84 First Annual Report 



NATIONAL BEE-KEEPERS' UNION. 



THE GENERAL MANAGERS* SEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT, FOR THE YEAR 189I. 



The past year has been a very important one for the National Bee- 

 Keepers' Union. We have added 50 per cent, to our membership, and ren- 

 dered timely and substantial aid to many bee-keepers who were harrassed 

 by malicious and designing enemies of the pursuit. 



The moral weight and influence of the Kee-Keepers' Union has pre- 

 vented many lawsuits from being commenced, and where such has been 

 begun it overthrew the claims of ignorant enemies of the pursuit, foiled the 

 machinations of cunning lawyers, and guided the judges m making decisions, 

 by referring them to the decision of the Supreme Court of Arkansas; and the 

 able argument of Judge Williams in the celebrated case of the City of Arka- 

 delphia vs. Z. A. Clark. 



In briefly reviewing the work of the past year, we commence with the 

 case of 



G. W. COLE, CANTON, ILL. 



Here complaints were made to the mayor and the bees of Mr. Cole 

 were declared a nuisance Ignorant jealousy was the cause of the trouble. 

 The case was then brought before a justice of the peace, who decided it 

 against Mr. Cole (as might be e.xpected), fining him $1 and costs of 121 .70. 

 The case was then taken up by the Union and appealed to the Circuit Court. 



The prosecuting witness, Mr.' Shaffer, not being content to await the 

 result of the appeal, maliciously renewed the attack, and the same justice of 

 the peace issued a new warrant, just to annoy Mr. Cole. But this time the 

 Union won the case. 



It was shown that concentrated venom was the cause of the prosecution. 

 The city papers condemned the mayor and council in unmeasured terms. 



At the Circuit Court, to which the case was appealed, Mr. Shaffer and 

 his minions were defiant and threatening at first, then they wanted to hedge. 

 When the case was reached on the docket, our attorney called the attention 

 of the Court to the statute and cited authorities. The judge said that such a 

 case could not be maintained and ordered it dismissed. 



Thus ended the celebrated bee case at Canton. We had hoped to have 

 the opportunity to carry this case to the Supreme Court, but was not allowed 

 to do so. It was clean-cut maliciousness, and would have been a grand 

 chance to have the decision of the Supreme Court of Illinois on the simple 

 question, "Is bee-keeping a nuisance ?" 



