Owing to the great importance of the following circular I deem it advisable to include it in my Department in this issue, and I trust that every member as well as every subordinate lodge officer will read it carefully and, realizing the dangers it points out, earnestly endeavor to see that the necessary remedies are applied:

Official Circular No. 2 of the Grand Lodge.

PEORIA, ILL., August 10, 1911. To the Officers of Subordinate Lodges: Dear Sirs and Brothers-Notwithstanding the fact that many articles have appeared in the Magazine during the past two and one-half years, regarding the duties of trustees of subordinate lodges, it seems that many of our lodges do not know that in order to collect from the bonding company when a financial officer has misappropriated the funds, the trustees must have examined the books of said officer as is provided for in the constitution and by-laws.

The provisions of the bond require that as soon as a shortage is discovered, the officer discovering the shortage must at once notify the General Secretary and Treasurer, and he in turn must notify the bonding company. The trustees of the lodge must furnish an itemized statement, showing how they arrived at the amount of the shortage and this must be certified to before a notary public.

Just as soon as we receive notice of a shortage we notify the bonding company and they get a representative on the ground as soon as possible. If a shortage is found as represented by the officers making the statement, there will be no delay in having a settlement made. The company settles with us and the officer who has misappropriated the funds will have to settle with the company.

The bond also provides that if a shortage is discovered and the defaulting offi

cer is permitted to retain the position he has held, the company will not be responsible for any further loss at his hands the lodge may sustain after the discovery of the first shortage.

If a shortage is discovered and the officers of the lodge make any compromise with the defaulting officer, the bonding company will not reimburse the lodge in any amount.

We have had several instances wherein the officers of the lodge and, particularly, the Board of Trustees, when they found a financial officer short in his accounts, have attempted to patch the matter up in one way or another. Sometimes they have agreed to accept a certain amount from him each month and, in other cases, they have accepted his word that on certain dates he would pay a certain amount until the shortage had been refunded. Whenever anything of this kind is done it invalidates the bond, and we cannot in any way recover any of the shortage from the bonding company. It seems to be the desire of many subordinate lodge officers, when finding another officer short in his accounts, to try in some way to shield him. This is entirely wrong, and the trustees or any other officer of a lodge should not attempt in any way to shield a defaulting officer. Bear in mind that you should not at any time try and compromise a shortage with a defaulting offi

short, giving the amount of said shortage, and if, upon investigation, it is found the figures are correct, payment will be made in a short time.

Trustees.

The law requires that you examine the books of the Financial Secretary once each month. If this is done as it should be, no Financial Secretary can become short without it being discovered at the end of each month. The lodge would then be relieved of the embarrassment experienced when an officer is permitted to continue in office for months without having his books examined, and all at once the discovery is made that he has misappropriated the funds and has been doing so for some time.

When the trustees of a subordinate lodge examine the accounts of the Financial Secretary, and find that his books show a balance, they should insist that the Financial Secretary show evidence that he has this money in his possession, or that the same is in the bank to the credit of the lodge. You should not take the word of the Financial Secretary that he has a certain amount of money. If he is honest and his books show a balance on hand, he will not have any hesitancy whatever in either showing the money in his possession, or that the same is on deposit in a bank to the credit of the lodge.

Readmission of Former Members.

I have on several occasions called attention through the columns of the Magazine to the manner in which former members can be readmitted as provided for in the constitution. You must understand that no former member can be readmitted to membership, unless he files an application for beneficiary certificate, and at the same time files an application for readmission on a special form furnished by the General Secretary and Treasurer. (A former member who is past the age of forty-five, and it is so certified by the officers of the lodge, does not have to furnish an application for beneficiary certificate.)

All former members who desire to be readmitted, and who have not passed the age of forty-five years, must furnish the Recording Secretary of the lodge with an application for beneficiary certificate, and the Recording Secretary must forward to this office the application for beneficiary certificate, as well as an application for readmission, which is known as Form

G-48. Do not send one of these unless it is accompanied by the other.

We find many Recording Secretaries forwarding applications for beneficiary certificate and they fill out the front page of the same, saying that the applicant was initiated on a certain date. We place the name of the applicant on the grand register as a new member, and when we call upon the Financial Secretary for the $2.00 Protective Fund Assessment, which must be paid by all new members, he advises us that the applicant was readmitted, and it takes a great deal of correspondence to clear the matter up.

