davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Topeka state journal., 1897-12-10
TELEPHONE CHANGES.
Improvements Mads at tne Exchange
-74O Phones Now in Use

The new switch board which the Mis-
souri, and Kansas Telephone company
is putting in in the Topeka central
office is being connected with the city
lines on the terminal board at the old
office. The new board has been placed
in the front room on the third story of
the building in which the office is now
located. 1t occupies a position on the
south side OF the room. There are
drops for LOCO telephones on it. A
few improvements which have been ad-
ded to it will facilitate the work of the
hello girls
The old board which is now in a rear
room of the building has a capacity of
700 wires and recently it was necessary
to make an addition to it. There are
now about 40 telephones in use in To-
peka. All wires are being connected
in so that when the preliminary work is
done there will be no annoyance to
says that barring accidents he will be
in shape to make the complete transfer
on Sunday. At that time a double
force of hello girls" will be on duty
at both SWitchbOards. One by one the
wires will be changed from lower to
upper SwitchbOards. Users of tele-
phones will not be aware of the change
in progress. All the wires will be con-
nected on and the terminal board win
be kept in its present position. The
old switchboard will be removed, which
will allow of more space for a work
room. The toll line room has been
moved forward in the building The
new switchboard to be used is one
which was in use at St. Joseph. 1t has
been repaired and supplied with some
up to date appliances. While it won't
be as handy as a brand new board, it
will be a great Improvement over the
old one. The head operator will have
a desk and instrument in the room with
the large switchboard but separated
from it. In making the change it was
necessary to string cables from the sec
Ond to the third stories, and the work
of making the connections is a delicate
undertaking. 1t is also tedious.
The Topeka state journal., 1897-12-10
RAILROAD NEWS.
The Santa Fe Directorate Likes
President Ripley.
Chairman Walker Declares He
is the Right Man.
ROAD WILL PROSPER
Under Mr.. RipIey's Economical
Management.
Other Railroad News All Along
the Lines.
ROAD WILL PROSPER

In the opinion of Mr.. Aldace F. Walker,
chairman of the board of directors of the
Santa Fe railway, under ordinary circum-
stances it viii be a long time before there
will be a change IL the office of president
of the road. Mr.. Walker says that the
stockholders of the road are more than
pleased with Mr. Ripley's management,
anc only the highest regard exists among
them for the chief executive of the rail-
way.
The stockholders. as far as can as
certain" said Mr.. Walker, are feeling
very hopeful at present over the future
o. the road. They appreciate the eco
nOmical methods of President Ripley, and
believe that under his businesslIle man
agement the road will prosper. AIr Rip
phys plan of putting the bulk of the
earnings back into the road until the
property is placed in the best possible
condition is looked at in the right light.
and they appreciate that when these ex-
ceptional expenditures cease and their in
vestment becomes a paying one they Will
have interests in one of the best railroad
properties in the world
Mr. Walker made the inspection of the
Santa Fe shops in this city yesterday
and said that with the exception OF the
Pennsylvania railway shops at Altoona
Pa they We're the largest railroad shops
he had ever visited. He said that in the
east the Santa Fe shops in this city were
REGARDED as one of the best equipped
shops in the United States
The Topeka state journal., 1897-12-10
IMPRoMPTU BULLFIGaE.
Foreman Player Acted as Matado1
and Was Knocked Out

