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favored girls when they dip in their de- DUTY'S CALL-RAILROADING ON THE B. partment. The convention wall flowers

are necessary to silently watch and keep the smart alecks from doing mischief. Combined they make a good fool-killer. The district scheme would lead to no end of jealousy and cat fighting. Divisions would not know who they were trusting, and a convention not guided by a sturdy, honest head, would develop the curse of ring rule. Give the rank and file full opportunity to be represented; it is the only successful way to suit the majority.

There is an immense space for improvement among engineers. I am always willing and anxious to learn something new and gain experience, yet can get along and learn without assistance from that class who think they know it all, and can give none of it away. There are thousands in the same way of thinking and acting within the Organization. Instead of picnic parties and dead-head excursions, turn the annual convention to some account in the matter of knowledge; have it imparted to the delegates and carried in this way to subordinate Divisions. I do not anticipate seeing this idea carried into effect in the near future, but I believe it will come eventually. The best railroad officials are working to gain a good intelligent class of engineers. The Brotherhood has done much to furnish this class and improve the morals and standing of its members. The time is now when a passenger engineer occupies the most responsible position on the train. With the equipment of freight trains with air brakes, that branch is not far behind, and it is not presumption to say the engineer is the coming, and to be the mainly responsible man in train service. Let the Brotherhood furnish the standard of skill and character, by imparting knowledge to its members. The convention as represented by all Divisions, will be necessary for this end with the JOURNAL to carry on its work. J. E. PHELAN.

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U. F.

BY SHANDY MAGUIRE.

Wake up from sleep!" the caller said,

I quickly bounded out of bed,

A stupid feeling in my head,

When roused in such a fury;

I thought I scarcely closed my eyes.
He routed me in such surprise,
I'll curse him till the day he dies,
In spite of judge or jury.

Three hundred miles my aching back
Was bounded o'er uneven track,
My stiffened joints were fit to crack,
From such a constant motion;

I suffered more than tongue can tell,
Far more than imps confined in-well
We rolled about in every swell,

Like ships upon the ocean.

My Brothers, in a sunny clime,
Who read this simple, truthful rhyme,
You little know the awful time

We have in wintry weather;
We blow our fingers and our thumbs
To keep them warm; we dine on crumbs
Or grub dished up in boarding slums
Where dozens hive together.

In drifts of snow we nearly freeze
Exposed to every cutting breeze,
The glass tells twenty-five degrees
Below what men call zero;
Our noses have a hazy hue-
A most repulsive looking blue,
Besides our whole official crew

Have hearts as hard as Nero.

They drive us out when needing sleep,
A harvest for themselves to reap,
Because they get our labor cheap,

And pay in scrip quite often;
The rails are only half way tied,
The joints apart are opened wide;
"Tis certain death for men to ride

When spring embankments soften. My heart would bound with honest joy If I could find some good employ, Where callers never would annoy

A man from night till morning:
And where no snowdrifts would be seen,
Where flelds would wear perennial green,
And skies would always look serene,
Our lives in joy adorning.

Perhaps good luck I yet may meet,
And get away from snow and sleet,
To some choice clime where tranquil heat

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Helpless hands seem toward him reaching, The rich may deok out their children in jewels,

Little children's fearful cry,

Echo in his ears beseeching

Rescue from the danger nigh.

All his manhood rises now,

And to Heaven he makes a vow
There to do or die.

Now the chilling waves he's breasting,
Numbed by all the bitter cold,
And the waters wild unresting

In their arms his form enfold.
With a prayer that's borne above,
Strives he in his holy love
For the prize untold.

Now his feet have gained a landing,
But the cold blast chills his form,
In his frozen garments standing

Out there in the winter's storm.
But again the cry of fear
Falls upon his half-numbed ear,
Making chill limbs warm.
Onward now his feet are hasting,
For the precious minutes speed;
There's no time that's left for wasting,
In this hour of dreadful need.
Now the train is drawing nigh,
And he waves the signal high,
It slackens in its speed.

And lay them to sleep on a soft bed of down, And mine may go barefoot the long days together,

Till their dear little feet will be hardened and brown.

And their pants may be worn from the knee to the seat,

Yet how dearly I love the pit-pat of their feet.

