causes unnecessary expense and confusion that can be avoided by each lodge strictly complying with the law, and seeing to it that no money is sent to the Grand Lodge for any purpose whatever, by any one except the Treasurer, and by him only when he makes his regular returns for an assessment, except in cases where he is called upon by the Grand Lodge to send money to make up shortages in his returns.

The Wabash Railroad Injunction Case. -It is with feelings of pride and satisfaction that we call attention to the settlement of the controversy between the Wabash Railroad Company and the members of our Brotherhood employed on that system. A full and complete history of the case from the beginning of the negotiations with the company for a new schedule of wages, rules, etc., to the final settlement, including the full record of the court proceedings which dissolved the injunction, has been prepared and printed in book form, and a copy of same has been sent by express to the Secretaries of all subordinate lodges. If you have not received your copy please advise at once and we will have the express company send out a tracer for it. The book should be kept in the lodge room and should be thoroughly read, as it contains information of great value to the membership, and especially for members of Protective Boards.

The dissolving of the court injunction in the Wabash case, and the final settlement between the Brotherhood and the company is universally conceded to be the greatest victory ever gained by organized railroad employes. It was a struggle long drawn out, but was fought in a manly manner, and an unlimited amount of credit is due to our members directly interested in the Wabash System for their loyalty and calmness during the trying hours, as well as to the General Counsel of the Brotherhood and the other able attorneys who succeeded in fighting in the courts the case to a successful issue.

The victory was complete, and full recognition obtained for the Brotherhood on a system that has for years bitterly opposed labor organizations, and refused to recognize or treat with the officials of the same.

Bro. Carter has ably written up the entire controversy in the Magazine, and we heartily recommend that every member thoroughly peruse the same.

Office of Grand Medical Examiner.-I now desire to call attention to the medical department of our organization. Our

Grand Medical Examiner, Bro. Dr. W. B. Watts, has called my attention to the fact that applications for beneficiary certificates reach his office sixty days after the applicant has been admitted to membership, and, of course, the applications are rejected and Dr. Watts is maligned and fault is found with him for the performance of his duty in strict accordance with the law. Let it be understood that henceforth unless all applications are properly endorsed by your Local Medical Examiner and received at the Grand Lodge office within the prescribed time, no beneficiary certificates will be issued, and the applicant will be required to undergo another medical examination before he is permitted to participate in the beneficiary department.

My attention has also been called to the fact that a great many of our lodges have a number of Medical Examiners, some as many as seven or eight, which is not alone in violation of our laws, but necessitates a great deal of extra work in looking up their records to see that they are qualified physicians, and I desire to impress upon the minds of our officers the necessity of at all times complying strictly with the law in the transaction of your business, which will facilitate and expedite the work of the Grand Lodge office to a great extent, as well as insuring the proper discharge of the same. For illustration, we have one application on file in this office for the payment of a disability claim that can not be paid until thoroughly investigated by a Vice Grand Master. In this instance the difficulty is that the claim is irregular and can not be paid for the reason that the law requiring applications for beneficiary certificates to be immediately forwarded to the Grand Lodge office when examination is made was not complied with, and in the meantime the disability occurred, the applicant already having been initiated. This is but one instance of the many irregularities that occur. You make laws for us to conform to which you should abide by, and if there is a strict conformity to our laws on the part of all, no injustice can possibly be practiced.

Special Notice.-A great many letters are being received at the Grand Lodge office asking for information regarding the concern known as the "Locomotive Firemen's Brotherhood Health and Accident Association," of Schenectady, N. Y., of which Bro. Norman N. Hicks is President and General Manager, and for the benefit of our membership we desire

to say that this association is in no manner connected with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and we know nothing about the liabilities of the concern and, therefore, can say nothing for or against it. If any of our members desire to interest themselves in it, they will, of course, do so on their own judgment. The matter was brought before the Eighth Biennial Convention at Chattanooga, last September, and that body refused to consider it in any manner whatever, and the Grand Lodge officers must, therefore, positively refuse to indorse said Health and Accident Association.

The Magazine. We desire to call the attention of all members of the Order to the interests of the Magazine, and do not hesitate to ask the entire membership to give it thoughtful consideration. We ask you, brothers, to compare the official organ of your Brotherhood with any other similar publication in the land; let the comparison be critical, and you will not be made to blush. The more thorough your investigation the better it will be for the Magazine. Bro. Carter, the Editor and Manager, is giving his readers a wide range of reading matter relating to the welfare of the Order. Its departments are interesting and instructive. Editorially, it is his purpose to defend and maintain the dignity of labor and the power of the Brotherhood. The mechanical department grows steadily in interest. The woman's department is adapted to the home and fireside. The departments devoted to correspondence and miscellaneous matter are attracting merited attention. In making these statements we only recite what every brother knows who reads the Magazine, and they are made in the hope of inspiring fresh zeal on the part of our membership to increase the subscription list. We appeal to you, one and all, to take the subscription question in hand, and if each member will secure but one subscription there will be a large surplus to the credit of the Organization that will more than pay the expenses incurred on account of the office force in the Magazine and Grand Lodge offices.

