The anti-monopolist. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1874-1878, 1877-05-10
The East Indian Railway Story.

The European railway employees IN In
dia are greatly opposed to the employ
ment of native Indians or those OF mixed
blood Eurasians) as engine drivers, fire
men shunters, etc, and their organ, the
Indian Rail,oay Service Gazette Is full OF |
arguments and examples to prove that 1t
is dangerous to put any but europeans On
railway duty. The following. apparently
somewhat imaginative story Is from the
paper referred to-
:. At a retreshment-room at station on
a wesl-known Indian railway IN the East
Indies. two gentlemen sat at break1ast
the one was the Locomotive ouperlntend-
ent Of the line, the other the Chel-Jus-
tice of Calcutta. They were travelling by
the up slow passenger train drawn up at
the station. The Chief-Justice addressed
the Locomotive Superintendent as 1oi-
lows. Il hear we are to have native
driver for the next length; do you con-
slider it safe to run native drivers with
Messenger trains, or for that matter even
rood trains?' The official replied In
broad Scottish accent Nae, nae, dlnna
fear the native driver will do muckle
weel. and carry you along safe and soune.
But said the Chief-J Justice, II anything
should 90 wrong with the machinery!
ooh, dinna fear. haze speered with the
mon mvsel'. and if he is bamfoozled by
the breaking of one of the gimcracks OF
the enuine. I have told him to stop the
) train and I'll 90 on the engine my am
sell and put all straight: so dlnna De
fashed.' Somewhat treasured. as the Dell
i rang for the last time, the Chief-J ustlce
r seated himself in his carriage, the Loco
t motive Superintendent entered MS luxu-
: rious travelling saloon, and the ualr
4 passed out of the station.
Q 1.-The native driver, Ramlan, was a tan
Q attic cf the worst type he had long enviee
. the assassinators of Chief-J ustice Norman
and Earl MAYO, and longed for an oppor
unity to follow in their footsteps. \
y last bright idea struck him-he becam
o. a fireman on the railway. and being par
e ticularly obsequious to the iocomotlV
vi foreman. was speedily promoted to IN
"a rank of driver. and now he was IN chaTg
IA of a passenger train in which he had as
Ne certained was real live Cnief-Justlce, t
= saw nothing of q Locomotive Superlnten
so dent :.
20 Night drew on and Ramjan had Pile
mr. his naive DTIIldu lIttfN Win tsAAss~-> -
O. bhanr. until he was quite stupefed. an
ut sat dreamily staring at the coat neal
Ramian himself heaping up coal III u
he tirebox. and putting on full pressure
nor steam. At the next station the tram ";
at booked to pass the down mail the han
lie ian had ascertained. through the wire, I
IL some of his bhais in the telegraph ONE
he that in the down mail was lleutenan
ce Governor and some other high ofnclafs- I
took good pull at the arrack bottle hun u
l." self. and. instead of drawing up at Il
nj, station. steamed past it at full speed II
ne mail had left. and Ramjan was IN ms
spirits at the prospect of collision ana
20 speedy passport to Paradise. But
III 1.-The best laid schemes of mice ana men
Ter Gang aft aglee.'
an .sIn the third-class compartment, !
ed Europeans only, sat q European who u
at been an engine-driver on the railway, W
mt had been lately discharged on account
reduction of establishment He had De
I'm i'll. and had wife and children at hoI
Use depending ON him, and was travelling