than some who are in the service would make, but for that matter a person can find misfits wherever he goes, in all lines of business, and in all walks of life. It is possible that a lawyer, a shoemaker, or a dry goods clerk could get up before a convention and make a smoother talk than a fireman who had just come in off the road. washed up, changed his clothes and started for the biennial meeting of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen, and this is just where the trouble lies. The man of Blackstone, or of some other of the learned callings, can wind the fireman about his fingers, in a great many instances, and we have seen the effects of this too often in the past, and this, I hope, we will not be compelled to contend with in the future as at times it is not very pleasant. Now, some of the members may think that I am a convention fiend. This, however, is not a fact, as I have never attended a convention, and, what is more, I never expect to attend a convention of the Brotherhood. Now last, and not least, I hear some one say this looks like taxation without representation. How does it look to the man who has put in his time at the scoop and the throttle, year after year, and then when a convention comes along to see a man sent as his representative who is out of the service, and has been out of it for years, perhaps. It may be that this out-of-service man has been to many conventions before, but the servic man must pay the bills without a murmur. Laramie, Wyo. "TALLOW POT." LOCAL CORRESPONDENCE. From 70.-(G. G. P., Longview, Texas). On Saturday, January 14th, some of the boys said "Where is Stone?" "Gone to meet No. 1 and Bro. C. W. Maier, Third Vice Grand Master." Sure enough, Bro. Maier put in an appearance. It was late after two o'clock - but several of the boys went to work and Saturday night our little lodge room was overflowing with engineers, firemen, conductors and brakemen, and their wives, sweethearts and sisters. Bro. Maier, after resting up, went to the lodge room. Soon the house was crowded to overflowing-not a seat left and standing room at a premium. The chairman rapped for order, and in a few well-chosen words introduced the speaker, Bro. Maier. For two hours Bro. Maier held his hearers spellbound, telling them in plain yet eloquent language of the benefits of the Brotherhood, and repeated those beautiful words of admonition which he always gives to the boys, to let the saloons and gambling hells alone; to be honest and upright, and then they would be worthy of being called men. Ever will the railroad men and their friends remember his earnest appeal. At the conclusion of his talk he gave us a magic lantern display which proved his good taste. The audience went wild several times, and the applause was deafening. After this a general handshaking was in order. On Sunday morning a called meeting was held and Bro. Maier made the talk of his life. His subject was the MAGAZINE, its educational features, its advantages, etc., and often during his talk he spoke in feeling tones of the questions which the firemen should study, and the result. Especially did he beg of us to look forward to the day when every engine would be manned by white men, and eight hours would be a day's work-eight hours to work, eight hours to rest, and eight hours to study. "But," said he, "you must look to legislation as the only source of relief." After Bro. Maier had finished, each member was called upon and had something to say. Bros. Fitch, Davis, Pillow, Stone, Melson and many others made short yet beautiful little talks. Bro. Brinson then arose and extended to Bro. Maier a cordial invitation to come again, and to let us know, so we would be prepared. Thus closed the meeting. At two o'clock, again, our little hall was crowded; this time with members of the B. of R. T., who adjourned their regular meeting to come, together with the O. R. C., B. of L. E. and the B. of L. F. Bro. T. D. Stone, in a few words bidding welcome to our sister organizations, eloquently introduced Bro. Maier. Bro. Maier spoke upon 'Federation." Several times, from the sunny side of railroad life he took us to scenes wrought in pathos. At the conclusion of his speech, many were the congratulations given him, and engineers, firemen, brakemen and conductors went to the depot to bid him good-bye and Godspeed. We can only say, Come again, Charley; and always know that the Brown House' has open doors, and a hearty welcome awaits you." Lone Star Lodge is in fine working order, and is ever ready to have as visitors our grand officers; and so to each and all we extend an invitation. From 375.-(SAMUEL O. COY, Dayton, Ohio). Bro. Elmer Dorman, of Dayton, Ohio, met a terrible death in the B. & O. yards at Garrett, Ind., on January 21st. Bro. Dorman had crawled beneath his engine to do some work, when a yard engine bumped against it. Bro. Dorman was crushed almost beyond recognition, and died instantly. He was hurled into eternity without a moment's warning. His remains were brought home to his loving wife and three little children. Bro. Dorman was a member of Friendship Lodge No. 375, at Dayton, and was a good and faithful member. He was well thought of by everyone, and had many friends. At 2 o'clock on Tuesday afternoon, January 24th, the solemn funeral procession wended its way to the church at Xenia, Ohio. There a grand service was held by the min ister and the Masons. The remains were then taken for interment to the Woodland Cemetery, followed by a large concourse of friends, who came to pay their last respects to their departed companion. I have worked with and fired for Bro. Dorman, and he was a good engineer, and always had a good word and a smile for everyone. Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to the bereaved wife in her deep sorrow, and may each flower which adorned his casket breathe a prayer of perfume around the throne of God. From 473.—(MEMBER, Clinton, Mo.) It becomes my sad duty to report to the readers of the MAGAZINE the death of Ed. G. Rodgers, which occurred at Jimenez, Mexico, on December 25, 1898, Ed. was a railroad engineer. He served as a locomotive fireman for eight years, and was promoted to the right hand side only a few months ago. He was employed on the Mexican Central Railroad. He was a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen, and held membership with Sunshine Lodge No. 473, Clinton, Mo. He was a worthy member, and the first of 473's membership to pass to that eternal life, where no sickness or sorrow is known. Bro. Rodgers was born February 27, 1872, in Carroll County, Missouri, but had grown to manhood in Osceola, Mo., at which place he leaves an aged father, a loving sister, and a brother to mourn his death. On December 15, 1898, he was stricken with smallpox and died December 25th. After contracting the disease he was taken to Jimenez, two hundred miles from Chihuahua, where he was placed under quarantine, and died. His death was reported by Mr. David A. Head, a railroad engineer of Chihuahua, with whom Bro. Rodgers boarded. Away from home and in this strange country, had it not been for those kind friends, the news of his death might not have reached his bereaved friends for many days. Not only will the lodge of which he was an efficient member miss him, but all who knew him feel the loss as though he was one who was near and dear to them. And in years to come we will ever remember that he, though dead, yet speaketh, for his kind advice and genial ways will never be forgotten. Bro. Rodgers was an exemplary young man, and his friends were numbered by his acquaintances. The bereaved family has the profound sympathy of his many friends. From 430.-(SAM, Cumberland, Md.) We are still in the field and are adding a few members to our rolls. We had three victims for our goat at our last meeting, and the goat was in good trim for them. We have a number of applications on file at present, and the lodge is in better condition now than it has been for some time. Bro. C. T. M. still gets in his share of the gavel, and we could not get along without him for he is a good receiver and a hard worker for the Brotherhood. We are sorry to report that Bro. Armstrong had the ill-luck to fall from the headlight of his engine and break three of his ribs; however, he is improving, and we hope that he will soon be out again. The firemen here are on the hog," as we term it, and are much dissatisfied on account of the engines being so large and the coal being so bad. The engines weigh eighty-five tons and we haul fifty loads with them. We have a number of new firemen to break in now, and hope that we will have them all in the Brotherhood in the near future. We have been having a hard time in this locality with la grippe but the epidemic has about passed over. Bro. Stallings, our traveling firemen, has been presented with a "bouncing baby boy." We extend our best wishes to Bro. Stallings and to the new comer. We are pleased to know of the prosperity of the Brotherhood in all parts of the country, and may it ever go forward in the good work. May the members all take an interest in the upbuilding of the Order. I am sorry to say that we have a few members who never attend a meeting of the lodge unless they have a grievance, but we hope they will shake off their drowsiness and come out occasionally and take a hand in the good work that is going on. Do not leave all the work to a few of the faithful and hard working brothers to do, but come to lodge and put your shoulder to the wheel and help to build up the Brotherhood, for without it we would all be in the dark and would be trampled under foot. My desire is to build up the Order in every way possible, and get every fireman into the Organization who is worthy to be called a Brotherhood man. and we always keep our goat in good shape; and if there is a non-union fireman in this neck of the woods, it does not take that goat long to bring him to time. Bro. Maier makes us a flying visit occasionally, but does not stay long, because he says we do not need him, as we are the best organized system west of the Rocky Mountains. We all think Bro. Maier is the right man in the right place, and it is with much regret that we learn that our Worthy Grand Master is thinking very seriously of changing him to the Middle or Eastern District, for the man that takes his place will have two years hard work before him before he will be in a position to understand the work that is before him, as Bro, Maier does. I sincerely hope that the next two years will see a great change in affairs on the Northern Pacific and Great Northern, and there are hundreds of non-Brotherhood men on these two roads, and while it is a very hard matter to reach these men, and it will take plenty of hard work and a great deal of time, I think the time and money will be well spent, and I think Bro. Maier is the man to take it in hand, as he certainly is in a position to understand the situation. Four New Societies.