That's the railroad yards, right over there,-
You kin see the roun'house from the stair.

Ma's al us got an eye on me

She's just as skeery as kin be.

Why, 'f I so much as tech the gate

She hollers: "George, you come back, straight!" If ever I c'd reach that track

I wouldn't hurry ter come back.

Ma's so 'fraid-but that's all truck!

Even my school-it's just my luck

Lies east of here, instead of west

Where the railroad runs. [You kin guess the rest.]

My mother's pretty smart, you know,

An' when it's time fer me ter go

Ter school she stands right at the gate
'N' says, "Look out you aren't late.

You come straight home, don't stop to play;
Don't be kept after school today."

I'd almost dareter, anyway,

Go down there in the yards 'n' play;
But then, you see, I had a fight
With another boy-his name is White;
'N' he'd just die ter tell on me.
(That's what I call as mean kin be.)
Sometimes when father's home, sez he:
"Say, son, you want to come with me?"
"You bet," I yell when I hear that,
'N' hardly wait to grab my hat.

'N' mother allus has ter say:

"I'm 'fraid that he'll be in the way."

But I tell you I think my dad

The finest thet I ever had.

Oh, yes, I like the roun'house best.

M' father never gets no rest
Until he boosts me in a 'gine
Thet's movin' up along the line
Afore it's coupled to the train.

'N' then I want ter go again

Back ter the roun'house-why, I c'd stay
'N' watch the doin s all the day.
'N' pa explains things pretty nice,
'N' I never ask a question twice.

Why, I jus' think it's something GRAND
To have a pa thet understands.
But when I say thet some day I
Am goin' ter make them engines fly,
Pa turns aroun' as mad to me
An' sez, "Young man, 'twill never be.
You kin follow any other plan

I won't have my son a railroad man."
Now, I would like to know right flat
Jus' what my father means by that!

If it's so bad a place to go

Why's he there, I'd like ter know!
Of course, ma's only brother he
Was killed 'way down in Tennessee.
He was firin' an' his train
Went in the river in a rain.

'N mother cried 'n cried 'n cried,
'N gran'ma, why, she nearly died.
An' after all it was too bad-

He was all the uncle thet I had.

But someone's got ter work, you know,
Or else the trains they couldn't go.
I'd ruther go the railroad way
Than be a cowboy any day.

I made an engine-wantter see?
'Tisn't stylish, but it suits me.

I thought it sure wuz pretty good
Ter take a little block of wood,
A piece of stovepipe 'n some twine,
Some coaster wheels 'n make a 'gine.
Pa sez: "Go, chuck it in the lot,"
But I don't care, it's all I got.
I like to pull it 'roun' the yard,
But, then, the puffing's pretty hard.
It nearly uses up my breath,

But it tickles pa most half ter death.
I like to whistle an' ring the bell.
I know the signals pretty well.

Toot, toot, toot, toot,-thet's, "Signal me;'
Toot, toot,-"I saw your signal"-See?
Too-too-tootoot,-"I'm comin' inter town"-
[Bet I kin do the thing up brown.]
You wait till I am older, say--
I'll run an engine night 'n day.
First I'll fire awhile for pop

Until I'm way up at the top.

Then a-dang-a-lang an' toot, toot, toot-
I'll simply make them engines scoot!
Oh, just you wait-I'll make things hum-
I gotter go now-father's come.

GRACE ESTELLL WARD.

Success of Div. 170.

CLEVELAND, O., Jan. 10, 1905. EDITOR JOURNAL: It gives me much pleasure to read the letters of others in the JOURNAL, and as space is valuable I have left the most of it for others, but if you can spare me a little corner I will tell the boys about our Division and the work we are doing.

In one year we have increased our membership from 68 to 128. We now represent 98 per cent of the eligible engineers of the Division. I believe that we hold the banner for increase in membership during the year. This is the way we did it:

A special meeting was called, all the enginemen of the Division were invited,

CAMAGUEY. CUBA, Oct. 24, 1904.

EDITOR JOURNAL: Briefly, being on leave of absence from the States, I left Punta Gorda, Fla., August 3rd in search of the filthy lucre called money. Had a pleasant voyage and did not get seasick. Being out of sight of land for the first time at sea, was enraptured with the grandeur of the "Mighty Deep." Stopped at Key West and "rubbernecked" there three hours. Approaching Havana I saw Morro Castle and the hulk of the historic Maine. Spent a day sightseeing in the famous city.

