Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1901-03-14
RAILROAD SPOTTERS.
THE SECRET SERVICE THAT ONE BIG
SYSTEM MAINTAINS.

Members of II In Every Department
From fardmen Up-Curious Conn
p1ications When spotters Unknown
to One Another Cross Lines.
Probably the most perfect spotter
system achieved by any private cor
poration." says S. II. Adams in Aims
lees, sis that Of one of the big eastern
railroads, which Is TO some extent
modelled on the secret service system
OF some of the eastern governments,
though by no means so complex.
$50 farreaching and so direct, how
ever, are It's lines of communication
that the president of the organization
Is himself kept constantly informed
of the trend of affairs and the changes
of sentiment among the employees OF
every division and subdivision Of the
whole railway system. and that with
but his own special corps of clerks
and secretaries.
Nobody but himself knows the en-
tire personnel of the wonderful service
that he has perfected. His agents are
drawn from every branch of the roads
operating staff. They are engineers,
freight brakemen, passenger trainmen,
conductors, signalmen, yardmen, sta
tion agents, track walkers and even
division officials. Should that road
have a strickland strikes are far less
likely to occur than they were before
the present system was put into OPP
eration-the president will have de-
tailed warnings of it from all the
storm centers long before the first NUT
terings find cautious utterance in the
newspapers.
"While it also acts as a defense
against thefts by employees, this sys-
TEN is intended primarily to prepare,
so to speak, diary of the disposition,
character, working efficiency and senti-
ments toward the road of the men who
constitute the vast human machinery
of the corporation. The feeling which
eliminates in n general strike Is not
the result of one act alone. but slow
growth made up Of many grievances,
real or fancied.
"To keep track of the shifting mental
attitude of his employees Is the aim OF
this railroad president. II n certain
division superintendent has made him.
self unpopular with his subordinates,
information to that effect comes by
underground wire to the central Office,
and the matter Is taken under advise
ment If the newest fireman on the
road attempts to stir up discomfort by
inflammatory talk, his views soon
reach the official ear. Every leading
spirit in the employees organization is
known to the president, who also
knows whether, In case OF trouble, the
man Is to be reckoned upon as a con-
servative or a radical.
Sometimes this works out the mans
career in a manner quite incomprehen-
sible to him. For instance, Night
Watchman Brown is shifted without
cause that he can fathom from one d.
vision to another. How should he
know that rumors of trouble In that d.
vision have reached the presidential ear
and that he himself. being down in the
presidents little book as speaker of
weight and n counselor nf-@en~es~"-
act as unconscious agent in checking a
dangerous tendencyf
-sSc--a or the admiring coworkers OF
the head of this system desiaro that In
two minutes reference to his collected
funds of information he can unroll the
family history OF the woman who
washes the windows OF car No. Ajax
and tell whether. In her estimation, he
himself is an oppressor Of the down.
trodden or perfect gentleman.
where so many Invisible lines radi-
ate from the same Office 1t is Inevitable
that some Of them should cross. Curl
Gus complications result from contact
between spoilers as unknown to each
other as they are to those whom they
watch.
Several years ago mt time OF gen
eral labor troubles certain railroad
got no less than FIVE reports from Its
confidential men informing them that
an employee who was several degrees
higher in the secret service OF the road
than any OF them. had they but known
Il, had been making Incendiary speech
es.
"This was true. Matters had so
shaped themselves that the man ac-
cused had to appear as radical in or
der to gain admlttance to inner coun-
ellis where the important questions
would be finally decided. To the cha
grin of the authorities they were obllg-
cd to transfer him Had they not done
so the suspicious OF the men who make
the reports would have been aroused.
That spoilers should know each other
as such is held TO be highly undesira-
BILE. There is always the chance that
they might work In conjunction Instead
of acting as checks on each other"