The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-12-17
KNIGHTS Of TIE PUNCH
HELD THEIR ANNUAL BANQUET
YESTERDAY AT MER-
CHANTS HOTEL
NATIONAL MEETING IN MAY
1t VIII Be, One of tie Nest Inn
pOrtant of the Conventions
to Visff st. Paul This
- --I...,s.,--,Y eSE. ,~<.y

knights of the Punch" jolly 70. al
good fellows, members of the st. Paul
Division No. 40 of the. Order of Railroad
Conductors, partook of their annual CHI
ner last evening AT 1.-The Merchants hotel,
it following a spirited meeting at EoWlby
hall, where officers forsstl1e year were
elected.
The gathering, numbering nearly 100
deft manipulators of the punch, were as
sembled at the hotel by the chief con-
ductor, I'D. GoRdit, and uRder his guild
ance they and the invited Representatives
Of the trade OrganiZa tons, and also a
number of the city officials, were escort t.
ed to the dining hall.
The menu, a=.cAoice= one, quickly disaD-
peared under the onslaught of the husky
ICONS" @andg-Ritll. sthe-aiightng of cigars
came the toasts, informal in nature but
sufficiently numerous and entertaining
in character as to compensate for their
brevity. J. D. Condit presided in the ca
pacitX. Of .toastmaster, and .enhvened the
occasion greatly with his salIes of wit
and pointed remarks. 4sa
j. j. McCardy, as comptroller of the
city of St. Paul, and the representative
of the Commercial club, made happy ref
erence to the recognized standard OF the
conductors organiza ton in. St. Paul and
the United States, and spoke of the feel
ing of pleasure by the members of TIE
Commercial club in being able next May
to welcome the national organization
which would gather in st. Paul on that
date. 81 like to be the guest of men," said
Mr.. McCardy. @Who obey orders. A body
of men like this have great possibilities
before them. You are not viewed in the
light of railroad magnates, but I assure
you your work is of greater value and
your worth to the travelling public of
much more importance. My hope is that
your path through life will be a happy
one, and when you reach that great
celestial union depot, that no red lights
will be there to say halt"
Howard Wheeler Spoke for the city Off
Gals present, and added his voice in ex-
tending welcome TO the national con-
vention of railroad conductors to be held
in st. Paul next May. He assured them
that the city officials would not be lack
ing in their effort to make the stay of the
visitors a happy one. -"
OF the national officers present, f. F.
Clark, grand chief conductor, led in
prominence, and during the evenings
pleasure he was the guest of honor.
Called upon for speech Mr.. Clark said:
ct gives me great pleasure to attend a
St Paul gathering such as this, and esDe-
cially when the invitation comes from
the members Of No. TO- 1 watch for it's
annual dinner with eageEness, and, If
possible, never fail to be there. 1t is a
part and parcel of the, best Ia Dor organi-
cation the country has today, something,
l am sure, those who have had dealings
with us will attest to- In olden times
the railway conductor was a newer of
wood and. drawer Of water but, thanks
to organization, they are now the peer of
all. Our aims are to elevate, to educate,
and in the end, to work for the welfare
of both emplOye and employer. Labor
organizations We're at one time asso-
ciated with everything that was disTep-
utable, but happily the public mind has
been. removed of that delusion, and
think the. Order of Railway Conductors
have been instrumental in bringing this
about. We work for our members while
they are alive. Each draws from the
other something of good, and thus we as
sist in making our calling one that
no one can discredit We work for the
highest possible pay consistent with the
greatest amount of good service, and, as
an organization, insist that each of
our brothers shall be rewarded.
We give in return value receiv-
ed. Small errors found in all
|. lines are accepted as matter OF
. course, but the world does not forget
an error where lives, are .jeopardized and
perhaps snuffed out without warning.
These are the things our organization
. makes all effort to reduce to the mini
$3.50
strict habits and experience are to be
found in. its ranks. Our Organization is
perhaps not known as it should be- but
1t VIII. We are trying to accomplish good
and the world will yetsknow us. We
carry the banner of unionism and are
fast invading the iS0uddn of non-union-
ism. The very essence of railroad en-
ploye is loyalty, and It is one of the COM
ponent parts of our organization That
is one reason why the railroad service
IN the United States is sunequaIed in the
world. We work for the interests of our
employers and the travelling public, but
while we are giving that service we are
not backward III exacting what it is
worth. Our laws are an open book.
They are not secret. They are built on
right and honof.' and for the protection
of all. L believe in protection, prepare
ton for warfare if necessary. The indi-
vldual has the same right as nation
II his rights are trampled on. That's one
of our policies, but am glad to saw we
have not had to put that policy in prac-
tice.- The hest~of feeling and good will