August 6th I was at the throttle of a locomotive for the Cuba Co., which runs from Santa Clara to Santiago, with various branches. The main line is equipped with steel rails and rock ballast and Rhode Island engines. To the credit of the Cuba Co., they give the members of the B. of L. E. preference for employment as enginemen. The compensation is $135 per month in American gold with a four days' layoff every sixteen days.

The scenery along the road is both beautiful and sublime. From the observation car you can see picturesque hills and high mountains and great plains of high grass seven feet high and herds of fine cattle. There are also lots of deer, turkey, quail and grouse. We often kill them with our engines. They seem to be too lazy or tame to get out of the way. This is a great place for sportsmen.

The road runs through great forests of cedar, mahogany, and lots of other fine timbers that I don't know the names of.

The royal and many other kinds of palms are beautiful. Here Nature must have loved to experiment. There are wild roses without thorns and without odor. There are also sweet pansy blossoms that grow wild in among the grass. There are gentlemen as gallant as the plumed knights of old. There are women here with forms as perfect as a Grecian statue, beautiful as Cleopatra and as pure as a dew drop from the hills of old Tennessee. But there are also men and women without beauty, principle or honor.

Camaguey, my postoffice for the present, is nearly six centuries old and has a population of 20,000. So much was written about Cuba during the war, I take it for granted most of the Brothers are posted about the customs of the people here.

Spain "pressed down her crown of thorns and crucified Cuba upon crosses of gold" for five centuries, but when the Spanish army surrendered to General Shafter under the famous peace treaty, then "Cuba libre," the infant nation, was born and white peace was a reality and came to stay.

That the Cubans are competent for selfgovernment, I have not the slightest doubt. Much of the land is being purchased by Americans and all kinds of industries are being rapidly developed. The climate is fine and healthy, average temperature about 80. No winter at all; vegetables, fruits and flowers the entire year.

Let all the Brothers who can take a lay off bring their families and come over here and spend a month sightseeing. The sea voyage would do you good and you would see enough here to talk about the rest of your life. The fare from New York to Havana is $40, New Orleans, $20, Port Tampa, Fla., $24.

I am learning to speak Spanish and the first words I learned to say were "bonita senorita." Fraternally yours,

P. O. RICKMAN, Div. 495.

Lukewarm Members.

PORTSMOUTH, O, Jan. 6, 1905. EDITOR JOURNAL: "B" in January JOURNAL, on "Lukewarm Members,"

expresses one weakness which the B. of L. E. and all other fraternal and labor organizations are afflicted with, a weakness that is dangerous if fostered.

This is a question that confronts all labor organizations, and how to overcome it is of vital importance, Our order, like all others, is composed of all classes of men; there are men who naturally understand the obligations they are under to the B. of L. E. and are always ready to do their duty by the order. Such men are blessed with the cardinal virtues, also strong-willed, independent, etc., and upon them devolves the life and success of the subordinate Divisions of which they are members.

Then we have men who join the order as a matter of personal gain in the way of influence and any benefits to be derived; a majority of these men are of a selfish disposition, and unless treated in the proper manner do a great deal of harm.

Again, we admit into the order the younger generation, the promoted engineer; and unless the Divisions of which this element become members are con ducted in the manner they should be they will not have the interest they should to be beneficial both to themselves and the order.

Subordinate Divisions that have a quantity of lukewarm members can attribute it to many causes, but the principal cause is a failure to enforce the Constitution and By-Laws, by neglecting to live within the pale of our laws. We are bound to deteriorate; our laws do not show partiality, and privileges allowed one must be allowed all; hence, the necessity of enforcing the laws is paramount to maintain a loyal Brotherhood.

Roads upon which the Brown system of discipline is in force, is indirectly, or I may say directly, a cause, for the fact that records of engineers are recorded at the general offices, engineers are sometimes unjustly disciplined either by demerits or dismissal, and much delay, a great loss of time in an effort to adjust the same is certainly discouraging to men unfortunate enough to be punished

whether merited or not. Again, where the Brown system is employed the duties and responsibilities of General Chairmen are increased manifold and does not give him the opportunity to look after the rank and file to investigate the standing of Divisions and attend their meetings as regularly and as often as is necessary to keep them in good working order.

