Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-09-15

turn was fanked by ak with hor-
ribly suggestive red helve. Passengers
were RECALLED with pungent wood smoke
from the engine. Conductors collected fares
and bought real estate Passenger brake
men We're unbecominSly familiar with
prominent citizens. Engineers forgot, as
they do yet, that they were workingmen.
They also died at their posts-as they do
yet. The men were dwarfed by their en-
vironment. Their little road was their
world They were proud of the fast
runs of their little trains as is the man in
the cab of transcontinental fier of today.
And why not? Competitive races across the
prairies for a mail contract had not yet
been conceived. A minute gained between
school House Hill and Cider Mill Curve"
was legitimate triumph.
What Competition Did.
Doinss on other roads were of no inter-
est to these men. If stranger got a job
he permitted to live down the stigma
of his strangeness-if he could. The Off
Gals were raised" on the road. Their for
mer comrades still filled the humber posi-
tons. From them the rising generation
learned to call the super" Bill and the
master mechanic Joe. in their absence. Any
position was open to any aspirant. Changes
came like a thief in the night. SO gradual
We're they that their eventual recognition
produced shock. The rapidly growing
country called for Increased transporta-
tloI facilities Roads were double
tracked. Roads were paralleled. Com
petition reared its ugly head. More and bet
ter service was demanded of the men.
Time-hOnored privileges and perquisites
were curtailed or revoked. Pay was some
times clipped. New rules requiring more
work for the same, or less, wages were
formulated. Competitions twin, Grievance,
was born. The committee missed some
thing of the old heartiness In their well
come. Super" Bill regarded his former
comrades as germs of possible trouble for
himself. Committees returned dissatisfied.
The friendly relations hitherto existing were
sundered. The entering wedge received an
occasional tap from either party. The rift
widened. Now the gulf has become impassa-
bic.
Automatic Time-Savers.
thorough grounding in the various de-
partments had been Indispensable to pre-
ferment. Presidents and superintendent
boasted of their early familiarity with the
brake wheel and the conductors punch.
That door is now closed. The most success
full manager in the country has said it,
There is to be an aristocracy on the rail-
road: officers to the manner bred and de-
void of memories of the disconnected. 1t
may be well, or it may be ill, and time will
pronounce the verdict. The railroads have
grown and waXed fat despite competition
The time consumed in stopping trains by
hand was an important factor The few
minutes difference between stop by hand
gregate of that difference on all the trains
In the world has produced the Westing-
house automatic air brake. For complex
simplicity or simple complexity. perfection
and reliability, 1t holds the record. The
old railroader disapproved of power brakes
Their great value lay in their ability to re-
duce the time consumed in stopping IF
We run right snug up to the stop block be-
fore we shet Off and the pesky thing don't
work, where be YEP he argued. They de-
veloped defects at first; all new ventures
do
The old railroader was indicated What
he wanted was a live man who would obey
his whistle signals. What he got was the
triple valve 1t never sleeps. It never
lays off sick. 1t is not flirting with way
side maidens or teasing the news butcher
when wanted. The whistle itself Is not
more sensitive TO the slightest touch. The
triple valve instantly clamps a brake-shoe
to every wheel the train. They grab
with grip, compared to which a steel bear
trap Is like the pulling lips of an infant
The ever alert valve does other things
Properly manipulated. it can promptly stop
flying train without spilling the contents