The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1888-07-12
Men of Great Memories.

AS an ILLUSTRATION OF now the memo
~ may be cultivated in retaining long
list of numbers, one has only to observe
the freight conductors, and very often
remarkable examples of retentive
memories will be found. One of them
recently talked to a St. Louis Globe
Democrat reporter as follows:
Il have been on the road as a freight
conductor for fourteen years, and in
that time my memory has had care
full training in the particular line of re-
tanning the numbers on the cars. Il
start out on run and know the num-
Der of all the ears with which the train
is made up, and while some cars will
be left at stations along the road and
other cars will be taken up, yet at the
end of our run if officer asks me if
/ have car number so-and-sn can
invariably tell him without referring to
my book.
.'NOw, when it is remembered that
the train may be made up of forty
cars, and that the numbers run all the
way from the hundreds to the twenty
five and thirty thousands, and that q,
dozen cars may be taken off and an
other dozen taken on along the road,
my statement undoubtedly seems in
credible to those not familiarly ac-
quainted with this particular depart
ment of railroading. But it is fact,
nevertheless, and have known quite
a number of freight conductors who
have memories of equal retentiVeness-
Noting the numbers on the cars
daily for years conductor becomes so
familiar with the work that his memo
~ holds these large numbers with but
little difficulty. The style and peculiar
finish of the cars from different roads
are also learned, and a conductor at q
glance can tell the road to which car
belongs as far as he can see it,"
Gave $4,000 to the Bible Society.
The man is still living who, seven
teen wears ago, walked into the rooms
of the Bible Society in Boston and cleo
trified the persons whom he found
there, first by his appearance, and, Sec
ondly, by the communication which he
had to make. His appearance betOken-
ed more than poverty, for his shabby
clothes were tied together with strings
What in the world had brought such q
man there was the question which ev-
ery one asked himself, and the wonder
can be better imagined than described
when the stranger remarked that he
had property to the amount of $75, 600
which he would like to turn over to the
society, if he could be guaranteed ten
per cent annually upon it for the re-.
mainder of his life, his age then being
49,
The officers suppressed their amaze
ment as well as they could, took his
name, verified his schedule of his pos.
sessions, and submitted his case to the
directors. They looked the matter over
in the light of actuaries' tables, etc.,
and finally, after much deliberation,
decided that the risk was too great,
and so notified the would-be donor.
Not long after he came back and re-
newed his proposition to turn the mon
ey over to the society and said that he
would be content with per cent an
nually. That proposition was accept
ed, and for some years he appeared
regularly at the expiration of the year
and drew his interest, taking $500 cash
and the company's note for the bal
ance. After doing this for seven years
or so he turned those notes back to the
company, saying that he had no use for
| them. He is now, at the age of SO,
blind, deaf. and crippled by fall so
that he cannot walk, and the Bible So
ciety pays the bills for his support
Springfield Union.