There are many other causes of which I will not make mention, but suggest that Division officers closely observe the conditions that surround them and anything that is conducive to leading members away from the Division should be removed, and the surest way of removing them is a strict enforcement of Constitution and By-Laws, and an adherence to your agreements.

Our laws now cover everything pertaining to good government and the making of loyal and active members and this will surely come about when we can all realize that the B. of L. E. is a business proposition and should be conducted upon business principles and not to allow selfishness or self-interest to become too firmly rooted, or allow any factionalism to exist, but remove all such features and the members will soon realize that to be a Brotherhood man they must learn to bear and forbear, to share equally and not to profit in anything at the expense of a Brother.

I say enforce the Constitution and see if the lukewarm membership does not decrease with great rapidity. It certainly will, for unless they throw off the mantle of indifference, selfishness, and self-interest, you must necessarily throw them out.

It is, in my opinion, far better to have a Division of 25 loyal members in whom you can place every confidence, than to have a Division of 50, among whom there is one to distrust. Yours fraternally, "REUBEN."

The Employment of Children.

LITTLE ROCK, ARK., Jan. 6, 1905. EDITOR JOURNAL: With all the misery and suffering in the world to-day caused by man's inhumanity to man through a

false economic system in the distribution of wealth, there never has been a time when greater philanthropic effort was put forward by humanely disposed persons and various associations, especially those composed of women, than the present in an effort to uplift humanity and make life more worth the living.

It makes little difference that much of the effort is in the very nature of things ineffectual on account of not being of a fundamental nature, or in other words, calculated to remove the cause; yet the disposition to benefit mankind leads to higher ideals, and even if mistakes as to method are at first made, much good will surely follow.

That we have in this country societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals, I think is a great honor and something that every one here should be proud of; but why not make the effort to organize like societies for the prevention of cruelty to children all over the land?

One form of cruelty to children that should be condemned is their working in factories under certain prescribed ages. While many of the organized bodies of women, North and South, have been fighting this evil, it seems that it is a question that not only appeals to the finer instincts of womanhood, but is an issue that all classes can stand for and sympathize with in an effort to protect the welfare of the future men and women of the nation, and thus protect the race.

However, laws regulating the working of children in factories have done great good in the North, and no doubt will do the same in the South when enacted, though I believe Tennessee has such a law at present.

What suggested my writing these lines to the JOURNAL was an eloquent plea for the children by Miss Mina Price in the Detroit Commonwealth, copied from the Minneapolis Journal, in which Miss Price claims that "poverty compels 5,000,000 children to work in factories in the United States." She speaks of the hard condition of the child working in Chicago and New York and in the mills of the South, where little tots work twelve hours at

night for a few cents. Hideous accidents are the order of the day. In one mill town in the South a doctor told a friend that he had personally amputated over one hundred baby fingers mangled in the cruel machinery. He dared not speak of it, he said, for the mill management preferred doctors who could keep their mouths shut.

The same sad story of child slavery is true throughout the land from the Gulf to the Lakes, from ocean to ocean, wherever the big machines have been. In no parts of the South can conditions be worse than in some parts of New Jersey and Chicago.

In the opening part of the article quoted is this beautiful tribute to childhood:

"Childhood is a bright and beautiful thing. The tint of health on its dimpled cheek, the light of its eyes, the soft round limbs delighting in ceaseless activity, its play, the music of its laughter, its joy in the sunshine and fresh wind, its kinship with the flowers, the birds and butterflies, and all the wild free things-these are its charms, but it is more, it is the future of the human race.

"In its young innocence it dreams of the mighty things it will do by and by when it has left the flowery meadows of youth behind it-when on the highway of life it has triumphantly arrived at man's estate. It will design, build and adorn beautifully; it will paint master works and invent marvelous pieces of mechanism; it will sing such melodies as never before delighted the air; it will write noble truths and live forever in the gratitude of humanity; this dream, this hope, this faith, this courage, born of high resolve these are the graces of childhood, and if by any misfortune childhood is denied these, its rights, what then?

"Deprived of its playtime, imprisoned in a factory, kept from all intercourse with nature, even to the sunshine and fresh air, and labor demanded of the tender hands, then childhood is enslaved, the tender body is maimed, the mind is starved, the soul shrinks, a gifted being, it becomes a clod, a withered leaf, a dying flower." ROBERT HERIOT, Div. 673.