anu w as AnOCke0 OuE.
railroad man can dodge a train or
a flying freight car about as easy as
the average man can dodge a bill col
lectOr but when it comes to a railroad
man lodging an infurieted steer the
latter is apt to place his brand in dis
approval on the anatomy of the rail-
road man unless the unfortunate man
can entrench himself behind a line of
cars
Yesterday afternoon a small red steer
about the size of a large Newfoundland
dog, or a little larger wandered from
some out of the way place into the
Santa tF'e switching yards and stood
there and gazed about him. W-w-w-w-
W-WOo went the whistle of the switch
engine and the diminutive steer got out
of the way just in time to save the
company from hauling him away. The
steer did not seem to like this sudden
and compulsory move and he dropped
his head in a threatening attitude and
vowed he would butt the first object
that came in sight that way anywhere
near his own size. Three small cOlored
boys were crossing the tracks. The
steer spied them and gave chase. It
was a good run for the money, but the
pickaninnies reached a f1atcar ahead of
the steer and climbed upon it. The
headlOng career of the steer came to a
sudden termination when his head
struck the side of the car and it did not
cool his temper. The boys waved their
red bandanna handkerchiefS at him.
and he paved the ground. Just then
Milton Player, foreman in the round
house. came along. The steer spied him,
so did the boys and they yelled.
Look out, Mister but the warning
came too late. The steer had gotten up
steam and was we'll under way He
struck Player on the starboard side
with the force of a pile driver. Over
went Player and by the time it dawned
upon him what it was that hit him he
placed a line of cars between himself
and his antagonist. The bull fight was
Ger. The matador was put to flight
and the believing steer was master of
the situation.
Did he hit you?' asked someone
Il should say he did" and the victim
limped away to tell his mishap to Amos
Beeler, the lion tanner, and ask him to
tame the steer. Steers were out Of
Beeler's business and the steer after
holding possession of the freight scales
for a few minutes to see how much he
weighed after the combat, wandered
off
The Topeka state journal., 1897-12-10
USE OF THE "DRoP" SWITCH.
John Young Tells How the Order
Came to be Abolished.

ct can remember when switching
crews were not allowed to make the
drop, said John Young, assistant yard
master of the Santa F'e at Topeka, as
he threw a switch and leaned against a
bOxcar While the switch engine made
the drop" or flying SWITCH, as it is
called by trainmen.
1T was a good many years ago when
d. J. Chase or Doug Chase, as he was
commonly known, was superintendent
that the drop should not be used even
in the yards and we were careful not to
break the rules unless we were in
hurry.
The speaker paused in his story long
enough to throw the switch again as
rods ahead of couple of stock cars that
were to be dropped onto the failing
track.
"One day. continued Young, Il was
standing near the main track watching
the switching crew at work. Chase
saw that the boys were going to make
a drop, but I said nothing. The crew
dropped a car down onto the cOaling
track and went back for some more.
Chase saw it but said nothing. He
watched the car run down onto the
track and just as he turned around the
crew dropped five down on the river
track. Chase scowled and watched the
cars as before and turned around as the
engine flew ten down into the field. He
watched those as before and then turn
ed to me:
In a hurry, today?' he asked
Il said we were and wondered how
many of US would be called up on the
carpet the next day.
Chase walked away and We never
heard anything about it. Since then
the drop has been used and the rule
suspended
The Topeka state journal., 1897-12-10
FLOUR RATE WAR.
Western Lines Refuse to Pay a Ter
minal Charge on Flour to
Trunk Lines

Chicago, Dec. 10.-The lines of the
Western Freight association met yes
terday to consider through flour rates
from Minneapolis and St. Paul to the
territory of the trunk lines. The roads
are anxious to eVade the charge of 3
cents per hundred pounds which the
trunk lines have tackled on as a termin-
al charge. The western lines say that
they viii never pay it, while the trunk
lines say it is a lighterage charge and
entirely legitimate The western roads
today announced that they would not
object to the charge if it were contend
to export business, but the trunk lines
say that it must apply to -four shipped
to any point within the territory of the
trunk lines. 1t was decided today to
inform the trunk lines of this fact and
then, if they insist. the western roads
viii abandon all through billing and de-
liver the flour to the trunk lines at their
terminals and allow them to collect the
charge from the consignee.
The Topeka state journal., 1897-12-10
ELECTRIC LIGHTS IN THE CARS
First Trip to Los Angeles Of the New
~Axle Electric Light"

