The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-08-27

John Graham Brooke in one of his course lectures
last winter Competition" cited as an instance of
the benefits of competition, the marked change in
forty years in the character of railway train en-
ployes. Then the conductor was generally a rough
burly, impudent consequential fellow, the brakemen
were boisterous discourteous, insolent, uncouth In
dress and manners and he contrasted them with the
conductor and trainmen of today tidy in dress cour
teOus in manners; Doors then gentlemen in conduct
now. 1t is not that human nature has changed in
these years. but that railways have in their compet
i've strife for patronage found to their advantage
to have gentlemany men in charge Of their trains.
Nor is this result confined to operating passenger
trains but has pervaded the entire system
At d time when the president of the United States
entering his office with pledge that the establish
ment and advance Of the merit system there should
be mo backward STEP" takes it, the railways are
putting employment in their service more and more
firmly upon the merit basis Recently several leading
companies have decided to dispense with women rs
stenOgraphers not because they were not capable
but because they could not be promoted to other
branches of the work which could be filled only by
men, Long before the reform had been established
In legislation railway managers had learned that
theirs purely business system in which In
capables than useless, and where ca
pacty was an essential and valuable factor Gradu-
ally there grew up the merit system initial appoint
motion where proved capacity earned it. Today the
great railway systems of the country are the most
Democratic of industries for it is the essence of
Democracy that every stands on his merits
Ia another direction the railways have been
potent force in a great reform. While very large
and respectable portion of citizenry have been
striving for years to legislation that would
they expected make every other person as abstemi-
Gus as themselves in the use of intoxcans, getting
their legislation occasionally, only to find it utterly
fuses to be coerced into sobriety the railways have
been bringing about the reform aimed at by the
others by making it the interest of those whom they
employ to be temperate if not teetotalers They
have not been actuated by the philanthropy of }he
prohbitonists, but have proceeded upon sound lusi
ness principles. The property and human interests
necessarily left TO the of employees were ZOO
great the consequences of incapacy too serious TO
tolerate in employees habit that might render them
incapable of performing their work efficiently or at
all Railway operation demanded sobrety in rail
way employees and to secure it. the seIf-interest Of
the men, their desire for retention and promotion
was used as the means of securing it, The result IS
that no class of men in industries is so habtually
sober and temperate as those employed on the
railways.
These reforms, instituted by an Industry having
SO many ramicatiOns, touching many persons OUT
side of itself could not help being potent force IN
causing the spread of its methods and we are find
Ing them either in force being introduced in other
directions. They may we'll be reckoned as the chief
force that is back of and susains the reform Of
civil service and that makes possible the all bnt mi
Versal denuncation Of the president taking his
backward step in his recent order