Funds, which caused a considerable increase of office staff. In 1903 we had Messrs. Fox and Shuttleworth at headquarters, with Mr. Millman just starting, and Mr. Parfitt setting out as the first organiser. The following year we had Messrs. Fox, Shuttleworth, Millman, H. Saunders, A. E. Fox, and W. Parker. Then Mr. Millman passed out, Mr. Shuttleworth was put on a pension, Mr. Gregory came in, and in 1909 the staff consisted of Messrs. Fox, Shuttleworth (on the eve of retiring), Parker, Saunders, Gregory, Wheatley (killed in the European War after taking his commission and winning the Military Medal), and A. E. Fox, with Messrs. Parfitt, Drummond, and Warwick as organisers. In May of 1910 Mr. Fox sailed again for America and Canada, as fraternal delegate to the American Brotherhood's Convention at St. Paul's, and during his tour had a long conversation with Ex-President Roosevelt at New York. He had previously been decorated with the medal of honorary membership of the Federated Locomotive Enginemen's Association of Australia, being the first person outside Australia to receive that honour. A few months later Mr. Moore came in as Assistant Secretary to direct administration affairs.
In the year 1910, following on the Osborne Judgment, no delegates were sent to the Labour Party Conference at Newport, and contributions to the Political Fund fell tremendously. South Leeds was abandoned as a constituency, after a visit by Messrs. John Hodge, M.P., and Ben Turner to the Executive over the strained relations between the A.S.R.S. and the A.S.L.E. & F. A local joint conference was recommended, to leave local branches to choose the candidate, and it was resolved "that we fail to see the wisdom of spending our members' money in contesting South Leeds." The Osborne Judgment made political contributions entirely optional on the part of members, and dealt a sharp blow at direct Labour representation. It did, however, compel attention to the need for payment of members, and in 1911 that principle came into operation.
"We are fighting every inch of the way against opposition which is uncalled for and unfair," declared the Report of 1910, but it was
