JPO 



ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 



47 



the word "honey" on the package in 

 question, if it is not all honey, is illegal. 

 "Pure" is not necessary. Pure goods 

 don't have to be labeled at all. "Honey" 

 means "Pure Honey" only, and 

 always. Is it possible to sell a 

 pound jar at 20 cents? Califor- 

 nia honey can be sold for 11 

 cents. So 9 cents would be plenty of 

 profit. It is not necessarily impure be- 

 cause it is sold at 20 cents. In regard 

 to the pure food law. I am much in- 

 terested in the pure food law. Away 

 back of January 1, there was an effect 

 on commerce in Chicago, even before 

 the grocers were talking pure food law. 

 People began to label their goods 

 truthfully. The public has a whole- 

 some respect^ for Uncle Sam. As soon 

 as Uncle Sam took an interest in the 

 pure food business people began to 

 "sit up and take notice." As far as I 

 know there hasn't been an effort in the 

 United States to enforce the law. It 

 has been a self-enforcing law. Because 

 of respect for Uncle Sam it has an ef- 

 fect, a very natural effect. My honey is 

 always pure. People buy it with a 

 freedom never known before. They 

 have confidence that Uncle Sam will 

 punish a man who sells impure honey. 

 Lack of confidence is a natural thing. 

 The confidence that people have in 

 Uncle Sam helps every one to sell 

 honey, whether this advertising is 

 making people more skeptical or more 

 careful as to whom they bu5' honey 

 from. As to the "Wiley lie I have 

 fought against it for years. I have sold 

 mostly extracted honey. I have very 

 often been asked, "Did you make it 

 yourself?" People believe that honey 

 is manufactured. "Wiley started it and 

 the reporters have helped it along for 

 the sake of sensation. It is of no use 

 for people to say that the' "Wiley lie 

 has not hurt bee-keepers. Hundreds, 

 I believe, had quit buying honey until 

 they got acquainted with me. Then 

 they bought it because they believed in 

 me. The "Wiley lie stopped people 

 from buying honey because they be- 

 lieved it was made by somebody, and 

 not by bees. 



Mr. Taylor: I have sold a good 

 many tons of honey, and never said 

 anything about the "Wiley lie to any 

 purchaser. Neither has anybody ask- 

 ed me if I made that honey myself. He 

 has been crying and shedding blood 

 and tears over the "Wiley lie. Of course 

 people will ask him- You say, from 

 what we have heard, that these gro- 



cers are full of false honey. Call it 

 what you will, it is evidently not pure 

 honey, whether it is correctly labeled 

 or not. "Who knows whether the gov- 

 ernment has punished anyone? 



Dr. Bohrer: I am much interested in 

 the pure food law. If you have a de- 

 fective state law, revive it, and make 

 it an effective one. I am much inter- 

 ested in the production and sale of ex- 

 tracted honey. I think that is the best 

 shape for it, the most healthful. Some 

 say there is an article being sold in 

 Chicago that is not honey. If such is 

 the case your legislature is not treat- 

 ing you right. Revise the law. In 

 Kansas no one dares sell anything un- 

 der a false label. If he puts the word 

 "honey" on it, and it is not pure honey, 

 that man is handled, and not with 

 gloves. However, under the National 

 Pure Food Law, you do not dare ship 

 honey from one state to another unless 

 it is pure, without danger. People who 

 see the label "honey" on a jar say that 

 it is "honey." The pure food law does 

 not allow it to be sold under a false 

 label, so now people do not question 

 it at all. Merchants dare not handle 

 anything but what is pure. If you 

 want to produce more honey and with 

 less labor, begin to produce extracted 

 honey. You will all find it to be an 

 advantage. 



Mr. "Wheeler: Dealers use a certain 

 mark that is permissible by law. The 

 word "brand" is used a good deal. The 

 goods are sold so cheap. 



Dr. Bohrer: Are you sure it is not 

 pure honey? 



Mr. "Wheeler: Pure honey is much 

 higher in price than it was a year ago. 



Mr. Moore: The National Bee- 

 Keepers' Association put $200 into my 

 hands to help clean up the Chicago 

 ■ honey market, and I claim that there 

 is no man better able to give an intel- 

 ligent opinion. Truth should be pub- 

 lished. Owing to this fact, that I was 

 retained by the National Bee-Keepers' 

 Association to clean up the Chicago 

 ■market and stop the fraudulent sale of 

 honey, I have been in close touch with 

 this market. Shortly after this time 

 that I speak of, the Illinois Pure Food 

 Commission went into business. Then 

 we began to make a collection of 

 samples. We found at that time be- 

 tween 20 and 30 different kinds of bo- 

 gus honey on the market. We arrested 

 one man. He was discharged by the 

 justice because he swore he didn't 

 know it was impure. Since the organ- 



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