>A lot of folks decry "modern beekeeping" with all its faults 
and foibles, and harken back to the simpler ways of the past.

The article you have submitted from Langstroth dates back
to 1853.  Heres another from that time period.

Please find below, an article from my files. 
If you find  any 19th century articles related to 
the battle between natural and 'unnatural beekeepers',
or organic and 'un-organic' beekeepers, please 
send them to me to add to my collection. 

American bee journal, Volume 1 
November
1861
Page 263

http://books.google.com/books?id=a1FaAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA263#v=onepage&q&f=false

Some persons object to “special operations”
and “artificial processes” in bee culture, because
they regard them as "unnatural" and as "interfering 
with the instincts of the bee.  “But is not 
hiving a natural swarm an "artificial process?" 
Yet no one except the timid, objects to engage in 
that "special operation," though it is obviously a 
most violent "interference" with the instincts of 
the bee!  Bees are not kept for the purpose of 
indulging them in the enjoyment of the "largest 
liberty" or gratifying their own wildest whims. 
The object and intention is rather to render them 
and their labors subservient to man's wants and 
desires; and he who can most completely control 
them, within their own proper sphere, is likely to 
derive the most benefit from them. 

Best Wishes,
Joe Waggle
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/HistoricalHoneybeeArticles/

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