Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-10-19

know the difference between a hog and
-mOgul, put in Iafferty. Twas ony
yestherday the engine dispatcher SEE to
'um, 'Misther Pettigrew.' seq he, thin en-
gines av the 300 class do be too light for
thrain siventeen,' seq he. Will 1 be sind
in out the camilback?' SEE he. Phats the
'cE milbackY'' SEE this new dickie by
Sure, tits the new Baldwin, SEE McMur-
trie. oh, the Consolidation, ye name SEE
the boss
A laugh greeted this fresh proof of the
new superintendent unsophistication and
the gibe at college graduates in general,
and at Mr.. Arson Pettigrew in particular,
went the round of the caucus
But big John Mccartney, the engineer of
the fast mail, put in a word for tolerance
when he got up and stretched himself pre-
paratory to the daily inspection of the huge
mail flyer"
Don't you fellows be too swift about
making up your minds he said. LAS you
say, Abe, it takes whole man to run this
division, but l amt so blessed sure we
haven't got one. Hold your breath a lit
tie while till you see what he's made Of"
Jaw, go on! He's tailor-made; that's
what he is" growled BLACK jack Nc
Cam, the runper Of the overland express.
Mccain was the head and front of the
critical opposition, and when he added that
he would bet months pay that time would
prove all things derogatory to Mr.. Arson
Pettigrew, there were no takers.
In the meantime the new superintendent
was having a rather uncomfortable expe-
rience in the chair-warming process. 1t is
d SlduulIS accusation against the newly
appointed official in the railway service
that he always brings in the execution
ers AK, well sharpened and thirsty for
heads But there are two sides to that
shield; or, rather, the shield itself Is bound
ed by an endless circle of cause and eff
feet. With the fear of the ak to unsettle
them, the employees lose their esprit du
corps; the loss finds expression in reckless
ness. the recklessness in disaster-and then
the ak comes in play.
Pettigrew knew all this beforehand, and
he had determined to keep the well in
the background But trouble met him at
had taken his chief clerk with him, and a
new Office chief had to be installed at once.
Pettigrew made the mistake-the generous
mistake-of promoting the man next in
line with the result that every other man
in the office became the unwilling under
ling of one who had but now been a fellow
underling.
From Pettigrew's own office as an cpl
demic center the disaffection spread like
the measles; first to the train dispatchers,
then to the trainmen and the shops, and
everything the new superintendent did was
given an unfriendly twist.
When he suggested mildly to "Hardup''
Walker that the engineer of a crack pas
senger train looked more in keeping with
MS job in clean overalls and jumper than
In greasy frock coat and a narrow-brim-
med derby hat two sizes too large a howl
OF 'despotism' went up from one end of
the division TO the other.
V.
that speed recorders in freight cabooses
were made for use and were not to be ad-
JusIed with coupling pin when the con-
ductor wanted to do little wild run
ming, they called him a tyrant; and when
he discharged Adam Larkin for smashing
his recorder there was open talk of a
strike.
AS a matter of course, such a state of
affairs soon made itself felt in a lack of
efficiency at all points. Dispatcher Lohen-
grin went to sleep in the middle OF his trick
one night and let two freights find each
other on Jack mountain. His successor a
man who, as 1t turned out, had forged his
letters OF recommendation, lost his head
and let the fast mail telescope a stock
train between stations, killing Mccartney
fireman and the conductor of the freight
After this a very demon of disaster run
amuck on the western division, and the
right of way was bestrewn with smashed
cars and ditehed engines. Pettigrew set
his teeth and held on like a man; but he
knew it was only a question of time whe n
the frightful record would break him
when the general manager would intimate
that chanse OF physicians was sometimes
the only hope for sick patient, or a sick
division
II seem to haev struck a bit of nanae.
monium out here-a remnant Of chaos and
olN night, he wrote. in a letter to the
friend Of his youth. I'VE read In the hook
that the devil Is to be loosed at the end
OF some certain millennium: he's loosed
here now. The business of this office ba
come to be the making of the daily re-
port OF smashes.
II can't begin to account for all the dis.
astrous confusion. / have practically the
same set Of men that my predecessor had
and as for my own part. IL / don't know
my trade ought to. And yet tina most
unheard-of things are continually happen
ing Last week" and from this he went
on to recount some Of the unheard-of hap
penings.
II was after office hours when he I'm
ished the private letter, and he had Q lit
Tie twtnge of contrition when he found