Bro. Carter has his heart and soul in his work. He should receive the encouragement of the members in the publishing of his book, which he is not receiving as loyally as he should. It can not be denied that the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen's Magazine is today considered the most reliable periodical of the kind pub

lished in the civilized world. Will you help him or will you permit this plea to go unnoticed? I do not believe that you will.

Conclusion.—In conclusion, we also wish to call attention to the fact that there has not been a letter of complaint received, either by the Grand Secretary and Treasurer or myself, since the first day of July last.

During the last five months the Joint Protective Boards have been in session in every section of the country. It was impossible for the Grand Master to meet with all of them, and the Vice Grand Masters were constantly engaged in this line of work, and for the first time in the history of the Organization the Grand Secretary and Treasurer was taken out of his office to assist in the work of adjusting grievances. It affords us pleasure now to say that on the horizon we see sunshine and success. During the entire period through which we have passed, when the labor world was disturbed and there was a feeling of unrest on the part of the employers, we can happily say to you that we have been successful in the adjustment of every matter in which our Grand Officers and Boards participated. Now then, we have two months in which to show our appreciation of the splendid work accomplished in the interest of the Organization. During the period mentioned, those who are not members have an opportunity of gaining membership in the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen at a very small expense. Will you put your shoulders to the wheel as your Grand Officers have done, and assist them in the work of building up the institution by adding to the list of membership those who are not now enrolled on our records? I ask you as your Grand Master to do everything in your power to make every man on your road a member of our Organization.

Our clerks are today in this office working until midnight in order keep up with the rush of business that we are now experiencing, and they are willing and ready to work until broad daylight if you will send them the names to enroll as you are requested to do. Make the months of May and June the banner months of the Organization. The opportunity is open to you because those two months exempt them from the payments that are necessary during any other season of the year, which you fully understand. Go out from your lodge rooms, do missionary work, and do it like men, and make the

Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen the banner and greatest organization of any labor institution that has ever been established in any class of labor. Appreciate the fact that the President of the United States is a loyal member of our Brotherhood, and takes as much interest in the advancement and progress of the Organization as we do who are active members. Make him feel proud, as well as your Grand Officers, when the records close on the last day of June, that we have made the greatest record pertaining to membership that has ever been established in the history of any labor organization on the face of God's green earth.

Sparks.

A member of Lodge 113 writes the Magazine that Bro. T. P. Scholtz, of that lodge, and Miss Leona Canfield, of Glenns Ferry, were recently united in marriage. Bro. Scholtz and bride have the best wishes of the members, who wish them a happy and pleasant journey through

life.

A courteous invitation has been received to attend the union meeting of railroad organizations to be held in Montgomery, Ala., and Pensacola, Fla., beginning June 2, 1903. It is hoped that much good may result from this meeting.

Black Hills Lodge 86, Laramie, Wyo., recently gave its twenty-fifth anniversary ball, which was largely attended, and a most enjoyable time is reported.

Bro. Chas. N. Snyder, of Lodge 218, Colorado City, Col., who has been Secretary and Treasurer of that lodge for over ten years, and who has also been solicitor for the Continental Casualty Company on the Colorado Midland and the Midland Terminal Railways for the past four years, has had his territory extended to include the Rio Grande Western Rail

way.

Commemorative of the death of Bro. Albert Neumann, of Elm City Lodge 284, New Haven, Conn., who was also a veteran of the Spanish-American War, he was accorded a military funeral.

Bro. J. L. Felix, Secretary of Lodge 174, requests that all members of that lodge send their present address to him on a postal card, addressed to J. L. Felix, 2031 Logan avenue, Harrisburg,

Pa., so that he may have their correct addresses and send them ballots for the coming election. It is very important that he have the correct addresses of the members before sending out the ballots, and it should be attended to at once in order that there may be no complaint at not receiving a ballot.

Bro. H. T. Davidson, of Lodge 332, Augusta, Ga., advises the Magazine that Bro. Thomas C. Culpepper, of that lodge, died April 1, 1903, from injuries received in a wreck caused by a negro flagman who went to sleep at a switch. Bro. Culpepper was a valued and honored member, and a good man morally. To the wife, babies and relatives the brothers extend their sincere sympathy.

