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192 



EIGHTH ANNUAL REPORT OP THE 



and felt the strong, warm clasp of 

 many hands. I tell you, friends, these 

 things are far above dollars. They 

 are tlie dearest things on earth. They 

 have brought before me tonight this 

 sea of faces. 



The friendship of our fraternity! 

 May it never grow less. May it cheer 

 and encourage and brighten our lives 

 and draw us together like a band of 

 brothers. (Applause.) 



The President — The next is "Bee- 

 Keepers as Temperance Reformers," 

 and this comes from a gentleman 

 who I know has the temperance 

 question at heart, and a man we all 

 love to listen to. His name is George 

 W. York, of Chicago, 111. (Applause.) 



Mr. York — Mr. President, Ladies 

 and Gentlemen: I am not to blame 

 for talking on this subject tonight, 

 neither did I select it, so if I should 

 say something that does not suit 

 somebody, you -will have to blame 

 somebody else. Some times it is well 

 to read instead of speaking extem- 

 poraneously. 



BEE-KEBPERS AS TEMPERANCE 

 REFORMERS. 



Mr. Toastmaster, Ladies and Gentle- 

 men: The pathway of the reformer 

 is usually strewn, not with flowers, 

 but with hardships and some stings. 

 .It is not unlike that of the bee-keeper, 

 at least so far as it relates to stings, 

 only the bee-keepers' stings are of a 

 different character and source. 



I think it was the Poet Whittier 

 who advised young men to allay them- 

 selves with some unpopular righteous 

 cause and then to push to make It 

 win. The day was when the temper- 

 ance cause could 'be classed iwith the 

 unpopular causes. But not so today. 

 It is rapidly getting to be very popu- 

 lar these days to be on the side of 

 temperance and prohibition of the 

 liquor traffic and against the open, 

 legalized American saloon. 



But are bee-keepers temperance re- 

 formers? My experience with them 

 for nearly a quarter of a century has 

 very clearly shown that practically all 

 (bee-keepers are on the side of temper- 

 ance and prohibition, and the rest are 

 coming fast. Bee-keeping and inteim- 

 perance don't go well together. It is 

 a combination that would be likely to 

 result in more stings and maybe siome 

 "snake bites" as well. Surely the ibee- 



keeper who indulges in strong drink 

 is "stung" and bitten in more ways 

 than one. 



"I have such an indulgent husband," 

 said a good lady. Whereupon her 

 friend, Mrs. Spiteful, said: "Yes, so 

 John says. Some times indulges a lit- 

 tle too much, doesn't he?" How 

 thankful is Mrs. Bee-Keeper that her 

 husband is among the right kind of 

 indulgent ones. 



It is a fact that practically all of our 

 leading bee-keepers are temperance 

 men, and I dare say put their prin- 

 ciples into practice and full effect at 

 the ballot box whenever an oppor- 

 tunity arises so to do. 



Now, there is the "Grand Old Man" 

 of beedom — Dr. Miller, of the West. 

 He stands four square on temperance 

 and prohibition. And so does that 

 other "Grand Old Man" of the East, 

 Mr. Doolittle, who does so much. 



And then there is A. I. Root. He's 

 been "Rooting" around for a good 

 many years, and I have always 

 thought from his sevmonettes that he 

 would not be caught running a saloon 

 should he ever quit a bee-supply busi- 

 ness and raisin-? "garden-sass." I 

 think all will concede that A. I. R. 

 isn't filled with "hi.t air" when it 

 comes to the tprnperance question, 

 and a few other moral subjects. 



I might go on anrl rame a glorious 

 company of bee-k?cper:5 from all ov^or 

 this and other lands — even over in 

 Canada — who are temperance reforn'- 

 ers, and who wouM do their utmost lo 

 help wipe the saloini curse off tho 

 earth. But there a'-e ?• many that ii- 

 would be impossible' for xne to name 

 or count them. The proper thing lo 

 count those in the L-mted States will 

 be at the polls ne-^l November 3c, 

 when, no doubt, they will be just 

 "Chaffin" to roll up a big vote for thi» 

 great reform which all mankind should 

 "want to see win. 



Now, for a little personal experience 

 with bee-keepers of this drink ques- 

 tion. As a good many know, I have 

 not failed to attend a single National 

 Bee-keepers' Convention, and some 

 others not national, during the past 

 fifteen years. And I am most happy 

 to say that only on one occasion have 

 I ever been asked to take a drink. 

 That was in Canada, I regret to say. 

 Of course, that particular Canuck 

 wanted to treat me right while I was 

 enjoying existence under the flag of 



