The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1877-05-23
at the Throttle.

and completely your life was in the
hands Of one man Has it>ever occur
red to you as you recined in a soft
cushioned seat in apparent security,
with hundreds Of others on the train,
how every one Of you might be sent to
instant death by the slightest blunder
or neglect on the part of one weak hu-.
man being? And did you ever find
yourself wondering if the man at the
throttle understood his duties and was
able to do them promptly and proper
ly, appreciating the enormous respon-
sibilities resting upon his fallible hu-
man nature, and knowing what aw-
ful consequences might result from a
single mistake on his part?
Your correspondent had brief con-
versation ia the cab Of locomotive,
in which al unusually intelligent and
trustworthy member of the guild Of
engineers recounted a little of the true
inwardness of his calling.
at is as WE'LL" said he, smiling
thoughtfully, "that the travelling pub
lie don't know how the majority Of
railroads are managed and what risks
the passengers often run. Why, to save
8 little money they often fail to en-
ploy more than half the number Of en-
gineers absolutely needed for safety.
Many a time have | come in from o
long trip so tired aud sleepy as to be
scarcely able to stand, and been order
ed Immediately out again without an
hours rest. I have been worked TWEEN.
ty-four hours at q stretch when | have
been so worn out that no power on
earth could keep me awake, and, stand
ing with my haud OH the lever, have
gone sound asleep. If you had fired
off cannon at my ears I could not
have helped it. / have many a time
brought my engine into some town at
thirty miles an hour while asleep, un-
til the fireman or somebody would
wake me up.
"Dangerous2 Well rather so; for
if there is any post in the world where
man should be excessively wide
awake, yigilant, necessarily watching
ahead of him with an unfaltering
steadiness and with good eyes, too,
with his hand always on the lever,
prepared TO check the flying speed with
which he is dashing along, it is when
lie is in tho cab of a locomotive en-.
CINE. | don't know any work that re-
quires a man to know what he is about
and to see what he is about SO much
as running the engine of aa express
train. The engineer not only must
watch his engine and keep her up to
her work, but he must watch the steam
gauge, watch the time, watch the sig
mails, watch the track, watch the eros
sings and watch his surroundings. To
sum up in one word, an engineer must
be alertBess personified. Dangerous ?
You might as well ask if it would be
dangerous for u man to fall asleep sit.
ting on keg Of powder with lighted
slow match attached to it.
"It is a common thing for an en-
gineer, after having come in from a
long trip, to be ordered out again inn
mediately, although be knows and the
company knows that he is not fit for
further work without rest, and that
to fall asleep at his post is to endan-
ger the lives of hundreds Of persons.
Yet he dare not refuse or he will lose
his place. Suppose, under such CIR
cumstances, an accident occurs, Isn't
the companyimmediately relieved from
all responsibility in the eyes of tue
newspapers and the public if they show
that the engineer failed to see a sig
ual? Who is to know that the reason
the engine driver failed to see the sig
nal or the switch was because he fell
asleep from overwora, and that he was
compelled to run while physically uR-
able to do so in safety ?
"This is the cause Of a good many
railroad accidents, but can tell you
Of a still more frequent one. 1t is the
employment by certain railroad mana
gers of half taught botches as engi-
ueGrs, or men who are not Of sober
habits and cannot get into the Broth
erhood of Engineers (our trade socie-
tY). and who will, therefore, work We
ry cheaply p
"Why is this permitted ?"
81 will tell you. In every State in
the Union, SO far as 1 know, there is a
law compelling the engineers who at
tend to stationary boilers to pass an
examination, at which they must show
! themselves qualified and receive a Ii
cense before they are permitted tC
work. You would be liable TO severe
punishment you employ anunlicens
ed engineer to run the boiler Of your
printing office. This law is of course
an eminently proper one, and in New
York city, for instance, there is q bu
| -.-... :. = IL. ..oltnn LnI,n m Mani 40 Lna.