The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-02-09
news OF The RAILROADS
Station Policeman Spellman Says We
Are Victims Of Circumstances.
SOME PAGES FROM HIS LIFE
He Has Had an Eventful and Stirring
Career-Congressman Straus. of New
York, on Interstate Commerce.
Interesting News Notes.

1--WE are an victims Of circumstances,
and few young men Of II can tell what
occupation or station of life they will
drift into before they reach middle
age" said p. F. Spellman, the special
officer at the Delaware and Hudson
station yesterday as he kept one eye on
froZen-looking resident of Winton,
who had a grip on one Of the station
radiators which indicated that he
would like to carry it away with him
to impart heat to his benumbed anato-
my. Now take my case for instance"
remarked the officer, returning to his
subject, having satisfied himself that
the radiator was securely fastened,
"police duty is something / never was
in love with. but here / am in it all
the same
"In my younger days attended the
public schools of the Seventh ward
of this city, and afterward picked slate
at the Diamond breaker and did al
most ever other kind of work to be had
about Il coal mine. In 1864 I ran away
from home and Joined the construc
| tion corps of the United States army,
| for l had a bad attack of the war
| fever" that was then sweeping over the
country. l was with Sherman from
| that time until the close of the war,
and accompanied his army on the fam
GUS march to the sSa. Those were stir
ring times. l was in Atlanta. Ga,
when Sherman gave his orders to va
cate and burn that city, and saw the
| big roundhouse it contained blown to
atoms.
A Poor Christmas Dinner
"At Murfreesborough, Tenn, we were
hemmed in at the time General Thomas
and General Hood We're having their
engagements. For three days we had
| scarcely anything to eat, as our COM
munication with supplies was cut off
| by the rebel army Our Christmas din
ner that year l remember well. 1t con-
sisted of mush and molasses which we
devoured with relish, can assure you.
| II was at Fort Fisher in '65 soon
after the rebels surrendered to the
| United States troops. We landed on
| the steamship Baltic at Moorehead city,
n. c., from which we took train to
Newburn and repaired the railroads
from Gouldsboro to Raleigh. While sta
corps of bridge builders were sent on the
Southern railroad to build bridge over
a creek. Here l served as cook / saw
Generals Johnson, Bureauguard, Early,
| LongStreet, and others of the rebel
army. They came to Raleigh on an en-
gine built on the style of the Comet"
! Il remember a war hospital between
Newburn and Gouldsboro, where legs
and arms were piled up in stack four
feet high. When / saw the doctors
amputating a young soldiers arm my
chicken heart gave way. My comrades
made great fun of me after / had re-
covered. After this had a glimpse OF
Andersonville and Libby prisons.
Executed Under Martial Law.
"In rebuilding the roads at Goulds-
boro / saw cavalry soldier shot under
martial laws for the murder of a wo-
| man he had also robbed. You can't
| realize how awful the ceremony was
the drum corps playing the dead march,
the soldier sitting on his coffin. Twelve
soldiers were picked out, six had loaded
rifles and six had blank charges. The
captain gave the command and the sol
der was dead.
II started to work for the Delaware
Lackawanna and Western Express
company in August, 1870, the day that
John Handley's bank was robbed. ]
was talking to Father Dunn on Lacia.
wanna avenue and saw the riots wher
the Miners union paraded the avenue
and was with Father Dunn when he ad.
ministered the rites of the church tc
one of the dying men. l casted my
maiden vote for NJ. w. LOTUS for mayor
of this city In 1872 and in 1876 SHOOK
hands with Horace Greeley. l have
been county and city assessor anC
served one term in the select council.
"Now after all my travels, am here
and one of my busiest features is keep
ing the waiting room clear of the young
ladies who will insist on making these
rooms their centers of Irritation. Goo
bless them. I hate to ask them to move
on, but orders Is ORDERS and the girl.
have to go. Twenty years ago 1 woult
not have believed that I would occupy
position of this kind today. But that!
the way of the world, you know" con
cluded Mr.. Spellman in a philosophical
tone.
Interstate Commerce.
Representa-. Straus, of New Yorl
city, in a speech la ongress the othel
day, concerning bill governing certain
phases of interstate commerce, took tn,
sensible ground that since railway in
vestments constitute the most import
ant single form of investment in tn,
country. and consequently the mos