The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1884-06-19
Short Talk With the Boys.
BY NJ. QUAD J


BY NJ. QUAD :
"Come, now, let me ask you few
questions. What is a locomotive? 2"
"Why, it's machine which draws the
cars"
"What is an engine ?"
"Well, it's another machine tosrun
mills, boats, factories, ETC."
GLOW wide is q railroad track'?"
z "Oh, FIVE or six feet"
"What is the weight of fiat car 2" Il
ri dunno"
"What is the cost of-an ordinary pas
senger coach 2" S !
"Never heard"
"Ah, my lad just wish I was about
IA years old, and had the chances you
are throwing away" @
"What would you do !''
"Why, I'd post myself. For one thing
I'd walk down to the depot and when a
locomotive brought in its train and went
off to the round house to bs wiped up,
I'd follow it and find out how it was
made. I'd have a peep at every lever
and crank and cog and wheel and rod.
I'd know why and how steam exerted its
power. I'd satisfy myself why that
boiler mounted on wheels was able to
pull and push When left the round
house I'd e. to a. factory and overhaul q
stationary engine and see where the two
differed. Then I'd get hold of some
railroad man and pump him until | was
posted even as to the quantity of oil used
to run locomotive hundred miles,"
"Why, what good would all that do
me?"
"Why? Because born fool haszjust
as good eyes as you have. He sees a
train speeding along the track, and be
realizes that it is train. That is all you
realize, although you have every chance
to know more. I don't say that it will
be money in your pc ;ket to know these
things, but it will be a satisfaction to you
which money cannot buy. You never
expedite visit the Cannibal Islands, but
their location, number, spr0ducts, area,
ETC., aregiveniin geography to post you
and broaden your mind.
2 zone of the grandest business of the
age is railroading. Go down to the Union
depot and count the trains going out and
coming in for an hour and you will be
amazed Every one leaves on time
every one comes in almost to the minute,
barring accident. IF it were not.so the
business Of the entire country would
soon fall into confusion. The train which
is due ID Chicago at s llo,clocks3a. M, or
in Blllaio at nodn, ,:orsin Cincinnati at
p. m, must be there to the minute if
nothing breaks down. Passengers expect
1.-THE postofice officials, banks, mer.
chapts-oyerybody expects it, and all
business arrangements are made accord.
1aHase you any. idea-of tht: millions of
money required to build, equip and run
8 railroad? Have you ever asked your.
self how many locomotives, coaches, cars
and men such a road as the Michigan
Central must keep constantly employed?
Did you ever 6gule on what fortune it
must costceach year to- keep up{ah this
rolling: stock, track, stations, tanks, ETC.,
etc.? And think of the perfect system
that prevails in all the departments
No train leaves the depot until the gong
strikes the exact minute, and from the
time it leaves here until it reaches its
destination it is under the watchful eye
Of the train dispatcher, and Lifts move
ments are known through the telegraph.
Go downqto the depot at II o'clock a. N.
and askEthe train dispatcher where the
train is which left for the West three
hours before, and he Willflocate it.
Every conductor has his orders. HE
must run by these until the telegraph
makes q change. 9here7is a-coninual
click click of the telegraph all along
The line, and if there are fifty trains on
The rails each one makes its run without
bothering another. There .,must ,.be a
perfect system, and men must obey orders
to the very letter. S.3G
'Ride the length of railroad and you
see piles of rails here, heaps of ties there,
old car wheels and scrap-iron by the acre,
aud You must imagine that great reck-
lessness prevails in the financial manage
ment. No corporation. cuts expenses
closer than railroad. f. Every: tie is
counted-eyery. old car wheel has its
hundred pounds of9scrap-
iron is looked after. On. some roads the
engineers are limited as to the amount of
oil to be used each, trip. 1t is even
figured down just how long wheel will
run and how long an axle will last.
People talk about the position of Presi
dent of the United States as if it de-
manded great ability on the part of the
The active superintendent
of q frst-class railroad exercises FIVE
times the brain power required in any
political Office in the land. Think Of
the many stations along the roule-the
hundreds of section hands-the train
men-the rolling stocE-the purchasing.
selling and repairingl He may not bur-
den himself with every detail, but he
must see that others do. He must have
the head to. control others hands.
GAS I said before, it may not be money
in your pocket to know these things, but
it will be food for the mind. You can.
not post yourself too much. The mind.
is a book in which there's always room
for another page. Did you ever take
common door lock apart?"
I. "No," ~ IL: .i....
'fThen you>do not know that a bit of a
brass spring is the hidden mystery which
works both catch and bolt. Without
this Insignificant. triAe, costing less than
a penny, the lock, costing from thirty
cents to dollar of itself, would be only
so much old iron. You have opened and
shut pocket knife thousands of times,
but it never occurred to you that a
spring, acting on different principle,
holds the blade shut or open.
aYousee apaper hanger at work, but
youlare ighorant of the fact that he must
begin his work, in one cornor of the room
by7a plamb line-or he will not make
good COB of his papering. You can't
tell whether a horse shoe is put on with
six or ten-nails. = You never counted the
spokes' in the wheel of wagon. You
meyer counted the bricks which hod-
carrier:can shoulder up the ladder. You
don't know whether cow has teeth in
both Jaws or only in one. You don't
know that blundering Detroit lad ten
years old carelessly put together the pat