-(MRS. GEO. P. SMITH, Cedar Rapids, Iowa). On December 20th, accompanied by Sister C. H. Bro. C. T. Mills has been awarded a B. Wheeler, I took the early morning train for of L. F. button for his good services in Waterloo, Ia. On arriving at that place we collecting money to purchase a magic were met by Bro. L. E. Marsh, of Lodge No. lantern for use in our lodge room. He is a 30, B. of L. F., and were taken to his home, hard worker in the cause, and is a member where we had our dinner. At 2 o'clock we that our lodge is proud of. Bro. A. E. went to the hall. All arrived shortly, and Evans is our Collector, and is another good the work of organizing Waterloo Society worker, in fact 430 has an able and efficient No. 13 began. The following officers were crew of officers. May 430 never be elected: Mrs. A. Livingston, Past President; stricken from the list, and may the Brother- Mrs. A. E. Smith, President; Mrs. S. Powhood continue to grow and prosper. ers, Vice President; Mrs. L. E. Marsh, Secretary; Mrs. M. T Whitney, Collector; Mrs. W. T. Courtney, Treasurer; Board of Trustees, Mesdames F. Haisilet, C. E. Scott and E. Axtell. The President appointed the following officers: Conductor, Mrs. Chas. Buckley; Warden, Mrs. Geo. Anderson; Chaplain, Mrs. Charles Parker; Guard, Mrs. William Stanton. Fourteen charter members constitute this society. The regular order of exemplifying took up the entire afternoon, for being personally From 348.-(W. D. GRANDY. LaGrande, Ore.) We are situated away up here in the mountains, along the O. R. & N. R. R., in the Eastern part of the State of Oregon, in one of the most beautiful valleys of the West. No. 348 is just as good a lodge as one will find anywhere in this Western country. We have about fifty members, most of them working on this system. We hold regular meetings every Wednesday, acquainted with many of the ladies at Waterloo, I gave them no rest until I got them organized, knowing them to be good workers. They will have a good society. In the evening a reception was held at the residence of Mr. and Mrs. L. E. Marsh, which I regret very much being unable to attend, on account of having to go to Missouri Valley on the 22d. Mrs. Wheeler stayed, however, and reported a very enjoyable time. On December 22d, I left on the 8 a. m. fast mail for Missouri Valley. Arriving there at 2 o'clock. I was met by Mesdames Zuver and Denton, and we went at once to the G. A. R. Hall. In a short time the ladies had all assembled, and business began. After preliminaries were over, the following officers were elected: President, Mrs. Ida E. French; Past President, Mrs. Mabel C. Donnelson; Vice President, Mrs. Fannie Dryden; Secretary, Mrs. Etta E. E. Zuver; Collector, Mrs. Emma Denton; Treasurer, Mrs. G. C. Peacock. The President appointed the following officers: Conductor, Mrs. Mary Halstead; Warden, Mrs. Anna Kirling; Chaplain, Mrs. J. T. Evans; Guard, Mrs. J. M. McCune. The work of exemplifying was done by initiating Mrs. D. J. Kennedy, who was a willing candidate until she was presented to his majesty, the goat. Then she balked a little, but rallied and went ahead, but said she kept her eye on the organizer. Thirteen members has this society, and will be known as Lily of the Valley Society. Climax Lodge No. 254 paid all expenses of charter and supplies, and my expenses, and made me a present of $5 in cash, for which they will please accept my thanks. The work of organizing being over at six o'clock, I was invited to the home of Bro. and Sister J. M. Zuver, where Mrs. Zuver's interesting little sister Dolly had an elegant supper prepared for us, and to which, after my long ride and afternoon's work, I did ample justice. This society has good prospects for a larger membership in the near future. After spending a very pleasant evening, I took the ten o'clock train, arriving at my home in the early morning. There I found a letter from Mrs. Geo. F. Wagoner, of Ft. Madison, saying "Order supplies for Ft. Madison," which I promply did. On December 27th, again accompanied by Sister Wheeler, I took the 3:30 a. m. train, arriv ing at Ft. Madison in the early morning. Mrs. Wagoner met us and took us to her home. She and Mrs. Wheeler being old schoolmates, a very pleasant morning was spent, reviewing the past. To my great joy I found the supplies had arrived, and at 2 p. m. we went to the hall, where, assisted by Mrs. Wheeler, one of the largest societies that it has ever been my pleasure to witness, was instituted, there being twenty charter members. The following officers were elected: Past President, Mrs. Geo. F. Wagoner; President, Mrs. Frank Caldwell; Vice President, Mrs. George Curry; Secretary, Mrs. R. C. Stoner; Collector, Mrs. James Low; Treasurer, Mrs. John C. Burner. The President appointed the following officers: Conductor, Mrs. Artz; Warden, Mrs. Morgan; Chaplain, Mrs. Cahill; Guard, Mrs. Boyle. All officers being properly installed, the regular business of exemplifying the work was done. Six o'clock came and all went home to supper. In the evening we assembled again at the hall, where we found fifteen of the brothers. A general reception was held, and a good social time was had. Supper being announced, all repaired to the table, where ample justice was done to the good things the ladies had prepared. After supper the time was spent with music and