The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1900-10-24
AVERTED A SMASH UP
HIS SCHEME WAS siMPus=AND THOR
CuGHLY EFFECTIVE.

n SsA&c SAI4, NoS S-AteANcO9 A00S IUy
Be Followed by Railroad Telegraph
Operators Who Must, Go to Sleep
While On Duty.
However tired or orerworked he
may be the railroad operator who al
lows trains to smash into each other
while be pounds his ear is q bralnless
idiot" said William James, nm old
timer. When was q youngster I
was in charge Of station down IN
Pennsylvania went to sleep Oh duty
because couldn't keep awake. Trains
met there every hour or so. and was
the only person to run the business at
that point went to sleep and slept
six hours, and there wasn't any smash
up or the slightest possibility Of one so
far as my station was concerned.
81 was Is years old when l applied
for a Job to Superintendent Pitcairn Of
the Philadelphia and Erie. He took
me on Immediately and sent me out to
Kane. That was the place where DR..
Kane, the Arctic explorer. once lived.
and it was named for him. Kane is on
top Of q mountain. with Wilcox at the
bottom on one side and Wctmore on
the other. Oil is the great product
there now, but in 1866 the traffic was
in general freight. Big trains met at
Kane, and for small place the traffic
was considerable.
81 was met ut the station by big.
wild eyed man. who said that he guess
ed I was the kid that was going to re-
lieve him. He said he was glad to get
out, but he guessed I'd Ike the work.
".You'll have the night trick, said
be, and you'll only have to be here
from p. m. to a. NJ
81 looked up with dismay, but he
was striding ahead into the station.
He instructed me in my duties, told me
Of a country tavern about two miles
away and then swung on to the train
that had been waiting % minutes for
lunch and was gone.
"When the day man relieved me the
next morning, put for the hotel and
found it after tramping about for two
hours and made arrangements to stay
there. The proprietors wife seemed
to take motherly interest in me. and
that afternoon when I started for work
she had bang up lunch Of fried chick
en- and jam and things.
"Well, that night about II o'clock l
got hungry for that chicken and hauled
out my lunch basket. I haG just got
things nicely spread out on the instru-
ment table when in come fat engi-
neer.
"'Hello, kidT said be. That's too
good feed for you. It'll g!Ve-you bel
lyache, sure's the world
"Whereupon ne put me on bench,
sat on my legs and ate my supper.
Then be got up. sucking his teeth, and
said:
".See them woods over thereY point
ing across the track. There wasn't
anything else in sight. Well, them
woods Is 40 miles long an Is miles
wide an chuck full O. berries. Con eat
y'uself t DEATH
"He walked leisurely out to his en-
CINE, and went to the lunch shanty
Just below the station and ate up two
days salary before discovered how
determined the keeper was to have
plenty Of money to support bis old
age.
1.-The next day didn't so to the ho-
tel, but staid near the station and
plotted revenge. 1t was the custom to
telegraph up from Wilcox the number
of passengers who wanted meals at the
Kane lunch sharty, and when I got the
first message that night after yainly
scheming all day an Idea struck me.
The message read, six suppers on 81
I made Il read 26 and carried it to the
lunch keeper, who fairly danced with
glee at the unexpected rush. he un-
doubtedly saw Fifth avenue mansion
for his old age. Just as 27 pulled in
rushed into the shanty with message
purporting to have come from Wilcox
saying that at the last moment 20 pas
sengers had decided to stay there over
night to take part IN local political
celebration. Flynn was furious and
went to the conductor for corrobora-
ton. The latter heard with n grin the
story Of the 20 prepared suppers and,
remembering his own experiences with
Flynn's prices on two or three occa-
sions. simply shrugged his shoulders
and said:
How en- help it?
"Well. the loss Of sleep that day and
the excitement did me up, and about II
o'clock I found l couldn't keep my eyes
open. took the red lantern and nall
ed the tin bottom to tie in the middle
Of the track and went to the edge Of
the woods and lay down. When I
awoke. the day operator, who had been
dragged out Of bed two hours ahead Of
time, was getting the Philadelphia and
Erie railroad system into operation
again after a six hour suspension Of
service.
"But there wasn't any smash up, and
no lives had been lost, and got Job
two days afterward at TitusVille."-
New York Sun.