The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1913-08-18
BRITISH MEDICAL
ASSOCIATION MAY
UNIONIZE ITSELF
Proposition Was Seriously Considered
at Recent Annual Meet

London, Aug. ls.-The British Medical
| association, at its annual meeting, seri-
ously debated the ACCESSIBILITY of organ
| izing as labor union.
Recently the official organ of the as
ISOLATION was mulcted for heavy libel
damages for calling a practitioner a
quack. lnasmuch as, under a recent de-
clsion OF the British courts, the funds
OF a labor union cannot be touched for
such damages, the doctors felt that the
reorganization of their association into
a labor union would not be without Ger.
tain advantages.
The British Medical association in its
recent strike against the provisions of
the compulsory state insurance act emu
lated the tactics of labor unionists, but
in spite of the reputed higher mentality
OF its members. it suffered defeat on &C.
count of lack of solidarity, just as
many of us humber exeamplars have
Following in the footsteps of the doc.
tors, the police are contemplating the
formation of a labor union to be called
the Amalgamated Society of Policemen.
Letters appear every week in the police
organ, citing grievances and suggesting
the formation of union as the first step
towards their correction. The chief de
mand is for a maximum police salary OF
$40 week, and one correspondent sug-
gests that as the police have to enforce
fair play in the labor disputes of others,
they should have little difficulty in en-
forcing their own demands. One writer
limited that it might go badly with the
public if the police struck for their
rights. One of the chief worries of the
police is due to the suffragettes, whose
activities have added greatly to their
overtime for which they get no extra
pay. Recently the force has been in
creased in order to give longer vacations,
but the men feel that their lot is still
cast in hard places.
Original of Kipling's Bridge Builder"
Dead
James r. Bell the original of Kipling's
Bridge Builder" is dead at his home
here.
Mr.. Bell was a sad reminder of how
the cast iron rules Of the Indian civil
service hamper the efficiency of some
of its best members, for he was at the
heyday of his powers when he was arbi-
trarily retired at the age Of SIS. He
was in excellent health, in the midst OF
some of his best achievements and will
ing and anxious TO go on with his work,
when the orders came TO cease his &C
tiyities.
After his retirement Mr.. Bell passed |
nearly every winter in India or China, |
where his services as a consulting en-
gineer were welcomed. lie came from |
a family of engineers, being the grand !,
son of James Bremner, who hoated the I
Great Britain" then the largest steam
ar in the world, when she stranded in |
Dundrum Bay on her third trip across
The Atlantic. Mr.. Bell built some Of |
the greatest bridges in India. Some of
these structures are great engineering
feats. for the designs have to provide
Tor foundations and changes in the
courses of the treacherous rivers they
span.
McKenna Denounced.
Home Secretary Mckenna is being ex-
acrated on account OF the "cat and
mouse" bill, but it is generally admit
ed that one effect of this measure has
been to decrease militancy, those on
he fringe of the suffrage movement hay
ng gone back to constitutional methods,
eaving only the irreconeilables to con-
inue the battle.
Mr.. McKenna is being attacked from
wo sides--on one by the more virulent 4
members of the opposition press and on
he other by the supporters of militancy
n the House of Commons. the latter
lection being headed by Keir Hardie, the
labor Socialist member. The position
# the home secretary has been and still
> extraordinarily difficult. He has had
O deal with the serious crime of wide