"Prosperity is the highest production which a community is capable of, consistent with the physical and mental welfare of its members, accompanied by a just distribution of the total product among the producers. This does not mean share and share alike, but according to the productive capacity, physical or mental or both, of each.

A Dig at John D.

"If, then, certain individuals in a short lifetime become possessed of so much property that they can make abnormal gifts to charity; if one man can get so much out of the division of the total product of industry while others are getting so little, that he can give away, for instance, the vast sum of 32 million dollars in one gift without feeling it or missing it, so colossal is his wealth, any more than you would miss $5, we may make a fatal mistake if we ascribe such a condition to prosperity.

"Rather let us pause and inquire whether such colossal fortunes could be acquired in a state of prosperity, wrich rests on a just division of the product of industry. If we find the public highways of the country, the railroads of the country, being used to allow a few to acquire such fortunes at the expense of their fellow men, by having their freights carried at a rate lower than others have to pay, and so much lower that they are enabled to under sell and destroy their rivals in business, and thereby create monopolies in themselves, our condition is not only not one of prosperity, but it is dangerous to the perpetuity of our free government.

ter. Government may take land against the will of the owner by its eminent domain power, for public buildings, or public highways, or any other public or government

use.

"But land cannot be taken by government for any private use. Fasten that in your mind-that only government can take private property away from the owner, and that it can take it only for public use, such as for a public highway and the like-and you have the key to why our iron roads just like our dirt and water roads had to be, and were built, not as private roads, but as public highways.

"You therefore perceive that our iron roads are not private roads but public highways. The corporations, nor the individuals who control the corporations which run them, cannot do with them as they will. They are mere trustees or agencies of gov ernment, of the people of the state or nation.

The Free Pass Evil.

"Every free pass issued, every favor in freight rates granted, is in defiance of the law, yea, of the very law of the being of these iron highways and of the corporations running them. Some people are under the delusion that recent statutes made these things unlawful. Not at all: they were unlawful from the beginning. 'Do they not own them, and may not one do as he likes with his own'? they asked. This is an oid and arrogant question, but it was never true of the ownership of private property, even, let alone of public highways or public property. No new laws were needed to make

try you have control of that country. The maxim is no less true from a commercial standpoint; if you can control the highways of a country you can control its commerce. The Railroads Public Highways. "Up to the coming of the railroad we had only the dirt roads and the water roads. From the beginning of the world the public highways had always been built by government. In the state of New York government not only built our dirt highways, but also that great water highway, the Erie canal, and smaller ones.

"In the same way government could have built our iron highways. In England and in this country, instead of building these iron highways government adopted the policy of creating public corporations as arms or agencies of government to build and operate them as public highways. They were built under the same franchises from government as those under which corporations had theretofore been enfranchised to build and operate tollgate roads.

Governments Alone Can Take Lands. "Any individual could build a railroad as a private road, as can be done now, if the land could be obtained by private purchase. The trouble is that the owner of any strip of land on the route could stop the building of the road by refusing to sell his land. And this brings us right to the point of the mat

gal; we only needed statutes to make it a criminal offense to grant them and to jail those who should grant them.

"Just think for a minute of these public highways of the country, open to all on absolutely equal terms by the very law of their being, being used to enable some men, a few men, to destroy their business rivals, drive them out of business and beggar them and their families, by means of favoritism in freight rates. It is the basest crime of our day and generation.

The Standard Oil Growth.

"About 1870 I went through the oil regions of Pennsylvania after completing my studies. There I saw a wilderness of derricks spread out over the country over engines pumping oil from wells. Hundreds of people owned such wells and were producing oil. In about five years all of these oil wells had passed into the ownership or control of cue man or set of men. All the other producers there had failed and joined those unfortunates who fall by the wayside in the struggle for existence.

"And why and how? Was this one man and his few companions able to dig wells or pump oil, or refine it, any better than the hundreds of others? Not at all. Then how did they ruin and drive every one out but themselves? Why, they went to the few powerful individuals who controlled the rail

roads, the public highways, and conspired with them, breathed with them, and got them to carry their oil to market for say $1 a barrel while every one else was charged $2 and more a barrel.

"This unholy fund enabled them to destroy their rivals. Poor unfortunates destroyed by the neglect of their government to enforce the laws of these highways. They and their wives and children were ruined. Just think of a debate being got up even by ministers of the gospel whether money thus acquired is tainted.

Other Trusts Helped, Too.

"And this same thing has since been done in respect of all of our principal products. All of our commercial trusts or monopolies have been built up chiefly by means of this favoritism in freight rates. It is the mother of the trusts. We will be looked back upon as a generation lost to moral sense for having suffered such a heartless wrong to con tinue so long.

