The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-09-09

nothing sacred in the name itself. To call
organization an organization does not
make IL a good one The worth OF an or
ganization depends upon its being handled
with the courage, the skill, the wisdom,
the spirit of fair dealing as between man
and man, and the wise self-restraint which
l am glad to be able to say your brother
hood has shown. IApplause.l You now
number close upon "A. 600 memoirs. During
the two years ending June 30 last you paid
close upon "A million and a half dollars
More than six and one-half millions have
been paid In since the starting OF the IN
been paid to disabled members and their
beneiciaries over so per cent. OF the
amount paid was paid on account of acct
mentary upon the kind OF profession which
is yours; soo.A ,a a.naor n time If
peace as in time OF war the men wearing
Uncle Sans uniform must face them.
Your work is hard. Do you suppose L
mention that because / pity you? No-not
a bit. / don't pity any man who does hard
work worth doing-I admire him. [Great
applause.l i pity the creature who does not
work, at whichever end of the social scale
he may regard himself being. The
law of worthy work well done is the law
of successful American life. IApplause.l
/ believe in play, too-play and play hard
while you play; but don't make the mis-
take of thinking that that is the main
thing. The work is what counts, and If a
man does his work well and it is worth
doing, then 1t matters but little in which
line that work is dOne-the man is a good
American citizen. If he does his work in
slipshod fashion, then no matter what kind
OF work 1t is, he is poor American citi-
zen IApplause.l
II speak to the Brotherhood of Locomo-
tive Ftremen, but what / say applies to
all railroad men-not only to the engineers
who have served an apprenticeship as fire
men, TO the conductors, who, as rule,
nave served an apprenticeship as brake
men; out to all the men of all the organi-
zations connected with railroad work. L
know you do not grudge my saying that
through you | am talking to all the rail-
road men OF the country. You. in your or
ganiZation as railway men, teach two les
sons-the lesson of how much can be ac-
complished by organization. by mutual
self-hel p OF the type that helps another in
the only way by which in the long run
man who is a full-grown man really can
be helped-that is, by teaching him to help
himself. [Applause.l You teach the bene-
indispensable need of keeping absolutely
unimpaired the faculty of individual initia-
tive, the faculty by which each man brings
himself to the highest point of perfection
by exercising the special qualities with
which he is himself endowed.
INDIVIDUAL EFFORT.
1.-THE brotherhood has developed to this
enormous extent since the days, now many
years ago, when the first little band came
together; and Ii has developed, not by
crushing out individual initiative, but by
developing it, by combining many individual
initiatives
1.-THE Brotherhood of Firemen does much
for all fremen. but 1 firmly believe that
the individual hremen, since the growth of
the brotherhood, has been more, not less,
efficient than he was twenty years ago.
Applause Membership in the brotherhood
comes, as 1 understand 1t, after a nine
man has shown his worth he is
then admitted and stands his
footing as brother. Now any man who
enters with the purpose of letting the
brotherhood carry him is not worth much.
Applause The man who counts in the
brotherhood Is the man that pulls his own
weight and little more. [Laughter.l Much
can be done by the brotherhood. / have
Just limited In the general figures L gave you
at how much has been done, but 1t still
remains true in the brotherhood and every
where else throughout American life that
In the last resort nothing can supply the
place OF the mans own individual qualities.
We need those. no matter how perfect the
organization is outside. There is just
much need of nerve, hardihood. power to
face risks and accept responsibilities, in
the engineer and fremen, whether
flyer or freight train, now that there ever
was. [Applause.1
Much can be done by the association.
A great deal can be accomplished by work
Ing each for all and all for EACH but we
must not forget that the first requisite in
accomplishing that, is that each man
should work for others by working for him
self, by developing his own capacity. Isn't
that common sense? / think so. The steady
way in which man can rise is illustrated
by a little thing that happened yesterday.
L came down here over the Queen Cres-
cent railroad and the general manager who
handled my train and who handled yours.
was Mr. Mcguire. IApplause.J L used to
know him in the old days when he was on
his way up, and he began right at the
bottom. n time.
He worked his way straight up and now
he is general manager and he put this con-
vention here and he put me here.
tApplause.l
81 believe so emphatically in your or
ganlZat1on because, while Ii teaches the
need of working in union, of working in
association, of working with deep purpose
in our hearts, not merely on our lips, the
sense of brotherhood, yet of necessity Ii
must keep to the forefront. the worth of
| the individual qualities of man. Zap
| plause.l Now 1 said to you that I came
here in sense not to speak to you, but
| to use your experience as an object lesson
| for all of us, an object lesson in good
| American citizenship. All professions, of
course. do not call for the exercise to the
| same degree Of the qualities of which 1
| have spoken. Your profession is one of
| those which l am inclined TO feel play in
modern life a greater part from the stand
| point OF character than We entirely realize
| There is in modern life, with the growth of
| civilization, with the growth of luxury,
1 certain tendency 10 SOttenlng or the ma
| tional fiber. There is certain tendency
| TO forget, in consequence of their disuse,
| the rugged virtues which inspire life at the
| back of manhood, and I feel that profess
sons like yours, like the profession of the
railroad man of the country, have a tonic
| effect upon the whole body polite.
GOOD QUALITIES.
'sIt is a good thing that there should
be large body Of our felow-citizens-
that there should be a profession whose
members must, year in and year out, dis
| play those old, old qualities of courage,
| daring, resolution. unflinching willingness
to meet danger at need. hope to see all
| our people develop the softer. gentler vir-
tues to an ever-increasing degree, but 1
| hope never to see them lose the sterner vir-
| tues that make men men. IApplause.1
| Il feel that the profession OF railroading
/ Is a fine anti-scorbutic, that IL does away
| with the tendency toward softness. man
/ is not going to be a fireman or an engineer
| or serve well In any other capacity on a
/ railroad long If, to speak technically, If
| he has a streak of yellow in him. Laugh
| teri You are going to find it out and he is
| going to be painfully conscious of 1t very
| soon. 1t is a fine thing for our people that
We should have those qualities in evidence
1 before us in the lifework of a big group
/ of our citizens. In American citizenship we
| can succeed permanently only upon the
basis of standing shoulder to shoulder.
| working in association by organization.
| each working for all, and yet remembering
1 that We need each TO so shape things that
A each man can devotion hes adVanta q