our grocers, for the use of room and dishes without charge. We railroad people appreciate these courtesies from our townsmen. We were so much elated over our success that we will surely try again at some future time.

SEC. DIV. 285.

I WAS surprised on opening the JOURNAL this month to find only four short letters from 383 Divisions. I think it shows a great lack of interest in the space given us. Ten or twelve years ago our part of the JOURNAL was really interesting, for our 22 columns were filled with news from the different Divisions. Selections are very good, but we all subscribe to more journals than the B. of L. E. JOURNAL, therefore get a chance to read other matter than that furnished by the B. of L. E. JOURNAL; if only the Sisters will exert themselves and send in some letters, because the entertainments and socials they have in the West and South will interest those in the North and East and vice versa. It has been some time since anything was heard from Div. 115. We are very quiet but not asleep. We have had several dime socials which

entertainments, and also some sensible letters of advice and encouragement for the benefit of poorer, smaller and younger Divisions, and wishing all a Happy New Year. Yours in F., L. & P.

M. CRISTE.

ON Nov. 20, 1906, a new Division was brought into existence at Brookfield, Mo., it being No. 386 and named Deloss Everett.

Sister Chitty, of Galesburg, Ill., was the organizer. Preliminaries had all been arranged, and upon her arrival at 9 a. m. meeting was called and the entire day was spent in organizing and giving instructions in ritualistic work, adjourning at the noon hour for dinner.

This Division starts with 42 charter members, enthusiastic in their praise of the work as shown to them by Sister Chitty. The Brothers of Div. 616, B. of L. E., have shown great interest in the new Division and turned out en masse to the banquet given in the evening to celebrate the occasion.

and we chanced off a very pretty vase which netted a nice sum for our treasury, and I am pleased to say was won by Mr. James Downs, C. E. of Capitol Div. 160, he seemed very much pleased with it when I gave it to him. On November 27 we celebrated the fifteenth anniversary of this Division by giving a dance which was a success both socially and financially. Some of our old-time friends said they never had a better time, and others who did not attend, now regret it, as they could have indulged in a couple of (old-time) dances, from which they are now barred on account of not caring for the giddy whirl of the waltz and twostep. We are slowly but surely increasing in members, and the members we are taking in we know will be loyal to our cause and staunch and true to our principles.

Hoping that Sister Divisions will contribute an account of their socials and

making the scene one long to be remembered.

Bro. L. H. Leapheart, of Div. 616, presided as master of ceremonies and more than came up to our expectations in the role assigned him. Many were the encouraging talks given at this time, after which all adjourned to the I. O. O. F. hall, where the Sisters gave some of their drills for which they certainly deserve to be complimented, proving as it did their capability of taking hold of the new work of the G. I. A. At midnight we left the scene of the day's activity and retired tired and sleepy but happy. SEC. 386.

DIVISION 366 of Minneapolis, Minn., on the afternoon of Nov. 8 entertained the Brothers of Div. 357, B. of L. E., and the Sisters of Div. 53, Div. 274, and their husbands. The occasion being our first anniversary. A royal good time was had by all who were present,

A short session was held in the afternoon in which we initiated a candidate. After the meeting a banquet was served in the hall adjoining. The grand march, which was led by Brother Davis of Div. 357, and Sister Hammond, President of Div. 274, followed by the Brothers of 357 who escorted the Sisters of Div. 53 and 274 to the dining-hall.

The supper consisted of all the delicacies of the season, which was prepared by the Sisters of Div. 366. The diningroom was prettily decorated with the colors of our beloved order. The tables were arranged to form a letter E and were decorated with huge bunches of carnations. After doing justice to the excellent supper toasts were given by Brothers Davis and Ferguson of 357. Sister Morton of Div. 274, Past State Organizer, who organized Div. 366, told how proud she was of the work 366 had accomplished during the past year and congratulated us on our large treasury. Sister Seyfried, President of Div. 366, thanked the Brothers of Div. 357 for the kindness shown us in paying our hall rent for the past year. The rest of the evening was enjoyably spent in dancing.

MRS. WESTON KELLEY,
Secretary Div. 366.

PASSUMPSIC Div. 81, of Newport, Vt., is still alive and prospering. Although having a membership of about 35 the invitation is yet open for more, and the outlook for this coming year is certainly not a discouraging one.

On Nov. 14 it being initiation as well as our regular meeting we decided to arrange some plan for becoming better acquainted with each other and also replenish our treasury. It was agreed that whatever we did must be on a full stomach, especially if the Brothers were to be in it, so proceeded to make arrangements for a supper, which was well patronized, adding about $11 to our fund. The evening was pleasantly spent in games and social intercourse, and we departed for home feeling well repaid for our labor.

