The Savannah morning news., 1900-11-22
NO NEED oF 4 sMAsHUP.
A safe plan for Railroad telegraph
Operators Who Arc sleepy.


However Tired OF overworked Dc may
be. the railroad operator VINO allows
trains TO smash into each other while h
pounds bis ear is a bralnic-s IDIOT said
william james. an ola timer when i
was youugstcr wa in charge OF a -ta-
ton down in Pennsylvania. went q
sleep on duty because I couldn BE- .
awake Trains met there every hour or
CO. and ] was the only person 20 run the
business az that point I went 10 sleep
and slept elk hours and there wasn't anF
srnasm-up or the slightest possibility 81
one 80 far a. my station was conctineo.
u was nftecn years old when applei
for a jon 20 Superintendent Roaert l'ii-
cairn OF the Philadelphia ard Erie hf
the way. he's la England now mikiNs
big coal contracts FOR the Pennsylvania
people lie took M on Immediately ana
sent me out 10 Kane. That wa ne
place where pr Kane the afctc 'A-
plorer once lived. and IL was namei ier
him Kane Is on top % a noun ain WIN
Wilcox az the bottom on one -iie anu
Wetmore on the other OH IS the = ca
product there now. but be- $50 me uaihe
was general freight. Big trains me' ~
Kane. and for "a small place the frame
was considerable
II was met al tho station by a be-
widowed man who said that he guessed
/ was the Kid that was coins 70 I'4'-'e
him Re said he Was glad 70 get out odl
he guessed Ia ike the work
'You'u have the night track. sad ne
and you'l only have 20 be here from
D. m TO Z a. m
II looked up with dismay. but ne WIS
strid.ng ahead into the station. He In
str,,cted me In my duties told me Of
country tavern about two miles away
then swung on the train that had neen
waiting twenty minutes for lunch. ana
was gone.
When The day man relieved me che
next morning. ] put FOR the hotel ana
found 81 after trlmping about Tor TWO
hours and made arrangements 10 stay
there The proprietor wife seemed 10
take a motherly interest 10 me ana iha3
Afternoon when started for worN she
had a bang-up lunch of fried chicken ana
Jam and things.
We'll. that night about Il o'clock I
got hungry for that chicken. and hauled
out my lunch basket. / had Just got
things nicely spread out on the insru-
rneni table when IN came fat engineer
Hello Kid said he, that's TOO GOOD
a feed for you. TIN give you bellyaehe
sure's the world"
"whereupon he put mo on a bench. sat
on ms legs and ate my supper Then he
sec them woods over there pointing
across the track Thcrc wasn't anything
else IN sight Wei. them woods IS forty
miles long an nfteeu miles vice an chuck
ful o. herries Con cat yuself q death
HE walked lelsurely out 90 his engine
and I went 70 the lunch shanty Just be-
low the station and nte up Two days
salary before / discovered how determined
the keeper was TO have plenty OF money
20 support his old age.
"The next day didn't 20 20 the hotel.
hut stafd near the station and plotted re-
veuFc II was the custom 10 telegraph mp
from Wilcox the number Of passengers
who vented meals al the Kane lunch
shanty and when ] got the first message
that night after vainly schemiug an day
an idea struck me. The message read.
six suppers on g. ! made q read 'wen-
tv-slx and carried 81 20 the luuch-kce-er
who fairly danced with glec AZ the unex-
pccted rush. He undoubtedly saw
FIFTH avenue mansion for his old age. just
as q pulled In I rushed into the snanty
with "a message purporting 70 have com"
from Wilcox saying that az the last mo-
meut twenty passengers had decided 10
stay there over night 20 take part "a
local political celebration. Flynn was fu-
rious and went 10 the conductor for cor
roboratiou. The latter heard with a grin
che story Of the twcuty-six prepared sun
pers. and remembering his own experience
with Fiynns prices on two or three oc-
casions simply shrugged his shoulders
and said
How en- 7 help g.?
We'll the loss Of sleep that day ana
the excitement did me ny. and abous n
O'Clock I found I couldu't keep my ewes
open took the red lantern and nailed
the tin bottom to a tie in the middle OF
81. "a fat I
tho operator. who had been dragged out
u bed two hours ahead OF time. WAS get
ting the Philadelphia aud Erie Railroad
system into operation again after a six
hour suspension OF service.
But there Wasn't any smashup and no
lives had been lost and 7 got job two
days afterWard az Titusville"