The Washington herald., 1913-07-06


n. Y. On returning home after fighting
in the civil war, he had found employ
ment as a fireman on the Erie Railroad
His wages was $40 a month.
Not $40 in the gold of these days." he
said to me recently.t but in the depre-
ciated currency Of the greenback period.
Whenever a firemen got sick or died he
was so hard up that we had to pass the
hat. The idea of a brotherhood. conse-
quently, took form in my mind. I was
an Odd Fellow and knew something about
secret and fraternal orders Moreover,
AN editor helped me write a constitu-
ton and a manual. 1 designed the en-
blems myself. One day / had a meeting
in an upholstered hall. Five firemen
came dressed up. Five got right Off their
engines, their faces black with coal dust
resting on nail kegs. l was in the chair
which also happened to be a nail key
and Immediately got down to business
Inside of half an hour We organized the
first lodge of the Brotherhood of LOCO
motive Firemen.
Fraternity was our watchword We
adopted the moral principles of the Odd
Fellows. Possible strikes were not dis
cussed. Our whole thought was to assist
enc another in times CT trouble Firemen
were poor. their wages were low, and
living was dear. with money worth about
60 cents on the dollar A brotherhood
We said, would be of help to the needy
and unfortunate. The hat would cease
TO pass, and the shame of receiving char
ity would be over.
-'Pop" Leach on the Blacklist.
The second lodge was organized at
Hornellsville, n. Y, which is also on
the Erie Railroad. Other lodges were or
ganized at Jersey City. Meadville, Pa:
Gallon. Dayton. Delaware, and Cleve-
land, Ohio: Buffalo, n. Y; Scranton, Pa,
and Seymour Ind. Then 1 called an an
nual convention That was in 1874, a year
after our meeting in the upholstered hall
at Port Jervis. Building the brotherhood
was desperately hard labor at first. The
railroads opposed us. lost my job be-
cause of my activity and had to go West
But my reputation was known to rail-
way managers beyond the Mississippi,
and it was several years before / got
regular employment On the Missouri Pa
clf1c. / was an engineer for long time
on that railroad. 1 have also been en-
ployed on the Burlington. But am re-
tired now and live in Sedalia, Mo.
The eleven men of 1873 have become
almost 10000 in 1913. Our lodges no longer
are compelled to disband because of pow
erty and the enmity of railroad officers
We have 81, 10000 in our beneficiary fund
$4,000 in our general fund. $4,000 in our
protective fund, and own real estate
valued at $4,000. And in William s.
Carter. our president, We have the ablest
labor leader in America"
At the triennial convention of the
Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and
Enginemen, held in this city and just
adjourned after being in session several
weeks, Pop" Leach, now seventy years
old. had seat of honor on the platform.
He is capable today, physically and men
tally, of running an engine, freight or
passenger. The 500 delegates showed him
great respect and affection. Though a
patriarch with gray chin whiskers, he
was also their companion. Many of the m
were engineers like himself, having
ceased long ago to be firemen. but re-
naming in the organization. The dele
gates. in the taste and quality of their
clothes and in their alert and business
like manner, looked like manufacturers
rather than wage-earners. Most of them
were young men. Some of them worr
diamond rings.
Four Big BrotherhOods Combine.
The real news of the convention. little
spoken about in public, is of the highest
Importance to the country. There are
four big railroad organizations-the In
ternational Brotherhood of Locomotive
Engineers. the Order of Railway Con-
ductors the Brotherhood of Locomotive
Firemen and Enginemen, and the Broth
erhood of Railway Trainmen. They have
worked separately and with some fric-
ton in the past The engineers have
been calle6the aristocrats of labor. Con-
ductors heretofore have stood somewhat
aloof from trainmen. or brakemen. This
year. however. all of the organizations
have entered into a defensive and posi-
bly, an offensive alliance. Railroads have
been brought together into large sys-
tens, and the systems are sympathetic
in a selfish way toward one another.
Their employees have adopted the same
policy of mutually. At least. they have
reached an understanding, or "a gentle
mems agreement" as it would be styled,
were they traffic managers instead of
engineers and SO on.
The four big brotherhoods are con-
trolled by able, adroit, and experienced
leaders. And all of them are from the
West. Warren S. Stone chief of the
engineers. comes from Iowa. and so does
Austin 5. Garretson, president of the
conductors William G. Lee head of the
trainmen, was born in Illinois. and WILL
lam 5. Carter, of the firemen, Is a
Texan. Their experience on railroads
was gained west of the Mississippi River.
Stone and Garretson journeyed to Wash
instor especially to address the tiremen.
They were particularly complimentary
TO Carter and spoke of the long and
successful contest he had with the fifty
four Eastern railroads. doing nearly half
the freight business of the country, over
the question of wages and better work
ing conditions for 31,O0O firemen. Stone.
So Pop Leach informed me, said that
Carter was the strongest personality in
the whole railroad push"
Carter Tells Hi. Personal story.
There is nothing imposing about Car
ter. SO far as looks are concerned. He
Is small. and would be unnoticeable in
a crowd. But his jaw is warlike. his
nose is pugnacious, and his specialized
eyes are shrewd and inquisitorial 1t is
said that he excels in diplomacy when
gentle arts are necessary to a negotia-
ton. Nevertheless, he is ready for a |
battle if matters turn serious. His con- |
versation is modest, his smile is pleas |
ant, and his manner is intensei and !
nervous. When he converses, some part |
Of his body is constantly IN motion; If |
not hand, then a foot: IL not a foot, |
then his whole body. Pop Leach de- |
clares that he can talk a whole day |
and be saying something interesting and
important every minute.
Nobody cares about my personal |
story he replied, when I sat down with