HE RED SPECIAL was an inspiration; just an inspiration. I am told that the idea was conceived by National Secretary Barnes, and that when this child of his brain was brought forth, and as he nursed it for a night or two and saw its promising growth, he was as much embarrassed by it as any bachelor would be with a baby on his hands.

And then he took his trouble to the National Committee. As the blushing, but pardonably proud, father came before them, it is said that these eminently respectable gentlemen coughed uncomfortably behind their hands, and said "ahem" a good many times; but at last agreed, not without misgiving and foreboding, to stand sponsor to the thing.

Some genius-I believe it was Comrade Simons,-dubbed it the "Red Special." Out of the goodness of their souls, and of course out of their purses also, the comrades of the whole country were asked to contribute to the child's maintenance, and-well, I understand so much money was subscribed that it has for ever dispelled anxiety about providing for the next addition to the family-the "Red Regular.'

That was a memorable day when the Red Special was

taken for a try-out to Lemont Park. Unprecedented enthusiasm had been aroused and the people of Chicago poured out in their thousands to give the train a hearty send-off on its twice-across

the-continent trip. The Presidential candidate, Eugene V. Debs, made a great speech, which allayed any fear there might be that he could not talk politics. And Governor-yet-to-be Brower put in some slashing work.

AT LEMONT PARK, NEAR CHICAGO, ILL,

But that was a picnic crowd. We had yet to hit up against the cold callosity of that awfully long list of places on the map that we were scheduled to visit; where the farmers lived, and the miners lived, and the other workingmen lived, amid so much Republican prosperity, all of whom most likely would laugh at us for our pains in talking about the need for a revolution in our social and economic system. And so we were a little nervous when we started out on the morrow. But in the very first day's meetings we got amongst miners out of work; and they gave us a hearty welcome. They could give us very little financial support; but they gave us their hands, and we went on our way strengthened. And even the stolid farmers got interested. So that by the time we got to Davenport, had "processioned" the town, and Debs and Brower and Simons had stirred up a big meeting to enthusiasm-we felt the Red Special was marked out for success. By the evening of the second day the last doubt had left us. We had got to the other extreme we were just a little frightened at our own success.

Des Moines, Kansas City and Omaha gave us enormous paid admission meetings, Leavenworth and St. Joe received us royally; and we had not the slightest doubt but that the train would go right ahead and rip the old parties up the back and front.

And then we got a telegram from the National Office The effect of this telegram was that as subscriptions had fallen. off, the Eastern Trip of the Red Special was out of the question; that the Train must go to the sheds on its return to Chicago on September 26. That kinder hit us where we lived. There was a hurry-up meeting called in the chief's two-by-four stateroomwe sat on each other's knees and there we solemnly took oath that "By, this thing's gotter go through to election-day.” The telegraph wire to Chicago showed an astonishing temperature shortly after that. The Red Special crew discussed ways and means for an hour. We were seeing with our own eyes what the Red Special was accomplishing. And we felt confident the comrades all over the country would appreciate that very soon. And sure enough they did. An appeal, hot and marked “urgent”, was sent out from the crew to all the locals in the land. And wherever we had meetings, although the locals had exploited their audiences to the limit in charging admission for a political meeting, the Red Special crew waded in, and exonerating the local comrades, exploited the Democrats and Republicans for a collection. We put it up to the boys of the West to give the boys of the East a chance to see the Red Special. And did'nt they just throw in those big silver dollars, kerplunk? We said "Please give an ocular demonstration of whence the Socialist Party gets its campaign funds." And they did thus. And the

committee at headquarters were comforted. And the trip East was assured.

We had started out amid great enthusiasm, and wherever we went the enthusiasm was the same, only more so. After a great meeting at Denver we climbed and climbed the mountains until we got to Leadville, where at an altitude of 11,500 feet we hit up against what the Americans call, I believe, a tough proposition. Although it is so high up on the map Leadville is about as low down as it can possibly get morally and economically. Unemployment we found to be a chronic state of things, and the busiest places seemed to be the saloons and the flaunting redlight district. It made one's heart sick. There was very good reason for the flaring motto that smote me between the eyes when I entered the newspaper office-"Smile, damn you!"-for everybody, even in the open-air meeting that we had, at a corner, where the four winds met, seemed unutterably miserable. Before Gene got through with his speech he had kindled a few sparks in the hearts of his hearers-but Leadville was a sad experience.

At Glenwood Springs we stayed long enough for a useful meeting among the plutes, with the Mayor presiding, and in order to boil the candidate in the natural hot springs in the mountain caves. While we were lunching on the train, in tripped a dainty little maid of about ten years, announcing that she was from Terre Haute, to present Gene with a beautiful bunch of flowers. And this set the fashion. For ever afterwards on the Western trip-flowers and fruits are rare in the East-the train was embarrassed by the mountains of fruit and flowers that were brought in by Socialist daughters and dames.

We were late when we got to the City of the Mormons. Ogden was scheduled to have a noon-hour meeting before Salt Lake City had its Labor Day demonstration. Our tardy arrival was the cause of a dickens of a shindy between the two locals. Between the two sets of representatives, it looked as if Debs would be divided, and so one or two of our heavyweights had to sail in and cause the enthusiasts to break away. No blood was spilt, no bones were broken, and very little moral and intellectual damage was sustained; but we hope that Ogden and Salt Lake City are going to live happily ever afterwards.

We left immediately after the night meeting at Salt Lake City, and struck the new trail across the desert to California. We were to reach Las Vegas in twelve hours. For two days our hearts had been heavy within us,--we had been told by travellers and railroad men that Las Vegas was the hottest place outside of Hades. But, lo! the fates were with us. On the evening before we crossed those arid wastes there had been a surprising down