The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1894-07-12
THE STREET CAR con
~ MUST &c EXCEPTIONALLY GIFTED
AND WELL TRAINED.

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re IL Not s.Deaa Enay'' to 20 q -Cendnasor.
Pasisnce. Rolitensss and Readiness he
anirsa I'm the Poaition.
The common notion that the army of
men employed by the street railway
companies Of this town average low in
education, intelligence and skill Ia hard
" true. The man who holds his place
for several years MS q street car conduct
or must be much above the broad aver
age In all those things and what Is
true OF conductors Is true in greater or
less degree Of other classes Of street rail
way employees.
It is not easy to pick from 1000 men
so who have the faculty Of detail sun
GENTLY developed to make them gooa
conductors. The permanent body Of
conductors il q picked corps Of men
that has been sifted ont by . long proc
esq The labor unions have been able
TO enforce some of their demands - 10
pay, hours and some minor regulations,
but they have not been able 20 prevent
the discharge Of conductors for seeming
~ slight offenses-when the offense
was mot o pretext for reaching q man
who had made himself too active &c.
member Of the union.
No conductor, therefore, can long re-
tain his place unless he have the mem
ory and the viii TO observe o host ,Of
petty regulations. The man who cannot
accept the discipline OF such regulations
must make some mistake and bring
about his own dismissal. Only men
who are prompt, sober. patient and po-
lite can hold places III conductors. "A
man of violent temper, Of ill controlled
nerves, of easily confused head, is sure
TO have o short career.
Il thus happens that one almost never
sees o conductor drunk ON duty; that
the great mass Of conductors keep their
wits about them when the cars are
crowded; that conductors are rarely inn
polite TO passengers. Men taken at ram
dom even from the learned professions
could hardly be expected TO discharge
the duties Of . conductor with success.
The men show the effects Of their disci-
pline In . hundred ways, and IL would
not be difficult for an observant person 20
pitch upon newly appointed conductors
There Is for the faithful conductor
the prospect Of more or less distant pro-
motion. The peculiar qualities OF the
men are quickly brought out by the
stress Of the trade, and when . conduct
OF has been thoroughly proved there Ii
o chance for him when q vacancy occurs
I'm the grade Immediately above his own.
Education and natural intelligence
count much in the matter of promotion.
Amy man who will take the trouble 20
have a word with the conductor now
and then viii soon discover that con-
ductors, as . class are above the aver
age In education. Their speech Is not
elegant, but 1T is usually free from the
plumbers Of the densely ignorant.
Men Of more than average intelli-
gence and education are willing TO be
street car conductors, partly because the
work Ia more agreeable than that Of
many manual laborers Of about the same
pay, partly because an efficient and
faithful man is sure OF his place, and
partly because there lis some hope of
promotion. The permanance OF the place
IL perhaps its chief attraction. Street
railways never shut down even in the
dullest times.
The force il reduced at certain sea-
sons Of the year, and q small percentage
Of the mi are taken of, but the major
ity OF the conductors are needed the
year round, and when dismisaals take
wNmnn %Nn SwxnEH Mxnx~A ard N~r~S~~M~
men are the ones TO 60. The companies
like 10 keep track of promising men,
for there always q time when
the force must be increased, and the
companies prefer men they know.
The situation of drivers, hostlers and
the like is not so fortunate as that Of
conductors, because these classes Of
workmen are ON the average Less intelli-
gent and educated than the conductors.
Then, too, these times, when motive
power Is changing, are hard for men who
know horses only. The driver who can
not develop into q gripman or trolley
man LIS In a ticklish position.
As to the men above the grade Of con-
ductors, they are of many sorts, bat most
"a tnckM uAV UMuckSOAu8 eA0 uA5CApkAAc
of hard work under the watchful eyes
of their superiors. Pay il not high, but
places are reasonably secure. The man
who has risen from the grade Of con.
ductor to an executive post must have
acquired nm unusual faculty of detail.
promptitude, alertness and decision. In
all these matters the street railway COM
panies are schools where the practical
lessons OF life are taught by daily itera-
| tion.
The result is that each company has
. trained army Of men, whence the idle.
incompetent and negligent have been
weeded ont, In order that the company's
work may be done with precision and
dispatch. No two companies require ex-
actly the same sort Of men for those
places that bring them In contact with
the public, and the character Of con-
dnctors especially il ~noticeably differen-
tiated ON various lineG-New York Sum.
Very Cautious.
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