The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-01-29
PRIVATE CAR OFFICE
DOES MUCH OF HIS WORK
ON WHEELS
IS SECURE FROM INTRUSION

Id 0EO hE EhUM LIN 1hUS1ON
Has Time to Think and Act While
Going Over the Road-The Ordi-
nary Routine of the Life of a
Railway Official When He Is on
Business and Away From His
Home Office.
A great many men spent most Of their
time in walking, others in sitting, while
others roll around the greater part of
their lives The general manager of
railroad company is on wheels more than
half of his lifetime. He feels more at
home in his private car than he does at
his hotel or house in the city. Ask nine
out of ten railroad officials, and they
will tell you that they can do more work
and far more thinking in their private
cars than when in their offices, no mat
ter how well they may be guarded from
the public by the faithful private secre-
tary or watohful messenger, for, in spite
of these defenses, people will call, tele-
grams and letters must be received and
given attention. Once on the road how
tent from the world about them, and can
plan schemes with the aid of good cigar
which cannot be thought out when at
headquarters.
Many a>railroad official in this country
starts out in his private car, and never
sees the inside of a hotel or restaurant
until he returns, although he may be abb
sent week or ten days. Sometimes he
covers 1000 or 5000 miles without leaving
1t. Whenever the car stops thosesin the
town who have business with him trans
act 1t in his office. When the engineer
opens the throttle and the train starts
he resumes his correspondence or confer
ence with some other official, which has
been postponed during the stop. Before
beginning the trip the secretary has had
an idea of the places which would be
reached on certain days, and directs that
the mail from headquarters be forward
ed accordingly. 1t may be sent to the
division superintendent or to the station
agents. If change in the arrangement
is made, and no stop is made at GER
tain point, the telegraph operator at that
place is notified ahead, and the mail sent
on to the next stopping point. ~ Tough
the average is not over one delivery a
day on big system, 1t is enough to keep
the officials staff busy in attending to it,
kilograms are, of course, the most i'm
portant, and frequently the special train
Is Tagged for the purpose of delivering
such messages. The conductor only waits
until the manager has had time to glance
over the dispatch. The answer is hand
ed the operator, and on goes the train,
the engineer pulling out a little to make
up for the unexpected delay.
The mail usually reaches the private
car at the first stop in the morning The
secretary, with his paper cutter goes
through the stack of letters, ranging from
the manila envelopes with train mail''
in big black type printed in the corner,
to the soied white envelope, containing
an application for a pass or a request
for a job from some section hand. for the
official receives all sorts of correspond
ence Much OF it he never sees, for the
secretary is young man selected for his
knowledge Of human nature and what
interests his superior. Sometimes he is
able to attend to one-half of it himself.
What he wishes to show the manager is
spread out in pile, and possibly after
breakfast, the two sit down on one Of
the leather couches Of the smoking COM
partment. Putting away at his Havana,
the manager listens as the secretary puts
the contents into as few words as posi-
BILE. At the close Of each communication
the manager dictates his reply word for
word If it Is important, and merely an
outline if not.
VERY RAPID MEN.
The average railroad official is a very
rapid man; is fond of making fast time
| and In dictation he wants to get through
as fast as possible. From 100 to $50 words
minute may be ratified off to the Sec
| rotary and the latter has to keep his row
! Of pencils busily employed during the
| time. By the time the cigar is finished,
| the batch of letters has been attended
| to and the secretary, and possibly an as,
| sistant, have enough to keep them going
| for the balance of the forenoon. The
| manager then attends to some of the
| other hundred details mapped out for this
| trip. Perhaps the car of an assistant
superintendent or division freight agent
| has been hitched on at the last station.
| He sends for that official and for an
| hour or two they get their heads together
| over some special subject which can not
be attended to by correspondence. Per-
| haps he desires to look over improve
ments on the line and has the porter
place a chair on the back platform where
| he can examine the track as the car
| passes over it at the rate of forty-five OF
| fifty miles an hour. Special trains are
| generally noted for the fast time they
| make. One reason for this Is the Of
| ficials aboard get an IDEA of the con-
| dition of the track and roadbed. If the
| car runs smoothly at high rate Of speed
and does not jolt or rock, they know that
| 1t is well ballasted, the rail joints are
| even and that it is In condition. Ex-
| perience has accustomed them to note
| every jolt and jar and the reason for it,
| Many a section foreman has been hauled
| UP after a trip Of the superintendent over
| his part Of the ROAD and told to put i,
| In better condition.
! Railroad men have to do great deal Of
thinking, and in trips along the road
where the train may ruin two or three
hours without stopping they have an OPP
portunity to get by themselves, which is
! denied them even in the quiet Of the pri-
| vate office. The car usually contains a
half dozen stuffed easy chairs and sofa
! or two in order that the manager or SUI
perintendent may fix himself conforta-
bly, while his mind is at work. 1t has
plenty of little push buttons around