St. Landry democrat., 1889-10-19

these terrible facts which disgrace our
railroad age, will not longer sit still ana
allow cars to be built four 6fths WOOD ana
iron and the other fifth the mangled hesh
and broken bones Of these train nen Gu
gagged in railroad service.
There is not a railroad director in amer
lea that would for all the railroads IN the
nation do duty as brakeman one single
night on the top of these trains. why IL
will be looked back upon as one OF the
most inhuman things of this civilization,
to compel a human being to the exposure
as is done every day and every night IN ten
thousand cases, ON the top of these 1ast
moving, swaying trains at all hours OF the
nipht in storms of snow and driving sleet
and ice, to go from one end OF the Train 10
the other over slippery decks to set up
the brakes.
We have society to prevent cruelty to
dumb animals, but here is refined cruelty
practiced on a goo brakemen in this
nation every day, and no one opens his
mouth in protest.
Now one more plea and | am done.
come now to the Christian conscience OF
the public Is it not enough that these
brave and faithful men serve us night and
day in summers heat and winters cold,
always at their post, always ION time II
it be in the possibiiities-ls 1t not enough,
| ask, that THESE men serve US SIX days
and six nights without their being COM
PEELED to give up the hours of the Sabbath
to this same exacting public3 Perhaps
railroad work on the Sabbath is not SO
prominent IN the East as here and in the
farther West Unless one has given at
tention to this point he would be surprised
IL, cff ,ai rb+ train yrork there
is done on the Sabbath. The writer was
at a station in this State on Monday morn
ing one day year ago last winter, and on
looking at the register he saw that "a
trains had registered there the day before.
This was on one road-S4 trains on Sun
day, in the country, too. Think for
moment what that means. How many
men that takes from their homes on the
hours we all so much prize as rlghtfully
our time-as ours to be with our families
at home, at church, at the Sunday
school, or where we can get the most pos
sible rest or good and do the most for
humanity.
Yes, next to saving the lives and limbs
of these faithful and accomplishing men
of the rail, this question of rest on the
Sabbath to these same men-this stopping
the rolling of tens of thousands Of clank-
ing iron wheels over the steel rails, and
shutting off the scream and shrek of the
steam whistle that SO CRATES upon the
nerves of good people everywhere on this
day we all have been taught should be
kept holy is one of the most important
questions that confronts the Christian pub
lie of America to day.
These great corporations must be brought
to observe this one day in Seven as private
persons do, or the Sabbath will surely be
lost to us as people.
In the exigencies of railroad transporta-
ton and commerce of a great nation like
ours, there will be-there inevitably must
be-more or less of Sunday work impera-
tive. Our plea is for the rule, Sunday
rest for train men" Think of it, Christian
men and Christian women Of America
Have we not ignored and shut out from
our Christian sympathy, and from the
bonds of universal brotherhood, to very
great extent, uuthinkingly it may be, but
none the less cruelty and ineXcusably, this
great army of the most faithful and I'M
Complaining class of wage workers, who
have served the public at such terrible
cost of death and suffering?
In the name of the Christian humanity
of this nineteenth century, l bring the
claims OF these men before the public and
ask for them what we would ask for our
selves were our case theirs.-L. s. Coffin,
Fort Dodge, lowa.