To the Editor: Work is plentiful in Buffalo at the present time. Bro. H. Warner is feeling good. He has a warm job in the Masonic Temple. He wants to be a mason, but he will make a better bricklayer. Bro. H. Warner is drinking buttermilk for his thirst. He is trying to beat Bro. Godfry in every way, but Bro. Godfry knows he is safe. He said he did not get it all from drinking buttermilk, so I think Bro. H. Warner is going back to his lager. Bro. J. Reichard tried the same drink, but it did not agree with him, so he went back to the old drink, the same as Bro. H. Warner is going to do.

Local 14 had a pie-eating contest July 30 between Bros. J. Linderman, C. Sauers, A. Shell, T. Furgerson and Sprang. It was won by Bro. A. Shell. Bro. H. Warner would not enter. He said if they were hot dogs he would have a chance. Wait till the next contest; we will please him with a hotdog contest. He will have some time. Bro. T. Binnie has gone on his vacation to Crystal Beach. He comes back to work every morning, so we all know he is having a good time every night at the beach.

Bros. F. Flach and G. Cramps went to Depew for a few weeks to camp. They don't want to go far, for they like to sleep home nights. Brother Larry Kicken has left Buffalo for his home town. He said it is not cold enough for him here. I know he struck it hot enough in New York, where he likes it best. Bro. J. Reich

The election of officers is over and they are duly installed, so now I may start my duties.

Bro. W. C. Ash was again elected president; R. V. Clark, financial secretary; J. H. Geil, recording secretary; W. Albertson, vice-president; Sam. J. Allen, correspondent to Journal.

Everyone is busy now; there is plenty of repair and a few small jobs.

Bro. Gus Larson is in Idaho installing a job for the Portland Elevator Company.

Ray Leonard is on the inspection route with Bro. Albertson, and spends his nights raising spuds and little grunts, so you can see he is doing his bit.

Local 23 voted to pay any member's dues that are drafted. There are several registered, but are not on the first call, as Portland has furnished her quota in men.

Bro. Eckerle and family have moved to 'Frisco.

Bro. Jama is going to have some fish when he gets back from that vacation September 4. I wish we could sell all of the fish that are caught on the beach at noon hour; too bad to let them go when everything is so high.

Bro. Jim Williams has a new Ford. It is said Bro. Lew Garver is so busy that he forgets to properly dress before leaving for home.

Bro. Ash has been asked to try to change his fine bass voice to a tenor (or panther tone); he disturbs the

The beech tree stood at the edge of the wood

That skirted the cool, clear stream, And my heart is fraught with a loving thought,

That haunts my waking dream. When my limbs relax and memory back-tracks,

I seem to be there with my chums; Where the waters flow and the breezes blow,

And the honey bee busily humsAnd the swimming hole seems possessed of a soul,

With ever the sermon to preach That "Cleanliness of skin is to Godliness 'kin,"

Come bathe, "At the Root of the
Beech."

There's a wonderous tale, of an old oaken pail,

Iron-bound and poised on a curb, But the bucket of oak, seems a hu

morous joke

Compared with this vision superb; And Jupiter's Wine was never as fine As the water, that flows in this stream,

Ever as mild as the thoughts of a child,

When pleasure reigns supremeso calm, so serene. But describing the scene,

Is beyond the power of speechNo artist's fame, could ever reclaim My dream, "At the Root of the Beech."

Rumors of war could never mar

The pleasure that lies in the thought Of the days gone by, when my chums and I,

Gathered at this bathing resort. This struggle at hand was never planned

By those peace-loving chums of mine.

We had no mind, for war and its kind

For that pool seemed nearing divine.

It was not unclean, as you would glean

From what bacteriologists teachLet them use a tub if they choose, I'll bathe "At the Root of the Beech."

My playmates, too, all staunch and true,

And treading life's narrow path, Would gather there to dispel all care With a Sunday morning bath. And a coating of soil, from a week of toil

As we followed the harrow and plow.

For farming then, was the making of

men

That rule the Universe now.

But the years have flown-my chums all grown

And I hope the fellows have each Made heaven his goal with his body and soul,

Bathed "At the Root of the Beech." Local No. 24.

ROCHESTER, N. Y.

To the Editor:

Our annual picnic was held at Long Pond the 28th of July, and everything went fine. The day was nice and warm and many of the brothers took

advantage of it and went in swimming. The usual games were held, the ball game between the Graves Company and the Otis bunch was won by the former. The score was 5 to 6. The battery for the winning team was Forrest and Graves. Bro. Collins was umpire.

