less as to permit such an exhibition of governmental impotence.

The strikers in the shipyards are in no danger of being imposed on nor of being deprived of a square deal. The government has shown no disposition to be niggardly. They know that. Still they would not stick to their posts like regular Americans until their differences could be adjusted. They took advantage of their nation's extremity and are playing into the hands of the enemy in order to force their own demands, right or wrong.

It is immaterial what excuses they make or what arguments they may advance, the fact remains that they are doing it intentionally and for selfish reasons. The German spy who is prompted to act through love for his native land is a gentleman compared with the American profiteer (employee or employer) who is willing to take our government by the throat to force his own demands. This is a time for loyalty on all sides and those who are not willing to give it should be treated as plain disloyal.

The condition of D. P. Shaner, Baltimore & Ohio conductor, who was injured in the wreck at North Vernon, Ind., on Saturday night, December 29, who was a patient at the Schneck Memorial hospital, was considered very serious. Aside from internal injuries, pneumonia fever developed, due to exposure. The attending physicians were much alarmed over his condition.

The clipping of the Seymour Daily Democrat explains the condition of Eugene Ireland. It is as follows:

"Councilman Eugene Ireland, of the Furth ward, who suffered a stroke of paralysis Monday night, is reported to be somewhat improved today. The stroke Monday night followed a light stroke a week before. Hopes for his recovery are now expressed by the family, although the condition of Mr. Ireland was very critical for a time."

EUGENE IRELAND.

Cleveland, Ohio.

THE GREAT CLASS STRUGGLE.

"Oh, God, that bread should be so dear, And flesh and blood so cheap."

Progress always has been, and I venture to say always will be, of slow growth. From the days of ancient barbarism, when mankind, filled with fear and dread, bowed in abject humiliation to unknown powers, when brute force was the only decisive factor between man and man; right down through all the troublesome years of a slowly advancing people, progress has met with a cruel and relentless opposition. Primitive man, ignorant, credulous and cruel; acquainted only with

the crude morals of a savage, made war on each other for the means of livelihood. The conqueror, unsympathetic and merciless, enslaved all who fell victim to his might, and considered himself entitled not only to their services, but also to all they were able to produce. This class struggle, originating in the dark days of ignorance and barbarism, has existed right down through the ages, and has been prosecuted with a persecution and oppression equalled only by the inhuman fiends of central Europe, who are seeking to rob the peaceful peoples of the world of all they hold near and dear in life.

All the way down the centuries of time this great struggle has proceeded. Mankind has warred against each other for each other's mastery; ferocious and determined; relentless and cruel; retreating today, advancing tomorrow; surging to and fro like the mighty billows of a restless ocean. And there is no cessation. In this year of progress 1918, this same great struggle, ancient though it may be, is as vicious and cruel as in the prehistoric days of barbarism. In fact, we might say more vicious, more cruel. In the days of old, mankind possessed the right of selfdefense. If attacked by an enemy armed with a dangerous weapon, he could reply with a weapon equally as dangerous, so that the struggle, however uncivilized, was fought upon equal grounds. But no such privilege is accorded the toiling millions of today. Friend and foe are so much alike we cannot tell one from the other. The espionage system of Germany is a mere trifle compared to the espionage system of Wall Street. The class struggle of today is not being fought in the open, but in the darkness. The forces of Mammon, hiding behind a mask of patriotism and righteousness, stealthily worm their way into every institution of the nation. Like a wily cobra it steals its way into our industrial, fraternal, literary and political institutions, leaving behind it the slimy trail of their infamous teachings, and of their pernicious influences. Our hearts and homes are being invaded by the hirelings of selfishness and greed, until millions of our people are pleading to heaven for food and warmth. Crushed by the brute force of the Mammon worshippers; overpowered by the greed and selfish ambitions of the profiteers, they truly plead in the words of Tom Hood: "Oh, God, that bread should be so dear, and flesh and blood so cheap."

The intensity of this great class struggle is increasing daily, aye, hourly. From the east to the west, from the north to the south, the sufferings of the common people are severe and unbearable. Whilst the whole heart and soul of labor is with the nation in its trouble, whilst its loyalty and devotion is not found wanting in this

supreme test, the millions of toilers, on whom the nation depends for the bone and muscle essential to its success, are being exploited by the financial sharks of Wall Street, who, behind the mocking smiles of a false patriotism, are slowly devouring the nation. These hungry profiteers, void of any scruple or humane consideration, are not only accumulating mountains of wealth, but are also guilty of creating a dangerous unrest among millions of the common people. The European conflict has served double purpose. a It has stilled the restlessness of the workers; it has found them true and loyal. It has also given to the profiteers the opportunity of taking advantage of the people's loyalty, and holding in their hand the scourge of oppression, they have succeeded in exploiting the people for their own personal benefit and to the detriment of the nation.

