One writer suggests as "The Cure of Poverty" technical education, improvement of industrial conditions, and the promotion of a more equitable distribution of wealth. This plan, if carried out, has certainly the elements of success within it.

Mr. Bolton Hall, in his work "Free America," after considering the degree of poverty due to drink, immorality, laziness, shiftlessness, and inefficiency, goes on to say: "All statistics of charitable organizations show that the real trouble with the great majority of the people who seek relief is lack of work."

Mr. Andrew Carnegie, in "The Gospel of Wealth," writes: "There is something far more injurious to our race than poverty; it is misplaced charity."

If poverty in most instances is due to lack of work, and misplaced charity is worse than poverty, then something besides charity must provide for the men and women who have worked so long as natural strength would permit, and now find themselves incapacitated for hard labor; that "something" is an old-age pension.

The object of an old-age pension system should not be to create more public homes, such as almshouses, workhouses, poor farms, or similar institutions with large outlays for buildings and other large outlays for salaries and support of attendants. The purpose should be to keep the invalided or worn-out workingmen and women in a real home, where they can have family comforts and social and religious opportunities. The minor wards of the State are "boarded out" under efficient supervision-why not, in a similar manner, the aged and invalided wards? The aggregation of large numbers of persons in public institutions leads often to abuses and invariably destroys the home instinct.

Consider the condition of a workingman who has been a good citizen, a faithful, honest toiler, who married, and brought up a family of children. His wife dies, his children either die or marry, and the old home is broken up. He is unable to work. The almshouse or workhouse is his only refuge this side of the grave. But with an old-age pension

He has a son,

all this would be changed. a brother, a sister, or some other relative or friend who would gladly give him a home if they could afford it. With his old-age pension he could pay his way partly or wholly. At any rate he would have a home and be able to retain his independence and self-respect. Charity becomes the worst form of support when it gives and gets nothing in return.

Those who can afford it, and many who can not, take out insurance policies, and this is considered an evidence of thrift, of a desire to provide for their families or for themselves in their old age. The old-age pension system would become the poor man's insurance.

Sup

pose contributions from the State, from the towns and cities, the individual and corporate benefactions, and the workingmen's subscriptions, are thrown into a common fund, cannot a system be devised by which the almshouse and workhouse can be banished as the lot of the honest, faithful, but worn-out workingman or woman?

The Bureau presents no solution of the question as to the best manner of establishing a system of old-age pensions in this State. The facts given in this part are for the information of sociologists, philanthropists, insurance experts, financiers, and the legislature. We give the elements of the problem-the solution must come from their combined wisdom.

One point, however, seems certain. The industrial soldier who has served faithfully for years under the "Captains of Industry" seems as deserving in his old age of aid, or a retreat, which shall not be called a charity, as the soldier who has served in the army, or a sailor or marine in the navy. Particularly would this be true if the industrial soldier, by some wise system, should supply a part of the amount for his old-age pension from his own savings. This financial contribution, on his part, might be considered as an offset to the risk of loss of limb or life run by a member of the

question from a new point of view.

We find, for instance, that the total expenditures of the city of Boston for the year 1900 were $45,391,700.41. The population of all ages was 560,892, making the average per capita expenditure $80.93.

It

What does this figure indicate? means that in order to pay the expenses of the municipal government, $80.93 must be provided for each man, woman, and child who is an inhabitant of the city.

For what is this money paid? For the salaries of city officials and employes, for the police and fire departments, for schoolhouses and teachers, for bath houses and cemeteries, for markets and parks, for the health department and hospitals, for good streets, sidewalks, and sewers, for light and water, and the other expenses of a great municipality, the outlay of which makes it a desirable place for business of all kinds and for residential purposes.

By whom is this money paid? It is raised by taxation, the valuation being high and the rate per thousand dollars running being $15 and $16, or one and a half per cent, or more. If a person has a bequest of $5,000 and invests it at 3 per cent, the city tax gatherer will claim 1 per cent to help pay the city's bills. If he is a professional man, for instance a teacher, with an income of $2,600, the tax gatherer will take from $9 to $10 for his extra $600 income over the $2,000 exemption. If some one owes him $1,000, a tax of from $15 to $16 will be levied upon it, although he has not received the money. taxes on this "unreceived increment" for several years, and then finds it is a bad debt, he can secure no rebate, for all demands for rebate must be made within six months from the date of his tax bill.

If he pays

It is evident that the average individual does not pay his per capita tax. He could not if he would.

Let us suppose the case of a workingman with a wife and six children. The family's proportionate charge of the city's expenses is $647.44. The head of the family, the only provider, earns $12 a week, or, in round numbers, $600 a year. From this

he pays for rent, food, fuel, clothing, etc., and towards the city's expenses, two dollars as a poll tax.

But his share of the city's expenses, as we have shown, is $647.44. As he does not, and cannot pay the remainder of his proportional tax, or $645.44, somebody else must pay it, and that somebody else is the person who has real estate or personal property which can be found and taxed.

It will be said the laboring man pays all the taxes, because they are charged to him on all he buys, but how, on the supposed income of $600, can enough be charged against him to pay a tax of $645.44?

