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Twenty-third and Glisan Streets, installing an Automatic, which is his specialty.

Best wishes to the craft everywhere from Local No. 23.

R. V. CLARK.

ROCHESTER, N. Y.

To the Editor:

I will now take time to write you a few lines in regard to our picnic that we held just lately at a resort called "Long Pond." Some of the Brothers were down early in the morning, in fact, I heard one of the brothers say that he was there as early as 5.30 in the morning and would have been earlier if it had not been for his wife holding him back. Well, the brothers played a baseball game in the morning. Sides were chosen between the Otis Company and the Graves Company, which was a good game. About 1 P. M. the rest of the brothers came to the picnic grounds, so, of course, every one was ready for his dinner, too. We had dinner at 2 P. M. prompt, as per program. There were five courses, consisting of clam chowder, fresh fish, potatoes, tomatoes, half a chicken, lettuce, peas, cake and coffee, tea or milk, ice cream and cigars, which every one enjoyed. I know that I did.

After dinner I got my band members together and we played all the afternoon. In the evening we played for dancing. All the officials of the different companies were there, including Mr. Messinger, of the Otis Elevator Company; Mr. Stafford, of the Warsaw Elevator Company, and Mr. Graves, of the Graves Elevator Company. Cigars were bought by Mr Graves and handed to the brothers. The whole of the office force of the Graves Elevator Company were on the job, reaching the picnic grounds by automobiles. Sports were held in the afternoon, the winners of the different events getting first-class prizes. I would have liked to have had a picture of the brothers to send to you, but it seems that all forgot about it. It certainly would have been a grand pic

ture. Well, I think I have said enough about the picnic for this time. Now I will say something about the work in Rochester as it is to-day. Every brother is working. In fact, they have been so rushed with work that there is not enough help to do it.

There sure is plenty of work in Rochester at the present time. The Graves Elevator Company had their new machine on exhibit at the Rochester Exposition here last week. It's a neat-looking piece of machinery, at

that.

I must now close, wishing you and all locals success and prosperity. W. G. FARRIER.

Local No. 27.

ALBANY, N. Y.

To the Editor:

On behalf of the members of Local No. 35 I wish to extend to our newly elected International officers a hearty greeting and congratulations and we hope that they in the coming years will bring our craft up to the highest standard among organized labor.

Our delegate to the convention, Brother Scott, read his very interesting report at our last meeting, and I think that every member who heard it was satisfied in their own mind that we had sent the right man as a delegate.

Now, in regard to the Intern-Benefit Fund. I was very glad to hear that so many Brothers were in favor of it, but cannot understand that some of the Brothers from the big locals should be so very much against it.

Now, Brother, why don't you want to help your brothers in the small locals, you know we all have to pay an equal share to the International; we all work for the same purpose of bettering ourselves and our craft, but here it stops. We do not have the same benefit. Did you ever consider the uphill work of the small local, trying to get the square deal for its members and keeping our enemies from infringing on our work. Did you ever take into consideration the difference between the income of a small membership and the large

overhead expenses of a small local, let us take as an example one of our largest and one of our smallest locals

Our largest Local, No. 1, of New York, has a membership, I believe, of several thousand, and having in its district, as far as I know, just one large city, it should, with its large membership and being obliged only to affiliate with one or two trades bodies, be able to keep its overhead expenses down to a minimum.

Now, we will take the case of a small local, my own for instance, and there is probably several others just like it throughout the country. In our district there are six cities, with a population ranging from 115,000 and down. Four of these cities each have a central body and a Building Trades Council and in order to keep our work we have been compelled to affiliate with several of them. Now as our membership is small, you can easily understand that our overhead expenses must be very high, our actual running expenses a month is 80 cents per member outside of supplies, postage and donations.

Now in order to do justice to a Brother taken sick, or in case of a death, we have to assess our members very high. As luck is, we have only had one death in five years, and at that time each member was assessed two dollars for funeral expenses.

As it is now without an International benefit fund, we are also doing an injustice to brothers sent into a small local from a large one, because as soon as they clear out of their home local they lose all their benefits, and this is keeping many a brother from living up to the International rule which says that a brother must clear into the local in whose jurisdiction he is working within thirty days. I hope the time will come that we all will believe in that golden union rule which says, "All for one, one for all," and that we will have a benefit fund that will give a square deal to every member of our International.

