ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 



75 



the General Manager of our Association 

 to pay out of the funds of the Asso- 

 ciation the necessary expenses of the 

 Committee, and such expenses as may 

 be incurred in bringing before the rail- 

 road officials such articles as may be 

 necessary to demonstrate the packages 

 on which reductions are desired. 



ROBT. A. HOLEKAMP, 

 J AS. A. StONEj 



C. C. Parsons, 

 Committee on Resolutions. 



Pres. Dadant — The niatter is open for 

 discussion now, and I would like to 

 hear from the members as to their opin- 

 ion on these resolutions. Let us hear 

 from Mr. France. 



Mr. France — So long as my name is 

 mentioned in the resolutions I ought to 

 be quiet. That involves lots of work; 

 it means hard work, and that committee 

 will have more to do than you realize. 

 I feel that it is of the greatest import- 

 ance who that committee are. As for 

 suggestions, the Resolution Committee 

 has nearly covered it, what is expected. 

 I don't know of any way that we can 

 use the funds of the treasury to a better 

 advantage than for something of this 

 nature; for every one has more or less 

 shipping, and will get direct results, 

 whatever they may be. 



Mr. York — Mr. Chairman, in order to 

 do this I move the adoption of the reso- 

 lutions. 



Dr. Bohrer — I would like to hear the 

 resolution read again. 



Wm. Atchley — Does that include ex- 

 press-rates, or freight-rates only? 



Pres. Dadant — Freight-rates only. It 

 is more difficult to do anything with 

 express companies than the railroad 

 companies. 



Mr. Anderson — I see dawning in the 

 distance that which I have hoped for, 

 at least ever since I have been a bee- 

 keeper. The transportation facilities of 

 the bee-keepers' products have been so 

 inconvenient in many localities that it 

 has actually put a stay on the progress 

 of the industry. I have longed to see 

 the time when the National Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Association would be acknowledged 

 by the railroad companies as a power 

 in the Nation. I want to congratulate 

 the Committee on Resolutions for the 

 work they have done. 



Dr. Bohrer — I, like Mr. France, think 

 that when we tackle a question of this 

 kind we have a big question to buck up 

 against. All that can be done outside 



of actual organization, not only through 

 the State legislative body, must be done 

 by appealing to the railroad companies 

 ourselves, and bringing our committees 

 to their special notice. I believe they 

 are reasonable men, and something may 

 be accomplished in that way. Now, 1 

 understand that much is put up in pack- 

 ages that are condemned, but if these 

 packages are more secure the railroads 

 will take them. This committee can 

 bring this matter to bear and present it, 

 not only to the bee-keepers, but to the 

 railroad companies. There is not a man 

 or woman that has any produce what- 

 ever but feels that extortions are prac- 

 ticed upon them. Years ago, up in Kan- 

 sas, our railroaads were controlled by the 

 Inter-State Commerce legislation, but 

 the State can only control the railroad 

 company to an extent, and when it pass- 

 es out of the State we have no control 

 over it; and it is the duty of every bee- 

 keeper to make an appeal to his Repre- 

 sentative in Congress. Whenever the 

 interests of the country are at stake it 

 takes the people to do it; you have to 

 appeal to your Representative. What is 

 the condition we find now in our Legis- 

 lative Assembly? Are the true represen- 

 tatives of all the industries of this 

 country over-whelmingly in majority in 

 the House and the Senate? 



Pres. Dadant — I wish to call your at- 

 tention to the fact that you are getting 

 oflF the subject. Keep within the limits. 



Dr Bohrer — I will do it. There is 

 where you have to commence — you have 

 to put representative men in these bod- 

 ies, or you will not get justice. 



E. J. Atchley — I think the question 

 that is before this Association is one of 

 the greatest importance that can come 

 before this body, inasmuch as we do not 

 consider it at all fair that the railroad 

 companies charge us $450 per car to 

 transport our bees to Colorado or Utah, 

 when a car of cattle will be carried the 

 same distance for $110. We have ap- 

 pealed as far as possible to the railroad 

 companies, and the agents themselves 

 have felt a surprise that we would have 

 to pay this amount for a car when we 

 attend to the bees, load them ourselves, 

 take them off the cars, and bear all the 

 burden of the journey, while the cattle 

 are loaded by the railroad companies, 

 unloaded possibly two or three times and 

 fed, and they only pay $110. Under the 

 existing circumstances, when we take 

 into consideration the rates on bees, 



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