 in dollars and cents, to attend conventions, 

 I very much doubt. I have never known 

 tliem to offer anything for sale, or to attempt 

 to advertise any of their wares ; and if Mrs. 

 Chaddock thinks it is a necessity for "D. A. 

 Jones to be there to keep up with the times," 

 I tliink she is very mucli mistaken. 



I have no doul)t that " Mrs. Harrison gets 

 better pay for what she writes because she 

 attends the conventions," but if that is all 

 she goes for, and all slie gets, I'm sure she 

 misses the better i)art that others get. If 

 such is the case, then Mrs. Harrison is the 

 only one who " has an ax to gi-iud ; " but we 

 know it is not with the ladies as it is with 

 the men ; for I'm inclined to believe as 

 Thackery says: "Since the days of Adam, 

 there has been hardly a mischief done in 

 this world but a woman has been at the bot- 

 tom of it." 



Mrs. C. can't even let me alone. She says I 

 "can sell my recipe for preserving eggs." 

 Well, maybe she knows more about it than I 

 do. I never did sell anything at a conven- 

 tion, nor attempted to, but if I should have 

 the pleasure of meeting her next December 

 at Brantford, I shall try my powers of per- 

 suasion on her in that line. 



If anyone can listen to one of our friend 

 Newman's soul-stirring addresses ; or one of 

 Prof. Cook's familiar, interesting and 

 home-like talks, and not feel ^Kt't/, I would 

 just like to know what he or she is made of. 

 And it is worth something to give that every- , 

 body's-friend, A. I. Root, a racket, and lis- 

 ten to his friendly way of talking to us; 

 and to shake hands with such Canucks as 

 Pettit, Cornell, Pringle, Jones, McKnight, 

 Macpherson, Hall and Emigh, is not to be 

 lightly esteemed, to say nothing of the la- 

 dies we don''t know but who will be at 

 Brantford. Then add the United States to 

 the galaxy, and say it doesn't pay if you 

 dare. 



It may be possible that it would not pay 

 a large majority of bee-keepers to attend 

 the meetings of the International, but for 

 "such poor mortals as I" it pays if one 

 has the " needful " to spare. I have never 

 yet regretted having attended our Interna- 

 tional gatherings, and although it may not be 

 a source of direct financial income to attend 

 bee-keepers' conventions, farmers' institutes, 

 horticultural meetings, political caucuses 