I wish some of our brother correspondents would give their opinions

on this question. We have a fine medium in our journal in which to discuss such important questions and I think Brother Schneider will be pleased to print whatever you have to say in regard to it.

I am glad to say that work is plentiful here in our old town and all the boys are working. We have also several brothers from other locals with us, but I will give you a better account of the doings of our boys in the next journal.

CHAS. NICHOLSON.

Local No. 35.

DETROIT, MICH.

To the Editor:

After a silence of a year, Local No. 36 again wishes to report all members are working, and has sent a letter to all locals around here for mechanics, but they had to turn us down, because they had too much work themselves, so Local 36 has made about fifteen or twenty mechanics and all are getting along fine, and we all hope they make good on their antitransubstantiality jobs.

The Service Department has had its hands full for some time, and it seems that it is going to keep up. Mr. Fred Cooley, superintendent of the service, and his men, of whom Brother Tompkins is one, are out all the time getting work. Lots of us think they dream about some job, and the next day they get that job.

Brother H. Ford, financial secretary, says he will save some money this week as Brother Mike Mulett is at the convention in Washington, D. C., in his Dodge car.

We have with us here in Detroit Billy Sunday for a stay of two months, and before he leaves here I think he will sell lots of water wagons, so they can ride on in Mr. Ford's town.

September 5 was a sad day for Local 36, as we lost Brother Theodore Griffin and almost lost Brother Harry Renz when the scaffold collapsed, carrying the two brothers four stories to the ground. Griffin was killed instantly.

Brother Brother

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SOME OF THE MEMBERS OF LOCAL No. 36, I. U. E. C., OF DETROIT, MICH., LABOR DAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 1916.

Renz was standing on the edge of the scaffold when it broke. His fall was checked when he struck three four by fours on the way down, and the brother is getting along fine.

Social Entertainment

To Be Given by Members of Local 36,
Monday Evening, December 4-
No Admission Fee-All Mem-
bers Are Cordially
Invited.

Opening Chorus-"Why We Don't
Work Sunday"
. Entire Local
Recitation "Art of Securing Do-
mestic Contentment".Max Lederman
Solo "I Can't Marry Mary, So She's
Waiting Long for Me"...... H. Ford
Duet "Why Can't We Be Regular
Foremen" .....H. Borck and Jones
Lecture "On Hydrocephalis,"

Schwartz

Song "Ain't I a Bruiser,"...... Eagle Educational Talk-"Art of Extinguishing Glims" Zentgrebe Doleful Wail-"Why Did I Get Married" ...Mallett Song "I'm the Guy What Come From 'Chi" ..A. Cobey Boxing Bout-Sixteen twenty-minute rounds of "Love Taps" between Heath and "Put-Him-Away" Bill Kulting.

(Officials-Referee, McIntyre; Oxygen Injectors, Cherry and Burlinham; Undertaker, Fairham; Grave Digger, Hawthorne; Chaplain, Rev. Higley. During the progress of the interment of the vanquished patrons are requested to refrain from exhibition of all ghoulish glee. "Twill be a tragedy.) Closing Chorus-"The Harmonious Night Side" Entire Chapel Benedictory Address-"Good Night," Martin

Performances Extraordinary! During the intermission "Spider" Snyder, the human "bleeding heart," will make an attempt to scale the wall of the Statler Hotel Building with one leg hors de combat, attained, it is alleged, by dissipation of pent-up energy while speeding along subconsciously on the Great White Way, and during the progress of the boxing bout will gyrate in somnambulistic ecstasy between the fighters, hoping for the ponderous wallops from some such

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I will again write a little for our journal and I wish to compliment you for the general improvement brought about in its appearance and general reading. I consider it one of the best magazines coming into our home and I am always looking for the time when I will again receive it. I suppose it will be so full of convention doings this month that most correspondence will be left out. Well, I, for one, will be only too glad to have my mite laid aside for convention notes.