Ah, you who are tempted to scold or to chide them,

For soiling your carpets or marking a chair, Remember 'tis easier by far to replace them Than to fill little hearts with grief, sorrow

and care;

For you know nought on earth can to you sound so sweet

As the pat-pit a-pat of your little child's feet.

Take a turn in the graveyard, so silent and lonely,

With sadness you'll find there some green little mound;

And your heart will be touched as those

thoughts rise within you,

Ah, soon may our loved ones be under the ground.

And you'll say henceforth there is nothing so

sweet

As my child's silvery laugh and the pat of its servants of the public was a wrong war-: feet.

There's a spot that to me is so sacred and holy, 'Tis a very small space covered over with sod,

But it tells of a sweet little angel that left me,
No trace is there left where those little feet
trod,

And never on earth can I hope to meet
The pit-a-pat-pat of my little one's feet.

Who can tell in the future how rough or how
thorny

The pathway will be where those feet have to tread;

And perhaps all the friends that they love will

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A Woman's Letter-What is Due Railroad Engineers from a Woman's Stand point-The

Brotherhood and its Chief.

NEW YORK CITY, January, 1886.

ranting a strike. Had he known as much of these men as he should, he would have known that all the competent and intelligent engineers in his employ belonged to a Brotherhood the rules of which prohibit rebellion to authorized powers, and that their Chief, P. M. Arthur, adjusted the difficult questions in their lives arising between them and the franchise of the track was imperiled their employers. Mr. Hain found that by his stopping the running of the trains, and in obedience to public demand, the cars were put in motion after twenty-four hours' delay occasioned by Mr. Hain. Then the traveling community became aware that the engineers were dissatisfied, and there came a feeling on their part of insecurity. Naturally, too, the engineers were annoyed, if not indignant, at the misrepresentation of the matter. At this point Chief Arthur came upon the scene, and the Brotherhood, like other well

advice, knowing that he had their interest at heart and having full confidence in the wisdom of his counsel, and amicably arranged with Mr. Hain this complication

Judging from the tone of the metro-disciplined organizations, listened to his politan press, and many of the newspapers in various parts of the United States, the reading public might reasonably infer that the engineers controling the elevated locomotives in this city were in a state of anarchy and rebellion, and the traveling community in peril of their lives.

The so-called strike of these engineers has been heralded all over the country, leaving the impression that they a set of barbarians, like the bandits of Italy. All this is mere newspaper talk. There was no actual strike. Mr. Hain, General Director of the city's roads, was alone responsible for stopping trains on Second and Ninth avenues from running, and the reason assigned was that he feared a general strike. He knew the men were not sufficiently well paid, and that too many hours were crowded into their days, and his conscience probably told him that the unrequited labor of these faithful

of difficulties.

Probably Mr. Hain in any future misunderstanding with these men, will first confer with Chief Arthur, instead of stopping the running of the elevated railroad trains, and giving the world to understand that it was because of threatened strike among the engineers.

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rally timid, often unprotected by a male escort, their comfort depends upon the confidence they have in the city's public carriers. Women, too, appreciate, perhaps better than men, that labor is not sufficiently paid. They understand, too, the many actual necessaries required in a family, however plain and economically that family may live. Many know from personal experience the constant strain there is upon nerves and temper in order to make cents do for dollars, and the effort there is in keeping a family not respectable alone but reputable on pinching wages. It is not alone the comforts or necessaries of life that are withheld from men, women and children in low wages, but the morals that are jeopardized and sacrificed. Women, too, respect intellect, success and power perhaps more than men, who having in themselves the elements of character leading to place, position and wealth, think but little of the details which make them controling influences in the world. And women are less exclusive in their ideas of caste. A man who has capacity to command an army or an engine is a being of superior attainment in their estimation, and respected accordingly. Her weakness, even if strong-minded, compels physical if not intellectual protection; and thus it comes that the man who can control the engine to transport millions of people over the country, or daily through this busy city, is no ordinary individual; neither should he be treated as such, and be compelled to live on the pay of a common laborer. What kind of a home, or what kind of food can a man of brains have off of $2.50 per day, and what association has he with home and family, or what influence with his children when allowed but six hours daily from his engine?

controling these engines are tired, cold, hungry and sleepy, and I know, too, that despite their sufferings, they stand like Christians firm to their duty. Then I rejoice there is a Brotherhood of Engineers, for there is strength in Union, and I also rejoice that its Chief is one who will protect the interest of these men, advise them wisely, and elevate public opinion to an appreciation of what is due this body of men scattered over the length and breadth of our land.

