The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1905-06-30
PICNIC
OF CONDUCTORS

thousand miles away. This evening
the farmer gathers the yield OF his
farm under the balmy sky of Florida.
and on the second morning after,
his blushing peaches and luscious
melons adorn the New Workers. table.
In greatest measure the credit for
these annihilations OF time and space
belong to the railroad conductor. New
inventions, better equipments. safer
road-beds, would avail but little il
those in charge of the trains were In
efficient or untrustworthy. Every
train which rushes out into the black
ness Of the night or into the glare of
noon has at its helm, 50 to speak, the
for the safety and speedy transporta-
tion of lis passengers and freight. Sub
Ject only to control by the telegraph.
he may be iikened to the General in ,
the field, thrown on his own resour-
ces and far from the Commander in
Chief, who locks only at results and
WHO viii hear no excuse.
How well the conductors of this
country met the responsibilities placed
upon them, can readily be perceived
by considering the comparatively
smah number of accidents. This few 4
ness of accidents compared with the
hazards attendant upon the profess
sion Is due to the character, intelli-
gence and courage of the conductors
Growth Of the Organization.
A short sketch of the birth, growth
! and present conditions of the orSer
under the auspices of which this pic.
mic is today given will no doubt be OF
interest to all.
Realizing that in union there is
strength, not that strength which
comes from the poiniEg of vast num-
/ bers of men, but that which is deriv
! ed from banding together Intelligence
/ and character, the conductors of the
! Illinois Central Railroad met in 1853
! a. Amboy, Illinois. and formed an as
ISOLATION which they called the Con
duetor's Union. This association was
shortly afterwards joined by the Con-
ductors Of the C. B. & Q. r. R., and
In the same year these two parent d.
visions met and formed the Order OF
Railway Conductors of America
From this humble beginning has
grown the magnificent cider of today
containing at the time OF the last an
, nual report, "a ZIG members and All
, divisions scattered over all parts OF
, the United States and Canada. The
) order has a mutual benefit insurance
, department In which 81 $50 members
. participate. representing a grand total
? o. $74, 262, 10000 of mutual benefit in.
; surance. In 1904, 321 claims aggre
1 eating ss56,000 were paid. and since
the institution Of the mutual benefit
department there has been paid Il
! widows and orphans of deceased con
ductOrs 81, 100000. These statistics
: show not only financial strength of tbs
insurance department of the order
but also the wisdom and foresight dis
: played by it in thus. providing mean.
: OF support and education for the wild
ows and children of its members.
T. Its Broad Policy. is
r 1t is my conviction, ladies' and ger
9 tlemen, and | believe that all thinkin;
r men will agree with me, that the sue
i cess and influence of the order Of con
ductors is almost wholly due to TN
6 broad and liberal policy upon whicl
l. it was organized. Its founders zrecog
s nized that the rights of different class
l.. es must Of necessity often overlap
e and thus differences ard disagree
y ments must arise in which bot
II sides would consider themselves RICH;
They saw that the last way in whic
to settle such differences was for eac
X party to state its contention fully an
a, clearly, then to discuss them calmi
and If necessary, to make mutual col
: cessions. This is the plan the orde
u has almost invariably pursued, an
in this way, while protecting its ow
rights and preserving its own Sc
&c respect, it has deserved and game
II the confidence of all the higher raj
road officials and the respect OF a
law-abiding citizens.
TO- The Conductors Duty.
r. Members of the Order of Railwa
20 Conductors of America. mighty an
s ever continuous duty rests upon yol
IT, Daily you are intrusted with the cal
or of thousands of human lives Upo
Y. your prudence, caution, sobriety an
;t. faithfulness depends the safety of M
re lions of dollars worth of propeu
lg You are now on the tidal wave
prosperity. and 1t behooves you
make no move that would retard yol
i'd future greatness. There will be !
N. danger of this as long as you scrutini:
e. with jealous eye all applicants for a
rs mission TO your order. Rememb
that little leaven leaveneth the who