
THE LOCOMOTIVE STEAM ENGINEMEN
AND FIREMEN FRIENDLY SOCIETY
Established in 1839
The Pension Fund in connection with it was established in 1841

22ND FEBRUARY 1896
THE A.S.L.E. AND F.
Sir, -- Railwaymen in general must have notices the desperate efforts being made by the combined forces of the A.S.R.S. and the Old Society to stem the tide of progress, which is everywhere being made by the Associated. The strikes one as rather a curious coalition after what has been said from time to time by those in authority. The A.S.R.S. would have us believe that a Friendly Society is quite a secondary matter with them, while the Old Society, when it has been approached by the Associated, has expressed a kind of horror of a trade union, yet now we find the two joining hands in a sort of unholy alliance. When will enginemen and firemen open their eyes and be able to see that both them and their Society are being used as a tool in the hands of A.S.R.S. leaders? The way they manage to advertise themselves at these meetings ought to be enough. They certainly do find room for the report of meetings held by our Old Society, but this only goes to show their hand all the more, because at the same time they confess they cannot find room for trade union matters. I see Mr. Bell has been, as one of your correspondents put it a short time ago, bellowing at Leeds, and the result is a column in the "Review"headed "Mr. Bell and the Engineers." They may take him seriously in Leeds, but those of us who know Dick, and have worked with him, cannot help a broad smile when we read such sentence on the following: "Between the two meetings a deputation of Midland firemen waited on ME for advice and information with regard to their movement. Every opportunity was given the engineers, etc., and I received high praise for "Lex," and was complimented myself by loco. men for showing them the light." now for bombast this would be hard to beat, and when we remember that the man who in his ignorance thus insults the enginemen and firemen of this country is an ex-goods guard, we cannot but wonder that the whole footplate fraternity do not rise in arms against him, and for ever give him a wide berth for his audacity; and I would here remind my fellow footplate workers that it is because we have allowed such men to think and act for us in the past, that we are in our position. Surely it is high time we awoke and told this ex-goods guard and his clan that we need their lights no longer as head lights, but simply as tail lights, as per rule. Surely the Midland firemen are not going to be so easily gulled. Have they so soon forgotten the failure of a few years ago as to be carried away with a little notice in the "Review"? Let the A.S.R.S. answer the questions put by me a few weeks ago re the meeting at Manchester. It is also amusing to watch the figures given by them as to the number of loco. men in the A.S.R.S. When the Associated had 6,000 they had 9,000; now the Associated has 8,000 they have 12,000. And I suppose in a short time hence, when the Associated has 20,00 they will have 30,000, although there are only a little over 30,000 in the country. Enginemen and firemen may take it for granted (and especially let this be a tip to Midland firemen) that the days are gone by when anything substantial can be done except by a large majority being in a Society of our own, or a by a national conference on the lines laid down by our representatives at Leeds in November last. This being so, I trust that enginemen and firemen throughout the country will give this their hearty support.
OLD ENGINEMEN
Swansea, February 8th, 1896