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ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 



111 



Convention, I have tried to do my 

 part, but last night I was shot and 

 could not find words to express my- 

 self. I want at this time to extend 

 to you not only the thanks of myself, 

 but of my home companion. 



As to the growth of our Association, 

 I have been censured to some extent, 

 and I wish to give you this little com- 

 parison. 



In 1906 we had 410 members who 

 paid one dollar each. In 1907 we had 

 416 members who paid one dollar each. 

 In 1906 there were 825 in co-operation 

 with our Association who paid fifty 

 cents each; whereas in 1907 there were 

 1008 who came in at that rate. The 

 additions for 1906 alone were $821; and 

 up to the time I left home were $974 

 for 1907. Of those. New York state 

 has contributed by single membership 

 56 at one dollar each; and one county 

 association consolidated, coming in, 

 gave us 21, giving us $10.50. 



Again, the sending out and getting 

 in of statistical crop reports and in- 

 corporating that in the Annual Report 

 has cost us from $75 to $80 per year. 

 I foresaw in the early part of the 

 season that a crop report was of no 

 avail whatever for 1907. I could count 

 on my fingers all who could say they 

 had a crop. Why then use that fund 

 when you had no crop report? And 

 yet I must say there is a decided 

 advantage. I would like to have seen 

 it in order that we might know how 

 much the shortage was. But, on the 

 other hand, I have in many instances 

 taken the responsibility of advance 

 thoughts, perhaps not to the advan- 

 tage of the Association. I have used 

 about the same amount of funds in 

 the Information Bureau Sheets sent 

 out during the year, hoping that they 

 would be worth to the iconvention 

 and to our entire membership more 

 than the little statistical report. 

 There are some desirable features in 

 it and some the reverse. It has meant 

 a vast amount of labor for me, and 

 it has helped many, more than the 

 majority realize. Whether it is ad- 

 visable to continue it or not is a 

 question. The Annual Report member- 

 ship list is being printed this week, 

 of which I have a carbon copy, and 

 will appear, as you see, name and 

 address, two columns on a page, in 

 the Annual Report this year. So that 

 as soon as I get the Report from our 

 reporter and get it into pamphlet 

 form you will each have a full report. 



The envelopes are already received 

 at home and addressed waiting for 

 the report. 



Again I have been asked. What does 

 the Treasurer of this Association flo 

 to keep a record of all the finances of 

 the Association? I will say in brief 

 it has been my rule when home never 

 to go to bed without everyone's dues 

 being receipted, unless perchance it 

 happened to be a long list of a con- 

 vention assembled where it would 

 take me late into the morning to 

 receipt for them. Letters in reply fol- 

 low as soon as I have time; and 

 upon my State Inspectorship work 

 many times I have carried a bundle 

 of letters in my satchel, answering 

 on the train and at the station, which 

 m.tiy account for some of the wiggles 

 in the script. 



Then there seemed to be a time 

 when this Pure Food law was coming 

 into effect, and there was much per- 

 taining to our interests in that. I 

 believe that it is one of the grand, good 

 things that the Gevornment has done 

 for us in the marketing of our prod- 

 uct. I advanced funds, not of the 

 Association, but of my own, to secure 

 designs from different artists, suggest- 

 ive of something that we might use, 

 and I found by enquiry that the mason 

 fruit jar sold more extracted honey 

 retail, take the United States over, 

 for food consumption, than any other 

 one package; and therefore I thought 

 if we were going to talk about label- 

 ing let that be the basis, get some- 

 thing that would fit that ; and in 

 compliance with that this little sealed 

 label, which you all have seen, was 

 designed so that it would fit on top 

 of the mason fruit jar, and then when 

 you turned the flaps down you had 

 a seal, and it was a guarantee from 

 the producer to the consumer so long 

 as that little seal was unbroken. I 

 have been surprised at page after page 

 in the ledger being taken up with 

 making a record of seal label orders 

 that have come in. One member in 

 our own State said, I will try 50 of 

 them. I said it costs just as much 

 to print 50 as 500. He seriously ob- 

 jected to taking 500. I said a dollar 

 is not very much of an investment 

 and it buys 500. It is just what they 

 cost the Association. There is no 

 profit anywhere. I get them wholes 

 sale. Well, he said, send on 500. Since 

 then he has sent in an order for 2000 