"And let no one be under the delusion that it is now to cease. You can't stop an evil by merely passing a law against it. There is an immeasurable distance between the making of some laws and their observance. One coterie of five men or less is receiving 25 million dollars a year by this rate favoritism, and another has received 500 million dollars since 1890, and so on through a long list of industries.

"Some have come to the conclusion that government should take the railroads and run them in order to end the abuse. My own view, which I express with diffidence is, that it is only necessary for government to appoint the general freight agent of every railroad, for he could stop all rate favoritism at once. It would not be his office to fix the schedules of rates, but only to see that every one paid the schedule rate, no more and no less. The summary dismissal by him of any local agent who gave a false rate, and his criminal prosecution by government would soon destroy the evil.

"Some at once cry out that there is no law for this, or that it is unconstiutional, as though our laws and constitutions were like those of the Medes and Persians, never to be changed.

When Judges Use Free Private Cars.

"The last statistics on the subject of free passes showed that 10 per cent of those carried on our railroads rode free. All of our legislators and public officials, from constable and assessor up, whose aid and good will were serviceable to those who controlled the railroads, and who would accept passes, were given them for themselves and friends and corrupted by them. And even some of our judges-'tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askalon'-had their passes or rode in private cars.

"The actual payments of rebates back to shippers is now seldom done, but the favoritism is done in many other ways, over sixty having already been discovered by the gov ernment. One way to give favoritism in freight rates is by billing goods at one-half

their weight, say. Another way is by means of the private switches or tracks which connect many business places with railroads. One of these little roads a quarter of a mile long may get 25 or even 50 per cent of the freight money charged by the railroad it connects and which carried the freight hundreds or thousands of miles. One illustration will do.

The Hutchinson, Kas., Case.

"At Hutchinson, Kas., were sixteen salt mills owned by separate corporations. Nine of them united together as a trust and for less than a mile of terminal or switch track received 50 per cent of the freight moneys I do not need to tell you that that closed up the other seven salt mills; competition was at an end.

"Private freight cars leased to the railroad at exhorbitant rates are another means, and still another is the giving of large commissions to a go-between for getting the freight. This favoritism in freight rates is also used to defeat the national tariff by giving foreign goods a freight rate low enough to enable them to come in and be sold at a profit in spite of the protective tariff.

"Goods are carried from England and Germany to Denver, for example, for a less rate than the same domestic goods have to pay from Chicago to Denver. This favoritism in freight rates and passenger rates is also a wrong to the railroad stockholders. There are roads now paying 3 or 4 per cent dividends which would be paying near 10 per cent if the favoritism in freight rates were stopped. No wonder a growing number of people want the government to take the railroads."-K. C. Times, May 24th.

SPECIAL NOTICE.

All correspondence relating to new work, gaining new members or lodges, completing organization upon a line or efforts to get contracts or schedules should be addressed to the Grand President.

All correspondence relating to accounts, supplies, printing, etc., should be addressed to the Grand Secretary and Treasurer.

FOR SALE-TYPEWRITER-A BARGAIN. A No. 6 Remington typwriter, in good condition and now being used in this office every day, for sale at about half the regular price. Apply to R. E. Fisher, G. S. & T., 307-310 Kansas City Life Bldg., Kansas City, Mo.

TO REDUCE PAY ROLLS.

Buffalo, N. Y., May 22.-It was reported here today that the pay rolls of the New York Central railroad would be reduced onethird by June 1. Wages will not be cut, but men will be let go.

S. C. REARDON ARRESTED. A former member of the Brotherhood, named S. C. Reardon, was arrested at the Texas & Pacific local freight office in New Orleans, La., on May 23d on a charge of haying departed from Alexandria, La., a few days before with funds said to belong to others at the latter place; he was located and apprehended through members of the organization.

Reardon first joined the Brotherhood at Oklahoma, I. T., having been a member of Local No. 24 at that place; later he transferred to St. Louis No. 2, but was suspended for non-payment of dues on January 1st, 1904. At one time he did some work for the Brotherhood as an organizer, but his conduct was very unsatisfactory and injured the reputation of the organization, therefore He was adhe was summarily dropped. dicted to intoxication and always unreliable. This should be an object lesson to all members and a warning to any clerk having like tendencies.

AGENTS TO ORGANIZE.

A meeting of freight agents of the New York Central railroad was held at Syracuse yesterday to take steps toward organizing. A committee consisting of G. C. Gardenier, of Syracuse, E. H. Hawkins, of Canandaigua, and J. H. Hitchcock, of Geneva, was appointed to draft a constitution and bylaws. Albany Journal, May 27.

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FUND TO FIGHT LABOR UNIONS.

Manufacturers to Raise $1,500,000 in Three Years.

New York, May 22.-The National Association of Manufacturers continued yesterday the business sessions of its convention at the Waldorf. The most important action taken was the appointment by President Van Cleave of a committee of thirty-six to consider ways and means to raise $500,000 a year for three years, to be devoted to a campaign against labor unions.

