ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 



37 



traveling over the state I have found 

 that a bee-keeper can not protect his 

 bees without the help of a law that will 

 compel the careless, small bee keeper 

 to keep his bees in good condition. 

 Ilinois is a good honey producing 

 state and has thousands of bee keepers 

 who have many thousands of dollars in- 

 vested and should be protected as most 

 of them are tax payfers, and are com- 

 posed of the very best citizens of the 

 state. 



J. Q. SMITH. 

 State Foul Brood Inspector. 



Platteville, Wis., Feb. 18, 1908. 

 Mr. Jas. A. Stone, Springfield, 111. 



Dear Sir: — As State Inspector of 

 Apiaries of Wisconsin for past eleven 

 years, have several times seen in 

 Wisconsin ruined, diseased apiaries the 

 same contracted from foul brood apia- 

 ries in Illinois. I hope for health and 

 good of all, especially Illinois bee-keep- 

 ers, you will soon have such laws as will 

 protect an important industry. You 

 must have a law to prohibit sale or ex- 

 posure of all bee diseases, a law that 

 gives the Inspector authority. I would 

 not serve without it. What use of a 

 law to appoint City Police with no 

 authority? Or to elect any officer 

 without authority? If the unlawful 

 orders him. "hands off" he must obey 

 same. This is the present kind of 

 Illinois Foul Brood Law you have. If 

 an Illinois bee-keeper does not permit 

 inspector to inspect, or treat or give 

 advice, he must keep "Hands off." 

 Laws are for the unabiding citizens, to 

 compel obeyance for public good. A 

 in Illinois keeps bees, and by his care- 

 ful management produces tons of one 

 of the healthiest of foods, and thus 

 supports his family. Near him lives a 

 careless party whose bees are diseased, 

 many are dead with disease endanger- 

 ing the support of many families, and 

 today no Illinois law to stop the same. 

 Tou must have law to appoint an In- 

 spector with authority and not until 

 then will diseases of bees in your State 

 be under control, and a development 

 of one of the great agricultural indus- 

 tries of the State with its car loads of 

 cheap and purest of all table foods. 

 An officer does not have to shoot every 

 man he arrests. The law of authority 

 is respected. So in Wisconsin, with 

 authority to inspect each apiary, give 

 instructions how to treat the disease, 

 and to review the same after reason- 

 able time. If nothing has been done 



and case requires, I may burn all dis- 

 eased bees and combs to prevent the 

 spread of said disease. But once in 

 my eleven years' experience has it been 

 necessary to resort to this authority 

 to stop sale of diseased bees and then 

 under quarantine. I hope your success 

 in getting the much needed law. 

 Tours truly. 



N. E. FRANCE. 



San Jose, 111., Jan. 23, 1908. 

 Mr. Jas. A. Stone, 



Dear Sir: -I know that European 

 foul brood has about cleaned me out 

 of the bee business, as also all my 

 neighbors. It is the same old story. 

 The farmer with a few bees won't take 

 care of them. Lets them die, then leaves 

 the hives to be robbed out by other 

 bees. I have lost over one thousand 

 dollars in the iast three years with the 

 European foul brood. My neighbors 

 have lost almost all their bees now. 

 So I think that if there was a law 

 with a penalty attached so the in- 

 spector had some authority we could 

 stamp the disease out. 



Yours truly, 



FRED TYLER. 



New Milford, 111. 

 Mr. Stone. 



Dear Sir: -At the late annual meet- 

 ing of the Northern Illinois Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Association a resolution was of- 

 fered and unanimously passed request- 

 ing the State Association to do all in 

 their power to get a law passed iby 

 our next Legislature similar to the 

 Wisconsin Foul Brood Law, which has 

 proven so efficient in that state for 

 the past ten years. 



Yours truly, 



B. KENNEDY, Sec. 



Spring Valley, 111., Jan. 20, 1908. 

 James A. Stone, Secretary of Illinois 

 State Bee-Keepers' Association: 

 Dear Sir: -In regard to a foul brood 

 law, I think it would be a good thing. 

 I have had some experience in foul 

 brood. It took me three years to get 

 entirely rid of it. It is not very dif- 

 ficult to cure but if you have a lot of 

 go-as-you-please bee-keepers in your 

 neighborhood like I had, it is a hard 

 proposition, indeed. But a foul brood 

 law would compel them to get their 

 hees inspected and cured, if diseased. 

 Yours, 

 PETER J. NORBERG. 