If persons representing half of the taxable valuation of the city of Boston should remove, it is evident that the city's expenses would have to be reduced, or those remaining would have their taxes doubled. If all the inhabitants of Boston were only poll-tax payers, the great public utilities would have to be abandoned.

It can be easily deduced, then, that every person (man, woman, or child) in the city of Boston who does not pay his proportionate share of the city's expenses (on a per capita basis), is, in reality, a pensioner, and a recipient of benefits paid for by persons who are taxed on an income or property basis.

If

If the system is right that the owners of property should pay this pension when the recipients are well and able to work, then it follows that, when the workers become incapacitated by invalidity or old age, persons with property should be taxed for their support. that support can be as cheaply furnished by old-age pensions as by the present complicated and expensive systems of promiscuous charity, the change should be made, for it will give a home to the poor instead of the almshouse, and will not bear any more heavily on the tax payers, and those who give from their bounty from philanthropic motives.

If this line of argument is followed out, the amounts received from collateral inheritance taxes, or from a direct inheritance tax, if one should be laid, would

seem to be the logical basis and support of an Old-age Pension Fund.

The family that enjoys the benefits conferred by a residence in a great and opulent ciy should not forget that something cannot be obtained from nothing, and that others pay $645.44, as shown in the instance previously cited, for what a family of eight, with an income of $600, gets for a nominal $2 a year.

The burden of taxation falls heavily on the professional man, the manufacturer, the banker, and the storekeeper,

but it has to be borne for the benefit of all who compose the body politic.

No disposition has been shown by the heavy taxpayers to ask for the substitution of a property qualification for the right to vote in place of manhood suffrage. This is political toleration—we have religious toleration-and to complete the trinity we must add industrial toleration-which is a proper conception and acknowledgment by the small tax payer of the burden borne by the large tax payer for the benefit of all.

be true that the inventions now in use afford the greatest resistance known in overcoming the speed of trains, but the "unlimited possibilities" sometimes leave a lasting impression on the mind of him who has not a capable understanding of the limitations of this new braking power, and upon this subject my story hinges.

The topography of the country traversed by the N. E. & L. G. is not of that diversified sort which at once delights and interests the traveler with its green fields on one hand and its lakes and rivulets on the other, but is characteristic for the boldness of its scenery, hedged on either hand by hills or rocky walls that tower up to great heights, the varied, monotonous scene being broken only by deep ravines spanned by bridges, which bear up trains of human freight and impress one with a flying sensation as they suddenly emerge from the reverberating hillsides and feel themselves wafted, as it were, through space.

The big Atlantic type engines with their trains of seven cars frequently

"found" some of the hills. Laboriously they worked their way to the summit while, frequently, some passenger whose heart was set upon arriving at his destination would ask impatiently, “Conductor, why are we moving so slowly?" Yet these same persons a few moments later would gasp, "What a terrific rate of speed!" To the man who has face< the sleet of the icy deck these movements of a train convey a picture to the mind that does not need words to explain. It may be suggested that conditions did not improve when winter came with its gusts of wind that hurled eddies of snow against the rocky faces of the cuts and piled it in mounds and pyramids upon the track.

It was a bad, wild night in the middle of January—the 13th to be exact, when No. 9 pulled under the sheds into the depot at L, her front end piled high with snow and the cab windows of the engine completely blockaded. She reminded one of a spectre train in her immaculate robe, but soon porters were busy at the opened vestibules sweeping and cleaning, then came the flow of passengers bound in either direction. But all this is incident to the travel of any day. Up in the office above the waiting room sit four men listening to the ticks of the instruments that give them the situations at every point along

the lines. They are grave, silent, yet keenly alert. Their eyes are fastened upon their train sheets while their hands rest upon the key, ready to respond in an instant to their call. The door to the office opened and a man in conductor's uniform appeared at the window. "Any more orders for No. 9? Thev've put on an extra sleeper, so you know there'll be something doing on Iron Hill tonight."

"Nothing more for you, Kentwoodthat's all."

Just as he was turnnig to go the dispatcher said:

"Oh, I say, Hal, would you mind handing Jess this little packagc-ought to send it, by express I suppose-a Hittle present to the girl. Couldn't get away Christmas-she couldn't either-be a thousand times obliged."

"Sure, old man. Do anything for that little sister down there at Owl Tank nights. So long."

When Hal Kentwood reached the platform engine 909 was just coupling on the train. The bustle of the attendants was in evidence everywhere.

"How are you fixed there, boys?" Hal sang out as he passed the baggage

car.

"Three more pieccs-let 'em go!"

Then in answer to the air signal came the whistling sound of the brakes as they released, while up along the line of the train was passed from one inspector to another the words,

"Right here!"

“Here you are, Joe,” he said, handing old grizzled Joe Walker copies of the manifold orders. "Looks as if we were up against it tonight with eight cars."

"Does look that way. She will take 'em over all the hills unless it may be Iron Hill. She's a peach all right, but they will all fall down sometimes. Guess I ain't forgot how to double, still I never was stuck much on it." Following came the reading of orders then Hal's "board!" and the vanishing of stools and a hustle of the negro porters to get into the warm cars.

