Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1885-06-05

-ruE BOYS 0R To-DAY AND WHAT
We ARB TO DO WITH THIN.
Philosopher -. Quaa Gives rs hls Experi-
ence 90 ageml Lie.

salary. does 3 railroad oface offer any
advantages over . wholesale house
What would . young man d Is get
in the way Of salary in either pIaoe to
begin withf"
Your first question can be answered
truthfully in both the affirmative and
negative. II you could get place in >
railroad Office where you had some
official to push you slong you would be
advanced pretty fast-iaster than in .
wholesale house where Jon had to de-
pend on yourself alone. On the other
hand, there are plenty Of men In the
railroad offices Of Detroit, for instance,
who have not been advanced for years,
and who are receiving less salary than
they did Ave years ago. In either o
railroad Office or q wholesale store there
Is certain amount OF envy and ieal-
Dusy among employees. Any advance
ment is pretty certain to create animos-
lty. The manager OF the Office or the
house may make honesty, integrity and
faithful services the test, or he may adj
vance his favorites over the more de-
serving.
However, either situation offers you an
opportunity for entering into active
business and earning q fair salary.
While on this subject OF railroad
work it may be well to give the contents
Of letter received from station agent
on Southern railroad. The boys are
asked to give his statement q careful
reading. he says:
In the Free Press dated April Is yon
say: "But the telegraph operator who
can secure the position Of station agent
Rs well has q good thing Of it.. Please
allow me 10 ask you few questions on
this subject. Would you think you had
So good thing Of it, il you had to work
from fourteen to eighteen hours per day
ct 8 salary from $50 to $50 per month,
selling tickets, receiving goods for ship
ment, issuing receipts for them, making
manifests to accompany them, checking
freight out Of cars, delivering it to con-
signees, making out freight bills and
collecting same when consigners reside
In the town, recording the manifests in
your books, loading one 10 ten cars per
day, making one TO ten daily reports,
three 10 ten weekly reports and the
same monthly Would you think you
had ga good thing Of it" when, after
years of faithful service, you were per-
mitted TO remain in the same position,
when strangers are brought in to fill
vacancies for which your superior officer
admits You are qualified? When, your
duties increasing and work becoming
more arduous, partly from natural In
crease Of business, and partly because
you have labored faithfully for the road.
your superintendent tells you, ST don't
see how you can do your work. but
can't give You an assistant. nor In
crease your salary so that you can en-
ploy one, because It has never been
done at your station heretofore 2" When
finding you cannot possibly keep up you
get your wife, brother and sister TO as.
sist you, and modestly ask that they be
paid So, $40 or $50 per month which is
refused because your superintendent
''does not wish TO establish q preced-
ent?" am aware that there are super
intendents who watch their employees
and reward faithful service by promo
tons, but they are few and far between,
and the most of them base the salaries
paid their employees upon ssthe smallest
possible amount that employees can live
ON. Then, too, when the dull season
ensues you are notified, ssIn order 70 re-
duce expenses you are notified that your
salary win be reduced i've or ten or
fifteen per cent. while the big salaried
officials are not affected thereby. /
know you would not willingly counsel
young man to enter profession where
he cannot more than earn living, with
ont encountering these hardships in
addition, so lay these facts before you.
Make inquiries Of the agents ct any Of
the small towns and you will find that /
am correct. Concerning another sub
iect wish TO add few words. There
are thousands Of young men to-day try
ing TO earn q living for themselves and q
support for their families by telegraph
ing, while the officials OF railroad and
telegraph companies are daily maneuver.
ing to force their salaries down TO almost
nothing, saying, eff you win not work
for that, ] can find plenty that win. !"
Everywhere boys are Studying teIeg-
raphy, In colleges and ''plug factories,
as we call them. being misled by datter-
ing advertisements and proapectuaes,
stating that telegraph operators are IN
demand ct salaries ranging from $50 to
500 per month. Having learned the
rudiments Of telegraphy, they arc willing
to work for almost nothing in order TO
become more proficient. and unscrupu-
lous officials make use Of these plugs
to reduce salaries, 70 the great injury Of
working operators and the detriment Of
the service. As On actual fact, there
are three operators, good bad and In
different. 50 every vacancy occurring in
the United States, and salaries range
from $50 downward in the commercial
service. the average being about $50.
and from $50 downward, in railroad
service, the average being about $50 per
month. This does not include train
dispatchers, who are paid from $50 to
$50 per month. Your letters are rend
with interest by thousands Of young
men. and you ere ii d position 20 40
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