Work is rushing at the present time, it quite often being hard to obtain necessary help.

Bro. Hempl is putting the finishing touches on the Chamber of Commerce job. Bro. Angel is extending the ele vator at the Union Trust Company another story. Bro. Niglie has the same kind of a job at the Rochester Button Company with two elevators.

Bro. Nielson is installing an 8,000pound hydraulic lift at the Camera Works.

Bro. T. Nolan is still doing repair work for the Otis seven days a week.

Bro. Arthur Fegan has taken out a mechanic's card. He is now working for the Republic Elevator Company.

Bro. Defendorf is rewiring the pushbutton machine at the Union Trust Company.

Several of the brothers are drafted, and as they all look to be in the pink of condition there is small danger of any one not being able to pass the physical examination.

Local No. 27.

B. THORESEN.

ALBANY, N. Y.

To the Editor:

At the conclusion of the most prosperous year in the history of Local No. 35 we held our annual election of officers in July. The following brothers were elected for the ensuing year: President, Joh. E. Scott; vice-president, Edward Dill; recording secretary, Charles Nicholson; financial secretary and treasurer, William Long. I feel it as my duty to call on all the members of No. 35 to get behind their new officers, for the coming year will be one of great responsibility. Our membership is being greatly reduced, both on account of the slackening of work and the war. Six members out

of 30 have enlisted, and the draft will probably take some more, and to cap the climax, a new agreement is to be signed up, so there will be plenty of work for the remaining members to keep Local No. 35 up to its standard.

President Scott made a very forceful report, and for the benefit of the members who were not present I will enclose it herewith, and I hope it will do some good and make certain members come around and do their bit.

Brothers-In presenting my report for the past year, I feel as though I will not be able to cover the ground thoroughly and I assure you I will not omit anything knowingly.

When I was installed as your president one year ago I promised I would do all I possibly could for the benefit and welfare of our organization, and I hope I have not been found wanting. We have just passed a properous year in the trade, both financially and fraternally. Our treasury shows a more comfortable balance this year than last, and this is due to the efforts of our worthy secretary-treasurer, Bro. Ernest Gillies, who is deserving ali the credit the brothers can bestow upon him, and to give the proper version of Bro. Gillies, I think I voice the sentiment of the members when I say that Bro. Gillies is the right man in the right place.

As for our recording secretary, Bro. Charles Nicholsen, he has been of great assistance to the Local and his last term of office is a repetition of his preceding terms. Strict attention the duties of his office is Bro. Nicholsen's motto.

Our vice president, Bro. G. Reynolds, has been on the job and every time he had work to do for the organization he was there with good results; and I can say the same for the trustees and the members in general. But at this time I must say we have some slackers in our local, some members who do not attend the meeting and show the interest that they should.

It is very discouraging to the active members who are trying to keep our local alive and in the running as a

fighting unit of the mass of organized toilers. These slackers do not seem to realize the dangerous position of our craft. The fact that the various other crafts in the building industry would, whenever the opportunity comes, strike a body blow at us does not seem to trouble the mind of the fellow who is having so much fun criticising the work that the clique, as they call the brothers who attend the business of the local, is doing; and as a general rule you will find that same clique is what holds the union together.

At our meetings I have noted the same faces meeting after meeting, and matters of great importance have to be put off time and again until better attendance. I hope the brothers will get on the job and attend their union and lay aside some of their other engagements. It is also discouraging to see the way some committees and delegates attend to business. I have known of members being appointed to committee work, and out of five members one or two would have to do all the work. The same with delegates; one or possibly two would attend meetings when there was no excuse for not having a full quota.

I think the members of committees or delegates who do not attend to their duties should be fined, and not allowed to work until the fine is paid, and the same course should be pursued with those brothers not attending meetings.

During the past year we had several grievances with the Otis Elevator Company and the Cohoes Company which were settled satisfactorily to all parties. We also had trouble with the electricians in Troy, but held our ground there.

We were in several disputes in the Albany Building Trades Council which caused some of our jobs to be struck, and we were not found wanting. In every instance where Local No. 35 had a duty to perform it was done with a good will, and I hope the future will bring to Local No. 35 an endless prosperity and fraternal good fellow

ship among the members which will make the union of elevator constructors a strong factor in the labor movement and one to be consulted on problems coming before organized labor, no matter how small or large they might be.

