Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1882-11-22
From the New York Times.l

Homes on the Rouse iops---HapIts OF the LOCO
motive Euqineers-.-Life in the Turkish Bathing
House.
From the New York Times.]
There are some queer ways of living
IN big city like New York, said a we'll
Known man-about-town to Times re-
porter yesterday.
81 could mention hundred. I came
into the city in late train last night,
and the engineer attracted my attention.
He was SO big and jolly, and so black
and greasy. Nothing in the world
seemed to worry him, least of all any
danger of accident. There was no bag
gage car ON the train, and watched him
through the front window of the smoker.
He sat on an elevated seat on one side
Of his cab, contentedly smoking a wood
en- pipe and watching the track. There
Is one of the queer lives. This man, as
/ learned from one of the brakemen,
hTes in Philadelphia. He sleeps there
all day. brings his train on to New York
IN she evening, goes back to Philadel-
phia, and between 4 and In the morn
ing makes short run no to Trenton and
back. Then he has all the rest of the
day for sleep. He reaches New York at
ID III the evening, and does not leave till
Midnight, SO that gives him two hours
10 get his supper-no, not his supper,
his dinner, for the only meal he has had
before this is at in the evening, when
he gets up. 1t is dark now at 6, remem-
Der, and it is hardly more than light
when he turns In again, so he barely
gets a glimpse Of daylight. What
queer sort of life that must be, when YOU
stop to think about it. Asleep
all day, and all night sitting over the
top of an immense boiler, flying across
the country. Hardly a sight of his
family; hardly chance to know whether
ne lives In a red brick house or a white
board house, or a French fat, if they
had such things in Philadelphia. He is
always in some danger, as we look at it,
b0t that he does not mind. Not because
locomotive engineers are drawer than
other people, but because they are used
ID the constant danger, and do not think
OF 1t. New Workers think nothing of
riding On the elevated roads, while
people from other cities are generally
afgaid of them. This is not because the
New Workers are Drawer, but because
they are used to it. This engineer of
mine is only sample of some thousands
more, who are flying about all night,
never In bed except by daylight, always
watching the track ahead, and keeping a
close eye on steam-gauges and water
gauges. They cannot go at the business
too young, for the companies must have
mature men; and they cannot stay in it
ELL too old, for the companies must have
men in their prime. So with hard work,
constant danger, never-ending response
bsliTy, and the certainty of soon being
displaced by young man, these en-
glneers ought to get pretty good pay,
one would think-about 500 week,
perhaps, to give him a chance to save up
something for the wife and babies. But
when one of them makes So or 81 day
ne considers himself well off. And he
goes on through all his working life,
carrying his dinner along In a tin pail,
wearing greasy, slouching clothes, and
running Dig risk of breaking his neck.
Miserable sort of existence, you say I?
But, then, look how fat and jolly he is
With it all, and see how lean and dolefuI
ron and are who think ourselves much
better of. Why, would give Eve thou
sand year to have that engineers
chest and arms.
Scan you mention some more exam.
pies %
Yes, I can; plenty of them. Another
strange mode of life is that of the Turk
ish bath attendants. There are at least
Fifty Turkish baths in this city, with an
average of five attendants each. That
makes $50 men living day in and day out
IN an atmosphere little hotter than
anything to be found on the equator. and
. great deal closer; living generally half
underground, for most such bathing
rooms are In easements; living where
suu dress consists of a towel dangling
rom the waist; living where the floors
are SO hot they burn the bare feet; where
9he chairs are so hot you dare hardly sit
down in them; where an egg would
cook In few minutes; and living here
81 day and every day, from early morn
ing till late in the evening, the events
Of the day being the arrival of custom
ers and the necessity of rubbing and
serubbing them, telling them how they
sre improving In appearance, and induc-
ing them to take as many as possible of
the little extras for the benefit of the
Droprietors. This is one of the queerest
Of the queer ways of spending lifetime.
The bath-man comes In the morning,
exchanges his clothes for towel about
his waist, and goes into the bathrooms,
where the temperature is almost unbear-
sole. He is constantly assisting people
IN taking cold shower baths and cold
plunges, and the intense heat naturally
drives him into the water. But he does
mot catch cold 81
His only companions through the day
are naked men, for he cannot go outside
for fear of catching cold He whisks
himself through life in a shower of soap
suds, bakes himself into mummy long
before his time, shuts himself up in a
furnace day after day, and all for what /?
about $15 week for the best opera
tors.
seWhat do you think of the queer
lives led by ianitors' families {? / know
. ianitor who has charge of a big
building down Broadway who has four
little tots of children, and they don't get
down into the street more than once a