Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-10-21

of its own. Adams Il Kirkman have en-
riched and embellished it with books, which
would be an honor in any department. of
literature. Your periodicals are of the
highest order of merit,an on every side we
now see the beginnings of culture, and re-
fnement. The locomotive itself, polished
and adorned in its harness of steel, is the
concentrated embodiment of a thousand
energies. The cars are being decorated
till they are palaces of art. Refinement
and power are travelling hand in hand.
This force has developed many new
classes of pursuits, and among them your
own. And no class of attendants upon
this great force more clearly touch
the general public than yourselves.
Indeed your duties are of public charac-
ter. The great travelling world is in your
charge. They are dependent upon your
prudence and your courage. train load
of passengers talk, read and doze away the
hours, but the conductor must be sleepless
and watchful. He it is who receives the
public at the platform, cares for them on
the journey and delivers them safely at
their destination. Your responsibilities
are vast. No class of men are so entrust-
ed with human life and safety. That life
of yours, too, is life danger. We are ia
miliar with the perils of soldiers life.
But after all the soldier faces the cannon
perhaps but once or twice in a campaign.
But the conductor is always in danger.
On every trip he carries his life upon his
sleeve.
By day or by night, in calm or storm,
over bridges and through tunnels, he is
ever in the face of danger. He must be a
firm, watchful and brave man. He must
be full of courtesy and kindly forbearance.
He must be sober and infexible in his pur-
pose. The public leans upon him and
trusts him. It is through the army of
conductors that the great public come in
contact with the railways. The mass of
the people know nothing of railroad presi-
dents or managers. To them the conduc-
tor is the impersonation of the railway.
The general public care nothing about
railway presidents. They say to the pro-
fame Vanderbilt, railroad presidents, be
DID, we stand in with the conductors.' -
Great applause.
There is one thing, too, I have observed
since I have come to study this
business. The men who operate the trains,
who toll and sweat, who face every form
of danger and who earn the money, are
not, as a rule, adequately paid for the
high duties they perform. Applause.
Before large dividends are declared, the
operatives, who have made it, should be
fairly paid. No class of men. as rule,
earn their money as fully as the railway
employees. For in addition to the actual
labor must be sdded the living danger
| which attend their steps. For all these
duties high class of men are required.
You are becoming a distinct and growing
profession. expect to see the day when
schools and colleges will be established for
the education of railway men, just
as there are now for law or medi-
cine. Why not? It is a profession of
| the highest character. more and more en-
twining itself with the life of the busy and
active world. Your association is for lofty
purposes. It demonstrates your purpose to
elevate your vocation. In this good work,
bid you God speed, invoke you to feel
and study the responsibilities of your call
ing. Build for yourselves a noble char
acter, founded on courtesy and integrity,
| and let the conductors name be a syno-
hymn for politeness, courage and every
manly virtue Great applause
Grand Chief Conductor Wheaton then
| arose and in feeling and eloquent Ian
guage returned the thanks of the order fol
the generous hospitality and good feeling
with which they had been met and treated
in st. Paul He gave a brief account OF
the order, which is banded together TO,
good, not only to the members, but to the
public. The brotherhood recognized the
fact that almost any day or any hour, one
of them might cross the river for the last
time, and hence the order had provided TO,
the helpless ones they would leave behind
Mr.. Wheaton's address was listened to with
profound attention, and made a deep i'm
preston upon all his hearers, whether
members of the order or not.
Mr. w. p. Daniels the Grand Secretary
and Treasurer was next called upon, and
he responded with warm thanks for the
hospitality which had been extended to the
Order in st. Paul.
COL. GEO. J. JOHNSON,
of La Crosse, was next called out and
spoke as follows:
Grand Chief Conductor, Grand Officers,
Ladies and Gentlemen and Brothers.: To-
day we stand on the Threshold of new
year, with its future before us, shrouded in
all it's mysteries. The old year is gone
and is thing of the past. To us, as an
order, it has brought blessings, and as we
stand here to-day before our altar, should
we not with devout hearts return thanks to
him "from whom all blessings fow'' for
the many manifestations of his pleasure,
that he has showered on us Individually
and our order universally. Our ranks have
not been broken by the hand of death.
Peace, harmony, good viii and brotherly
love exist throughout our orders and as a
fraternity we have every reason to rever-
entity bow our heads and return thanks to
our Grand Chief Conductor on high for his
many blessings.
The progress in our order during the
fiscal year just brought to close, both in
the Dominion and the United States, has
in point of usefulness and all that goes to
make a successful and benevolent, benef-
cial order been equal, if not greater to any
previous one'in its history. With the in
crease of business throughout the land has
come prosperity to our order, and the
prosperity has given to the membership
renewed confidence in the order and an in
creased active membership. If each indi-
vidual member will but realize that his eff
forts are required, and his active co-opera-
4 10 ~e