Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-11-26

Rs-Sce next year. Block sig
nails and interlocking
switches, with the addi-
ton OF automatic electric signals are being
adopted by all the big trunk lines
and almost" everything done to insure
safety with great speed. These great
appliances will supply about 65 per cent
OF safety, the almost" if adopted, of which
this article deals, about 50 per cent. which will
make 80 per cent of safety in travel. n truly re-
markable showing At the present time the
ratio is about IS per cent
The almost represents the working hours
OF the railway telegraphers. No matter what
safeguards are adopted, il the one in charge of
the same proves negligent they will go for
| naught. This assertion is substantiated bv the
| recent terrible wrecks on roads that were be-
| heved to have in operation appliances that
| would make impossible head-on or rear-end
collision.
LONG HOURS OF LABOR.
What does the government employe, who
works from six to eight hours a day, think OF a
man working twelve hours, and those hours
from pm. till am. These are the hours of
all the railway telegraph operators outside the
principal stations. In addition il should be
| remembered that he is not directly under COM
| mand OF an oyerseer to that his work is
| correctly and promptly done or companions
| to keep him company. On the contrary. his
| signal tower will be found located in the most
lonely localities, and even when situated at or
| near q country town or village little life or
company can be expected from it after o clock
| An EVENING STAR reporter had an instruc-
| tive talk one evening recently with an old-time
railway tclegrapher, who told him of the many
ways In which ar operator can neglect his duty
and imperil the lives of hundreds of people.
| This old timer is q staunch advocate of the
elght-hour svstem. He said:
| III the railroads will adopt an eight hour
| system with its te!egraphers their entire
system IL guarantee an astonishing reduction
in the percentage OF accidents. I have worked
| in watch box and tower for many years and
know whereof l speak. OF the hundred and
one ways in which telegrapher can be weaned
away from the rightful performance OF his
duty allow me to enumerate a few that now
| recall coming under nv personal obserya-
| ton.
| ''ln the first place operator at an out-of
| the-way station will be between eighteen and
twenty years of age. This happens nine times
out OF ten. At this age he is full of animal life
and spirits and cannot fully comprehend the
responsibilities he has undertaken. SAY The
period of the year is summer and the weather
terribly hot and close. The young man is re-
heyed from duty at O'Clock IL the morning
Breakfast and an exercise walk will be over by
TO- He then retires to a small, lily ventilated
room, made so as TO exclude all outside noise
and tries to sleep. 4 sound sleep for perhaps
| an hour follows and then tossing about on the
bed commences. After another hour of this
rest!essness he thinks he has been in bed for
several hours, but upon looking at his watch he
ascertainS the true situation. More tossing
about follows and then in disgust he arises and
dons his clothes and lounges around tho re-
mainder of the day. have gone through this
for weeks and have tried to put in twelve hours
reliable work at night. but found it impossible.
SLEPT FOUR HOURS.
81 remember passing one day much like the
above and at night falling asleep about 1870
O'Clock and sleeping for nearly four hours
During this time seven heavily laden freight
trains passed south and FIVE north right under
my window. but never n sound disturbed nv
slumber. Only those tina: have experienced
| similar lapses of consciousness can appreciate
the almost death grip such sleep holds one in
When awoke the telegraph scunder was tap
ping of my office call, and without looking up
| at the clock answered. T. Il
$50 ahead Nos. 60 and So came from the
main Office. These were the trains that passed
nv Office at about am. II was then nearly 4
| o'clock answered back, Not yet meaning
they had not yet passed.
Without word the operator at the main
Office called up station about thirty miles
north of me and told him to report No. SO. In
stantly came back the reply: First No. 50 at
$40; second SO at 800
ITO say that 1 was dumfounded but family
expresses it. glanced up at the clock and
could hardly believe nv ewes. il was nearly A
o'clock and daylight was breaking.
Concluding that my usefulness with that
road was gone forever drew up a rough draft
of resignation, explaining nv negligence as
favorably as possible. and awaited the request
for ii from the superintendent. This request
was never made. The operator at the main
Office was an old timer had worked out on the
road knew the difficulties that surrounded the
position and had not reported me.
MAKING the working hours from until 4,
| from till ~ and IL till will reduce the
chances OF neglect to minimum. The respon-
sibility Of the position will keep the operator
awake one-half of the eight hours and his work
the other half
But the eight-hour system calls for an addi-
tional man" suggested the reporter
THE EIGHT-HouR SYSTEM
''That is it exactly and where the shoe
pinches. 1t is the additional expense that clogs
the general adoption of the system, but it is
false economy to ignore it. Our English cous-
ms are moro shrewd than we in this particular.
The telegraph system Of ALI the railroads of
England are under the eight-hour system The
English rather slow to adopt innovations.
but quickly see the good parts Of an idea and
where life is at stake take no chances The fact
that operators in England receive only 50 a
week has no bearing on the case, as very few of
them are sound operators, the old system of
reading from a paper tape being in general use.
This system was in use here many years ago
but found too slow for American progress and
enterprise
II have in mind division Of large railroad
that employees about $50 operators. About
twenty Offices are worked on the twelye-hour
plan. Put an additional man in each one of these
Offices at $40 a month Chat is the average paw
would increase the monthly pay roll $500 for
the year. $500. This is not a formidable sum
for large corporation to contemplate. Against
this sum place the frightful cost In money of a
wreck caused by the negligence of q telegram
operator. No wrecks are more disastrous than
those thus caused, as the trainmen are entirely
Oh their guard and the locomotives being
pushed to their full capacity to make q siding
in good time.
Il can only recall at this moment two wrecks
occurring lately for which operators were
chiefly responsible, but the loss in life and
property was large enough to paw the salaries
OF the additional men I have spoken Of for
twenty years. One of them occurred ON the
Reading road near Philadelphia and the other
on the Pennsylvania road near Harrisbur0
While neither man was asleep at the time Il
was developed at the coroners inquest that the
long hours OF work had in a manner stupefied
the men SO that the carrying ont Of orders in a
rational way was almost an impossibility. In
both instances the companies were censured
and the eight-hour system recommended.
INsrRucTINo STUDENTS.
Another loophole through which the op-
orator can escape work and thereby increase