The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-09-24


He didn't know that all these men save
the master mechanic had violated the
/ own positions and a chance of promotion
/ Dy helping him, but he thanked them just
| WHEN THE FIRST CHANCE CAME
IT WAS PROMPTLY SEIZED.
mat was when the west was new, when
hung on the outside Of every door. on
Monday morning he went to work in the
little shop, and in short time became
one Of the best men employed in the
tive?' he was asked. Here said the
was all the Englishman asked. He
strstched line between the given points
About this time a thriving station called
NJ had offered to donate to the COM
pany A thousand dollars If the new ma
have steam up and the machinery rllnnin 5.
on on the nrst day OF January of the fol-
The general master mechanic entrusted
the work of putting in the machinery. at
ter the walls had been built and the place
rooted over to the division master = me
70 nnlsh the job in time to win the sub
The best months of the year went by
pseIore work was begun Frost came and
he . ~" men unkeglng ABOUT We're chilled
through the shutterless doors and I'M
$Ilaz9 az WIDOWS FINALLY the foreman sent
the machinery. He was a new man and
therefore was expected to take signals
OF a straw boss.
The bridge boss, the local head of the
WOOD workers, found the EnglfShman gaz-
ing, about. and the two men talked to-
gether Ihere was no foreman there, but
the Englishman thought he ought to go
20 work anyway. So he and the wood boss
stretched line for a line shaft, and.
and brackets. the Engiishman coupled
the parts Of the shaft together. and in
rev days 1t was ready to be put up
THE EMERGENCY FOUND THE MAN
READY
As the young man whistled and worked
away one morning the boss carpenter
came in with military-lookmg gentle
man, who appeared to have an interest in
the place Where did you come from?7
From England, sir"
well, anybody could tell that. Where
prom p
well, sir, can you finish this job and
have steam up by the first of January2''
The Englishman blushed, for he was
boss. Then sweeping the almost empty
shop with his eye, he said something
the work.
Hang the foreman" said the stranger
The young man bIushed again and said
he could work II to IA hours day if it
didn't like to make any rash promises
concerning the general result.
man, 7 want you to take charge of this
job and finish it, Employ as many men
here. on New Years morning-do you UNI
derstand?"
could hardly believe it, He glanced at
the wood boss and the wood boss nodded
7 shall do my best" said the English
man, taking courage, but I should like
to know who gives these orders"
II m the general manager said the
man; now get a move on YOU" and he
It is not to be supposed that the gen
eraI manager saw anything remarkable
six feet high and had a good face. The
fact is, the wood foreman had doomed the
Engltshmans stock before the manager
The path of the young man was not
months Any number of men who had
been on the road when he was in the
to have had this little promotion The To-
cal foremen along the line saw in the
newcomer the future foreman OF the new
SHOPS ana no man went out Of his way to
help him. In spite Of all obstacles, how
sver, the shops grew from day to day,
from week to week, and 1t was seen, as
the old year drew to a close, that the ma
ehirery was getting into place. The
young foreman, while a hard worker, was
always pleasant in his intercourse with
the employees and in a little while he
nad most or friends There is always
a lot of extra work at the end of big
JOB; 50, when Christmas came there was
still much to be done.
The men worked night and day The
poller that was to come from Chicago
nau peen expected Tor some time. Every
thing was in readiness and it could be
set up in a day, but it did not come.
Tracer letters that had gone after it
We're followed by kilograms. Finally it
was located in a wreck out in a cornfield
A great many Of the OFFICIALS were away aa,
and the service was generally demoralized
during the holidays, so that the appropri-
alton of At thousand dollars, for which
the Englishman was working at M,
shops We're compl eted, the machinery was
in, but there was no boiler to make steam
to work the machinery
A
A NARROW MARGIN.
That night when the good people of the |
the new year IN the young Englishman, /
with a force of men, was wrecl1ing the /
pump house down by the station The
placed in the ma chine shops 1t was big /
e. to ,, drive 2, small engine that |
a long pipe through the roof. screwed q 1
locomotive whistle on top of it, and, at /
whistle on the new shops at NJ, Ia, |
This would be a good place to end this
story, but the temptation IS great to tell /
more regarding the success of this ener-
get1c- persever1Dg man.
When the shops were opened the young
Englishman was made the foreman. All
years ago In little while they made
him the master mechanic. In the year 1887
be was made the superintendent of ma
ehinery on the Santa F'e route-one of the
ongest roads on earth 1t begins at Chl-
eago: strong. like a man 8 wrist with
ingers on Sacramento, San Francisco. San
Jlego ana III faSo, ana a LnuIno loucnlns |
he gulf at Galveston. The mileage of
he system at that time was equal to one
half that of Great Britain and upon the
pay rolls were 900 more men
han We're then in the army of the unitet-
States. Fifteen hundred men and boys
walk into the main shops at Topeka every
morning. They work four hours, eat
luncheon, listen to lecture or short ser
non in the meeting place above the shops,
work another four hours and walk out
better off by three thousand dollars than
hey would have been if they had not
worked. These shops make little city
IF themselves. There is "a perfect water
system, a fire brigade with stations where
.he fremen sleep, a police force and a
log catcher
THE LATER TRIUNIPHS OF APPLIED
ENERGY AND SKILL.
Here they build anything of wood, iron,
1r-rz al hot f1,r eae.r3a