The Worcester spy., 1899-07-04
BREAKING THEM IN.
Trials and Tribula-
tions of Street Car
Employees.
INITIATING THE GREEN HANDS. ;"
1t Is Not an Easy Thing to
Become Either Conduc-
tors or Motormen.
INITIATING THE GREEN HANDS. ="


car lines get a chance to show what
they are made of; that is, whether they
are good enough to get a regular car
or not.
If you have been riding on any of
the street car lines lately and haven't
had the good fortune to see a green
hand at the 'front.' or a we'll meaning,
dapper little fellow with badge
pinned on the breast of his coat, being
instructed by the regular conductor,
you haven't got your moneys worth.
Ihere is but one way to get it, how
ever, and that is to ride until YOU are
seated in car indirectly in charge of
green men. Then you begin to realize
that regular conductors and motormen
are beings deserving of exaltation.
Ihere are two dreaded times in the
llfe of street car man. They come
when getting broken in" and when
breaking in" new man. conductor
who has been placed in charge of a
regular car is not unmindful of the
Gays when he had to be instructed in
the routine work of the position. and
he is as patient and gentle as a fond
parent when dealing with a green man.
AT times, though, his stock of good ma
ture runs out, and then the new man
gets ~"called down" so hard and often.
that he begins to think unusually hard.
The result usually is that he makes
more mistakes than before. The hard
knocks he gets from the conductor
make him wonder what there is left for
the officials to say to him.
hTe would-be railroad man usually
togs himself out in the neatest looking
clothes he has, or can borrow, when he
starts out for the car barn, to make ap-
pllcat1on for place as spare hand. If
the officfal he visits is in good humor.
and not busy, he gets an opportunity of
telling the object of his visit at once.
II the conditions are otherwise than
favorable, the would-be conductor or
notorman begins to worry. When he
IS finally called upon to make his
speech, If traces of nervousness are to
be seen, the official sees them, and it is
all over with the aspirant for street
railway job.
Ihe qualifications for a car conductor
or motorman are so widely diversified
that man may get himself all tangled
up answering the questions of the
shrewd official, who looks over" the
candidates. a man may be asked:
Are you married?" Maybe he will he
forced t to reply Yes" After asking
rev more questions, the official NAV
say; SO you are married, eh?" The
questioning brings out the qualities of
the candidate. If he is a worrying man,
ne gets tangled up, and contradicts
previous statements. Truthful men
are wanted, and they must be able to
tell nothing else, even under the most
trying circumstances.
After wait of a few weeks during
Which the candidate wears holes in
the carpet making break for the let
ter carrier, letter or postal arrives.
1t says, "Call tomorrow at l." and
contains the signature of the official
VINO questioned him a few weeks
before. He has not forgotten about II
though if he is really anxious to be-
come a conductor or motorman. aud
then he begins to think it's a sure
thing, that he is going to have car
at once.
This is where he gets the first set
pack, for when he calls at the Office
he is subjected to a MISUNDERSTANDING
in review of the ground covered at his
first visit. If he shows up well, the
official tells him to report at o'clock
the next morning, or sometimes at a
later hour. A badge is pinned on his
coat, and then he begins to feel like
a kitten who has rolled in catnlp for
the first time. His mind is on the figure
he will cut when he gets a uniform,
and when the conductor bawls out,
Hey, Bill, we're off,; he stubles en-
the rear platform and the regular be-
gins to ask him what kind of work he
used to do, and why he gave up his
job. If the answers and appearance
suit him, everything will go smoothly
until the trolley comes off, and then
the conductor will tell the new man
that he ought to have been watching it.
After the first hour or two out, dur
ing which time he is treated as a guest,
trouble comes so easily that he wishes
he owned the road and could tell the
conductor to give up his badge and
get out The conductor means all
right and so does the green man. but
misunderstanding are so frequent tnat
everything is tangled up except the
fare Indicator. That's always straight.
At the end of the first day the greer
| conductor is wilted. All the activity he
possessed at the beginning of his first
tour of the line he is breaking in on,
has faded away and if he does not
| think himself the thickest headed iuan
| that ever was, the conductor does. so
| he isn't neglected. The only time he
| has to commune with himself is On his
way home, for he is usually so tired
| that sleep comes without coaxing
| While he is oiling up his blistered
| feet, the conductor who has been
breaking him in, if it Is late at night,
| is in some lunch room with the clique
| he associates with, telling of the new
| feller." The conversation runs along
something like this:
They tell me you're breakin' in a
| feller, Tom"
mot yet; I'm just givin him the
rudiments of primary school educa-
tion."
"Is he so very thick?"
THAT fellers head is SO thick that
he'll have to give 1t up and get on the
police force
The second day usually begins
gloomily, the instructor having little
confidence in his pupil, but that wears
away when the green man begins to
show remarkably good eye. for get
ting the trolley back on the wire. The
conductor gets complimentary and
then the green man has a larger feel
ing than before and snaps at every
chance to exhibit his spryness. After
three or four days, the green man feels
as important as the regular, and is
Igiven chance at collecting fares.
The motorman is selected because of
his strength, and is probably an older
man than the new conductor so he is
not subjected to slurring remarks from
his instructor He has to be active
and possess plenty of nerve, but as he
does not handle any of the company's
cash only on pay days, the duties in
cumbent upon the job are easily drilled
into him. A green motorman, strange
is 1t may seem, does not make as many
bad breaks as the new conductor, but
he does not have streets to call off,
fares to collect, switches to look after,
passengers to watch for, questions to
answer and several more incumbrances
that are on the mind of the conductor.
/ When a man is given a place as spare
hand, 1t is usually several months be-
4 fore he gets a regular car. There are