scratch up a set of officers. I am sure it would have been better if some of the older brothers had been to the front to take office, not that I am thinking of the old saying, "Wear out the old ones first," but I for one would rather have had an older and more experienced brother to fill the office of journal agent, to which I have been elected. However, I shall put my shoulder to the wheel and do the best I can.

Now, you brothers west of Rivers, we arranged to hold our meetings monthly, and to give all a chance to attend the meetings of your lodge, we arranged to hold meetings at Rivers every alternate month. We would like a big crowd at our meetings at Rivers, so try to beat the number we had at Portage on March 11. Our meetings are to be held on the second Saturday in every month, so as I close, I hope to meet a good turn-out on April 8 at Rivers. Yours in B. L. and U.,

JOURNAL AGENT, Lodge No. 227

Superior Lodge No. 141.

As I am on the sick list at the present time, but hope to be up soon, I am going to write a lew lines for the journal, and as I am somewhat of a quizzer myself, I have decided to ask a few questions for the non-members and back-sliders to answer.

First-Why are you not a union man? Second-Which do you admire the most, a man who stands up for his rights or the little wishy, washy, weak-kneed, sallow-complexioned, hollow-eyed, cold footed, little two-by-four, sawed-off nonentity who would vanish into vapor were some of his superiors to look him in the face?

Third-Which is anarchy, unionism or non-unionism?

Fourth-Does the bible teach unionism or non-unionism?

Fifth-Is the laborer in general getting his just dues?

Sixth-Is the maintenance-of-way laborer treated with the courtesy as the employes in other branches of the service? If not, why not?

Seventh-What is your opinion of a man who refuses to join the union, giving

as his reason that he cannot possibly raise the money, and then inside of a week's time who would have spent a great deal more than his dues would have been, in fighting booze?

Eighth-Do you think you are sensible or honest when you say, "Well, I will wait and see how they do and if they come across, why, I will line up too, but I do not care about joining until I see what they are going to do."

Ninth-Do you know the only reason that you get as high wages as you are getting is because of the heroic stand brave men have made?

Tenth-Now, Mr. Non, do you feel like you want to act the little, weak, God-forsaken, company-sucking parasite any longer, or do you want to act the brave heroic man that all maintenance-of-way employes should be?

Of course the answers to the above

questions are suggested. Should any

scab or back-slider on the D. S. S. & A. feel like making a reply, I would feel glad to give them a more copious dose than this, but I hope this package will assist them in getting their little craniums to work. I must close for this time by wishing the Brotherhood Yours in B. L. and U.,

success.

JOURNAL AGENT.

Hockman, Va.

The letters written from various places by the journal readers are interesting and I enjoy reading them very much. Each month I look forward to the arrival of the journal with as much pleasure as father does. My father has been work. ing on the railroad for about twenty years, off and on. I am just sixteen years of age and I happened with a serious accident a year ago last Christmas. I got my thumb and fore finger shot off. It happened to be my right hand and I had to learn to write with my left hand. I would love to exchange postcards with any of the journal readers. If this escapes the waste basket, I will write again. Wishing you success in the I. B. M. W. E., fraternally yours,

WALKER BOWLING, Box 12, Hockman, Va.

Tug River Lodge No. 31.

As I don't often see a letter from any of the members of this lodge I thought

that I would write a few lines and let you know that we are still alive. I live at Alnwick, West Va., and work on section No. 3, N. & W. Ry., Pocahontas division. There are ten members of our lodge at work on this section. I think that looks good on our part. We have a nice foreman. His name is Mr. D. H. Herrold. He is a strong Brotherhood man, and I don't think that the com

pany has a man who attends more closely to duty.

I would like to correspond with some brothers in Florida. As this is my first attempt at writing for the ADVOCATE I will not worry the editor with a long letter, so hoping that this will miss the waste basket, I am, yours in B. L. and P. BLANKENSHIP.

U.,

Ropson, W. Va.

As I have been silent for so long, perhaps the boys will think I am dead, but thank God this is not the case, so I will try to write a few lines for the dear old ADVOCATE. Well, brothers, I am still sighting curved rail on the Virginian Railway and wearing a large Brotherhood button on my coat which I think is a great honor to me and all others.

I do not see any letters from Lodge No. 362. Now, brothers, we are not doing just what we should do by our Order or we would have something to say for it. I am a very poor talker myself but will say that our road is getting in fine shape as far as organization is concerned. We have been visited by some very able organizers who have been working faithfully for us.

