Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1901-10-02
JOHN Players RISE
Lie Story of Marshalltown
Man Told as an Inspiration
TO Young People.
EARLY Iowa Central History and
How the Marshalltown Shops
We're Built on Time.
John Players Ingenuity Secured
$4,000 Bonus.-Now Master
Mechanic Of Santa Re.

3tSsVVU UUuOOseHOW HAGosS
Mechanic Of Santa Re.
| In the October number Of that splen-
did little magazine of inspiration, Sue
cess, is story from the pen OF Cy
! Warlnan which deals With the early
| struggles of John Player, for many
years master mechanic Of the Iowa Cen
tral--of how he came here green En-
glishman; of his disappointing efforts to
secure employment along the line of the
Iowa Central, then a new road; of the
building of the shops in this city under
lis direction; of how the work was COM
pleted in a given time in order to secure
the bonus of $4,000 offered for the re-
moval of the shops from Eidora, and Of
his later success as master mechanic q
the immense Santa Fe system. posi-
ton Mr.. Player holds today. All the old
time railroad men along the Central line
know John Player, and the later genera
|stion knows of him because they have
heard the Central veterans tell of him.
The story contains few inaccuracies.
but is largely fact 1t follows:
| a young EngliSlman stood in the
New World. alone, utterly unknown,
lwatching freight train moving out of
a new town, over a new track. A pinch
bar. left carelessly by a section gang,
was picked up by the pilot OF the loco
motive. 1t was caught in the cylinder
cock rigging, with the result that 1t
wrecked it.
Muttering softly, the driver climbed
down, and began the difficult task of
disconnecting the disabled machinery.
He was not machinist. Not all engine
The Englishman stood by and when he
saw the man tumble his wrenches Of
Ifered hand. The driver, with some
hesitation, gave him the tools. In a
|few minutes the crippled rigging was
taken down, nuts were replaced, and
| the discarded metal was tossed by the
fireman on. the rear of the tank.
Are you a machinist 2? asked the
driver.
Eyes. sir said the Englishman, who
lowered at least foot above the en-
|gineer There's a job for me up the
road IL I can get there
And You're out of .tallow q"
The Englishman was not quite sure.
but he guessed that "tallow'' was a
United States term for money, and said
that he was short.
"All right said the engine driver.
E.'climb on
+ The, fireman was Teuton named
Martin, who proceeded to make the En-
Bglishman comfortable, but the latter
wanted to work. He asked to be allowed
to help fire the engine, and Martin
showed him how to do 1t. When they.
pulled in to the little town Of Eldora
the Englishman went over to the round
house, where man was wanted. The
foreman asked him il he had ever rail-
roaded II" He said he had not, but that
he was machinist. We'll, I don't want
YOU" said the foreman. Disheartened,
the Englishman Went across to little
|eating stand where the train men were
having dinner. Martin moved aside.
and made room for the stranger be-
tween himself and his engineer.
What luck? ?. asked the latter.
Hard luck, was the answer.
Later, the engineer dropped little
oil here and there, for another dash; the
Englishman came up to the engine. He
could not bring himself to ask the driver
for another ride. and he wasit obliged
ito. The engineer gave him lift in thu
cab. after the hearty fashion of rail-
readers, despite the risk he ran even in
those easy-going days.
In little while they pulled into Ma
son City, Iowa, at the crossing of the
Wisconsin Central railroad. There the
Englishman had to change cars. w,
his destination, was on the cross-road,
eighteen miles away. The agent wrote
ON small piece Of paper, folded it care
fully and gave it to the Englishman.
Give that to the conductor" said he.
BE quick-they're pulling out-run!''
Painting, the Englishman threw him
self into way car that was already
making ten miles an hour. The conduc-
tor unfolded the paper. read 1t, looked
the Englishman over. and said, All,
right
/ It was nearly night when the train ar
rived at W, and the deadhead fol-
lowed the train crew into an implanted
hotel, where all hands fell eagerly to
eating supper. "A man stood behind a
narrow. high desk, at the door, taking
money; but when the Englishman Of
lfered to pay, he said:
Yours is paid fer"
Not mine; nobody knows ME here.
We'll, said the landlord. someone
pinted to you and said, L pay fer him..
1t amt thing to make a noise about;
1T don't make no difference to me
whether it's Tom or Jerry that pays. so
long as everybody is represented"
well. this is funny country"
unused the Englishman, as he strolled
over to the shop, Here, once more, dis
3couragement awaited him. He had
never "railroaded it, and was denied
job.
Weary, discouraged, homesick and
iheartsick, the young man sat and
thought it over, and concluded that. as
a last resort. he would see the master
mechanic. IL he had been s'quitter"
he would have quit: but the constant
thought of the faithful. trusting wife,
away back down the track. Who had
left her home and her people in Eng
land to cast her lot with his in the
strange new world-at that moment,
mayhap. knecling on bare floor teach
ing their babes to pray for him-the
thought of her love and the utter help