272 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



ingB of the Association as it has been con- 

 ducted for some time, as in any sense 

 "attacks." The Association is ostensibly 

 for the protection and benefit of its mem- 

 bers; from them it collects annually a sum 

 of money that it may render those ser- 

 vices and benefits. I am a member of the 

 society, and have as such paid in many 

 dollars, but when I attempt to get any 

 help in the form of the circular material, 1 

 am handed out a few sloppy circulars. 

 The only possible redress that I have is to 

 publish the fact. The conditions which I 

 wished to meet were these: The bee- 

 keeping industry of Rhode Islandjs smaW; 

 few persons have over a score of colonies; 

 and 1 have not found half a dozen per- 

 sons who are seriously concerned as to 

 bee diseases or laws to suppress them. 

 But the bee-keepers of the States of Con- 

 necticut and Massachusetts are inter- 

 ested in having the diseases suppressed 

 here as well as in their own States. Un- 

 der the circumstances work must be done 

 through the fruit growers. Granges. Hor- 

 ticultural societies, etc, and that sort of 

 work called for literature as well as let- 

 ters, speeches and personal work. To get 

 such literature I wrote of the conditions 

 to the General Manager of the National, 

 and in return received six circulars which, 

 while containing some pertinent matter, 

 contained much that was not relevant, 

 and the whole appearance of the circulars 

 was more suggestive of a cheap advertis- 

 ing circular than of educational matter. 

 A letter from Mr. France, the General 

 Manager, said that was all he had. 1 

 have had no evidenae of his attempting to. 

 produce any more of the same circulars 

 or any others. But I have received evi- 

 dence that he resents criticism, for a cir- 

 cular sent out by him makes much the 

 same charge that you have. The circular 

 last referred to is mostly composed of 

 advertisements of goods wanted or for 

 sale by a score or more individual mem- 

 bers, and includes at least one advertise- 

 ment after which is the word "sold." If 

 sold why pay for printing it? This cir- 

 cular probably cost the 'Association ap- 



proximately $25 for printing and postage 

 to benefit about 25 members, but the 

 manager apparently does not think the 

 interests of the bee-keeping industry of 

 Mass., R. 1. and Conn., worth further 

 thought. 



The foregoing 1 cite in detail because 1 

 was directly concerned and know the de- 

 tails. It will suffice for the present. 



As to the second part of your comment. 

 You say: — "Because the publishers of the 

 Bee-Keeper are furnishing goods at 

 wholesale to a company of Eastern bee- 

 keepers is no excuse etc." It is no excuse, 

 nor do 1 see any connection between the 

 publishers" business policy and the man- 

 agement of the National. It seems to me 

 that in your comment you show grievous 

 displeasure at the wholesale price matter 

 and that it is to discredit that that you 

 are most anxious. If the National is what 

 it pretends to be, and if the Review really 

 means what it has said in the past, then 

 Both should welcome wholesale prices 

 where ever they may be had. As to a 

 "company of Eastern bee-keepers" that 

 is entirely a figment of your imagination. 

 No such company exists. The prices are 

 I believe still open to any society of bee- 

 keepers who care to accept them, either 

 Western or Eastern. The grapes need 

 not look sour to you, they sire within your 

 reach; or if freight charges interfere I 

 would respectfully suggest that you ap- 

 peal to the National Association, which 

 can, doubtless, with its larger membership 

 and wider field, secure somewhere as 

 much or more reduction as the associated 

 societies of the State of New York secur- 

 ed for all bee-keepers' societies. 



In closing permit me to say that neither 

 Mr. Hill nor myself are in any way, shape 

 or manner guided in our conduct of the 

 American Bee-Keeper by the commercial 

 policy of the owners of the paper. Also 

 let me say that we are both members of 

 the National Association, and I believe 

 are quite as anxious as you are to see it 

 prosper and become a real benefit to the 

 bee-keepers of the land. Washing dirty 

 linen in public is not the pleasantest way 



