The daily Cairo bulletin., 1884-02-02
THE NEW TIMER.
Something OF the Man Who Brought
About the Meridian Scheme.

Are you able to ride along in street
car without reading every sign-board
in regular succession? writes New
York correspondent Can you pass a
row of posts without instinctively count.
ing them? Isn't there something in
your mind that irresistibly compels you
to step on alternate faggings, if the
make OF the sidewalk permits9 knew
man who took these tendencies for
incipient insanity, and went to noted
altenist for a consultation, Going
down Broadway, yesterday, | saw Il
man who stepped with an odd precision
which suggested the questions above
given. Not only were his strides
strangely perfect in regularity, but it
was clear that his course was labori-
ouslv calculated. He was watchful
for every obstacle. He jostled nobody.
He did not have to stop at the corners
to avoid vehicles. l called my COM
panion's attention to this singu-
larity.
He is running himself on an i'm
aginary time table" was the reply.
What do you mean by that?' |
asked.
That is William Frederick Allen,
the author of the new time system. He
is an expert in railroad time tables,
and what you see in his gait and move
ments is mannerism gained from his
business"
There is going to be a Beautiful
Snow sort of controversy as to the
authorship of the new timing plan and
| thought it was as well to Investigate.
My friend was right. Allen is the
man. At desk in big front room at
46 Bond street, just off che Bowery, he
sits during business hours every day
He is young man whose time is occu-
pied to an amazing degree with visitors,
with great sheets of printed figures,
with business by telegraph and tele-
phone and with an interminable round
Of messengers, both going at his order
and coming upon errands for others.
He is quick as cat and methodical as
weaver. His friends say that he was
always able to do three things at once,
and he says that of late twice that
number of things is constantly before
him. This is the man who has given
its new standards of time to the coun-
try. He is good looking, intelligent
man, 81 years old, with the spare
frame and pale complexion of man
used to hard sedentary work. He
wears suit of black, without jewelry,
and this and his close cut side whiskers
reaching below his ears gives him the
appearance of young English divine.
He is typical Philadelphian, with
none of the dash and show of New
Yorker. He receives a handsome sal
ary, and lives in pretty house in one
of the suburbs. He is married and has
three children. Many people had CIV
en- years of study to the subject before
he took it up, and he gives credit to
each of those who contributed to what
has now been consummated.
The fact of the matter is that the
thing could only be done by joint ae-
ton of the great railroads, and none
of those who studied the subject ar
ranged to put their plans in practical
shape or to get the ear of more than
one set of railroad officials at a time
Their plans were like the house that q
rich sea captain insisted upon having
built just as he designed it. When it
was built, he found that he had to get
out into the yard and put up ladder
TO get to the second story. They all
forgot to put the stairs in their plans.
Allen is the permanent secretary Of
the railway time convention, and helps
to make and publish the time tables.
II did not take him long to find out
that there were fifty-three kinds of
time in use, and that this caused inces-
SAINT and serious bother. That was
how he came TO look into the matter
of standards OF time. He utilized Pro-
fessor Dowd's brilliant idea of dividing
the standards by even hours, and then
he did what Professor Dowd would not
have thought of doing, and couldn't
have done 10 save his neck He divid-
ed the meridianal belts so as to bring
the boundaries either at the ends of the
biz roads or of their divisions, SO that
no change of time would ever interfere
with a trains crew, but new time would
start where new crews, new time Ia
bles, and, as far as possible, different
companies would begin work coinci-
dent with the beginning Of a new stand
ard. 1t was nice piece of work, and
required great labor, but when he got
it ready he was able TO command the
ears of the railroad men. This last ad-
vantage was essential.