come under those districts. each road still to be under the local committees. The chairman of any road or roads, in meeting the management, should be headed by the district grand officer. In this manner we would get the concerted action and concentrated efforts, those engaged not exposed to any harm, nor would they feel endangered to press, and to press hard.

A district grand officer may be selected in the district from one of the chairmen. He need not be especially paid for the name. Each system that needs his services should pay his expenses when called. In this manner three or four men could do more than those large, expensive committees of adjustment that now go up and return with "we did all we could." So, remember whom you send to the Memphis Convention in 1906. Shall it be one of the 35 or 65 per cent? Yours fraternally,

SIDETRACK, Div. 23.

Remembrance of the Past.

MIDDLETOWN. N. Y., Sept. 8, 1905. EDITOR JOURNAL: Reading over the September JOURNAL I came across a letter from Spencer, N. C., which is within two miles of my old home and birthplace, Salisbury, N. C., which very naturally recalls my happy childhood days, and I feel sure our Brothers will bear with me if I write a little of the dear old home and friends before I come to the point I wish to make, for we all have a little weakness for bygone days and the home of our childhood, and as we grow older we more fully realize and appreciate "Oft in the Stilly Night," as the first strain of thought brings back bright scenes of wooded landscapes, brooks and larger streams, green meadows, fields of corn, golden grain and white cotton, the sweet singing birds of the dear old Sunny South, the deep bay of the hound, the call of the quail, the chirp of the squirrel, and the bound of the hare from under your very feet, the crack of the gun, the coming home with all the game one could desire. My dear schoolmates-where are they all? Many entered into the great beyond, and others I know not where.

Just 25 years ago I left Rowan County, and two years later embarked upon a railroad life, on the old W. N. C. R. R., which is now a division of the Southern Railway. What changes have taken place since then! A few years ago I visited Salisbury; the shade trees along the streets were most all gone, along with other changes-just a few familiar faces, among whom I found Bro. Peter Rouche, of Div. 267, and how well it recalled the days when Henry, his youngest brother, and I, as boys, trapped and hunted together; but, ah! why go on, for thought after thought crowds upon my mind presenting scenes and instances, friend after friend, new and old, that have passed out of sight, until you almost feel "like one who treads a lonesome banquet hall deserted."

If we, who are less than 41, feel like this, what must it be with those who have even passed their four scores. Brothers, when we come in contact with them we should be very kind and considerate.

Back to my subject. I fully agree with our Brother from Div. 84, and emphasize come out from behind the noms de plume, unless it is a familiar one whom we all know. We want to and should know each other better, and there is no better way than through the JOURNAL

Yes, the hours on switch engines are too long. Cut them down! I have run almost all kinds of runs, from switch engines to express trains, on grades over 200 feet per mile, and on roads where I have handled 76 cars in a train, and I will say the switch engine is the hardest and poorest paid of them all. I will admit the danger is less, but the manual labor and discomfort are far greater.

Yours fraternally,

LOCK C. ALDRICH,

Necessity for Economy, Etc.

FOND DU LAC, WIS., Sept. 5 1905 EDITOR JOURNAL: As convention time draws near I wish to once more bring before the Brotherhood the necessity of economy as well as a provision for a pro

tective fund. Every delegate should go instructed to the convention to vote for a law providing that no delegate should be paid except for actual time in attendance at the convention, pleasure trips to be deducted and no time allowance, except for actual time required to go to and return from the convention. I don't believe we should pay anyone for pleasure trips and no Brother should expect it.

As to a protective fund, enough has been said; we should have a fund by all means. Further, I believe in a centrally located convention city with an office building of our own, whereby we could save the present expense of rentals and instead receive rent, which could be devoted to our charity fund. Further, I think it is high time that our representation of delegates should be reduced to some method of System representatives instead of from each Division, and that the G. I. D. should pay delegates by a per capita assessment. That, with centrally located convention city, would create no hardship on the far-off Divisions as at present. Talk this matter over in the Division room; I believe it is the popular idea. The money thus saved would soon create a nice sum on the right side of the ledger.

With best wishes for the future of the Brotherhood, I am

Fraternally yours,

J. F. FREENOR, Div. 372

Question of Division Representation.

NEW YORK, Aug. 31, 1905. EDITOR JOURNAL: Occasionally I read an article in the JOURNAL on the subject of reduction of representatives from the Subordinate Divisions to the Grand International Convention, offering for the strength and support of the article that there are too many delegates composing the Grand Body, making it too large to be handled by the Grand Chief; that out of the entire convention there are only from twenty to fifty delegates who do the business; that the expense incurred from this large number of delegates is altogether too great on the Subdivisions and

that the convention is only an excursion party, etc.

Let us pause a moment and reflect: If the Subdivisions of the B. of L. E. have a disposition to reduce representation in the Biennial Convention, page 11, Section 25, of the Constitution, gives them the prerogative, and if the Division so elect the number of delegates could be reduced onehalf, making 343 instead of 687, the number of Divisions indicated by the register. The question is, Will 343 Divisions out of 687 consent to this? To judge from the number of delegates sent to Los Angeles Convention one must conclude they would not, for I believe the members of each Division have an individual pride in having one of their members chosen delegate to represent them in convention. is but natural they should be imbued with a desire for self-government in their home affairs, in the B. of L. E., on the system where they are employed.