We desire to thank the Brothers for the many favors shown us in the past, hoping

that the Division may at some time be able to show its appreciation of them. Wishing all Sister Divisions success I am, yours in F. L. and P.

INTERESTED MEMBER.

G. I. A. Voluntary Relief Association. CHICAGO, ILL., Jan. 1, 1907.

To Division Insurance Secretaries, V. R. A.

You are hereby notified of the death of the following members, and for the payment of these claims you will collect 50 cents from each member carrying one certificate, and $1.00 from each one carrying two; providing, however, that no one be assessed on a certificate if the date of same was later than December 31, 1906.

ASSESSMENT NO. 294.

Hoboken, N. J., Oct. 20, 1906, of chronic gastritis, Sister Maria C. King, of Div. 38, aged 51 years. Carried one certificate, dated Nov. 15, 1893, payable to Eddie and Harry King, sons.

ASSESSMENT NO. 295.

New York City, Nov. 12, 1906, of acute dilatation of heart, Sister Catherine Drake, of Div. 264, aged 51 years. Carried one certificate, dated March 7, 1903 payable to Albert Drake, husband.

ASSESSMENT No. 296.

Newark, O., Nov. 21, 1906, of pneumonia, Sister Pauline Glassmeier, of Div. 41, aged 36 years. Carried one certificate, dated June 8, 1900, payable to John Glassmeier, husband.

ASSESSMENT No. 297.

Scranton, Pa., Nov. 27, 1906, of acute uræmia, Sister Emma Troch, of Div. 82, aged 51 years. Carried two certificates, dated June 18, 1901, payable to John P. Troch, husband.

ASSESSMENT No. 298.

Columbus, O., Nov. 29, 1906, of general debility, Sister Olive Fowell, of Div. 52, aged 72 years. Carried two certificates, dated March 31, 1900, and July 3, 1900, payable to Herbert F. Kilgore and Jessie B. Fowell, grandson, and daughter-in-law. ASSESSMENT No. 299.

Chicago, Ill., Dec. 4, 1906, of hernia, Sister Kathryne Spike, of Div. 40, aged 51 years. Carried one certificate, dated May 25, 1899, payable to Kathryne E. Spike, daughter.

Members will pay their Insurance Secretaries On or before Jan. 31, 1907, or be marked delinquent; and in order to reinstate must pay a fine of 10 cents on each certificate besides the delinquency. Insurance Secretaries must remit to the General Secretary and Treasurer not later than Feb. 10, 1907,or stand delinquent until remittance is made. Assessments Nos. 296, 297, 298 and 299 will be paid from the Assessment Fund.

Members who paid Assessments Nos. 278 and 279, 5.524 in the first class, and 2,346 in the second class. MRS. GEO. WILSON, Pres. V. R. A. MRS. JENNIE E. BOOMER, Sec'y and Treas., 5333 Prairie Ave., Chicago, Ill.

In grade service it is customary, in recharging, to permit the brake valve handle to remain in release position as long a time as possible in order to accomplish a recharge. The result is that the auxiliaries at the front of the train are somewhat overcharged. When the brake valve handle is returned to running position air cannot feed into the brake pipe until this pressure is below that for which the feed valve is adjusted to open. Due to the rear reservoirs not being charged with a pressure equal to those at the front of the train, the former still continue to take air from the brake pipe, and this results in a reduction at the front of the train, which causes an application of the brakes on cars where the reservoirs have become overcharged. The usual custom is to allow the brake valve handle to remain in running position sufficiently long to permit of the application referred to, at which time the brake valve handle is again placed in release position momentarily to release the brakes which have re-applied. The result is that more work is being done on the wheels of the cars at the front of the train, thus tending to overheat same, and the second release referred to results in a waste of air and more labor for the pump. If, instead of returning the brake valve handle to running position, as described, the valve handle were placed in service position and a light service reduction made, the brakes at the front of the train only would respond, with the result that these brakes would do considerably more than their portion of the work until such time as another reduction were made sufficient to reduce the brake pipe pressure below that of the auxiliary reservoirs throughout the train.

