El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-11-29
LINK AND PIN.

our surgeon, and bring me your color
blind certificate and I'l put you at
work at noOn.'
ST thought then could see my fin
ish, for can't make out ordinary print
without glasses.
"However, I decided to make q
bluff, add presented myself at the sur
geon's office for examination. First
came the tests for colors. A great
bunch of worsted yarns in skeins, over
100 of them, were handed me, and
was told to select ell the shades of red,
then all of blue, and finally all OF
green-the principal colors in railroad
ing. This test 1 passed successfully,
and 1 again had hopes for employment
Following this came simple test In
naming the colors of miniature sema-
phore signals, and finally came the
hags-red, green, blue and white
such as are actually used every day in
the course OF road work. Then came
dropped over 20 per cent.
SIN the test for visual ecuteness the
applicant Is harnessed into pair of
tightftting goggles, with no glass on
either side. One eye is tested at a
time, and the other is blinded by a
metal disk placed in the frame of the
goggles, The first trial is in readin g
print. A card is handed out, on which
are dozen lines of print varying from
type with a quarter-inch face to
what l expect is the finest print that
could be found. L could not read over
half way down the card with either
eye, and my percentage began to
shrink.
sThen came the same test almost on
distance. Seated thirty or forty feet
from large card hanging on the
wall, 1 was asked to READ down. [ got
about half way, and bad to give it up.
I could see the doctor was sorry for me
as he marked my rating in his record
book. He had attended me once at the
Hotel Dieu through rather severe
accidental injury, and L had not passed
entirely out of his memory.
"Ths last trial, and the one in which
1 failed totally is called the test for
visual angle. The examiner stands
sauarely in front of the applicant &c
close that his face almost touches that
of his victim. Then he extends his
arms, tells you to keep your eyes on
my right hand, how many fin
gers?'
s'I tried to fudge little, and glanced
sfdewise, but his stern Keep your
eyes on mine brought me back to ia W.
aud I finally had to acknowledge
couldn't see 8 finger.
"'Um! Well, that's bad. I'm afraid
I'll have to refuse your application.
Let's try that again Once more he
tried, and although believe he gave
me- an inch or two more space, again
failed and the examination was over.
while 1 was yet In the Office an
other mau came In for trial.
HE was apparently an almost per-
feet man and he was reaping a harvest
of 20s, the perfect work, until the doc
tor picked upa stethescope. Only
second blasted that mans hope of
getting a job in train service. The
surgeon laid down the instrument and
looking his man square in the eye,
said:
"I am very sorry, but can't pass
you. You have heart trouble and If
you were absolutely perfect in every
other way 1 would be obliged to re-
fuse you on that ground alone
"Hsrdly a railroad in the country
will hire you if you have a finger gone,
and on most of the roads the age limit
for Few employees is 80 years.
81 have never been In a ailroad Of
fee applying for work when absolute
fairness was not always shown