to the full amount of his insurance. I hope to see this become a law at the next convention.

I can not agree with "Tallow Pot," Laramie, Wyo., in the March issue, about the way the insurance rates are graded. I am satisfied as it now stands, and do not wish to see the law changed on this point, as I believe it has a tendency to cause all new members to carry the highest amount of insurance. I think the L. F. B. H. & A. A., of America is a grand thing and expect to have my application ready soon.

FROM 226:-(C. Crowley, Ennis, Texas.) Lodge 226 is still doing business at the same old stand with wideIn our estimable secreawake officers. tary, Bro. Nicol, and chairman, Bro. Kelly, we have excellent officers. We are converting from one to three young firemen at almost every meeting and still have considerable material to work on.

A new schedule went into effect March 1st, which seems to give perfect satisfaction. The Brotherhoods are coming more into favor with the officials as they are being convinced that they are the bearers of more good than evil, as they have been looked upon in days gone by.

We have had the sad misfortune to lose one of our most worthy members through death by pneumonia, Bro. H. J. Myers. Bro. Myers was in the employ of the T. & N. O. Company as passenger engineer.

FROM 99:-("W. F.," Rochester, N. Y.) Rochester Lodge 99 and L. S. 58 held their first union meeting April 1st at Odd Fellows' Hall. Anyone who may think it was not a success will do well not to mention that fact to any of the seventy members who were present. Lodge opened in due form, with Bro. Pruyn and Sister Van Dusen in the chairs. It is enough to say that both are "wise" to their duties. After routine business, things began to look decidedly Quakerish. Bro. Pruyn said everyone was tongue-tied. Bro. Yerker said he let his wife do all the talking. If he becomes baldheaded he is entitled to no sympathy. Bro. Tommie Crouch wanted to "love 'em up a little." He got assistance at once. Sister Dolanty "just knew she would break down"-but she didn't. Bro. Wallie Cooch had on his Sunday smile but counted on too many pages. Bro. Wilson

made some entertaining remarks. Bro. Claude Acker lost his voice; a reward is awaiting the finder. Bro. Holden's coon songs are all right. Bro. Tommie Crouch gave some recitations which met with hearty applause. He finished in rather a pugilistic manner. Only one thing marred the hapiness of Sister Googherty -there were no olives. Bro. Wiedrick smiled when he saw the cabbage salad coming. Bro. Acker need not go far to see a first class imitation of the cake walk. Bro. Barton "slipped" away early; he must have run out of sand. Bro. Maynard says he is getting too old fashioned to dance, but we take notice. that he cuts a graceful figure on the floor. Bro. John Wright has peculiar ideas about life insurance. Bro. Foley wants

a union meeting every week. The sisters of 58 know how to please the railroad men all rig..., and prepared a very fine supper which was enjoyed by all. The meeting wound up with dancing, and vocal and instrumental music. Everyone went away feeling that the union meeting is the right thing to have.

FROM 602-("Member," Shawnee, O. T.) On Sunday evening, March 30th, Bro. Chas. W. Maier arrived in our city and proceeded to organize a lodge here. At a previous meeting the boys had decided to name the lodge after the thriving and beautiful city in which it is located, Shawnee, the queen city of Oklahoma, and the future capitol of the State of Jefferson. Recognizing the fact that this was the first lodge instituted in the Territory, some of the boys wished to name it after the Territory, but through the efforts of the tall sycamore of Oklahoma, Bro. G. W. Green, "Shawnee" won unanimously.

The boys are certainly thankful to Master Mechanic Jas. Cunningham and General Foreman E. L. Moon for favors extended in allowing seven new brothers to be present, for we know that our worthy organization has the sympathy of these two genial gentlemen. Times are very busy along the Choctaw now, and it certainly cost Messrs. Cunningham and Moon an effort to allow all our boys here. Owing to previous arrangements, Bro. Maier was compelled to leave us sooner than we wished, but has promised to return soon and-show us some of his work.

The following officers were elected by the new lodge and installed by Bro. Maier: R. L. Singleton, master; Wm. F. G. Pound, vice master; Wm. Clemens, past master; John S. Heckey, secretary; W. P. Lilly, collector; H. C. Murrill, treasurer, and three old war horses, Bros. W. L. Blessing, G. W. Green and Jas. L. Curry, as board of trustees.