With the new triple valve the action just described does not result owing to the Retarded Recharge feature of the valve. This feature consists in an arrangement of ports such that the feed to the auxiliary reservoir is partially closed whenever the pressure in the brake pipe exceeds that in the auxiliary reservoir an amount sufficient to compress the Retarded Release spring, which spring it is possible to compress on approximately the first 30 cars of a

long freight train. Owing to the practical elimination of this undesired overcharge at the head end of the train, the brakes do not re-apply at the front, as just described in connection with the old triple valves. The result is that the auxiliary reservoirs throughout the train are recharged to practically the same pressure, and all brakes respond to a light or heavy reduction, as the case may be, when the brake valve handle is placed in service position. The effect is that in grade work the heating of the wheels must necessarily be more uniform, and the element of danger from overheating wheels is at least greatly reduced when using the new valves as compared with the old. It is conceded that the use of an air brake results in a more uniform heating of the wheels than where a train is controlled by hand brakes; the improved valve is an added step in the direction of still further reducing the uneven heating.

The Retarded Release feature permits of the brakes being released at the rear of the train, if desired, before those at the front. This action causes the slack to run in from the rear and bunch instead of, as at present, running out from the head end with a strong tendency to produce jerks that often result in break-intwos and probable damage and delay. The Retarded Release is controlled by the spring already referred to, which spring it is also necessary to compress to obtain the Retarded Recharge as well. It will thus be seen that whatever the Retarded Release is had the Retarded Recharge will be obtained as well. These actions will, as previously explained, result in the slack bunching rather than stretching out. The reservoirs at the front of the train will be recharged more slowly, and more air will be available with which to recharge those on the rear more quickly.

Engineers handling long freight trains in grade work make a reduction of brakepipe pressure, and it is often a number of seconds after the reduction has been made before the sensation is produced which tells them that the retarding power of the brakes is manifesting itself. This interval of time is frequently such

that a second reduction will be made so closely following the first that more braking power will finally be developed than is actually required. This will necessitate a premature release to prevent reducing the speed to an undesirable amount. This is much less likely to happen with the new triple, with which the response is obtained much quickly and with which we can expect to do much more accurate work and with less skill on the part of the operator.

more

Tests which have already been made have demonstrated that, without doubt, it will be possible to control greater tonnage with the improved than with the old style of triple valve. This is in part due to the quicker action and more positive response of the valves following brake-pipe reductions, but is due more particularly to the fact that the braking power throughout the train is not only more uniform, but the average pressure is higher in response to a given reduction. This being the case, it will not be necessary to make the reductions as heavy as formerly, which means that less time will be required in which to accomplish a recharge. The less the time necessary in which to recharge, the less will be the necessity for reducing the speed to as low a point as with the old triple valve, and the result a more uniform speed in grade

will be

work.

In tests that have been made with the new triple valve on an 80-car train it was found that at a speed of 20 miles an hour a 5 pound reduction would bring the train to rest in 750 feet, a 10 pound in 610 feet, 15 pounds, 600 feet, 20 pounds, 600 feet. From this it will seen that the stops accomplished on this empty train with a 10, 15 and 20 pound reduction were practically the same, whereas it required 750 150 feet greater distance, in which to bring the train to rest in response to a 5 pound reduction. These stops are accomplished in a very much less distance than can be done with a train equipped with the old-style valve, with which about 1,500 or 1,600 feet is required to stop the same train in response to a 5 pound reduction, whereas 20 pounds

feet,

or

would stop the train in about 900 feet. From this it will be seen that very much less distance is required in which to make stops with the new triple valve, and there is no question but what the superior advantages as to stopping power with this valve will result in greatly reducing the number of times when it will be necessary to use the emergency application, particularly with trains of empty cars.

Owing to the quicker action of the improved valve, the question has been raised as to the possibility of their producing shocks in trains when operated in conjunction with the slower acting triple valve now in service. This point was very thoroughly tested out under actual road conditions before this valve was put upon the market, and since that time it has been subjected to tests under severe conditions by different roads, and has been completely successful in acting to the entire satisfaction of all concerned. While the action of the valve is very much quicker than the old valve, its speed of application is such as to produce no objectionable results whatever. Better results can be obtained with the new valve, as to the positive application and equal cylinder pressure, with the new valve on 100-car trains than could be obtained with the old valve on 50-car trains; aside from this advantage it has additional ones as well.

The most severe shocks which result from emergency applications are those obtained in trains of mixed empty and loaded cars or on trains composed entirely of empty cars. With trains in which the cars are all loaded no trouble whatever is experienced. If a valve is furnished with which stops can be made in comparatively short distances by the use of the service application it is hardly necessary to state that the occasion for using the emergency application will be greatly reduced.

Boilers.

J. W. READING.

As long as steam is used we will have boilers of various kinds. To convert the