It is as well to understand what we are talking about. When such strong statements are made, someone is liable to call for evidence. But why fill these pages with evidence? Your own empty pocketbook, your own hungry mouths and halffrozen homes are sufficient evidence. However, let us take one or two paragraphs from official reports. The Mediation Commission, reporting on conditions west of the Mississippi, says: "The overwhelming mass of the laboring population is in no sense disloyal." And this in spite of the severe pressure placed upon the working class of the country. The workers are struggling against tremendous odds. They are struggling against the pernicious effects, resulting from the evil practices and influence of the Wall Street profiteers. They are struggling against the high cost of living; they are struggling against an artificial scarcity of foodstuffs; they are struggling against the greed of the coal baron. And in spite of it all they are loyal to the nation in its war against autocracy. We want to see the United States successful. We have heard the pleadings of an outraged people, and we loyally bow to the decisions of our government. We have given the best of our manhood, the flower of the nation, in the interest of freedom and democracy, and are prepared to sacrifice all in its behalf. We are prepared to encourage and support our nation to the utmost. But we are fighting two enemies. Our brave boys are gone to sweep back the murderous hordes from central Europe who have crucified civilization, and we are left at home to beat back the ravenous wolves from Wall Street. "Woe unto you, generation of vipers." "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers." You have sat in the seats

of the powerful, and scorned them of low degree. You have laughed at the calamity of the common people, you have mocked when their trouble cometh. You have professed loyalty and devotion, but you stand before the nation a menace to the common weal. You have scattered poverty and hardship throughout the length and breadth of the land; you have fattened your paunches upon the dire need of the poor. You have taken this nation by the throat, and in its hour of need you Beare slowly strangling it to death. gone, I say. Begone. Do not crucify the nation in the hour of its greatest trial. Away, away; leave us unmolested by your avarice and corruption. We need patriots. We need loyal sons and true. We need men whose life is devoted to the interest of the nation, whose every thought is of its welfare. Begone, ye hypocrites; seek a refuge with others of your kind, "where there is weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth," "where the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched."

I am compelled to repeat that I am not attacking the policy of the United States. I do not belong to that class of professed patriots who would deliver this nation with its glory and pride, with its riches and treasures, into the hands of military and autocratic despots. Whilst I do not doubt the sincerity of our alleged pacifists, I believe their policy is a mistaken one. I have read of the glorious revolution in Russia, applauded by those who refuse to offer either assistance or encouragement to this nation in its trouble; but Russia today is smarting under the agonizing sting of German intrigue, encouraged and fostered by their own internal dissensions. The same frightful fate awaits this country if we fail to meet the foe as a united nation. There must be but one determination, one purpose. That great avalanche of frightfulness and unspeakable brutality that during the past three years has rolled on and on, without mercy or pity, destroying the lives of thousands of defenseless people, and leaving behind it a ghastly trail of dead and dying humanity, must not be allowed to continue its work of destruction with impunity. The great, boastful, proud and arrogant spirit of Germany's rulers must be destroyed, or that brutal menace of frightfulness will threaten every peaceloving nation under the sun. Hence, this war is inevitable. It is a great class struggle. It is a brutal attack upon the freedom of nations. It is an attempt to introduce into democratic countries the repugnant rule by brute force, and it must be resisted to our very last man and our very last dollar.

The working class of this country almost unanimously endorse this view. We are ready to sacrifice our blood and treas

ure, our kith and kin, aye, all we hold dear in life, in order to prevent the invasion of such a fiendish foe. And in the performance of such a patriotic duty we must decline to be plundered by the hungry shylocks of Wall Street. These men, without scruple or a sense of honor, are mercilessly forcing upon this country a dangerous unrest. They are, by their greed and avarice, by their disloyalty and false patriotism, lending aid to the enemy. They have preyed upon the unhappy condition of the nation. They have commercialized the loyalty of the toiling hosts. They have taken a cowardly advantage of a national crisis. Their conduct has been repugnant to all true patriots. Their loyalty has reached only so far as profits have been obtainable. They have wilfully disregarded the urgent pleas of the government. They have juggled the stock markets and manipulated prices. By a clever system of intrigue they have created an artificial scarcity in the necessities of life, so much so that the workers have been compelled to plead for a living wage in order to keep ahead of increased prices.

Before I conclude I want to call our readers' attention to the composition of the Council of National Defense. I will offer no remarks of my own, but will content myself by inserting a few sentences from the report of the chairman, Mr. Amos Pinchot. He says: "The Council of National Defense consists of over 280 men; 170 or more are connected with corporations doing war profiting business." He further says: "But what makes it more serious, and this is the condition to which I want to call your attention, is that some of our principal financiers and captains of industry, who have been called by the government to serve upon the Council of National Defense, are the main offenders in the unpatriotic business of discrediting the war by commercializing it. In close co-operation with the government, in daily conference with our highest executive officers, these men are combining two irreconcilable fnuctions. They are sitting in the morning as foremost patriots, actively directing the mobilization of America's resources, and they are spending their afternoons in taking advantage of the necessity of the people and the government by making legalized, but none the less destructive, financial raids upon them-raids so profitable as to make us look back, almost with gratitude, at the comparative moderation of American profiteers during the civil war.”