For the information of the members, the names and addresses of the officers of the General Chairmen's Association are herewith published, and are as follows: Chairman, Thos, Burke, 2106 South 5th Street, St. Joseph, Mo.; Vice-Chairman, Jos. P. Walrod, 32 West 9th Street, Oswego, N. Y.; Secretary and Treasurer, E. A. Meyers, 1403 McCormick Avenue, Washington, Ind.; Alternate Secretary and Treasurer, J. I. Parel, Box 203, Ft. Dodge, Iowa; Board of Trustees, A. Phillips, Rocklin, Cal.; Thos. Albright, 1309 Elm Street, Fort Wayne, Ind.; C. M. Rodgers, 606 South Main Street, Cleburne, Texas.

Bro. J. E. Culey, of Lodge 314, San Bernardino, Cal., sent to the Magazine on May 1st an order for forty subscriptions for the Locomotive Firemen's Magazine. This order netted him $10.00 in

Bro.

cash as his commission. San Bernardino is comparatively a small town. Culey had his outfit but a few days when he sent in this splendid order. He has in the past sent in more than a hundred subscriptions in a year when there was but little recompense offered to him to work for the Magazine. There is no doubt he will do as well or better this year than ever before, and if he succeeds in sending in one hundred subscriptions this year, as he has done in the past, he will receive $25.00 in cash commissions, and a cash prize of $25.00, making a total remuneration of $50.00 for his work. This instance is cited to show what can be done for the Magazine with the proper determination and effort. Other brothers are sending in fairly large lists, and there is no reason why some member in every

lodge in the country should not make at least $50.00 in cash soliciting subscriptions for the Magazine, without any interference with his regular work. There are thousands of railroad men in other branches of train service, throughout the country, who would be glad to subscribe for our Magazine if they were given an opportunity. Will you not take hold of this work, and while helping your Magazine to a greater circulation, line your own pockets with a liberal share of spending money? Write to the Magazine office and find out all about it.

Bro. Chas. Bennet, of Lodge 188, who has recently been in the Southwest seeking to recuperate his health, says the Brotherhood men in that part of the country are kind and hospitable.

A small volume of poems has been received from the Truth Publishing House, of Elkhart, Ind. The author is

Harry S. Chester, and the verses are of more than usual merit. There is something of the style of Will Carleton or James Whitcomb Riley, both in dialect and pathos.

Attention of the reader is called to the first article in this number of the Magazine, entitled "Progress of American Railways." While statistical matter is always "dry," much information will be found in the article that will be of value to those interested in the prosperity of their employers and the prosperity of themselves. Especially will employes of the Wabash take pride in the phenomenal prosperity of that system, as set forth by the quotations from past official reports and statistics compiled from standard authorities. One of the interesting features of the article is the fact brought out that railway employes received, as an average, $2.63 more in 1901 than in 1895.

Protection.

The first symbol of the motto of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen is "Protection," and of it I am going to write for the June issue of our Magazine, and lay before our readers the aims and objects of the Order as we teach it to the members of our Brotherhood, and should any one entertain different opinions of us I hope that I will by this article set them right with us. The fact that we use the word "Protection" in our

motto does not mean that we are looking for trouble, by any means, or that we are going to make life miserable for those whom we are working for. The prevailing opinion, to a certain extent, has been and is now that organized labor is looking for a flimsy excuse to quit work whenever it feels aggrieved. This is not the case with the members of our Brotherhood, as some seem to think, but quite the reverse. While we mean to give the members every protection possible, and use every effort to settle all questions that come up peaceably, we only use the strike as a last resort, when everything else fails, and we use this weapon to enforce a just demand. Where the employer of labor shows a disposition to treat fairly with our committees there is no trouble of any kind with those whom we repre

sent, as we are always ready to make concessions in the interest of peace and harmony.

The strike should be used only as a last resort, and those who engage in one should be certain that they are not making too great a sacrifice, when they withdraw from the service of their employer. There are times when it pays to wait until conditions are more favorable, even though the hardship has to be endured for a while longer. It is better to put up with

a hardship for a definite period than an indefinite one, because wrongs right themselves oftentimes, without much effort on the part of anyone. I don't mean by this that no effort should be made to better conditions, but wait for all wrongs to right themselves. No, not by any means do I mean that, but I mean that it is better to wait for a

while, than it is to force an issue and lose in a short space of time the good work of those who have so faithfully built up the Order, and made it what it is today. I can not recall an instance where the Brotherhood made such a mistake, and I believe we can say, without fear of contradiction, that we can lay claim to the success of the Order through the conservative policy it has pursued all these years.

We appreciate the fact that the wage