Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1899-08-12

AT this moment there are iob,
| ranging in pay from 81 % to "a and 8.
day for 100000 men in the North.
west
Were | asked to give definite ad.
wee to young man Of intelligence,
and health, but without capital or the
| training of the schools, l should saw
| first of all, that he must remembe,
that opportunity has much to do will
success in any place, and in any cir.
cumstances, in other words. there i.
something in luck. At the same time
luck and laziness don't go together
| and opportunities will not hunt him
up.
Such a young man as you suggest
could not win II he We're bent on living
| as if he had an income of thousands
while yet his income We're not more
than from $500 to 5000 a year But LET
him work steadily, live prudentlv and
give signs of intelligence and enter
prise, and help will eventually come
to him.
I'm truth, help for such young men
is constantly looking for them TO take
it; help to buy farms, help to take
charge of enterprises. small at first.
but in this period of rapid evolution.
sure to grow into something well
worth while, help of greatly diversified
sorts.
zone of our most serious troubles. at
the present time. is the scarcity of
proper men to place in posts of trust
and responsibility as foremen, super
intendents and the like. We simply
can't find them fast enough. There
are plenty among the working men,
probably, with sufficient ability to as
sumo such posts. but most of them in
sist upon joining I'm certain short
sighted movements that shut them out
Of promotion and often deprive them
of the work they already have to do
will give you an example of this:
Until a comparatively recent date
we employed hundreds Of coal beavers
to replenish the tenders of our en-
gines They had to work in the dark
as we'll as in the light. for people wish
to travel by night as well as by day
in these busy times, and freight bound
from the West to the East cannot be
stepped when the sun goes down. So.
though our coal beavers were unem-
plpStu IL Sotu DoItloh VI tdCll udS
while waiting for engines. and did not
work more than from four to six hours
in each "A, they We're obliged TO be on
watch all the time.
.'Our system was to divide the day into
l2-hour shifts. thus keeping two fun
forces of men at each point where our
engines took coal. We paid the men $40
month.
After a while some one came along
and persuaded them that they We're not
having a fair show; that no matter no"
short the actual time of work each day,
no man ought to be on watch more than
eight hours at time. Accordingly. they
demanded three shifts 4 day with no re-
duction of pay. This meant adding one
half to the cost Of Coaling our engines.
We'll. we had To keep the trains run
ming. and we accepted the terms OF the
men; but We were not pleased, for this
was an increase OF running expenses
which brought no increase Of business.
Naturally, we sought a remedy for the
new situation.
1T was by no means difficult to find.
We have many men of mechanical eX-
pertness among our employees, and IN a
short time We We're coaltng our engines
by machinery. employing only two men
at each coaling place. one by day AMI
one ny night, a cost of $50 a month.
instead of eight or ten men at cost OF
from $3.50 TO $3.50 a month.
There Is not only great saving Of
expense. but also OF time. and tins latter
is one Of the most desirable features OF
the present system. Eventually We might
have come to the present method Of coal
ing in any event. hut We hadn't contem-
plated it when the demand for eight-hour
shifts was made.
Personally james ]. Hill practices the
gospel of work IS persistently as he
Idle except when asleep. In spite of their
generally longer hours. and their infre
quent half holidays as compared with
~
court places close to the president.
When he takes a young man into his Of
fee il means that he has some faith in
that young man, and if the faith is jus
titled by his works, promotion is as sure
as the sunrise after the night.
Some years ago rather diffident, Sc
rous-faced young St. Paul lad. named
Frank E. Ward. went TO work for Hill as
his personal stenographer. Times had
never been easy with the boy, and this
led him to approach his duties with ter
riole earnestness. From the first Hill
was interested. He noticed in particular
that the boy always had book handy
winch he pored over whenever there was
a minutes respite.
One day the president picked up the
book 1t was not a work of fiction, but
an algebra, and no objection was made
to its continued study. 1t is Hills Gus
tom whenever travelling over his road
to sit at the rear of the train and make
a flying inspection of the tracks and the
right Of way. Till Frank, f, Wards time
Hill had always insisted that whoever
was with him on a trip of inspection
should also watch the tracks, but ne
made an exception in the case of the
young Stenographer. He was allowed and
encouraged TO study when making trips.
All the same the boy kept a pretty
close watch on everything pertaining to
the road and its operation, as Hill found
out from time to time by talks with him.
One day the stenographer was promot-
ed to be presidents assistant. Later
when Hill saw that the lad now grown
to be a man. was competent to work
alone. he was promoted again. and he
now writes general superintendent aft
err his signature.