I am sorry that I have not had the pleasure of visiting our lodge room since it was instituted, as I am located on the western end of the division and our meetings are held on the eastern end, a long distance away, but I hope to visit our lodge in the near future.

Brothers, this appears to be a prosperous year, so let one and all put your shoulder to the wheel and keep it rolling. This means to keep our dues paid up and

keep a clean up-to-date card with us all the time so that we need not be ashamed when we meet a member who has paid up and in good standing, and if you have men working under you who have not a working card, point out to them that it is right and proper for them to join our Order in order to assist the committee in obtaining what is just and due them, and if we can get them to come in with us we are sure to accomplish what we are looking for and hope so much to obtain a contract.

I am having a hard time on my track. My section is composed of curves from 12 to 16 degrees and portions of it is commencing to buckle. I have only four men to line it with and small men, too. I hope to have a picture of myself and crew for the ADVOCATE in the near future, then you will see us just as we are.

Hoping that some of the other members of Lodge No. 362 will see this letter and get ashamed of it and write a letter that will be of interest, I will close by asking the editor to kindly line this up for publication. Yours in B. L. and U., CARL ROLLINS.

Progressive Lodge No. 114.

The quarterly meeting of our lodge was held at Watrous on Sunday, the 19th of March, and we had a fine gathering, distance being no object The meeting was held in the afternoon so that in the morning all the boys lined up and paraded to church headed by our roadmaster and our worthy president. It was a pleasing sight and certainly was evidence of the feeling of good fellowship which exists among our boys.

But to return to the meeting, we had a welcome visitor in the person of our general chairman, Bro. A. E. Barker who came up from Melville to tell us of his trials and labor while working for us with the conciliation board and how we stand in regard to securing a schedule. I hope that by the time my letter appears in print, we will have all been notified that our contract has been secured and that we will be reaping the fruits of our labor.

To those of our members who were not

at the meeting, I would say that you missed a treat in every way. Brother Barker told us all we wanted to know. The chief thought uppermost in our minds was the schedule, and of course we were satisfied when told that the committee had finished its work so efficiently.

The Brotherhood is just a trifle over a year old on our road, and here we are on the eve of getting a working contract with the company. One of the chief

items of the contract is a substantial increase in our pay. The Brotherhood was the means of getting us 20 cents a day more this winter than last. Surely no

man is so dense that he can not see how the union is helping to secure a better living for us if we will but do our share.

Before closing I should mention that we have not reached the 100 per cent mark but we are not far from it, but if the next division to us can achieve that, surely we have the men here to do it and we will do it. Let us aim high and keep our eye on that prize. A last word of praise and thanks are due Brother Barker and his committee; also the committee from our neighboring road who has helped us so much. Wishing the Brotherhood every success, I am, yours in B. L. and U., JOURNAL AGENT.

Juneau, N. C.

As I have not seen anything in the ADVOCATE since I came to the Charlotte division of the Southern Railway, I will write a few dots. We are about twothirds organized on this division, and I hope we will soon be 100 per cent strong here. It seems that some of our members on this division are afraid to wear their buttons for fear they will lose out with the officials. I believe this is altogether a mistaken idea. Show your colors, brethren, and the officials will respect you more for it. They know pretty well "who is and who isn't."

Labor organizations are not what they were a few years ago. Our leaders are men of brains and have international reputations. They are representing toiling thousands, who have long since quit demanding the earth with a fence around it. They simply ask fair wages and fair treatment in return for honest labor that is now beginning to be appreciated by employers of labor.

Organization has made us much more thoughtful, and consequently more diligent, and to insist only for a square deal. Employers of labor are beginning to sit up and take notice, and are slowly but surely arriving at the conclusion that organized labor is the cheapest and the best, because it can always be depended upon. I am convinced that within the next few years it will be far more difficult for a man outside of a labor organization to get employment at good wages than for one to secure employment, who belongs to an organization today. Think over this, you nons, and come along with the crowd. This division is in better condition than it has been for the past eighteen months. It has been relaid with 85-pound rails and crushed stone ballast put in. They are giving us all the ties we can use, which is always a great joy to the section foreman. I am a great advocate of crushed stone ballast, when it is properly put in. The more you run trains over it, the better it gets. I consider all other ballast mere substitutes.

