210 



NINTH ANNUAL, REPORT OF THE 



damage suit is brought for $1,500 

 against the man for selling that lot 

 of bees. Can the National do any- 

 thing to help him out? Now, in a 

 way, that interests us all, if we sell 

 bees that are free of disease and later 

 on there can be a charge made that 

 those bees are diseased, and it is 

 proved that they are diseased. This 

 case is yet in the Court, and what the 

 result will be, I do not know. 



I am sorry to own again that there 

 are some who have advertised in our 

 journals as queen-breeders who have 

 received money from the National 

 members, who never sent the queens 

 or acknowledged the receipt of the 

 money, and they want the National to 

 take the matter up. There are some 

 who have sold honey or supplies, and 

 cannot collect. Could the National 

 collect? I don't know that we have 

 any jurisdiction in the case "of a man's 

 Individual business accounts. It is 

 his own dealing; he ought not to 

 come to the National if that were the 

 case. I would be glad, indeed, if 

 some one else in the Association, offi- 

 cially, will collect some debts that I 

 don't suppose I will ever get. That 

 part of our Association work is almost 

 entirely devolving upon the office of 

 manager. I tried to establish what I 

 thought would be of great value to 

 the members, but would cost a little 

 something — an information bureau. I 

 have been sharply censured for the 

 same several times, but I do feel 

 that there can be some plan devised 

 for the various members who may 

 have something that they want to dis- 

 pose of, and which somebody else 

 may want to buy, so that through the 

 medium of the office of manager those 

 wants could be made known, and both 

 satisfied at a little expense, rather 

 than the continual issuing of a long 

 list, "A" asking where he can buy 

 some honey this year, not having a 

 crop, and wanting to supply his mar- 

 ket. I don't believe it is good policy 

 in the interests of the Association's 

 finances to print frequently a bulletin 

 giving that long list of those who are 

 not all interested; but where I have a 

 list of members wanting to buy and 

 wanting to sell, if a man is Jn Cali- 

 fornia, and he wants to sell honey, I 

 would not to a man in New York 

 recommend this man in California, 

 but I would look over my list and find 

 someone in his locality that can buy 

 from him, and I write to this party. 



Then I am through with the deal. In 

 that way i bring the two together, 

 and they make their own contract, and 

 do their own work. This season, al- 

 though it is ' a short time since the 

 honey harvest, I have been a medium 

 by which over six carloads of honey 

 have been unloaded for our members 

 this fall. 



Again, one of our local Associa- 

 tions a year ago voted, at their an- 

 nual meeting, that their manager 

 there should have the control and sale 

 of the honey of the Association. He 

 contracted the honey, notified the 

 members the day it should be shipped, 

 and the markets had changed a little, 

 and a few of them found they could 

 get a fraction of a cent more for their 

 honey, and they would not stand" by 

 their manager. iHe was held in con- 

 tract to deliver that carload of honey, 

 and he hadn't it to deliver. One of 

 our old members, living in the city, 

 and seeing the situation, to relieve 

 thiat man, wrote me to know what 

 could be done, that there must be a 

 carload of honey furnished soon, or 

 else there would be a heavy damage 

 claim. I looked over my list and 

 found there were two carloads of 

 honey, either one nearer than the car- 

 load they were buying, that could be 

 had for the same money. I notified 

 him, and one of the other carloads 

 was taken in exchange, and relieved 

 the pressure. But here, is the sad 

 feature: If we have a local Associa- 

 tion, and agree to do something, stay 

 by it. Business men find they have 

 to, and we must learn to sooner or 

 later. 



Our annual meetings bring together 

 many old faces, and a great many new 

 ones, and it is necessary, for the good 

 of the entire body, geographically, that 

 these annual meetings shall move 

 from place to place, consequently, 

 that must be left to a Board — our 

 .present Executive Board, perhaps, is as 

 good as any. 



I would rather, indeed, if someone 

 who has something they want to know 

 would ask questions upon this subject 

 of what the National ought to do for 

 Its betterment. I am doing all I know 

 how, or all I can do, for the Associa- 

 tion, but the locomotive cannot pull 

 without the power put into it. The 

 steam must be there, and the indi- 

 vidual mem<bers are the steam of this 

 organization, and, consequently, I 

 want the individual members, through 



