The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-12-20
AGuAKD on THE GILE-EDGED sIx1'
T,yenty-thoid md Twcnty-thirh and Think
ing Lost Him His dob.

TVenty-thoid md Twcnty-thirh and Think
ing Lost Him His Job.
Al one time In his life the man whose story is
In this article was a guard on the sixth avenue
elevated line. Simply as an evidence of how he
flung away ambition, 1t is here recorded that he
is now a wagon painter in a shop in Harlem.
But for the fact that his name is the same as
that OF an %aspirant for tho salary which Sena-
tor Hill draws from the Government, the for
mer guard would not have told his story. The
name excited the curiosity OF the reporter. and
he called on the man whv gives wagons the fin
ishing touches. The reader is left to guess
whether the name il Plat or Choate.
From the time ! made an application for tho
place of q conductor on n surface line" said the
wagon painter. until | got 1t il was two years.
Was only a sub for six months. Then l had my
steady for n year or so. II was on u belt line.
II was my ambition to get n job on the l.. and l
don't mind tellin' you that n woman was the
cause OF it.. 1t was her mothers notion. So
you see It was a case where two women were
Interested. But you don't care nothin' about
that. l gothic place on the clevated-Sixt ave-
nue.. the blue line In the estimation Of street
railway men-and the belle OF Weehawken was
mine soon after.
never had any idea how fnnicky the pub
lie WAS until | got on the elevated. When l
was on the belt line | never was questioned by
the public except about transfers. y man never
knows how much the pubic cares about n nickel
until he is n strcet-car conductor. I've knowed
business men In New York to ride ten miles to
get TO their business just because they could get
transfer slips. when they could a got there in
two miles by payin, two fares.
when ! got on tho elevated l thought to my
self that ] was through with transfers. Aud |
was. bnt | never knowed what unad ulteratrd
trouble and distilled annoyance was until ! Quit
the surface. That's right. too. My first trouble
on tho elevated WAS Will women. Enr t@O
months after was a guard on the elevated
don't think = woman ever got in my car without
n Sixt' or a Mint vcnus train. And when said t
was Sixt' she always ast me why | didn't
Fflfty-thoid street who didn't have to asst what
train she was on after she was too far on TO get
Off. OF course it is tho business of the chopper
to tell the passengers what train il l.. Ont
there's passengers that doa't seem to take no
stock, In what n chopper snys. And Of course
there's n sign on the locomotive what gives the
information. but passengers don't seem to take
II got n place on the last car in the train.
There's ar, advantage III that piece. You don't
the other platform 10 compete with your voice.
You have the car to yourself, as It were. When
you call ont a street everybody in the car hears
Soon after I'd got ust to tcllin' women what
train they was on was laid off one day by tho
Supe to answer a complaint. | didn't know
what II was until | was brought M to be ques-
toned; Then u woman got up and said that
NNiit' WV WV ItiItc VI " hkltNl pllE hllAi
that IL put her TO the trouble of waikiki n whole
lot more than she had intended. ltsecms that
what street 1t was l should have called. but the
Supe wouldn't let me. When she was gone he
!hoid. or T1h,l!rtv:,SHo'id.. or Fifty.tEo,di, Or Eis%tt}y-
foist on Tho. Sixt' avenue line. lie Rst me didn't
know thHi:the sixt' was the g%tit-cdGY lIno2,
" asst him what | orter laid, ana he said my
accent WAS low. And then was laid OF three
days. and was made 10 practise on the names of
the streets, ! was made to say Twenty third.
Thirty-third. Fltiy-thiri. and Eighty-lrst. i
got 'em down fine, but | made tho mistake OF
fhad a iay.or of an extra hour Went home.
and there was a lot OF my wife's Weehawken
relatives there who said igey had heard that
Harlem lingo. 1t was the first time my wire hau
ever made run OF me, md IL brought on n cool
went back to her mothers in Weehawken, and
she never came back.
passenger. You know. IL you ever travel on
the Sixt'. TINT when the train gets 10 the Fifticth
street station goin' up town that Tie guard calls
out. 'Fiftieth street; change for Fifty-eight:
Harlem train The man who made The Kick
next train, which landed him at Tifty-cisht.
Then he made a rumpus. He said my, lang
a vida Msrl meant ira that h se"' said 'Tr'D that le too" .no %RS
s@ys o s"' you I Know 'ra' Wa f2r H ni1.s ney yeS h @"H n ns
that / had q sort OF glimmerin' that he was
right and ] plead guilty and was laid off. But
thh bh,o "nS ! wa lolu 10 hhS " the WAY 1
said II when he Was in my car. But | thought
he orter knowed what train hc was on when
no got on. The Supe said | had no business TO
think that he had n cinch on that job himself.
Well. had an acquaintance who was n law
the Supe said. and he took down a book and
turned over some leaves and then he snId to me:
Your boss Is right. | don't Had no law In the
book requtrin' a street-car conductor or driver
or guard or motorman to do any thinkin', and II
you have any idea OF that kind In your head
That cost me q Y. And then-bnt what's
the use OF me a. sayin' anything more? I'm
paintin' wagons for q Twin. aud that's all there