ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 



109 



be able to arrange facts together as 

 Dr. Phillips has said, but it seems to 

 me there is not such a poverty or 

 dearth of scientists in this organi- 

 zation as he seems to indicate. We 

 have Dr. Phillips and Prof. Surface 

 and Prof. Cook and Prof. Scholl, and 

 I think we could drum up a few more 

 that would be able to carry on this 

 work in this organization. 



The President put the motion, which 

 was carried. 



Mr. Holterman moved, seconded by 

 Mr. Moe, that the General Manager of 

 this Association communicate with the 

 State and Federal, and the Provincial 

 and Dominion Governments, asking 

 that these investigations for Apicul- 

 ture and its advancement shall be car- 

 ried on in the same way as other 

 branches of Agriculture. 



Prof. Surface: I would hope that 

 the communication to our Federal 

 Government would be in such a way 

 as not to ignore what is already be- 

 ing so well done, or in such a way as 

 not to criticize it, but in such a way 

 as to ask that there be auxiliary facili- 

 ties given to Prof. Phillips and his 

 corps of assistants, and that he be giv- 

 en a free hand to work out and com- 

 mend what has been done. While the 

 different States are justly liable to the 

 severest criticism for their neglect of 

 apiculture, our Federal Government is 

 not so. 



Mr. Hilton: Relative to our States 

 and our institutions not taking cogni- 

 zance of things we think they ought 

 to, I feel we are very largely to blame. 

 I get this from what little legislative 

 experience I have had. Our States and 

 our superiors in office, and all of these 

 men are willing to co-operate with us 

 if we will give them to understand 

 what we want. We belittle our own 

 occupation; and we do not set before 

 our institutions, our States, our Agri- 

 cultural Colleges, our Experimental 

 Stations and these positions where this 

 w^ork can be done, our needs, our 

 necessities, wants and desires. It be- 

 hooves us as members of this Associ- 

 ation to form ourselve into a Com- 

 mittee of the Whole, as it were, and 

 allow our voices to be heard and our 

 wants to be known; and we will find 

 that these institutions and these men 

 are only too anxious to do for us the 

 things we want done. 



The President put the motion which 

 on a vote having been taken was de- 

 clared carried. 



PRESENTATION TO MR. 

 FRANCE. 



Mr. W. Z. Hutchinson: When a 

 good man passes over the River 

 to the great Beyond we mourn his 

 loss and we write eulogies and put 

 flowers on his coffin. It seems to me 

 that it would be wiser and better if 

 instead of doing that we would sing 

 his praises and bestow our gifts while 

 the heart was yet warm and could 

 beat in response. And in line with 

 that thought I would like to say a 

 few words about our genial Manager, 

 N. E. France. (Applause.) I have 

 visited him in his home and traveled 

 with him over both his State and 

 my own, visited infected apiaries, 

 and I have roomed with him at Con- 

 ventions and bunked with him in a 

 week's trip across the Continent when 

 this convention was held in Califor- 

 nia; and we have had long and con- 

 tinuous correspondence and personal 

 consultation as to how the affairs of 

 this Association should be managed. 

 If there is any member in this Asso- 

 ciation who knows Mr. Prance better 

 than anyone else, I am that man. I 

 say it freely and openly and proudly 

 that no man in this country has 

 worked longer or harder or more un- 

 ceasingly or unselfishly for the up- 

 building of bee culture than has Mr. 

 France. (^Applause.) And not only 

 this but he has done the work for a 

 mere pittance. There is no private 

 concern or corporation that could get 

 a man for five times the amount we 

 pay him to do the work he does. I 

 have thought for a long time it 

 would be a very appropriate thing if 

 we would show our appreciation in 

 some fitting and substantial manner, 

 and with that end in view about a 

 month ago I sent out a postal card 

 to the members, which I will read: 



"Flint, Mich., Sept. 26th, 1907. 

 Bro. Member of the National: 



If any man in this country has 

 worked long and unselfishly for the 

 good of bee-keepers, and especially 

 for the members of the National, it is 

 our General Manager, N. E. France; 

 and I have long thought what a kind 

 act it would be for us all to club to- 

 gether and present him with some 

 little token of our appreciation. Sup- 

 pose we contribute a little mite apiece, 

 and get a gold watch and chain, as 

 ^ood as money will buy, have a suit- 

 able inscription engraved inside the 