The first passenger car fitted with the
"axIe electric light" has made the trip
from Chicago TO Los Angeles. and ar
rived there yesterday in perfect order.
President Max Schmidt of the National
Car Electric Lighting company, IN
speaking of the event, said;
The car was sent over the road Iof
the purpose of instruction, to snow Ine
trainmen how to operate the sWltch-
board. The trip was made without any
trouble and it Will not be long until
all the California trains are equipped
with the light. The Santa he IS the
first road in the west to adopt electric
light but they have made no mistake
in their enterprising move, as am
certain that it is the coming nSnt 1Or
railroad trains"
The National company has a contract
with the Santa Fe to equip 80 cars with
the light, and the Santa Fe company
has an option on $50 more
The system adopted by the Santa Fe
is the best that has been tested so FAR
and after a years trial on car IN
constant use, 1t has proven a DECIDED
success The electricity is furnished
by an iron clad generator carried on
the endsiu of the car truck ard is built
to Withstand the hardest service and
all kinds and conditions of weather.
The generator is run by a camel's hair
belt run from the axle to the truck
to the pulley on the generator In or
der to overcome the irregular move
ments of the axle. the belt that drives
the generator has interpOsed a spring
cushion fdler. There are two batteries
OF is cells each placed underneath the
center of the car for the purpose of
storing electricity for the use OF the
lights when the car is not in motion.
When the lights are in use but one bat
terry is being used and the other is be
ing charged. One battery will carry the
Is lights Of 16 candle power for eight
hours The different cars have a diff
ferent number of lights, but the aver
age is IS. The lights can be burned at
full force, or they can be dimmed 50
they are barely red. The rule is to dim
them only when the occupants of the
car are asleep. The electric lights are
much steadier than the old oil lamps
and besides furnishing more light they
afford d better reading light, as they
are placed on the sides of the car above
and nearly over the center of the seats.
The Topeka state journal., 1897-12-10
A DECAYED TOOTH
May Cause the Loss of an Amateur
Actors Arm.

Cincinnati, Dec. 1O.-Mrs. Frank Ne
ther, a collector for the SOhn Brewing
company, is confined to his bed a suf-
ferer from a very peculiar accident
Two weeks ago Mr.. Neither attended
a rehearsal of the drama. Rome Under
Valerian," held at the Odeon by the st.
Lawrence Dramatic circle, in which he
assumed the part of Quarto, a Roman
officer. During the progress of the re-
hearsal he accidently struck his fist
against the decayed tooth of fellow
actor, inflicting a scarcely preceptible
wound In a few moments however,
the hand began to swell to such proDor-
tions that he called upon a physician
who requested him to apply poultices,
but to no avail. The hand, and even
the arm, continued swelling so that in
a few days blood poisoning set in and
confined him to his bed DR.. Grimm,
the attending physician, performed a
painful operation on the hand yester-
day. and should this be of no avail it
is feared Mr.. Neither viii be obliged to
have his arm amputated.
The Topeka state journal., 1897-12-10
ALEX SHIELDS ACQUITTED.
Court Decides That He Did Not Pass
the Forged Discharge CHECK.

The Alex Shields case. familiar to the
majority of the Santa Fe men in Kan
sas, has been ended by the acquittal of
Shields at Perry, o. T. Shields was ar
rested on February 7, 1896, on the
charge of having passed a forged dis
charge check at the Perry depot on
June 80, 1894
In 1894 Mr.. Shields was travelling for
the Alexander Milling company of Win
field, and on June % was in Perry and
sold a carload of flour to Leonard Bros
This incident together with the fact
that the name appearing on discharge
check was William Shields was appar-
emily the only reason for connecting
Mr.. Shields with the case.
a short time before Mr.. Shields ar
rest the Santa Fe secret service depart
ment had made a discovery Of a large
number of forged discharge checks
having been passed along the southern
division in 1894, and Mr.. Shields travel
ing extensively over that part of the
state at the time it was said that he
was one of the accomplices in the
scheme. At the trial the company fail
ed to prove that Mr.. Shields was the
man who cashed the check at the Perry
depot
The Topeka state journal., 1897-12-10
SANTA FE LOCAL NOTES.