FROM 595:-(C. A. C., Milan Mo.) We organized here on the 12th of March with 23 charter members, and on the 31st we gave our first annual masquerade ball in the Milan Opera House. It was a grand success, and we are more than pleased with the outcome. The public of this city claim it to be the finest ball ever given in our city, and after it was over and the dancers had all gone, we on Tuesday again rallied our forces together and elected Bro. George T. Carter to the office of city marshal, and the citizens of Milan are guessing what the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen are going to do next.

Lodge 595 is in good working order. We have taken in six new members and have two more ready to ride the "hurry-up" wagon. We give them a ride for their money, too, for we spare no time or pains to satisfy them of the object in becoming members of our noble order.

FROM 566: ("Headlight," Fresno, Calif.) Our esteemed friend and loyal brother, Maier, paid us a flying visit, just long enough to get a glance at his ever smiling and good natured face. We are glad to see you, Bro. Maier, and only wish your visits could be longer and more often. Bro. Hughey O'Neil, being out of town on business, was unable to show you his orange farm and vineyard. Have you seen "Happy Hans" White? Well, just gaze upon him for a few moments and you will say: "Where did you get that bay window?"

The local division of the O. R. C., of Fresno, Calif., gave their annual ball a few nights ago, which proved a marked success in every sense of the word. There were over two hundred couples on the floor. Bro. Plessie is now a phonograph fiend; he carries his little phono under his arm and gives the boys an entertainment once in a while. Bro. Bevington has settled down to married life like the

rest of us, and you can see him most any day with a beefsteak under his arm.

On the lines of the Santa Fe System, west of Albuquerque, they have elected a salaried chairman to represent the five lodges of the B. of L. F. We feel assured that this was a wise move on the part of the Firemen to have a permanent chairman to represent them, who could be educated to the work, and familiarize himself and become conversant with all the prevailing circumstances that fall to the lot of a grievance committee man. Time and ability alone can fit a man to fill such an important office. Bro. Dalton has returned to that beautiful city by the bay, East Yard. Business on the Coast lines is not very rushing just at present, however, the Santa Fe is doing a good passenger business. Our chairman, Bro. Fenweck, has just returned from a conference of the joint protective board at San Bernardino, where Bro. Bland, of the Needles, was elected paid chairman and will assume the duties of his office upon the approval of the general manager and Grand Master Sargent. You have our most hearty coöperation, Bro. Bland, and we sincerely hope that you will fill the office to the entire satisfaction of all.

FROM 178:-("Judge," Salt Lake City, Utah.) Hardly a meeting night has passed that some candidate has not been called upon to break in the goat, which is just out of the back shop. She is a rough rider, too, being down on her wedges and boxes, and fed on draw bars that are pulled out of our "battle-ship" coal cars. They all acknowledge getting their money's worth.

A number of firemen were hired here in the past two months, and nearly all are Brotherhood men. Several of them have transferred here already, and in that way some good material has been added, for they are all constant attendants and take an active part in all lodge matters. They are men who make a meeting interesting. The latest to transfer are Bros. McDonald, Hannigan, Lawley, Payne, Smiley and Patterson. With this addition to the other good workers, and Bro. Wilcox, our master, who is in every meeting, and Bro. O'Nash, our seeretary, who always has time and is ever on the alert for business that needs attending to, 178 can not do otherwise than prosper.

Who will not be pleased to know that Bro. "Dusty" Rhoades is running; he is an eagle eye on one of the steam street rollers at $4 per day. But what we are most elated about is our new schedule, which went into effect March 1st. While a good rate of pay has always been paid to the enginemen here there has been no. agreement for some time back with the company, but last January the boys got together and prepared a schedule asking for seniority, raise of pay on the big engines, no cleaning, and coal to be cracked to the proper size for firing. General Chairman M. W. McDonald and the committee presented the schedule to Mr. Welby, the superintendent, and Mr. Hickey, the general master mechanic, and were very cordially received by them, both expressing their pleasure to have an agreement with the men.

The schedule was gone over and signed, and is now in effect, and a harmonious feeling exists on both sides. The raise of pay on the big engines was 82 cents, which makes us $3.181⁄2 per one hundred miles. The increase will in about a month pay us back the special assessment.

FROM 548:-(Secretary, Commerce, Teras.) We are now located in our new hall and are doing the best in the land. We have a good set of officers and new members are being brought in right along. I believe our meetings will be much better from now on as the members feel proud of the new hall, and as business is rather dull we can hold good meetings for a few months.

