The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Lake Carriers' Association Its Great Progress in Recent Years is Well Indicated in the Various Reports --Development of Welfare Work HE annual meeting of the Lake Carriers' Association was held in Detroit on Jan. 22 and was one of the best and most largely attended conventions ever held by the associa- tion. The meeting also marked the re- turn of the association to the Cadil- lac, and presented once more _ the stalwart and familiar figure of A, R. Rumsey on the marble staircase, who, as. sergeant. -At-carms,- trom i146 point of vantage, implored and _ en- treated the members to assemble in the convention hall, and when entreaties proved futile followed them with threats of bodily vio- lence. Surely when goes we shall not look upon his like again. President Livingstone pre- sided. His annual report was, as usual, a comprehensive docu- ment, covering very completely the transactions of the associa- tion for the past year as well as commenting on the trend of business in general. At the conclusion of President Livingstone's report J. H. Shea- dle, vice president, discussed the welfare work of the association with which he has been closely identified during the past five years, and which. has accom- plished much in consolidating the interests of owners. and masters. Mr. Sheadle made an earnest plea for the adoption of a uniform log which he believed should be consulted by the own- er before the master is ever asked to explain any delay in dispatch. Mr. Sheadle said: "It is now five years since the Lake Carriers' Association inau- gurated the new plan of co-oper- ation in the treatment of the human element in the transport- ation problems of the great lakes. The results obtained have far exceeded the most sanguine ex- pectations, for never has there been, as a whole, such satisfac- tory relations between the men who officer and man the ships and the owners, as maintains at this time. While it is true there are here and there a few owners and here and there a few men who have failed to grasp the full meaning of the mutual advantages of Rumsey co-operative working, the percentage is small of those not in sympathy with the general development of this prin- ciple in our business and now manifest- ing itself in almost every branch of in- dustrial effort. The employer and em- PRESIDENT WILLIAM LIVINGSTONE ployed are each coming to a better un- derstanding of their inter-relations, in that the ultimate success of one must come through the success of both. The statistics of the operations of the plan for the past year have been set forth in the annual report of the president, and only general mention of some features of the work may be made at this time. "During the year, with few excep- tions, two meetings have been held each month by your committee, and the chair- man desires to express fis ap. preciation of the faithful and earnest work done by the members of the committee. "The committee problems to meet, for the rollment of some _ nineteen' thou- sand -men. brings a variety ae items for consideration during a year. The system of registra- tion, and the complete records kept of the men as they shipped on the boats, by the secretary of the association, proved of in- calculable benefit at the time of has had some Ci= the great storm in November, when so many lives were lost. Telegrams and letters poured into the Lake Carriers' office by the hundreds from anxious rel- atives and friends. "The records. were such that in most cases the office was able to either confirm the worst fears or relieve the inquirer by in- forming him the person in ques- tion was shipped on a vessel that was in safety. If no other good is ever accomplished by the sys- tem it has paid for all the ef- fort it has cost by its efficiency at that time. "An endorsement of the sys- tem, if there be need of endorse- ment, is found in the announce- ment by the merchant marine interests of Canada of their ex- pectation of adopting some such plan as that of the Lake Car- riers' Association. ; "The marked increase in the efficiency of the shipping com- missioners' staff is most gratify- ing. While there is much yet to be accomplished in this direction, the men filling these places are steadily growing in their com- prehension of their duties, and are becoming more helpful each year in the general development. As time goes on they will continue to do better work. "The general character of the men manning the ships is constantly grow- ing better. An instance of this may he