This letter is too long to add to it "My first ride on a railroad." That will be described in a future letter.

NEW YORK, January 4, 1886. MESSRS. EDITORS: By request, I send you the following regarding the organizing of Division No. 305, on the line of the D., L. & W. R. R., at Great Bend, Penn., on Sunday, January 3, 1886:

On the Thursday previous we received a telegram from Bro. C. F. Snover inviting us to be present on this occasion. It being agreeable we accepted the pleasant surprise, leaving home Saturday noon over the D., L. & W. R. R., arriving at Great Bend at 8 P. M. We were met by Bro. Carpenter at the depot, who informed us that he was appointed a committee of one to escort us to Susquehanna to meet with Division No. 137, which was furnishing the material for the new Division, leaving them in a flourishing condidition-after the withdrawal of twentytwo members-with Bro. Geo. Brown at the helm, who is Chairman of the General Grievance Committee of the entire system of the Erie Road.

The Division closed in time for us to catch train 29 back to Great Bend. Sunday, at 2 P. M., the Brothers began to gather at the hall, which has a seating capacity of about 150. The seats were all filled by members present from Divisions 276, 41, 137, 171 and 292. Bro.

Often I awake in the middle of the night, hearing train after train rush by on the elevated road in the driving rain, or the freezing sleet. I know the men | Brown, C. E. of 137, opened the Division

in due form, by authority from the Grand Chief, and proceeded with the election and installation of the newly-made officers. The Brothers selected for the name

of their Division that of their old Past Chief, one of Erie's oldest engineers and a Brother of long standing, who has been tried and found true to the cause-W. J. Hull. Remarks were made by Bro. Brown reminding the Brothers of the duties that lay before them, impressing them that by their conduct their Division would be known. These remarks were followed by Bro. Hull, who reviewed the Brotherhood for many years back; spoke of its ups and downs and its struggle for prosperity, which to-day it is crowned with. His advice was very good, and will long be remembered by the writer and we trust by all his hearers likewise. The remarks made by Bro. Geo. Snow, C. E. of No. 276, were very appropriate and, if heeded, the members of No. 305 will never have cause to regret its birth. The Division was closed by remarks from the newly-elected Chief, Bro. McCormick, thanking the members present for the kind and valuable services rendered in organizing the Division.

The members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers feel very grateful to W. F. Halstead, Esq., General Superintendent Delaware, Lackawanna & Western R. R., for special favors shown them in transportation over the road, and most particularly to Bro. Geo. Snow, Sam Sloan Division, for his thoughtfulness in making the arrangements.

of

We can safely say that this about equips the entire line of the D., L. & W. with thoroughly-organized members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. En route home we were highly entertained by the Glee Club, composed of members from Division No. 276, under the leadership of Bros. Wm. Roberts and Orme, with some of their favorite melodies. Yours, J. PUFFENBERGER,

MIDDLE DIVISION C., B. & K. C. R. R. Moulton, Ia., February 6, 1886. MESSRS. EDITORS: If you will allow me a small space, I will try and give you a short sketch of the K. C. R. R.:

Our old friends Joe, Billie and Van are pulling mail and express from Burlington to Carrollton, 220 miles. We have got eight freight runs, besides running several extras per day. Our oldest freight men are Lowe, Quantrel and Beck. They have been on the road several years; the balance of the boys are comparatively young. I will say that we have got the best of material in the way of engine men. We have got some new runners who are coming to the front, and they will be members as soon as old enough. Guy Strong, John Clifford and James Dick were promoted the first of February. All of them say that they can pull anything which is loose at both ends (they can pull more now than they will be able to six months from date). That is the kind of material needed—men of courage. We wish them success in their new undertaking. We feel the importance of the work before us and the responsibility resting upon us. We are working with a determination such as only those engaged in a good cause can show to make our Order a grand success. To those who may be battling against temptation on the road of the honest and industrious, we willingly extend the helping hand of a

Brother.

The Order is as yet in the cradle of its infancy, but from its healthy condition and the importance of the good work it was destined to accomplish, it is beginning to command the respect of the world. The public is extending the hand of friendship while uttering words of encouragement to us, and the railroads throughout the country acknowledge out good work.

Although the love of excitement, or the gratification of daring danger, may influ

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