conversation and was very much enjoyed. I found in all of these societies that the brothers were very much interested in the work of the ladies, pledging their support. I want to say right here that the proper thing for the Brotherhood lodges to do is to pay the ladies' hall rent, and wherever there is a Brotherhood lodge that has a Ladies' Society and does not pay the society's rent, they are away behind the times, and should wake up and get to the front. Hawkeye Lodge No. 27 has furnished us with a comfortable home for two years, which I am sure is much appreciated, and I am glad to say that all of the Brotherhood lodges where these new societies were formed very willingly followed 27's example. Much credit is due Mrs. Geo F. Wagoner for her untiring efforts in getting the ladies together and ordering the supplies, she being also a member of the G. I. A. to the B. of L. E. On January 9th I received a letter from Mrs. H. P. Richardson, with money order enclosed, asking me to order the supplies and come to Belle Plaine on January 12th and organize a Ladies' Society. Knowing my term of office as organizer expired on January 1st, and not knowing who my successor was, and as I had been laboring with the Belle Plaine ladies for some time, I wrote our Grand President, asking permission to do the work, which she kindly gave, sending me a telegram to go to Belle Plaine. The supplies had been sent, and accordingly I left at 2:30 p. m. on January 12th for that place, a distance of only thirtyfive miles. I was met and very kindly cared for by Mrs. Ella Hartsell and Mrs. Henry. We met in the evening at the B. of of L. F. Hall and began our work at 8 o'clock. After explaining the insurance (which is now compulsory), and the dues, etc., and finding all satisfied, the work of organizing began, after which the following officers were elected: Past President, Mrs. Minnie Chamberlain; President, Mrs. Geo. W. Hardy; Vice President, Mrs. Jessie Runker; Secretary, Miss Abbie Hardy; Collector, Mrs. Irene Janes; Treasurer, Mrs. H. P. Richardson. The officers appointed were: Conductor, Mrs. Mary Richardson; Warden, Mrs. Minnie Henry; Chaplain, Mrs. Cora Smith; Guard, Mrs. Ella Knight. Fifteen charter members has this society, and it will be known as Pride of 311 No. —, Belle Plaine, Iowa. The usual order of exemplifying the work was done, and the work of making out applications for insurance policies took up our time until 12 o'clock, when we adjourned to meet the next morning at 8:30. Lodge was opened in the morning with the officers in their respective places, and the business was gone through with again. Then came the financial part. They were ready to pay all bills, including my expenses, and remembered me with a neat little cash present, besides, for which they will please accept my thanks. On January 25th, Lodge No. 311, B. of L. F., gave a dance, when the newly-organized Ladies' Society was to serve the refreshments. From 405.-(C. R., Effingham, Ill.) Bro. Robert Craig, who was born in Centralia, Ill., had been a sufferer from hemorrhage for the past four years, which developed into consumption, and resulted in his death on Dec. 27, 1898. He bore all his troubles with patience, and said whenever the Lord was ready to take him away, he was ready to go. He knew he had consumption, and often said he would never get well. He often talked of dying, and regretted that it was necessary for him to leave his wife and two little girls to fight their way through the world alone. Bro. Craig was a member of Vandalia Lodge No. 405, and had been a member of the lodge for the past eight years. He was very devoted to the lodge, and always regarded it his duty to attend the meetings whenever he was able to go. He was made a Mason in Temperance Lodge No. 16 at Vandalia, Ill., of which order he was a member at the time of his death. Bro. Craig was a good, kind husband, a man who made many friends, and was liked by all who knew him. He left a wife and two little girls, who have the sincere sympathies of their entire circle of friends and adquaintances. From 116.-(W. N. BREEN, Emporia, Kan.) Cottonwood Lodge No. 116 held its second annual ball on the evening of February 16th, and it was a splendid success. Bros. Ruggles and Colyer have lately added their names to the membership of this lodge, and both of them seem to be pleased with their experience thus far. There is room for a great increase of membership for this lodge, and the boys expect to get out and line them all up as soon as the thaw comes. The goat is now getting a coat of Dixon's Graphite every night. How about the pool? Ask any engineer or fireman about it. They all have testimonials to offer. The enginemen are getting ready to enlist in a picked company of Rough Riders. They are going to Manila, and are well seasoned for the trip. Some of the boys lately went up for promotion, but "Mr. Johnson turned them loose without a good excuse," and they will have to fire six months more, I am sorry to say. This lodge should maintain a Ladies' Society, and we would like to see the ladies make an effort to organize one, for I believe the members would find it a great assistance to the lodge if they had a good active Ladies' Society with them. Bro. Talbert only railroads on the side now, as he has been transferred to Abilene. Bros. Rollo and Gallirty, who were recently promoted, are working out of this place, as are also Bros, Jackson and Willoughby, of |