The best of all is, our worthy master took in a partner on Easter Sunday, and he is the happiest man in the world. Lodge No. 548 gave him a rocker, built for two, which we all know will be just the thing. We wish the newly-married couple the best of luck, but hope that our worthy master will not overlook any of our meetings.

We intend to have a grand spread on the occasion of our installation of officers, and all the brothers are invited to pay us a visit that night. We would like very much to see our Third Vice Grand Master present.

I hope that Lodge 548 will send a delegate to our next convention. We have just held one of the largest meetings I have attended since I transferred from Lodge 529 and it makes the members feel

good to see the meetings so well attended. The only way to have these large and interesting meetings is for every member to come, instead of passing the time away elsewhere, saying they "forgot that it was meeting night." This is the only way the members can keep posted right up to date on the work of the order. How many members are there who can work their way into a lodge room? Many members think that because they pay their dues and assessments, they have done all that is necessary. Let us not forget that we are needed in the lodge rooms just as often as the lodge meets, if it is at all possible for us to be there.

FROM 103-(Pat Filburn, Louisville, Ky.) Although we have three lodges in this city I never see anything in the MAGAZINE from here, and will try and tell you something about the B. of L. F. boys here. Old 103 is pulling along slowly but is gaining a little all the time, and as we move into our new hall the first of April we expect to do a lot of good work. We will then be much closer to the homes of the firemen, as the L. & N., on which most of our members are employed, has moved its round house out three miles from the city, so we are going to move the lodge meetings to where the boys can find us.

Lodge 502 is getting along grand, and with that old stand-by, Bro. Slaby, in the chair to keep the business going, they never stop, and right now they are as happy as clams, because Bro. Smith came home from the joint board meeting with a handsome raise of pay for the boys who handle the scoop.

Lodge 537 is moving along, getting all the available material as soon as it is ripe, and their goat is wild and woolly.

We have had an epidemic of promotions here on all the roads, and the men still seem to be making all the time they can stand.

Now a word to the brothers in the South. The convention comes off in September, at Chattanooga, Tenn., and, brothers, it is the first time that we have had the Grand Lodge meet in our home, as we might call it, and it is the duty of every lodge south of the Ohio River to have a delegate there to greet our Grand Officers and the delegates from all over the United States and Canada, and make them feel at home in the shadow of Lookout Mountain. Also to make laws for

Lodge 88 held its annual ball March 31st in the Opera House. The Opera House was beautifully decorated with lamps of all colors, headlights and crossed scoops and picks, and at each end of the stage appeared the front ends of two locomotives displaying headlights. Lodge 88 still holds the record of giving the best balls in this locality. In every instance they are a social and financial success.

FROM 178:-(C. A. O., Salt Lake City, Utah.) We have sawed wood for a long time, and I am glad to say we are today in a better condition than for years. It will not be long until this lodge will again be one of the finest lodges in the West. It is a pleasure to have all our brothers who may be traveling through Salt Lake City meet with us at our regular meetings. Many visiting brothers have enjoyed themselves here, and I am sure that others will. We would like to have your help in initiating our new candidates, as we manage to have one about every meeting night, and as you all know, we give them all that is coming to them. Lodge 178 gave its 13th annual ball on the 13th day of February, and a most enjoyable evening was spent by all who were present. There were fully 750 persons in the hall, and the decorations were splendid. Bro. Zahler loaned us his little

it is a grand piece of work. I never will forget the remark one of the dancers made while passing out doors to get some refreshments. We had an engine bell on the stage to announce the dances, and as he passed out the bell rang. He said: "There's that bell again, I can't leave this time." There wasn't many that did leave until the lights went out at 3 a.m., and we are waiting for the 13th of February to come again. We wish to extend our thanks to the committee on the ball for its good work.

We are called upon to mourn the loss of a brother, Fred G. Basker, who died February 8th of pneumonia, and are compelled once more to drape our charter on this occasion. Bro. Basker leaves a young wife to mourn his death. He had only been married a year. To our members who knew Bro. Basker, it is a sad affair. He laid on his back for three weeks hardly able to move for pain, and his total confinement at home was nine months. His claim was paid to him about three months before we were called upon to mourn his death. We have lost a worthy brother who was always a hard worker for the order. His wife has received resolutions of condolence from this lodge and has the sympathy of all who knew him. His remains were laid to rest at Newton, Idaho, with the honors of 178.