Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1900-09-12
Farmer 3RONNA1 SCHOOL
RAILROAD MEN PROSPECTING.
Facts and Figures From the Records in
the Office of the Commission.
Fourth Lesson.

left the office of the commissioner OF
labor statistics, John said to his father,
"There is, perhaps, no class of labor
ing men in whom the people of the
state should be more interested than
in the employees on our lines OF rail-
road. These men not only engage in
the most arduous work, but they are
required very often to risk life and
limb in their line of duty, therefore, in
addition to being perfect men phys
ically, they must be brave even to
rashness, and especially must they be
trustworthy. In perhaps no other cali
ing is it so necessary that a man should
be honest in the broadcast sense of the
term. Let me give you an example.
father Suppose on line of road the
track has been put in bad condition by
rains; the trackmen are sent out to in
spect the track and until they have
completed this inspection and reported
it in good shape trains are compelled to
run over it slowly. One of these track
men, a man who perhaps gets Sill per
| day, goes out to inspect section of
the track in the night, among the hills
where the curves are dangerous and
sharp and where damage from the
| rains Is to be expected. He goes care
fully along inspecting the track from
side to side until when on long curve
among the hills he hears the rumble of
the train behind him. The track is all
right, but the engineer does not know
it. He is coming along carefully, but
as the track man hears him he hastily
climbs the embankment so that the
the engineer in his cab. Then he gives
the signal to go ahead, high bali the
railroad men call it. The engineer
sees it, he puts implicit faith in what
this mans lantern tells him. although
he cannot see the man himself, and ten
he should meet him i'm broad daylight.
But he knows that that man is an EN-
ploye of the company. He knows that
| he is an honest man and he further
knows that when that brave but per-
haps illiterate track-walker, that man
getting $1.10 per day, waves him the
signal to go ahead he can do so and
with added steam pressure that train
PUSHES ahead, while beyond the small
space of track revealed by the glare of
the headlight the engineer has nothing
to go by except the honesty and integ-
rity of that man who stands upon the
embankment waving his lantern. So
you see, father, the railroad man must
be man of courage and of thorough
honesty These men appreciate good
government. They are accustomed to
Obeying implicitly orders given them
relative to the movement of trains and
they are very quick to realize the ne
cessity of these orders being in every
way absolui ly correct 1t is this feel
ing of confidence in the integrity of
the methods of each coordinate branch
of the railroad service which makes
the boys feel strongly the necessity of
right methods as applied to govern
mental affairs. You will remember
that the railroad men of the country
were four years ago practical unit in
behalf of sound money. The man who
says that they voted in this way be-
cause their superiors told them to GER
tainly belittles the American railroad
men. They voted for sound money be-
cause they believed in sound princi-
pies. They believed in the application
to governmental affairs of the same ac-
curate methods that are required in
the management of the details of their
business. But, father continued
John, Il have given you quite dis
course on the subject of the railroad
men. | believe everything that have
said is true and said it because
wish now to take you to the Office Of
the railroad commissioners of Iowa so
that you might learn by the records
therein kept how the boys are prosper
ing this year in comparison with their
condition in 1896 and other years pre-
viOus."
At the office of the railroad commits
sioners Mr.. Brown met the secretary
OF the commission, and after John had
introduced him with the explanation
that he was seeking information con-
CcihillS the COuulttOH OF the railroads
and the railroad men of the state the
secretary took from his desk some of
the advance sheets of the report of the
commission to be issued the latter part
OF this year and said: "You will find
here summary of the reports which
we have received from the different
railroads Of our state. These reports
give fund of information which will
probably answer any questions you
might desire to ask upon that subject"
The secretary then turned to the tables
given in this report and continued:
"The mileage of the railroads of Iowa
at the close of last year was S.514b
miles. While IL is true that the mile
age of the Iowa roads has not been in
creased very greatly for number of
years up to this year, the reason for
this probably is the fact that Iowa has
for years been gridironed with rail
roads. However, in the past twenty
years the tracRage has been about
doubled and in the report which will be
issued next year there will appear a
considerable extension to present lines
| which have been mr. ara now I'm oo,r,.