The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-06-10

| humping Slrug, anu Jug ooWA CaSI SCt4Ca
| ~ into the frozen earth.
"Well, / wish We good luck" he said
"yez desarvin', but ye don't foind Pa
Dempsey in the fix o. ye."
The life and stir of the yard made Finne
gan more respondent than ever. He wan
dered aimlessIy over to the round house
counted the cars in a moving freight, an.
finally swung on to the platform of pass
ing caboose.
"Hellor' came from the inside, in wei
| known voice.
Finnegan's throat grew 1umpy. 1t wa
the voice of the man who had taken 81
active interest in him from the time he haC
started as a brakeman on the road. TIL
superintendent of the Scranton division
was in the caboose and Finnegan had al
unreasonable but overwhelming desire Il
hide somewhere.
| The superintendent came to the door.
You're just the man want to see. ST
down here. / want you to answer me ;
few straight questions.
Finnegan pushed his cap back ant
| lounged down il one corner.
you're laid off, aren't you, on account
of smashup?"
81 am-yes."
"Were you-drunk2"
"No; I wasn't"
''That was the report"
81 know it,"
81 couldn't understand it. Why didn't
you contradict the statement"
Finnegan's face suddenly blazed.
eff l tell you you'll call me a blamed
fool, and say I ought to be where I am
anyhow; and maybe 1 ought"
go ahead"
Finnegan told his story, making Decker's
offense as light as possible. ''The boys all
thought it was me-" he said, San so 1 let
it go that way, which 1 wouldn't have
done, sir, if he'd been singleman, or one
fixed like | am"
"Well," was the comment of The superin-
tendent, $50 far as 1 can see you are a fool.
You've forgotten your duty by the road,
Finnegan. What right had you to cover
the carelessness of another at our expense?
We want trustworthy men or none"
Fihnegan's face fell with his hopes. He
made no reply, but, shifting his position,
gazed stolidly out of the grimy window.
When the train slowed up he touched his
hat gravely to the superintendent and got
Off
In one of the luxuriously appointed rail-
road Offices, a few hours later, several men
were seated. From the discussion of freight
rates and combines" they led off to a
topic introduced by the superintendent,
who had just entered.
ITO what extent is man culpable who
covers the plumbers of another"
"It depends upon the kind of blunder,"
said QUE
''The interests involved"
'"The mans motive" said a third, pos
itively-a man gray haired in the service
"What have motives to do with actual
results? It's the thing done that affects
others-not the motive with which it is
done"
You're not as generous as the law allows
them. You would say that the man who
lays tie murderously across the track is no
more guilty than the engineer who ignor-
antly throws the train off an embankment
because of it.
"Carelessness is criminal"
fThat depends too. Accidents often
happen where blame can really attach to no
one."
WELL" said the superintendent, "the
case in point is this: A man has a smash
up; he is a man without family, and the
circumstances are such that he is blamed
for the drunken negligence of another man
one of the brotherhood, and man of
large family. He takes the blame and is
discharged. His excuse is that his brother
engineer, if thrown out of work, would be-
come discouraged, drink himself to death,
and leave his family paupers."
That's out of the business here, entire
". It is not being faithful TO the COM
pany's interest"
81 should say that man of that stamina
could be faithful to anything. His vision
is limited. He has kind of strabismus,
that's ALL"
''Then you think him excusable on gen.
eral principles"
81 should say" said the gray haired gen.
tleman at the desk, that to discharge an
employe of that character would be fully
as culpable for us as for him to conceal
his brothers weakness from our knowl-
edge"
"At the same time such philanthropy is
dangerous. You can see how it might af-
feet life and property"
"What is to be done, then? One feels
like a criminal to shake him"
Enlarge his views, if possible. Let him
see that the smaller interests must sub
serve the larger-that his position is one in
volving not only ours but hundreds of
families, and that nothing but strict and
broad integrity should be for a moment
considered"
BARLEY, Bartley," cried Mrs Finnegan
in great excitement the next morning,
you've got dispatch from Scranton"
Finnegan took the envelope and hastily
broke it open.
What is it? o Bartleyl'
SIS the boy waiting?"
Eyes"
Give him-here-give him fifty cents"
Finnegan rubbed his nose vigorously.
''Do tell me! I'm all of tremble"
They've called me back on the old divis-
ion. Elizabeth Adams Turner in Phila-
delphia Press.