born in mind that certain rules must be observed in finding
Phoebe. When you think you have found her address her with
these words:. "Be You Phebe?" ' If she is the right Phoebe, she
will reply: "I lie Phoebe." Phoebe is now at large upon the
streets of . Liiepluaiid she will.be at the Carnival in the even
ings after 7 :30, . The one who finds her shall escort her to the
Big Chief of the Carnival who will award the prize. Who
knows Phoebe may be the prize.
For the carnival. the hall is being finely decorated and con
cessions of interesting character are being put in. Amongst
these will be the country store which is always a fun maker.
There will be fortune tellers in which local talent is used. There
will be a Kangaroo Court for the purpose of preserving order
and so forth. There' will be many other concessions, most
of" which are run by the Ad Club Hoys and will be in charge
of ladies. There will be clowns galore, making fun every min
ute of the evening, and after 10 o'clock a dance will be given
until 1 :.'(. The carnival will be. .conducted in a perfectly
orderly manner so that anyone who may. wish to attend may
feel that there will he nothing to offend. There will be fun
for old and young. The program changes each night and will
be published cadi day preceding the carnival.
AOHURCH COMMITTEE FOR SOCIAL REFORM.
By the Rev. Charles Stelzle.
Growing out of the action oif the Federal Council of the Churches
of Christ in America, at its meeting held in Philadelphia some time
ago, with regard to the social problem, to which reference was made
in the labor press at the time, there was appointed a Commission on
the Church and Social "Service, 'consisting of about 40 of the most
prominent social workers in the United States. This Commission has
been organized for effective work, having a Committee of Direction
of a dozen men; and two Standing Committees," one on Research
and the other on Propaganda, there being sub-committees under
the direction"' of. each of these Standing Committees..
The Commission also has a budget to prosecute its work. Ons of
its most recent pieces of work, and probably its most significant,
was the appointment of a Committee of three' to investigate and re
port upon the industrial situation at South Bethlehem, Pa., during
a recent strike. - , ,
jThe Committee reported the deplorable social economic condi
tions of the 9000 workers in. the steel mills. They called attention
to the large amount of unuecessafy Sunday work vhich is being
carried on in the plant, and the excessive hours of labor; and to
the small pay received for such work.
The Committee declared that the wTage-scale paid in the plant
leaves no option to the common laborer but the boarding boss meth
od of living, with many men to the room. When a man has a family
with him, they take in lodgers, or the woman often goes to work.
On such a wage basis, the Committee declared, American standards
are impossible. ' -
It was, further recommended by the Commission that the Churches
inaugurate a movement to place in the hands of some appropriate
body the authority .to determine when industrial operations are nec
essarily continuous, and must necessarily 'be performed on Sunday.
As it is now, the decision is in the hands of the managers who are
pressed for haste by purchasers, for output by their directors, and
for profit by their stockholders, so that it is unfair to put the re
sponsibiity for drawing the line between what is necessary and what
is unnecessary upon the shoulders of the managers; that, directly
growing out of the Bethlehem situation, the Federal Government
be urged to include in its specifications for armor plate, war vessels,
construction work and the like, that the work be done on a 6-day
basis and that where operations are necessarily continuous, the 24
hours be divided into three shifts of 8 hours each, and that the
United States Government should provide for certain minimum
-labor conditions in its contracts as well as minimum specifications
as to materials. As it. is now, the progressive employer, who wants
to be fair to his men, must compete for contracts at levels set by the
least scrupulous. The tendency, therefore, is toward a lowering
of standards which the Churches of America, the Committee de
clares, ought to be courageous enough to stand out against.
THE DOCTRINE OF CONTRIBUTORY NEGLIGENCE.
By Robert Hunter.
The Doctrine of Fellow Servant is very important. It means .
that when any Man enters the employ of a great corporation he
becomes responsible: for all the stupidity, carelessness or reck
lessness of all his fellow servants. '"
He doesn't choose his fellow servants. They are chosen for
him, but he assumes all the personal risk which comes from
working with them.
There is still another doctrine which the law' advances to
do the injured out of justice.
And this doctrine is called the Doctrine of Contributory Neg
ligence and it is dramatized once for all, says William Hard,
Sn the case of Smith, of Seligman.
Smith, an engineer for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe,
started off to get some sleep. He was called back by the master
inechanic.
There was a train of oranges that bad to be hauled to JPmto.
fcMith objected. He said he felt unable to handle an engine.
The master mechanic insisted. It was an urgent case. Smith
climbed back on his engine. '
Smith reached Pinto at 3 o'clock that afternoon. At 8:30
in the evening he was on his way back to Winslow.
It was then that he committed his act of contributory negli
gence. He got into a collision.
He had been on duty thirty hours and thirty minutes. .He
fell into a doze. He forgot just where he was. He ought, to
have run his train at that point off the main track onto a
side-track. He forgot about it. Aiid in the midst of his con
tributory negligence another train ran into him.
Smith's right hand was badly crushed, and its subsequent use
for the purpose of his trade was rendered impossible, tie nad
made the mistake of dropping off to sleep after more .than thirty
hours of continuous work.
The court of appeals of Texas did not condone Smith's of
fense. The court admitted that in Arizona, where the acci
dent happened, there was a law forbidding railway companies
to work their employes more than sixteen hours at a stretch.
Under that law, when a man had worked sixteen liours, he
was entitled to enjoy nine hours' rest.
The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe had kept Smith at work
for almost twice the legal length of time. The Atchison, To
peka & Santa Fe was a lawbreaker.
But Smith was a contributory negligent and hopelessly
careless person. His real, character was exposed- by the court.
"The allegation," said the court, "that the laws of Arizona
prohibit railway companies from working their employes for
More than sixteen consecutive hours does not excuse the con
tributory negligence of the appellant (Smith) which arose
from his working such a length of time that he was unfitted
for business. He knew his physical condition far better than
the railroad company could have known it, and he cannot ex
. cuse his carelessness in falling asleep on his engine. The pe
tition presents a clear case of appellant (Smith) having been
hurt through his oyn negligence in stopping his engine on
the main line instead of taking a siding as he should have done.'
Now that's the whole story, It's the law. It's the Doctrine
of Contributory Negligence.
Smith ought to have known better. .Think of a man running
an engine along the main line when he was asleep!
But the courts know their business. Smith got no sympathy
from them. It was Contributory Negligence that Smith done,
and it was his own fault. And anyway it's the law.
200 BOOSTERS FROM OMAHA COMING
. It is assured now that the Omaha Ad Club will be repre
sented on Friday night which has been especially dedicated to
them. The3r are coming hy special train, 200 strong, and will
huve the Aksarben band with them. This liberal spirit on the
part of Omaha in its recognition of the Lincoln Carnival should
certainly be appreciated by every Lincoln citizen, and it is
the especial request of Pres. McKelvie of the Ad Club that the
people of Lincoln turn out on Friday evening and see that
these Omaha boys are proper ly; entertained. The Lineoiu Ad
Club bunch will meet them at the Rock Island station at 8
o'clock and inarch them to the Auditorium. Automobiles will
be provided for the ladies in the Omaha delegation, also for
Lincoln ladies who will go to the train to meet the Omaha
crowd. For this part of the program, it is especially requested
that all who wish to be in the delegation going to the train on
Friday evening meet at the Auditorium at 7 :30 P. M. It is
hoped that a large number of Lincoln people will join in this
reception committee.
Senator Cummins a carpenter by trade, but he'll not, saw
r tirh wood in Lincoln by advocating the reflection of. Senator
Burkett as a "progressive." :;; - "