It

Many Divisions represented means many delegates and many bright and useful men, from whose brain have emanated some of the resolutions adopted by the convention and incorporated in the Constitution and By Laws for the government of Subdivisions. If the representation were reduced it would place the legislative power in the hands of a few to act for the entire membership, and I do not believe the result would be satisfactory. I have not yet read in any of the articles published in the JOURNAL on this subject anything that convinces me it would be wise to make a change from our present good, old way, where every Division in the B. of L. E. has a voice at the convention through its own delegate, leaving the responsibility of lawmaking equally balanced.

The delegate being chosen from the most enlightened members of the Division, qualified to make an intelligent representative to the convention, and being guided by this intellect how to conduct himself with due order and propriety, that our Brotherhood may profit thereby, make it a gentlemanly and orderly body to preside over, as well in the future as in the past.

While it may appear that a few delegates do the hard work in convention-I think some writer said fifty, which I consider an extravagant statement-it can be easily accounted for. They are usually the delegates who represent the Division that does not make a practice of sending a new delegate to every convention; instead they send the one who has been educated at the previous convention at the expense of the members of the Division he represented. Having the benefit of this experience in routine work at the convention he knows just the opportune time and place to get in his argument, for or against, a resolution. The fact of his regular attendance at the convention as a delegate from the Division of which he is a member, has its influence, in some instances with the delegate who is making his debut. So long as Divisions continue to change their experienced delegate for an inexperienced one, it is but reasonable to expect a small increase in expense to the convention and for the Division they represent for their education while at their first convention.

Prior to the adjournment of the convention the delegates select a city where the next biennial convention is to convene. The duty then devolves upon the Divisions located in that vicinity to select the committee of arrangements. After they are organized the responsibility rests with them to make all necessary arrangements for the holding of the convention and the reception of the delegates; comfortably locating them in hotels and endeavoring to make everything pleasant for their guests-the delegates and their families-during their stay in their home city. In their untiring work to furnish some pleasure and enjoyment for their Brothers and their families, it is true, they do arrange an excursion or two, and would it be any more than right to show appreciation of this thoughtfulness by complying gracefully. and kindly with their wishes to a reasonable extent?

Transportation is furnished to the delegates and families to the convention and return in most cases by the railway and

steamship companies, and they in some instances give complimentary excursions to the delegates and families for their recreation. Out of courtesy this invitation could not very well be declined.

My mind leads me to the thought that we are perhaps a little bit jealous of our Brother who is fortunate enough to be chosen delegate to the convention. "Speech is the great organ which reveals to the mind the first visible form that it gives; as is the thought so is the speech." Yours fraternally,

J. PUFFENBERGER, 292.

Number of Delegates-Pay Off Insurance.

COLUMBUS, O., Sept. 6, 1905. EDITOR JOURNAL: Another biennial session of the Grand Division of the B. of L. E. will be in evidence at no great distant future, and to the mind of the writer no more important subject should come before that body than that of representation. It seems very apparent that the representation to the Grand Body as it now stands is entirely too large, in fact, unwieldy. At the Los Angeles Convention, I am informed, the delegation consisted of some 500 members-just 400 too many. Let us for a moment consider the expense of sending a delegate to the convention, and many Divisions send a delegate that can very illy afford the expense. Consisting of such a large representation, much time is wasted on very trivial subjects; consequently, the time occupied in getting through the business passes all reasonable bounds. Five weeks, I understand, was the amount of time consumed at the last convention. Now, putting the actual expenses of the delegates at the modest sum of $5 per capita per day, and they are not having a very swell time at that, you will find that it totals up the very snug sum of $87,500, and probably $100,000 would be nearer the actual amount. That is the money side of it, and the figures are startling enough to set us thinking. Then there is another side, which is the main cause of the cost; anybody who has attended a convention, either fraternal, political, or religious,

composed of a large number of delegates, can very easily figure out the amount of time it requires to get a question decided. Hours are frittered away on motions before a large body which would not require minutes in a smaller one.

At no time in his official career does the writer envy the Grand Chief Engineer. Think of presiding over a delegation of 500, and giving to each a respectful hearing, for they are all anxious to "catch the speaker's eye "at some time or other. If it were a body of 100 his task would be comparatively easy; and to this number, or as near it as circumstances will admit of, should the representation be reduced. A body of 100 would not consume onefourth the time used under existing conditions.

It might be asked how this representation would be chosen so that all Divisions may have a voice in the proceedings. The railway companies have solved the question-they have kept on buying up the small lines and consolidating them into "systems." The systems are less than 100, but whatever their number may be, I venture the assertion that two-thirds of the membership of the Brotherhood are employed in the systems.

