, 1900-07-28
NEWS Of THE RAIL
THE WATCH INSPECTION ORDER
NOT AS BAD AS AT FIRST
REPORTED.
Old Watches May Be Retained If They
Are Safe-Employes Nay Purchase
New Watches Where They Please
Saving Effected by Abo fishing of
Helper Engines.

Helper Engines.
After an explanation Of the recen
watch inspection order of the Union Pa
cifc, its provisions do not seem to b.
as stringent as at first supposed.
The new system will not ~necessitat,
the purchase of new watches by EN-
ployes whose present time-pieces arr
accurate and reliable. Watches which
are not deemed safe will be %disapprov'
ed and the owner required to purchase
new ones. Relative to this point, Gen,
eral Manager Dickinson says:
$50 long as the watches at present in
service keep safe time they will not
be disturbed, but when, from long con
tinued wear or other cause, they begin
to appear doubtful and the owner OF
such a watch wishes to continue to use
it in service and is willing to sign a
statement on the back of the certifi-
cate that he has used the watch at least
six months and that it is now keeping
time within thirty seconds per week,
the inspector may pass the watch on
trial, providing it is in good order and
mark the certificate issued, on trial.
All watches continued in service must
be of a grade equal to what is generally
known among American movements as
the "ffteen-ieweled patent regulator,
adjusted as this is the minimum
standard of excellence adopted by the
officials having in hand the new sys-
EN-. However, all watches hereafter
purchased by employees affected by this
order and intended for use in the SER
vice Of the Union Pacific company must
be of the highest grades of manufac-
ture, the selection to be confined to one
of seven well known, standard Ameri-
can manufactures.
The person from whom an employee
makes a purchase of a watch is left en-
tirely to his pleasure. If he has a
friend in the jewelry business or wishes
to purchase his watch from some GER
tain dealer he has that privilege. Or
he can buy a watch from the inspector,
paying for it in monthly payments, the
amount to be deducted from the pay
roll. Also the employe when his watch
needs cleaning or repairing may leave
- with n lar he o1ants hIt
the watch carried In the meantime and
his own watch. after it has been re-
paired, must be submitted to the COM
pany's inspector for examination and
approval before it can be carried in SER
vice.
The quarterly examination and the
weekly comparison Of watches by the
inspector will be done free of charge to
the employees. Each employe, however,
will be required Immediately after Au-
gust 1 and every three months there
after to apply to his superior officer for
a blank certificate and order for ex-
animation, which must be taken, to-
gether with his watch. to the inspector.
Any employe failing to have the quar-
terly examination or weekly COMPARE
son will be considered as derelict in
duty, and such infringement Of the
rules must be satisfactorily explained.
In explanation Of the new system,
General Manager Dickinson says: off
GERS having direct charge of employees,
subject to the provisions of the watch
system, will see that certificates of
quarterly examination Of watches are
filed with them for watches of employees
under their authority and such officers,
in all departments, will be held respon-
sible for the collection and filing of
watch certificates. They must also see
that employees affected by this order
turn in regularly certificates of weekly
comparison of their watches and will
enter in a record to be kept for that
purpose the date on which such %certif-
Gates are received.
Employees whose watches do not
conform to the required standard will
be given until August 81, 1900, to pro-
vide themselves with standard watches,
as on and after that date all employees
subject to the provisions of this order
must be provided with standard
watches, and quarterly certificates to
that effect must be in the hands of off,
GERS to whom they report"