Let us say what we will about Russia, they at least dethroned and punished their treacherous rulers and leaders. But here, in freedom-loving America, we place in our high offices men who are absolutely indifferent as to the welfare of the nation,

men whose life is devoted to profiteering and the accumulation of untold wealth from a nation at war. The willing sacrifices of the people are usurped by the men in whom we trust. Small donations freely given by millions of smiling school children, instead of aiding the nation for which they were intended, are plundered by the hungry pirates of Wall Street. America must succeed in this titanic struggle, and the high road to success is the total abolition of our war profiteers, the annihilation of all those who are not sufficiently American to give their services to their country in this great world war. TOM HART.

I fully appreciate the courtesy extended me by our editor in allowing my writings to appear in the Conductor, and also wish to thank those members who have written me for their kind words of encouragement, and you may all rest assured I have many more logical reasons why we should bring our organizations under one head, which I will endeavor to place before you through these columns, and sincerely trust they will continue to receive your unbiased and thoughtful consideration. Only by a free and open discussion can we solve those perplexing problems which now confront us.

I have tried to keep in touch with all my correspondents, and if any of you have

not received replies to your letters, I hope you will pardon me. I find it quite a task making 6,300 miles per month on an overland passenger run, continually delving into the records so I may be able to deal with facts, and keeping up with my correspondence. I have so far heard from 139 individuals and numerous Divisions, and this gives you some idea of what I dropped into, but I fully appreciate your expressions of confidence in the principles which I advocate and trust you will continue to write me, and I will endeavor to favor you with replies. While so far with three exceptions it has all been comment, I assure you I stand ready to be criticised; honest criticism will help better our system and should at all times receive sincere consideration, and I will be pleased to hear from any of you, and especially those who may differ with us who are openly advocating consolidation. If there are any logical reasons why we cannot get together, no one would be more pleased than the writer to see them in print.

Let those who differ with our principles come out in the open and enlighten us if we are advocating something that is detrimental to ourselves as a body of laboring men. I have received a communication which in a sense attacked me personally, or rather my sincerity of purpose, and while silent contempt would no doubt be the correct way of treating such matters, let us bear in mind that belittling our opponents without just cause or logical reasons will not get us anywhere; let any of those who seem inclined to resort to nonsensical ridicule remember that those who are openly advocating consolidation are sincere, and merely belittling their efforts can do nothing, only weaken the defense. It is a time-worn political harangue resorted to by those who have always used these methods and who are at all times ready to crucify those who advocate progressive measures; they can see no reason why we should adopt new ideas, but are unable to produce some logical argument why they take this stand. I believe consolidation for us spells efficiency, economy, progress, unity and strength, and have every faith in the movement, and this is the only reason why I am advocating it.

Those of you who are against it ought to be able to specify your reasons, and many sincere and loyal members are waiting for you to do so; if it is injurious or you are certain it would be impossible, if you are sure of your grounds, why not let us in on such an important secret? Don't overlook the fact that we are part of the Order and are as deeply interested in the future of the Order and organized labor as you are, and if what we advocate is detrimental to the interests of the mem

bership as a whole, we have no desire to see it succeed. We are neither false alarmists nor radical idealists, but we do believe in progress, and see in this movement something which will do away with our expensive semi-competitive system and bring about efficiency, economy, unity and strength.

We often accuse men of being radicals, when they are just progressives; let us not overlook the fact that men are seldom radicals by choice; they are invariably forced to radicalism by circumstances; the obstructionists and standpatters are generally well entrenched, and in addition so situated that they hold the upper hand; it may be through their prestige of holding office, their hold upon the avenues of publicity, which enable them to mold opinion, or their personality; this, as a rule, places the advocates of progressive measures in an unpopular light; but let us bear in mind that nothing really worth having was ever gained through timidity; every forward step has always met with bitter opposition; no progressive movement ever succeeded but what it had doubters hanging on, and many individuals have fallen by the wayside because they dared express themselves. I am satisfied those advocating consolidation are sincere and they have an honest purpose, and while the truth is often unwelcome, it nevertheless stands supreme, even though it may occasionally need a champion. Matters of fact sometimes need boosting, while matters not facts can generally travel upon their own accord. You may follow the facts and form logical conclusions, or you may ignore them if that suits your fancy, but bear in mind that will not alter conditions as they confront us today. We are generally agreed that there is something wrong with our system and that the need for improvement is all too plainly evident; knowing these facts, let us get together like men and right ourselves; we have already waited too long; we have spent much valuable time and millions in money, but it is never too late to make a start. Let the slogan be "all together and begin."

Let us go back into a little past history. We find that the engineers were the first to organize; it was in 1863 that they laid the foundation of what is now a grand organization; they looked after the interests of their own craft, and a man had to be an engineer in order to become a member. Next we find the conductors formed an Order; it was in 1868; and, the same as the engineers, they interested themselves only in the conductors, and a man had to be a conductor in order to become a member. What was the natural consequence? The brakemen and the firemen had to do something for their own salva