The association, so far as its individual members are concerned, has been against labor unions for years, but this is the first time that a project for raising a fund to fight the unions has been taken up by the association. One of the trustees explained the purpose of the move:

"The money will not be used in any wrong way, you may be sure. Any hint that a penny of the fund will be devoted to corrup tion of an kind can be discounted.

"The money will be devoted to a campaign of education solely. We think that we will be able to open a good many peo

ple's eyes to what the many unions really mean. Gompers and his friends have a fund of a million or so. It is time that there was some federated action on the part of employers. We mean to lead off in such action and in the right way."

TO AVOID TELEGRAPH STRIKE.

New York, May 21.-S. J. Small, president, and the other officers of the Commercial Telegraphers' union of America, who are here, held a meeting to-day in the Astor House, lasting with a few intermissions all day, and decided to make an appeal to the directors of the Western Union Telegraph company for the redress of the alleged grievances of the telegraphers before a strike is declared. They say it is useless to attempt to treat with the general manager, Mr. Clowry.

"We don't want to strike," said President Small, "and we will do all in our power to get our rights without a strike. but the company must make good on its promise to pay the 10 per cent advance and reinstate the men and women who have been discharged for belonging to the union or the strike will surely take place. We won't go to Clowry. We will go higher up. We believe that among the directors there are men with humane impulses and that they will see that we are not forced into declaring a strike.

"We have a working agreement with the Order of Railroad Telegraphers that in case of a strike by either union the members of the union not on strike will refuse to handle any except their regular business while the strike lasts, or do anything to assist the companies to the disadvantage of the strik ers."

Employees Have Received an Advance of 10 Per Cent.

Omaha, May 29.-Salary advances averaging 10 per cent all around have been granted by the Burlington railroad to employees over the entire system. The increases became effective May 1 and will show up in the pay checks to be distributed Saturday.

Practically every employee of the road, both west and east of the Missouri river, shares in the advance except the trainmen, whose pay is fixed by conference, and the telegraphers, who recently received an advance. Each department is given a 10 per cent additional allowance, and this is distributed at the discretion of the heads of the departments. The raises are adjusted according to individual merit. In the Omaha offices alone there will be an increase of approximately $50,000 a year.

secrecy is maintained regarding the project because the bitter opposition of labor organ izations is feared.

In the operating conferences, which recently have been held by one or two roads here, the subject has received unanimous approval. If such a bureau is established it will have a complete list of all operating employees in the United States, with the complete record of the service of each.

It is announced that the demand for operating employees is so great now that any applicant, no matter what his record, finds almost immediate employment with any road.

HANDLE GRAIN FOR FARMERS.

The Farmers' Terminal Grain company was organized last night in the offices of the Kansas Board of Trade, 543 Minnesota avenue, West Side, with a capitalization of $50,000. A board of directors was chosen. They are: R. T. Andrews, White City. Kas.; J. S. Kennedy, Minden, Neb.; J. Y. Callahan, Enid, Ok.; S. H. McCullough, Solomon, Kas.; James O'Neil, Maxville, Kas.; W. T. Harris, Solomon, Kas.; H. A. Heath, Topeka; B. R. Beall and P. W. Goebel of the West Side.

S. H. McCullough was elected president; J. S. Kennedy, vice-president; B. R. Beall, secretary and manager, and P. W. Goebel, treas

urer.

The members of the Farmers' Terminal company are grain producers of Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma. The purpose of the company is to handle all its grain on the Kansas Board of Trade in the West Side. It will do a general grain business.

It is the understanding that this grain company will not belong to any board of trade, but that it will carry on business with the Kansas Board of Trade through representatives the same as other companies on other boards of trade.-K. C. Star.

A CHURCH WOULD AID LABOR. Denver, May 28.-The following resolution adopted to-day by the general assembly of the United Presbyterian church indicates that the church will make an effort to get closer to the toiler:

We desire the confidence of workingmen everywhere, and deeply deplore any suspicion of unfriendliness. We invite frank counsel as to how, as a church, we may minister to workingmen and their cause.

We urge upon all our ministers a sympa. thetic study of the problems of labor and an earnest effort to establish cordial relationship between themselves and the workingmen of their respective communities.

whose vessels dock in Brooklyn, granted the demands of the striking longshoremen today. President Connors of the longshoremen's union announced receipt to-day of a letter from the teamster's union, saying its members had decided to support the longshoremen as much as possible.

New York, May 17.-One man was shot and killed and another wounded as a result of a row growing out of the longshoremen's strike in Hoboken to-day. The dead man was Harry Marshall, a bystander. The man who fired the shot and who was himself wounded while resisting arrest is Benjamin Vincent. He is said to have been employed by a detective agency. Vincent narrowly escaped lynching at the hands of a crowd of angry strikers.