Foreman Robert SIusser is running
to Newton.
Four men can put box car together
in two days.
The mechanical departments are
working nights until and 10 o'clock.
The new time card, No 6, goes into
effect Sunday, December II, at 1905.
Andrew Seller, assistant foreman of
the boiler shops, is dangerously sick.
Amos Beeler had engine 1872 out today
to break her in" between Topeka and
Meriden.
Conductor J. E. MartindaIe of EN-
poria is under treatment in the Santa
Fe hospital for a tumor under his left
arm
Engineer VIM. Rain will resume his
regular run to Marcelline tomorrow.
His engine, No. 384, is ready to leave
the shops.
Engine 1872. that has been in the re-
pair shops undergoing repairs for dam
age received in a. wreck on the cut off
last summer, will be out tomorrow.
a person who is not accustomed to
it. cannot breathe well in the Sixth
street round house where the electric
cells are being charged. The chemicals
make a visitor cough.
Irwin lodge No. 260, A o. u. w,
which claims more shop men than any
other, has postponed its dance to be
held December 16, on account of the
working overtime in the shops.
Mr.. Geo. T Beck who has been in
superintendent Players office, has
been promoted to general time-keeper
Beck will leave in a few days to take
the position.
Engine No. Il will leave the paint
shops tomorrow and be broken into
service This is the seventh consoIida-
ton engine to be turned out of the To-
The Topeka state journal., 1897-12-10
USE TWO ooNDucroRs.
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Find the
Plan Pays Them.

Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Find the
Plan Pays Them
Baltimore. Dec 1O.-Last February
the receivers of the Baltimore & Ohio
Railroad company decided to adopt the
double conductor system for all excur-
sion trains in order to reduce to a min
imum the chances of an accident
One conductor, under this plan, is
given entire charge of the running of
the train, while the other attends to
the tickets and the comfort Of the pas
sengers. The experiment proved sue
cessful during the travel to and from
the inaugura tion of President McKin-
ley. but during the past two or three
months it has been thoroughly demon
strated that its adoption was very
wise. From September 4th to NOvem-
Der 28th inclusive, the Baltimore &
Ohio handled $4,000 people on Sunday
excursions between Philadelphia, Balti-
more, Washington and Atlantic City,
and owing to the care taken in the
handling of the trains not d single pas
senger was killed or injured. Fourteen
thousand of this number were handled
on September 4th.
The Topeka state journal., 1897-12-10
PICTURES By TELEGRAPH
Remarkable Device Alleged to Have
Been Successfully Tested in
St PanL

St Paul Dec. 10.-A new device for
the transmission of pictures by tele-
graph has been successfully tested in
this city. The inventor is Ernest A.
Hummeu, a local jeweler. The device
is intricate, combining three or four
different motive powers. Both trans
mitter and receiver, but for the pro-
jecting table on which the drawing of
the picture in the one or the blank pa
per for the impression in the other is
placed, would not occupy more space
than an ordinary typewriting machine.
Each has at one corner a diminutive
electric motor. smaller in size than the
case of small pair of opera glasses,
the purpose of which is to operate the
carriage which hauls the copying pen
ellis back and forth over the area to
be copied.
In the transmitter the carriage is
The Topeka state journal., 1897-12-10
TO WRECK THE TRAIN.
Ties Placed on the Rock Island Track
South of wellington

Wellington, Dec. 10.-Rock Island de-
tectives are still working on clue
left by attempted train wreckers be-
tween this place and Caldwell Monday
night and hope yet to catch the guilty
parties.
a railroad tie was thrown across the
track. Fortunately the local freight
which went west just ahead of the
passenger, saw the obstruction, and
serious wreck was averted. The freight
train ran upon the tie before the en-
gineer was able to bring the engine to
a stop and the engine was partially de-
rallied.
The train crew soon replaced the en-
gine on the track and the train pro-
ceeded.
The Topeka state journal., 1897-12-10
a TEMPERATE ENGINEER.
Lew Bird of the Missouri Pacific Has
a Good Record.

The Walnut Valley Times says: Lew
Bird is one of the oldest as well as
one of the most faithful engineers on
the Missouri Pacific railroad.
His railroad work began at the round
house at Washington, Kan. He became
a fireman at AtchisOn. Except two
years on the c. B. & Q. he has worked
for the Missouri Pacific till the present.
After six years of firing he was given
an engine when this division was the
F't. Scott, Wichita and Western.
Mr. Bird has an exceedingly clean
record. He has missed accidents by
merest chances. but has never received
a scratch which warranted a report to
the company. Never has his hand roll
ed a billiard ball or played a game of
cards But best of all, he has the first
time yet to be under the influence of
LIQUOR.
The Topeka state journal., 1897-12-10
PRIVATE CARS.
Soft Snaps of the Men Known as
Railway Magnates."