I wish to thank the union for the honor it bestowed upon me by sending me as delegate to the international convention at Washington and also for the confidence it placed in me as its delegate and spokesman on various committees. These things I shall never forget, and it will always be my first duty to defend Local No. 35 against its enemies, no matter what the consequence might be or no matter where I might be, I will be for Local No. 35 first, last and all the time. I cannot help but mention the patriotism of our members, of whom the following brothers have enlisted: Morehead, S. Anderson, Rogers, McCarthy, Haile and Scott. With this contingent and the purchase of a $100 Liberty Bond, I think Local No. 35 is doing its bit.

So let us thank our Maker for the patience He has had with us in the past and place in Him our destinies for the future. With these thoughts in mind I will close my report, wishing all my brothers the best of luck and prosperity.

JOHN E. SCOTT,

President, Local No. 35. Fraternally submitted, CHAS. NICHOLSEN.

Local No. 35.

COLUMBUS, O.

To the Editor:

Local 37 is still in existence, although I have not written for some time. Business here is not so good now as it was a while back, but the boys are working most of the time at that. There is not much doing in the way of large building here this year, so it looks as though some of us will have to go with the boys of more fortunate cities this fall and winter-unless some of our publicspirited business men tear out some

of their ancient elevators and buy new equipment for us to install. Of course, conditions are such in these days of war, one cannot tell what may occur and we may have more work than we can do, and again, we may most of us be doing our bit to put down the common enemy.

We of Local 37 have on our list of first volunteer enlistments, the names of Brothers Scott Thorne and John Curran, who are now somewhere in America with Uncle Sam's Regulars, getting ready to meet the Boches. I do not know that any of our boys were included in the draft, but sooner or later, no doubt, some will be, and, of course, they will be willing to do their bit with the rest of Uncle Sam's "Sammies."

Brother C. W. Devere presented the local with a fine flag recently and mnade a nice little speech. Brother Devere is of English birth and served in the King's own guard, but since coming to America, he has declared himself for America by naturalization and is now willing to do his bit for the country he has cast lots with. Our local has voted paid-up cards to all brothers in the service, so no matter how long they are absent, when they do return they will be in the best of standing. Most of our boys here have been doing all they could to reduce the cost of living and help whip the Kaiser by putting out war gardens. I have not heard all of them say what success they were having, but Brother Arthur Thorne reports his tomato vines so large and strong that the children have a swing on one of the limbs of one, and that they have been having great fun swinging. He says he hates to interfere with the children's play, but that he will have to take the swing down, for the tomatoes hang in clus ters so large and are so heavy he is afraid some of the children will get hurt by the fruit falling on them.

Brother Allen Wark is our champion potato grower. He is a second Luther Burbank, and says he has developed a potato that has neither peeling nor eyes-he did it by accident

tco.

He intended to eat the potatoes and plant the eyes, which he had gouged out of them, but in his rush to plant he made a mistake and instead of planting the potato eyes he planted the body or scalped potato, with the result as he states, there is now a potato in existence which does not have to be peeled. Of course, Brother Wark did not know at the time what a marvelous scientific dis covery he was making. When he came in from planting, his wife told him of his mistake and Al. said, "Well, they can't see what they are doing, so maybe they will make potatoes anyhow." Al. did't want to eat the potato eyes, which he had gouged out, so he gave them to Brother Paul Smith to plant. Paul says they are growing all right, but they are so sharp-eyed that he guesses they hide when they see him coming, for he can never find any of them in the hills. I suppose all the other boys could tell of similar experiences, but it wouldn't do to get too much experimental gardening mixed up with our letter, so I will desist.

Our worthy President, Brother Dan. O Neil, is laid up at this time with an injured limb, having been struck by an automobile. We hope to see him on the job again soon. Death has again entered our ranks and removed our Erother Clyde Shull, he having died July the twenty-fourth, of bloodpoisoning, caused by running a piece of tiller wire in his finger. The boys of Local 37 attended his funeral in a body and six of the brothers acted as pallbearers. He was a genial fellow and liked by all. We will miss him, but he has only obeyed the call, which will sooner or later come to us all. May it be granted on the great final day, that we will all be found worthy of the master builders' approval.

The boys of No. 37 held a family picnic at Buckeye Lake Park, the first part of July, and reported a fine time. They had their pictures taken along with their families, but the photographer must have been a sardine packer before he started taking pic