Our delegate, Brother H. F. Taylor, returned home with enthusiasm written all over him. He made us a partial report last meeting night, but the hour having grown late before time for his report, he did not have time to tell us about all of his various visits to places of interest. Neither did he have time to tell us much about the delegates.

Brother Taylor reported that he never had the pleasure to mix with a finer bunch than were there.

Well, Brother Editor, I promised you that some time I would tell you of some traits and habits of our members here, so I will for once take the chance of their wives reading the journal and see what is the result. Brother H. F. Taylor you have met, SO no doubt you have formed an opinion of him. You know, it is said we can't have hair and brains both. Well, I am sure he has the latter, anyhow.

Brother A. P. Thorne, he has only two fingers on one hand, but he can drive nails, mix concrete or put up anything that looks like an elevator, and when he gets his cap set on his head with the beak at one side he means business, I say.

Brother C. Shull, he shoots trouble most of the time, yet he never seems

to worry about killing it. When Clyde gets his tongue out and begins to work it like a garter snake he is then busy. One thing about him, he can't stand too much cold.

Brother S. Thorne is a chip off the other Thorne, and about as sharp.

Brother F. M. Taylor has grown old in the elevator game and I believe he is thinking of taking up a rural life soon and raising pumpkins and pigs, cattle and cabbage. The life is fine. I know, having tried it; but oh, you sometimes put in three eight-hours in one day.

Brother F. Baker has been sick for some time. We requested his presence at our last meeting, but he wanted us to put an elevator in at the hall so he could get up, but the notice was so short we could not close the deal. Besides we are not allowed to take work ourselves, anyway.

Brother R. V. Carter or Chief, as we sometimes call him, just loves to get all greased up and crack dry jokes. His jokes are told in so dry a way that you think they will burn, and they will make a dog grin, but don't think for a minute Dick don't know what to use to keep himself from catching fire.

Brother J. Corbin has a penchant for ox roasts. He loves the beef.

Brother J. Downing has a delightful way of entertaining and Joe just loves to get hold of you and (whisper) "Give me a chaw."

Brother G. Hedrick is always so busy he hardly has time to bank his money or look after the business of the Local between meetings.

Brother A. E. Wark likes to eat porterhouse, smoke perfumed cigars and say, "Where is them common helpers of mine, anyhow?"

Brother H. O. Kuch has a powerful strong pipe that gives him a pull, and he says that concrete won't get any harder after one hundred years.

Brother B. Williams also has the farm fever. Bert cannot always hear what you say, but he is a good listener and if you don't whisper too low he will get you at that.

Brother E. Sears is now polishing and buffing, but the old groundhog used to just delight to crawl into a cylinder where there was some nice black dirt and grease and then smear it all over himself.

Brother G. R. McCormick is now making a living in the chain gang. He is working for a firm that makes them.

Brother J. Whelan also has a powerful pipe, but it does not prevent him from going to sleep at times.

Brother H. Pilkington says I am on the water wagon. Have another one. Brother G. Webber bites himself sometimes accidentally. Never hurts much. Just give him a piece of iron to twist in all kinds of angles and plenty of hosters.

Brother DeVere came from Hingland. He and Webber don't talk much war; there is a reason. DeVere loves to not climb steel structural frames.

Brother D. O'Neil is another dry joker and gets nervous at times, but a drink of water always cools him off, then a pull on black Joe Briar quiets his nerves. Dan says he never did drink carbolic acid.

Brother I. W. Liebensperger likes to fish, but if there is anything he loves better it is to raise garden truck and chickens. He also likes to take a header out of an auto, just to limber up the muscles he don't use every day.

Brother W. M. Gardner also shoots trouble, but behaves like a gentleman.

Brother S. Borne says he doesn't like to do much but work, and gets it most of the time.

Brother P. Smith is not in good health unless he has a few of his bones cracked occasionally.

Brother J. Walden says he had all he could do to keep a contractor from putting him at road work the other day. He says he thinks he could still make the dirt fly if he has to.

Brother J. Curran is thinking of taking out a card to run a Ford taxi.

Brother C. S. Naegele has a slick way of meeting electro. From what I can hear it is a shame how he flirts with the subtle ether of the air.

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