Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1879-07-31
Miserll
50
Gong up the Ladder.
now HE.kINAN BECAME \ GI~ERAL
sIrEHiNTFNnLNT


sJrEWNTTNuENT
Ia the earlier year. OF my experience As
a printer ia Chicago, more Than twenty
year, $40, our firm did a great deal Il
printing Tor The Chicago, Burlington s
QGIICy railroad. and bsCau-e ol this.
came to know = young man who = the
subject of my stony. lie came from Ma
sarhuscit-. Ma pouE, Aud had uu .ufuru,
tai friend iu even gtsc him letter of rec
omm, udauou. lie sought emp "y m'ni ou
ihe Chicago, B4ruagiun - quincy "a Fl.
road. and alter NA.uug a time. 81 lA,; -,-
cured The position uf BRAKEMAN ou ir,is Hl
ira.u-sAlart about thirty dollar. mousA.
lie Ma faithful iu b.. position. aEl. br.us
both Intelligent aud .glG.iIiag-. h- wa-
soon made conductor oi 'hc tf4lu. WHu
~age, nearly doubled. lie attracted 'a-
ailcu,.ou OF hi superior oiiccr-. Who ,aN
n h.m Au honest, IA fhlal auI s1u.c els
t!ou- conductor. orc uo; seeking Us osu
ease og pleasure. bat cous'Aal!y de-, 1'-d ia
The Interests OF The company thai cul .oycJ
him. % that not many months c.al-,I De-
tore hc Wa msGe conductor of p4..rgs.E
tratu-A more comfortable position, aul
one yielding somewhat higher salary.
Here hr~i klcN h!m. and -aS ll him 4
quiet. uns,suuInS young map. tree from
popular vice.. sad ouv Who ftt,i 70 be lust
a. !Athiu'. tue aud devoted go L.. MOI ,
a. a conductor, IS thoush The position had
been that Of General Superintendent,
One oi the stcrlest. and u :, ,NaC;iug.
AMI N,t Que oi the Uoblc>t. Ablc.'. auIn most
conscientious men that ever nlcd posi-
ZION. WAS then Gru,tal Superintendent Of
the road. The man. Col. [. q Hammond .
watched ey,ry emp.oye oi the road wHh
knew the ability OF esCh, and seemed ln-
;ubiyely TO know which we're the lag
sLifks. Oar young conductor did not rs-
cap. the keen eve. When he least thou ght
Of 1t his CHIEF was measuring and souud.u.
hun. nudiug out What Kind OF metal he Nas
made OF; bat pOue even knew whether he
WAS approved or not, for the chiefs look
was always stern and cold Ice.
One saturday morning train No. moved
slowly out uf Chicago under the care ol
NY friend, who. only intent on doing his
work a. vel D. he knew h0w. secuted ~
have no higher ambition than 10 be : 10I
condacior-sa alary 900 a year. A5ou;
noon. when he stopped 4, . station. De
found telegram from the head ofilCs.
ordering him to leave the train IN care 81
-, and iAkc the first train for Chicago. -
This Ma an unusual thing. Wondering
wha; could be the matter, corsci0 - thal
lie had tried 10 do exactly right. aud cl
remembering how eA4ctiug va, the Gen
erAl Superintendent, he feared that uuin-
tentioualiy he had fallen under hi, d.
pleasure. With 4 fearful heart be pre-
sented himself al The office OF the Super
intendent.
coed morning, Mr.. Hammond; | have
received your telegram, and come 10 see
what il means"
Good morning" growled the chief; Il
see you have, sir; ! have concluded 10 take
your train awsy from yoI.
The conductors heart sank lower than
ever. What before was only fearful fore
boding was now painful truth. He had
KEEP, the affairs OF his train To complete OF
der, his reports had been carefully and
correctly made, and yet. after ali, lost b.
position. He dared not hope 10 reverse
the decision OF the aii-pOwerlul official, yet
In as calm a voice as he could command.
he politely asked the reason for his sum
mary dismissal.
Col. Hammond waited awhile before lac
answered. Then the muscles OF his face
relaxed little and he said: 'I want an
Assistant Superintendent ia my office, and
l have called you 10 take the place"
True worth Is always modest, and our
.thunder-.truck conductor could only STAN
mer: "But am not competent. sir, to MI
the position"
You can do what | tell YOU; you can
obey orders, can't your That's all you
have 10 do, sir. You will begin work this
morning. That is your desk
The new duties were not as difficult a.
he expected. At first he had only to obey
orders, and carry out the details OF work
laid out by the chief; and 10 these duties he
brought the same faithfulness aud thor
oughness that had made him noticeable as
a conductor. His elevation did not spoil
him or make him vain. lie WAS a. plsin,
modest and hard-working as before. Iii.
salary at first was 81 500.
After a few years service under Col
Hammond, and an advance of salary to
$500, the plain young man Was Invited u
take the office OF General Superintendent
OF a younger road. al a salary OF 81 900
Distrusting his own ability but determined
20 do his best, he accepted the call, spd
succeeded, until the Chicago, Burlington
q Quincy, realizing how much they bad
/ lost 10 parting from him, invited him &c
resume his old position, aud secured hi:
! services by the tempting offer OF $1,000 a
/ year.
Ia the meantime Col. Hammond had be
CputS wv Coftiihh'hptht " tft'
! Union Pacific railroad, running from Oma
| ha to Ogden, where it connects with tn,
I Central Pacific railroad. The Central Pa
| citic road was owned by four or five mi,
| liouaires. who built it, one Of whom wa
lis General Superintendent. HoweveI
good business man he was he knew littl,
| OF railroading.
But where could they find e General Su
pcrintendent who had the ability, ant
| wouid dare TO reorganize the road, an,
put its affairs upon a better basisi The!
consulted Col. Hammond and other rail
road men, and the result was that mos
Unexpectedly our wbilom, modest an'
hsrd-workiDg conductor one day receiv-'
telee fam asking him il he would under
take the duties OF General Superintendent
| of the Cen tral Pacific railroad, at a salar
Of $4,000. He was satisfied with and ap