The Arizona sentinel., 1890-05-24
WORK OF RAILROAD CLERKS.
1aaONs-Which Requires Constant and
 Long Continued Attention

A@9boS-Which Requires Constant and
 Long Continued Attention.
 Considering the amount of work done by railroad clerks (the constant attention, long hours and responsibility. they ar3 without doubt the worst Eaid and most depeLdent of employees. Railroad clerks wages range from S:36 8 month upward. 4 man who has SG0 pr go nlorth is considered in good circumstances. They are, as rule. a sober, steady. industrioI,s lot, the majority, perhaps, being lnarried inen, and with sach meager ware5 bring ing up families respectabiy.
 Receiving clerks get frort $3J 10 SsI month, and are snnposed to have the easiest places among the clerks. Their day begins at a IT. and ends as soon after as they ca1i finish receiving. They must nave a thOr5az-n knowledge of the road and its connections and ail the terri tory covered by it, and extreme accuracy is required of them. as they arc held re- sponSible for any errors CT shortage which may arise. It sometimes happens that they l.,Tc t0 try conclusions, and give or tal-o . licking irnI2 2 truck driver who considers himself a;Tgrieved, or who ECs tried .lc >:lSrss. s la-.-nce beyond e1dur- ance limits T-2e ;r.ocaiTing clerk signs the receipt, which is ciErn bark to t-le driver. anu the duplicate t-er52f, which he re- tains. thus i3c;. 5Ti-~t himself with tie receipt of the goods and shouldcripg the Responsibility fOr the quantity, condition and correct ness Of tie shipment. Tire duplicate is passed with tue goods to the checker, whose duty it is to compare the marking Of the Coo2s with tbc written in structions of the duplicate, note thereon the wei ryht, the number Oi the car in which the goods are loaded, and sign it, thus as it were indorSing the receiving clerk as to quantity anG correctness OI address. The checker must be very quick of eye and rapid to select the duplicate required from among perhaps 100 held between his fingers. The checkers day begins at a. m. and ends when the last oi. the goods 10 be shipped arc put into the car. This not subsequently is far into the night Dur ing a busy season fourteen and fifteen hours day is not at all unusual, and for this overtime. as it is called, no allowance Is made, and the checker, having worked until perhaps midnight or later, is eX- pected to be at his work on time in the morning. Freight checkers get about S5O a month.
 The duplicate, with the weight of the goods, the number of the car in which they have been slowed, and tho signatures 
 now passed on to the billing department, where the shipment is manifested to it's destination. A car offreight, before leav- ing the station at which it is loaded, is sealed with the seal of that station, and that seal must be found intact when the car reaches it's destination. AS it is passed on from one conductor to another he is supposed to examine each car, and if any i thing is wrong to note at once where such | car was received, and call the attention of the agent or conductor from whom be re- ceived it to its condition.
 There is another system known as the blind check, the duplicate or written de scription of the goods and directions as to route, etc., being furnished by the shipper, passing from the hanLS of the receiving clerk and inspector to the billing office, -re never being seen by the checker. The lscter is furnished with book, and as the goods gre brought before him for stowage in the cars note is taken of the address and weight Of the package, and an estimate made as to contents. This book is sent to the billing office, the duplicate and it are compared, and from tine two manifest is made.
 Promotion is exceedingly slow among railroad clerks. A smart checker or re- eeiving clerk is generally wanted fn that situation by his principal, aud will be kept in it indefinitely. lie brings credit ee bis principal as being the possessor and selector of a good, efficient staff. Some 1tiInes it happens that mans merit is recognized, but is more frequently so by the agents Of another road than by those of the one for which he is working. He gets a liberal increase in salary, aud should his new post warrant 1t, he, as Q rule, entices the desirable men among his old associates to follow him, leaving his old chiefs embarrassed by their loss and in breaking in and teaching of new men. New York Sun.