Now, within the Brotherhood there is an inner body known as the Adjustment Committee; many of the bodies have salaried chairmen, but whether salaried or not, each committee has a chairman selected for his ability in diplomacy, and a personal acquaintance with many of them leads me to believe that the members have made in each case a wise selection. Now, if these Brothers are entrusted to take your grievances to the railway officials, it is my belief that they would be the proper parties to make your laws, and by virtue of their office, be your delegate to the Grand Body. This, of course, is only a suggestion. I hope that it will be the means of bringing about a discussion through the columns of the JOURNAL and set the entire membership at least to thinking of the lot of money that could be saved and so well employed for other purposes, paying off some of the old reliable Brothers' insur

ance, for instance, that is now used up for the purpose of sending a delegate to the convention when there is no real necessity for the expenditure; at least there wouldn't be, nor won't be, when the good time comes when the conventions of the Grand Body will be a business organization instead of the vast number of which it is now composed.

I might say before I close that the writer has no axe to grind, no ambitions to satisfy in the line of office, for the very excellent reason that he is not eligible to the most obscure office in a subordinate Division, as he belongs to that class of membership entitled "Honorary." It is written for the good of the order, which means the welfare of the entire membership.

I could advance many other logical arguments for the reducing of the delegation to the Grand Division. Criticise what I have said, my Brothers, to the fullest extent. I don't expect every Brother to agree with me that the membership of the Grand Body is too bigmuch too big.

Fraternally yours,
"GOOD OF THE ORDER."

Make the F. A. E. Do the Collecting.

MART, TEXAS, Aug. 15, 1905. EDITOR JOURNAL: I see many blows aimed at our present insurance system, and I believe it is only natural that men should strike when their pocketbook is attacked.

Now, the main object is to cheapen the policies without affecting the quality, which means, leave the conditions under which a policy is to be made payable, but make it cost less. I do not believe that we can radically change the insurance laws for some time to come, but there are some small changes that can be made, and give more money to pay policies. Why not stop paying Insurance Secretaries of Divisions for collecting the insurance assessments, and let the F. A. E. do this with his other work? Each Division pays its F. A. E., and the members would have only one man to look up when they wanted to pay their dues and assessments.

This would do away with some members letting their policies go delinquent, as they forget that they have to pay two collectors, and this 3 per cent paid to collect would be that much saved, as I do not think any F. A. E. could expect to get any addition to his present pay if he collected the insurance. Also why not abolish the $750.00 policy altogether and make it compulsory for all members, not only newly initiated ones, but all old ones who have no policies and can pass the medical examination, to take not $750.00, as is the case in many instances, but $3,000.00; that is small enough and would be much cheaper if all had to take it than it is now. Many of our members take the least they can, and have an accident policy as large as they can get, because the B. of L. E. policy costs too much. They only take a policy to keep in the society.

Much is being said about paying off the old policies, and to a certain limit I am in sympathy with that move, but these same old members have been letting our insurance slide along in the old rut and making no provisions for the sure to come rainy day, when they would need some of the provision.

Should every engineer in America who is eligible and would join the B. of L. E. take $3,000.00 insurance, the policy would cost about $2.50 per month-not much more where now it costs from $1.00 to $6.00, and each Division could make an assessment of $40.00 per year which would pay Division dues and insurance assessments. This paid $10.00 per quarter in advance would do away with much trouble and the many cases of expelled for forfeiting insurance would be stopped.

This topic is one of vital importance to be settled at our coming convention, and instead of hammering away at less delegates and trying to put the legislative power in fewer hands, let each Division try and figure out what they think about the insurance, and so instruct their delegate, and if possible let us have a cheaper insurance; then when our Grand Chief tries again to put us on a financial footing above mere poverty and a hand-to-mouth existence, we may, like our sister organiza

tions, have a capital to go on. It is a matter of ridicule that the B. of L. E., the oldest labor organization in existence in America, should be without a surplus, when with our membership it should have at least $750,000 which, judiciously placed at interest, would almost pay our grand dues.

I would like to see the old members wake up and get themselves out of that old track they started in so many years ago, and try to let the enterprise of some of the young men take hold and get our financial standing both in insurance and Division matters where it should be.

Our Grand Chief may have been disgusted, but not discouraged, with the result of his effort to accumulate an emergency fund, so let us all try to assist him so that he will have the incentive to try again. Yours fraternally,

W. E. RANDOLPH, F. A. E., Div. 620.

Why Employees' Transportation Rates Should be Less.

EL PASO, TEXAS, Aug. 17, 1905. EDITOR JOURNAL: Realizing that I have passed over the summit, and am well advanced on the down grade of my railway life, when you Brothers gain my station then you will realize that your once iron nerve and great will power is gradually giving away, and will regret to find yourself becoming tired, looking wan from having a hard trip that a few years ago you would think nothing of. At my station of thirty-two years of handling the throttle, you will find yourself losing many and many a trip, causing the extra man to keep watch for your arrival, he knowing so well your staying qualities are not what they used to be.

Now more expensive problems come, and inform you that this old body has got to go away for repairs and recreation to some mineral water health resort, to put you where you here to be able to drive your iron steed through the winter.

Our card for years in the past has safely taken us to and from such health resorts, which you know is quite an item when in feeble health, with great loss of time and heavy expenses confronting you. Now