Barbour County index., 1884-02-01
Only the Engineer and Fireman Killed.

few days since iovial party were
coming West, sitting in the smoking.
room of an elegant Wagner sleeping.
coach. Among the number were two
or three railroad men and a couple OF
Southern bankers. As the express train
came to a stand at Erie telegraph-boy
stepped aboard with telegram, adj
dressed to the general manager of a
leading Western road. The manager
tore of the envelope, scanned the mes.
sage, threw it down on the seat, and re.
marked: I'VE had an accident on our
road last night" In answer to the
question WAS anybody injuredp'' he
thoughtlessly remarked: Only the
engine and baggage-car left the track
nobody was killed but the engineer and
fireman." adding: "They have hard
luck this year. several having been
killed on our road. We have to run so
to make up the time lost by our
Eastern connections; it's all day
with the men on the foot-board if their
engines leave the track To the re.
mark that engineers and firemen should
be the best paid men in railroad service.
the general manager said: .sThey are
paid well enough on our road. They
average to run eight hours of the TWEEN.
ty-four, and get from S3.7 to 81 foI
their work, and for such pay as thai
they can afford to take some risks.
Most of our men are reckless devils.
and set little value apparently upon
their lives. The best runner" he said,
''we have on our road has leen running
an engine some twenty. five years; he
has been badly stove up In two collisions,
yet he is never in happier frame OF
mind than when he steps onto the foot.
board with an order in his pocket to
make up an hour or two in running 2oe
miles on his schedule time, which il
based on thirty miles per hour,
stops TO come out" The manager then
lighted his fifth cigar smoked that dav,
and continued the conversation by stat
ing that occasionally men become timid,
ard not daring to run to make up lost
time, would throw up their Jobs.
"One," he said, ''came into nv Office
the other day. looked him
in the face pleasantly, and asked:
Well, what is up, Jimp' He
said: We'll, manager -, have run
the night express now going on twelve
years, aRd have decided to turn nv
run over to some other man. have
had presentiment that one of these
nights l04 will jump the track, and
there will be, without a moments
warning, widow and four childre.i
thrown upon the charities of the cod
world, as railroad corporations soon
forget the family of one of their meL
who chances to get killed. If you want
me to run one of the day trains will
do 1t, but l have had enough of this
running through the country at speed
OF forty-five miles per bour when IL il
SO dark that you can not see two tram
lengths ahead told him would talk
with the master mechanic and arrange
for his running local train for awhile.
until he got over his foolish scare.'i
Another subject was then introduced
for few moments. then the question
of salaries of railroad officers was
brought up, and in the course of the
conversation the general manager re-
marked that it had been rather hard
time for two or three years past with
their road. They had been expendine
good deal on road-bed, and ne con-
tented himself with $4,000 a year, but
ne looked for better pay the coming
year, as through new connections their
business will largely increase. .T have
been on to New York for few DAYS
talking about our affairs, and 1 left our
people feeling pretty good. We have
just scooped in another sixty miles of
road. Some of our folks bought the
stock OF two or three of the
largest stockholders and have frozen
out the little stockholders, and now
have the road in their own hands,
After hearing the conversation through.
the writer OF this article asked himself
which OF the railroad men spoken Of
above deserves the larger pay. the man.
ager. who rides over the country in
elegant coaches, smoking fifteen-cent
cigars and aiding the directors Of the
road TO concoct schemes TO freeze OUT
little stockholders, or the man ut the
throttle, who daily safely runs trains
through between two or three principa;
Western cities. laden with business men
Journal