The Southern Railway is making one very serious mistake in the matter of

standard section houses for its foremen. They are entirely too small, and uncomfortable. A foreman is an outdoor man, but when he does go home he doesn't like to have to go out doors to turn around. The new houses are 13x30 feet, with a chimney and a partition in the center, and an L 13x19 feet, with a stove flue of rather unusual size running from the floor upward to the roof. This also has a partition, which gives a very small four-room house, without a closet or other convenience. Such houses are a bad investment. To have a satisfied foreman is surely to have a better foreman, and I trust that when our committee goes to Washington the next time for a conference with the general manager they will put this matter to him in a manner that will cause him to see the mistake that some one has made, and have suitable houses provided. Fraternally, J. R. PARRISH.

Barre Plains, Mass.

As I have not seen many letters in the ADVOCATE from the boys of Worcester Lodge, I will contribute a few lines for the April number. I attended the meeting of Springfield Lodge at Springfield the first Sunday in March and I was pleased to see our organizer, Brother Powers there, and was deeply interested in his statement. One thing he spoke about was the large number of members in Springfield Lodge No. 283, there being 170 at the present time and we are in hopes of capturing some more of the

nons.

I am sorry that the boys of Worcester Lodge do so little writing, as it indicates that they are losing interest in the Brotherhood. Brothers, what are you doing to advance our cause? Are you talking unionism to your men, or do you just pay your dues and say nothing? To be a true Brotherhood man you must advance the interest of the Brotherhood at every opportunity. Now, brothers, get busy, brace up, put your shoulder to the wheel and help to obtain better conditions for one and all. Hold your heads up like men and ask for your rights.

There are a few members of Lodge No.

283 who do not attend our meetings. Hope to see them present at some of the meeting in the near future. As warm weather is very near at hand, I hope it will make a vast improvement in the attendance at our meetings during the summer months. We are increasing in membership very fast and am proud to see it. If we only stick to our Order and do our duty, all will be well. With best wishes for the success of our Brotherhood, I remain, yours in B. L. and U.,

JOURNAL AGENT, Lodge No. 283.

President's Letter.

I am writing this in Toronto and wiH finish it on the train between here and Winnipeg, Man.

I am again pleased to be the bearer of good tidings in telling you that March is keeping up the good record of January and February in very much bettering the record of its namesake of 1910. "Let the good work go on." Brother Pegg and his staff enjoy being up to their elbows in attending to your remittances and sending out receipts, working cards, charters and other paraphernalia belonging their work.

Our organizers, almost without exception, have done better than usual, and, instead of being a drag on our funds, have been self-supporting in almost every case, and some considerably better. Our workers in the lodges also are doing good work, and this is really where the best work can and should be done. When we have all our officers and members in all our subordinate lodges working, as many are now, that large draft on our fund, organizing expenses, will be spent in bringing the blessings of organization to new roads not yet thoroughly organized; the members on organized and scheduled roads seeing to it that all who share the benefits enjoy the privilege of paying their pro rata share of the expenses, an honest man will not for long be in the position of taking benefits he did not help to pay for. And do you suppose a man who is not honest with his comrades is honest with the company? I am sure you can sum such

a man up in the current saying, "He is honest if well watched."

This journal will contain the award given by the majority of the commissioners in our controversy with the C. P. Ry. Co. The award was sent to the minister of labor on February 27, but the minority report was sometime later, and I presume, until it came, the minister did not take action on either.

After some time, on the 9th of March, to be exact, I had a letter from General Superintendent Gutelius, telling me of the desire of the vice-president, Mr. McNicoll, to meet some of the joint protective board and myself to confer in the awards. I wrote Chairman Dorey, who summoned the whole board to Montreal, notifying me a date was arranged with Mr. McNicoll for March 27. I met the board on the 25th, and, on the 27th, with the executive of the board and Vice-President Irwin, met Mr. McNicoll and Mr. Gutelius. We had a general confab as to the award, which Mr. McNicoll considered gave us everything and was most unjust and unfair to him. The conference closed with a proposal from him to lay aside both the minority and majority awards and begin in the near future to negotiate a schedule which, in his judgment, would be fairer to him and not unfair to us. I promised to lay his proposal before the full board and let him know their answer, which I did, in the presence of the full board next morning, the 27th. I might say at the first meeting I pressed Mr. McNicoll to accept the majority award, the same as both he and we had done in 1902, when we had our first arbitration and, as an outcome of it, received our first schedule. I stated frankly we believed in the principle of arbitration (and the investigation under the Lemieux act is practically an arbitration) and that we also accepted the principle of accepting in good faith a majority award, whether it put us "in the soup" or "in the swim," and, of course, I could not agree with Mr. McNicoll that the award was so unfair as he seemed to consider, and I told him what I fully believe that in the loyal-hearted service the substantial increase in their pay would incite