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Published Monthly by Brotherhood of Railway Clerks. Wilbur Braggins, Editor-in-Chief. R. E. Fisher, Business Manager.

VOL. VII.

TALKS ON LABOR.

(An address delivered at Chicago on May 1, by Samuel Gompers, on labor legislation demanded from Congress and recent supreme court decisions as affecting organized labor.)

The situation in which the working people of our country find themselves at this time is not only a subject of concern to them, and to the people of our time, but it affects the very fundamental principles upon which our republic is based. I hold it as an axiom that you can not deprive a certain portion of our people or of any people of a country of their rights without at the same time impairing the very essentials of free government. As soon as the first attempt is made to deny and deprive a certain portion of our people of their rights and their liberties, you immediately set in motion the force that makes for the downfall of progressive institutions.

Ours is not the first republic in the world. There are older republics now in existence. There was that great republic of Rome, which went into decay. There are some who imagine that the republic of Rome went by the board over night, that it was simply swept out of existence like a thunderbolt from a clear sky. In truth, for many and many years the process of disintegration went on; first, in the denial of a certain liberty or right to a certain portion of the people, and the granting of privileges and franchises to another portion of the people -for it is in the nature of things that as soon as the denial of rights is proceeded with in the one instance it is accompanied by the bestowal of extra privileges upon an.

$1.00 per Year.

No. 6

other class. So, by filching the liberties of the people, one by one; tranquilizing one and trying to satisfy others-by this process the very essentials of liberty, character, independence, thoughtfulness and manfulness were taken out of the hearts of the Roman people until a mere shell of the republic existed. The people of Rome no longer had any interest in the maintenance or the perpetuation of what was then called a republic. There was no incentive for its defense in the hearts and minds of the people, and, hence, no wonder that it fell an easy prey to a handful of invading barbarians.

So, I ask you, men and women of toil, and you, men and women in other vocations of life, to look around you and see what is transpiring. Is it not enough to cause us to pause and ask ourselves whither are we drifting? The courts are denying to the toilers the privilege-no, no; not privileges; the rights which are inherently and naturally theirs.

Legislatures, municipal, state, and nation, are granting franchises and privileges and immunities to the wealth possessors, to the few, and denying to the great mass of the people their God-given right to such protection as will make for the welfare and progress of this nation, state and municipality.

Rights? Yes, there is no hesitancy on the part of our courts to grant us certain rights -for instance, the right to be maimed or killed without any responsibility to the employer; the right to be discharged for belonging to a union of labor; the right to work as long hours and for as low wages

as the employer can impose upon the working man or woman. These rights-these academic rights, which we do not wantare freely conceded, but there is the denial to us of the rights which are essential to our welfare.

(To be continued next issue.)

"AM I SUPPOSED TO DO THAT?" This is a question that is asked many times each day. When the chief clerk or the agent asks a clerk to do something that is out of his regular routine the first thought that enters his head seems to be that if he does not exercise proper judgment he will do something that he "is not supposed to do." What the results of such indiscretion would be we can only surmise from the attitude in which it is viewed by the vigilant clerk. Many an inexperienced clerk has made the mistake of believing that he was put at a desk to bill freight, make car reports or whatever duties were assigned to the desk at which he was placed, and no one had the authority to ask him to do other things or had the right to expect it of him.

They seem to forget that the railway company is paying them a salary for the use of their services and that during the regular office hours the clerk's time belongs to the company that employs him. His knowledge of railroad business, his experience and his efforts belong to the company for the time being, and the company has the right to expect to be benefited thereby and to use the clerk to their best advantage as long as they ask him to do clerical work.

If the company employes a clerk and places him on the billing desk, or any other desk the agent sees fit, the company does not, by that act, waive all right to use him elsewhere if they so desire. Or if a revising clerk needs a little temporary assistance the company certainly has the right to ask another man to help him out, if he is capable of doing so. The majority of clerks do not seem to realize that the more varied their experience and the more thorough knowledge they have of the business of the office the more valuable they are to the company; nor do they seem to give a thought to the fact that when the agent contemplates making a promotion or any other change of a like character, he will naturally want the man who will render

him the best service and, all other things being equal, be sure that he will choose the man who is willing to put forth his best efforts at whatever task he is given.

Don't be so particular as to what you are supposed to do; do what you are asked to do; do it with a will and with all your might, and let the fellow that does only that which he "is supposed to do" keep in his rut, you will hear him complaining that he did not get his rights and that he was treated unjustly, long after you have passed him.

F. E. MCCURDY.

[Ed. Note-This is very good advice and should be followed by many railway clerks who take less interest in their work and trying to do it well, than they should. However, it would not be inappropriate to couple with it advice to many railway agents to not exact too much high-class work for small rates of pay or too many hours' service of their clerks without proper compensation; in other words, not to take advantage of the clerk's willingness to do his full duty to the company. There are two sides to all controversies; let each do full justice to the other.]

TO LOCAL SECRETARIES.

The following letter is quoted because of its aptness in describing a situation that exists where the officers of a local failed to realize the responsibility that rested on them, consequently the members became "indifferent," the results of which are shown by the following:

"While in-I turned over to the lodge eight applications. I found the conditions there fully as bad as represented. They were holding meetings with barely a quorum and only seven of all their membership was paid up to date; all the others were from three to six months in arrears, and no one seemed to take interest enough to try to get them to pay up. I took the matter up and have arranged for most of them to settle up next pay-day; also four who were dropped to pay up and be reinstated.

"Outside of the president the officers of that lodge are not attending to business. I found that three members had not been sent their cards; also there were four who had not received their cards and did not get them until I myself gave the cards to them last week. I also found that no effort was being made to collect dues and keep members in good standing. Upon inquiry as to why the dues of members were in such bad shape I was informed that they did not attend meeting and pay them. I