BIG MEN TO BE INDICTED. Washington, May 24.-Revelations of a conspiracy to defraud the United States of a million dollars' worth of mineral and timber lands will be laid before the grand juries of half a dozen states within a few days. The frauds, it is alleged, will involve in criminal charges the names of men high in business and political circles. They include:

One United States Senator.
One ex-United States Senator.

A man reputed to be one of the wealthiest men in the world.

A railroad man known from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

Two of the wealthiest lumber barons in the United States.

Numerous smaller fry, including railroad officials, coal operators and men at the head of the companies.

These men, whose names, for obvious reasons, cannot be made public before the grand jury acts, it is declared here will surely be indicted by the evidence which is now in the hands of the United States district attorneys in half a dozen Western cities.

NO STRIKE ON THE D. & R. G. Denver, May 14.-There will be no strike of the trainmen of the Denver & Rio Grande railroad as a result of the differences over the wage scale. A conference lasting until late to-night ended with an agreement between the trainmen's committee and officials of the road that there would be mutual concessions and a careful weighing of the claims of both sides until an understanding fair to all was reached and then a scale based on this understanding would be signed

at once.

A STRIKE ON THE L. & N. Louisville, Ky., May 29.-A general strike of machinists on the Louisville & Nashville railroad was ordered at 8 o'clock this morning to become effective an hour later. The machinists ask recognition of the union ard a uniform scale of wages in each shop. No increase in pay is demanded.

VICKSBURG No. 118.

It seems as though silence has been reigning supreme in our midst for the past few months, as we have not been heard from in quite a while; but while you have not heard from us, let me assure you that things are booming and coming our way. We are getting new members right along, having from one to three candidates at almost every meeting. The following members have been initiated this month: Brothers Henry McQuaide, Adolph Ludkie, Willie Kelly and Eugene Frost, who are all connected with the A. & V. freight office force, except Brother Ludkie, who is employed in the Master Mechanic's office of the Y. & M. V. Brother Frost is from Attala, Ala., and since his debut in the A. & V. staff has gained the title of "The Alabama Blossom." Brother Gibbs, now known as "Banty." is still with the A. & V. and billing freight in the same old way. Anyone desiring information in the chicken and duck line will call on "Banty" and he will entertain them for a few minutes. Brother Harrell, the V. S. & P. bill clerk and now known as "The Teddy Eear," has seen fit to enter into the bonds of matrimony. Teddy Bear, we wish you a life of prosperity and happiness. Brother Easley, otherwise known as "The WaxenHaired Kid," and Curt McClure spent a few days in Shreveport last week. Curt is a jolly good fellow and one of the boys.

Brother Newton was rather surprised a few days ago by receiving through the mail a neat little package, done up with great care. Upon opening same, he found, to his utter amazement, a nice ripe banana inside. Newt, old boy, methinks some one of the fair sex has played a joke upon you. Brother Newton is now known as "The Banana Kid." Brother Perc McQuaide, now known as "Swift," seemed to have been up against it a few nights ago. "Swift" was seen at a Chinese laundry the other night engaged in a hot argument with a Chinaman. It seems that Swift thought he had some laundry there and called for it, but had lost ticket. He wanted to get his laundry without presenting the ticket, but his Celestial friend did not see it that way. I don't know what the result was, for I 23'ed just

his

about that time. Swift, old boy, you are all right.

Brothers Bud Gamble and Uric Schaffer. after a long silence, are budding forth into society once again. Luck to you, boys. Brother Schaffer is known among the boys as the "Society Kid," and Brother Gamble as the "Sleeping Beauty."

competent

Brother Mart Laughlin, the claim clerk of the A. & V. staff, spent a few days in New Orleans, La., last month in the hope of benefiting his health. We are glad to know that he is now back to work and enjoying pretty fair health.

Brother Tommy McIntyre, the "Irish Kid." has lately been appointed vice president of Vicksburg No. 18. With Brother Easley, the "Waxen-Haired Kid," as president, and the "Irish Kid," as vice president, we feel sured that Vicksburg No. 118 will soon come to the front.

as

The members of Vicksburg No. 118 are at present very busily engaged in making preparations for the union hop and social dance to be given at the National Park pavilion skating rink Wednesday night. May 29, 1907. The arrangement committee is composed of the following members: Brothers Will De Jong. Chas. Scott, Dolph Ludkie, Ed. Easley, Frank Fisher, Will Davidson, with Brother DeJong as chairman. With this bunch of popular and energetic railroad clerks, the public should feel assured that this entertainment will be an entire success. Up to the present writing the members have sold about 400 tickets. I will endeavor to give a detailed account of the entertainment next month.