Once outside the city limits old Joe Walker glanced at the gauge and then at his watch.

"I'm going after 'em some, Charlie," he called across the big boiler head. Charlie seemed to know what was required, for he nodded and laughed as he pounded his gloved fist upon the boiler and got down to put in another fire.

Then came such a race against time that has, perhaps, never been equalled under as unfavorable circumstances. To have a good engine was one great pride of old Joe Walker, but to excel his fellows in making up time,-well, it was delight, and as the miles stretched away behind they were forgotten; only those in front seemed in mind as his heart and mind centered in the efforts of the 909, and he underwent as if in sympathy every labored effort as she climbed each hill with slow, measured stroke.

Within the coaches nearly all had settled down to sleep after one fashion or another, except a few who kept awake to pass the vigil of the night with those who had their safety in their keeping. These were, of course, Hal and his two brakemen, Ed Collins and Tom Brown. Ed was known as rear brakeman, whose duties were chiefly to protect his train, and his station was in the rear coach with his lamps, flags and torpedoes, ready to go back at once should occasion require. Tom's duties, as he rehearsed them, was to assist the ladies, lift off the babies and make gogoo eyes at the girls.

Hal, however, was of a more practical turn of mind. His constant admonitions to Tom to be vigilant and thorough in his duties at all times and his unceasing, watchful care, were characteristic of him, but all thought to be "borrowed trouble" by Tom, who sometimes criticized his captain before his bunkroom companions.

"This everlastin' watchin' for something that never will happen is wot makes me tired. Hal's a good feller, all right, but what's the use o' talkin'. He's sot as an old hen in his notions and he wants a feller to be Johnnie on the spot every minit, 'specially when I've got a little chinnin' on hand. Then, there's the air brake. I've got that

little black book pat-just a-hearin' him tell what ought to be done. I'll tell him some day I'm a past master."

That some day came sooner than he had hoped, for as the door in the forward coach opened he saw Hal enter and approach him.

"Do you know where you are, Tom?"

'Pretty near to Owl Tank, I guess," Tom said, trying to peer through the frosted window.

'Pretty close guess-only about ten miles off. Now, see here, boy: I see that old Joe is falling down for some reason-snow I guess-for it is coming down some, I thank you. If it's this way up on Iron Hill it means double, sure. Now, in case we double, I want to know if you know your business. You see, this train won't stand a week on that hillside with only the air set on the rear end to hold it. You want to get that jimmy of yours ready and release the air on the rear car then lam up your hand brake with your stick▬▬”

"Say, Mr. Kentwood, I'm a past master of this business. I broke on freight two years and I broke on passenger a year; now, if I ain't competent why don't you fire me?" he said boldly, feeling an inward pride that he had vindicated his word in telling Hal "where to back in."

The flush that came to Hal's face told that he resented the remark, but an instant later he said:

"When you prove to me that you are competent, I will quit coaching you, but so long as I handle human freight and divide my responsibility with you, and at the same time have any doubts about your understanding what you should do in an emergency, I am going to tell you. But, since you claim you are a past master, I shall give you a fair trial if we stick on the hill, and I shall let you anchor the rear end while I uncouple and double. This will save time and time is money; so be on your taps when old Joe calls for brakes and whistles out a flag."

The grinding of the shoes against the wheels followed the station whistle for Owl Tank, and soon the train was

brought standing with the tank directly under the water spout. Hal hurried to the little night office with the package in his charge and entered. A petite, dark haired, blue eyed girl arose from the table.

"My signal is not out, Mr. Kentwood, is it? Oh, dear, what has happened? I sat up all day with a sick friend-I fell asleep I had a dreadful dreamyour train broke in two-you were on the engine the local had passed my station and I saw them flying around the curves, while far up the hillside I saw your train coming, closer, fasterthen I opened my eyes and saw your train at the tank."

"Just a dream, little girl. Night work and charitable duties are too much for you."

There was an unusual sympathy in Hal's tone and the eyes spoke words that brought a flush of pleasure to her face.

"Here is a package that George sent by me-said he couldn't get here for Christmas-by the way, Jessie-haven't got but a minute to stay-I would like to make you a Christmas present, too— had it in mind now more than a yeardon't want to wait till next Christmas, either, so I'll be like George, only different in a way if you will let me this is it -just a little ring with a stone like that tear drop I saw in your eye when they sent you to Owl Tank nights."

He did not wait for aye or nay, but slipped the circlet on her finger and dashed out to catch the open vestibule as it passed. He turned to look back, but the frosted window screened her from view. As she turned to o. s. the train her hand trembled and her eyes filled with tears of happiness.

"He didn't even give me time to say it was acceptable," she said aloud. "I wonder if he thinks I am so easily won? He does not know that I love him; I am sure I never showed it and he-well, his eyes often talked, and I am sure he is the biggest hearted man in the world; but I'll just tell him I can't accept itso there!" With a sobbing heart she finished her duties and then relapsed to -think.