New York, Dec. 10.-Every railroad
magnate owns a private car. Uncle
Coils Pacific Huntington owns two,
which his wife lent to Mr.. and Mrs.
Speyer for their honeymoon. Leland
Stanford owned one OF the finest.
Chauncey NJ Depew has a paIatiaI one.
but it does not compare with DR..
Webb's.
The car of the president of the Penn
syIvania railroad is practically the pri-
vate car of the president of the United
States. For four or five administra-
tions it has been at the service of the
executive. Mr.. Cleveland used it Of
tener than any other president. Mil
HOnaires who can afford private yachts
generally own private cars, some OF
which are fitted up in the most luxu-
rious style One of the most comfort
able palaces on wheels naturally be-
lOnged to the late George NJ. Pullman.
The Topeka state journal., 1897-12-10
SWITCH LAMP coNrRIvANCE
Santa Fe Testing a Scheme to Prs-
vent the Winds Franks.

The Santa Fe company is now testing
in several of the yards in Kansas an
attachment for switch and semaphore
lamps which prevents the wind from
extiESuishing the lights or smoking the
glass bull s-eye until the color of the
glass is indistinguishable
It consists of a conicaI chimney
eight inches high with an air draft
opening at the bottom and buIPs-eye
openings at the sides. The chimney
fits tightly over the light, its base rest
ing on the bowl of the lamp. and while
simple. effectually prevents the smok-
ing Of the glass and renders the light
more brilliant. It is probable that the
attachment viii be adopted, and all
lights so equipped, as numerous acci-
dents have occurred in the past from
the glass Of signal lanterns becoming
smoked until the color was blurred. In
the opinion Of some, this condition was
responsible for the disastrous wreck
near Lang station.
The attachment is the invention of
Mr.. William Harvey of Augusta Kan
II it is adopted by the Santa Fe. it
will mean a handsome remuneration
for him.
The Topeka state journal., 1897-12-10
ALTON TOOK TIE CROWD,
And Representatives Of Other Lines
Charge That it Cut the Rates.

Kansas City, Dec. 10.-The Alton last
night carried out of Kansas City for
Chicago, twenty-five members of the
Kansas City Gun club and the Corinne
company. These two parties composed
the bulk of the passenger business east
bound out of the city yesterday, and
all the Chicago lines offered special in
ducements to them. After the Alton
sold the tickets, charges of rate cut
ting were freely made.
The members of the Gun club bought
round trip tickets. and representatives
of the competing lines claim they were
given rate of SO for the round trip.
This is less than one fare. The party
rate for the round trip is $3.50. The
Corinne company bought one way tick
cts. it is alleged, at 1926. which is just
half the regular fare between Kansas
City and Chicago.
The Topeka state journal., 1897-12-10
LOST HER $500 p1AmoNp.
But an Honest Train EmpIoye Returns
the Ring

The Ottawa Republican says: Mrs.
J. H Pulliam of Lyons, Kan, who
came to Ottawa via Lawrence last
night, had disastrous experience at
Lawrence.
While on the platform at that city
waiting for her train to start, she dis
covered that the diamond setting of
valua ble ring was gone. The stone was
worth at least $500. The stone might
have fallen in the coach of the Kansas
City train, OF upon the platform after
she alighted, but a search Of the latter
did not reveal it.
The lady came to this city and con
fded the fact of the loss to her friends,
Mr.. and Mrs. Adam Weaver. Mr..
Weaver advised her to communicate
the matter to Conductor Plunkett,
which was done this morning. He as
sured her that if the stone was lost il
the coach the chances were excellent
that it would be recovered. The lady
was delighted this afternoon to be in
formed that it had been picked up by
an honest emplOye.
The Topeka state journal., 1897-12-10
tom Of the pIt Is covered with frozen

bottom of the pit Is covered with frozen
mud and ice
A derrick has been erected over it
and the earth that is dug is placed in a
large bucket and is pulled to the sur
face by a hosting engine. A track OF
heavy timbers has been laid across the
top of the pit. On these rails a hand
car is run out and under the bucket
when it is hoisted to the surface. The
and it is pushed away and dumped
The pit is to be sunk about four feet.
Then the bottom of the pit will be ce-
mented and cover placed over it, and
it win be ready for use