Recording Secretaries should be very particular in forwarding papers to this office for the readmission of former members, and should be sure not to fill out the face of the application for beneficiary certificate, but it might be well for him to write across the face of this application for beneficiary certificate, "Readmission." However, this application for beneficiary certificate must be accompanied by a Form G-48.

In the future when a member's name is placed on the grand register as a new member, we shall insist on the lodge remitting the two dollar Protective Fund Assessment for this new. ly admitted member.

I want to call your particular attention to Par. (g) of Section 2, Article 24 of the constitution, which reads as follows:

"No person having taken a final withdrawal card shall be readmitted under the provisions of this section unless he be employed as a locomotive engineer, fireman or hostler, or holding rights as such, or employed by the Brotherhood."

You will see from this that a former member who has been expelled, and who is not in engine service can be readmitted, but any former member who has severed his connection with the organization by taking a final withdrawal card, and who is not at the time of making application for readmission, engaged in engine service cannot be readmitted to membership under the provisions of Section 2 of Article 24. Yours fraternally,

been forwarded to the International President, others to the Assistant President, others to the Editor and Manager of the Magazine and others to the General Secretary and Treasurer, that it has been exceedingly difficult to keep the quarterly Directory issued with the Magazine and the weekly Directory kept in the Grand Lodge office correct, or to have them correspond. The Editor and Manager of the Magazine receives notice of a change in an officer's address, or is advised that a certain brother has succeeded another in office, and he makes the change in his directory accordingly, but the General Secretary and Treasurer knows nothing of this change. Again, notices of Directory changes are sent to the International President or Assistant President, and it then becomes necessary for them to advise the General Secretary and Treasurer and the Editor and Manager of the Magazine of such changes. An understanding has been reached between these officers whereby it has been decided to have all notices of such changes sent direct to the General Secretary and Treasurer and he will make the change in the weekly Directory, and the Editor and Manager will be guided by that Directory in correcting the Directory issued with the Magazine. In this manner, changes that arrive at this office by Saturday noon are in the Directory which appears in this office Tuesday morning, and in order that the Directory of the Magazine Department and that of the General Secretary and Treasurer's Department can be kept as correct as possible, it is earnestly requested of all officers, whenever they are advised of the change of an officer's name or address, that same be for warded direct to this office and to no one else. We maintain a weekly Directory, and just as soon as our Directory is printed and delivered Tuesday mornings all changes that took place the previous week are forwarded to the Editor and Manager of the Magazine. If the request contained herein will be complied with, there will be little cause for complaint and incorrect names and addresses for officers will not be found in the Directory of either department. The General Secretary and Treasurer will assume the responsibility for keeping the Directory correct and having all changes properly recorded.

Officers Changing Their Address.

We are having much mail matter returned to this office, and when such mail matter is second or third class we are ad

vised by the postoffice department that the same can not be delivered. Many times the trouble comes from officers changing their address and failing to notify the postmaster or this office of such change. It is earnestly requested of every officer that whenever he changes his address in any city, or when he moves from one place to another, he at once notify this office so that the change can be made in our directory. Be sure and leave a forwarding address with the postoffice department before the change is made, in order that your mail can be forwarded to you. If it is second or third class matter you will be notified that it is in the postoffice and directed to forward the amount of postage due. Quarterly Report No. 5 was mailed from the city of Peoria on August 1st. At the present writing (August 9th) we have received from the post office department of different localities over fifty notices to the effect that officers to whom this report was mailed had moved and had left no change of address or had left the city entirely, and in three instances we have been advised that the officers to whom this quarterly report was forwarded were dead. You will see from this the absolute necessity of promptly advising this office of all changes in officers or addresses.

Personal Checks.

Many of our financial secretaries are forwarding personal checks to this office contrary to the provisions of the Constitution. You must understand that we can not accept a personal check from a financial secretary unless same is certified, and I sincerely trust that before making any remittances to this office you will be sure and have the check certified; if not, secure a bank draft, postoffice order or an express money order.

Joint Remittances.

Many of our financial secretaries continue to send in joint remittances for Beneficiary, Joint Protective and Legislative Board assessments and for supplies all in the same check or money order. This is contrary to the provisions of the Constitution, and while we aim to have these checks cashed and make as little work for the financial secretary as possible, yet at the same time it makes a large amount of unnecessary work on the part of this office, as no one is authorized to sign the name of the General Secretary and Treasurer except with a rubber