The Opelousas courier., 1901-12-28
TRAMP RAILROADER,
'nsNk STARTS HIM ON A CAREER
OF WANDERING

'sm'ssa's For ln~toxication commonest
among Observation-Disclosures Men
Whom Any Road Would Employ Except
FOR Incorporate Habits.
mat human nature is pretty much
IKE In all callings is shown by a study
" the tramp railroad man." said a
iVislon superintendent of one of the
Fuflk lines running into Washinton to
Star man at he station.
ne tramp r.ilroad man usually be-
'lns MS career of wandering, seeking
EMPLOYMENT from road to road, after his
'rst dismissal because of drinking. He
nay be an experienced man, such as any
Dad would be glad to employ, but his
weakness for whisky caused his down
all, and, like other men, once the down.
Vard slide begins, every jolt in the
oboggan path sends him farther toward
he bottom.
Railroads all over the country are
hforclng the rule demanding strict So
.riety with great rigidness. They are
ne most practical advocates of temper
nee In the land. They do not plead with
men, and hold up frightful examples of
he result of drink. The question is
esolved to its most simple terms: If a
nan wishes to keep his place he has got
o keep liquor out of his tomach. Rail-
Dad men all know this, and the result
S that railroad employees as a great
,ody are the most temperate of the
lasses of the employed.
"A few years ago it was a common
light to see trainmen come out of a
'aloon or a hotel near the depot, after
: preliminary bracer" before starting ON
heir run. 1t is a rare sight now, and,
furthermore, the rule holds good at all
lines of the day, whether on or off
luty. If a trainman is known to tipple
,f duty, he is at once called up before
he division superintendent and severely
ectured. If the admonition fails to
ave the desired effect. he is sumlnarily
dismissed. The managers of the roads
determined that men who possess
! disposition to drink cannot remain on
heir payrolls, and the wholesale re-
ormations and the good in general which
las been accomplished has been almost
ncalculable.
Probably there are more dismissals
or drunkenness among switchlnen than
n the other grades of railroad employees.
This is because switchmen and yardmen
Ire stationed at one place, frequently
lear saloons. It is possible for them to
lip away occasionally for a drink, rush
he GROWER and drink its contents on the
or have a drink struggled to them
'urreptitiously by a companion of a
riend. But off goes their heads if they
re detected, and a close watch is kept,
IS their positions, though humble, are
lmong the most important as to results
ihould they prove derelict in their duty,
IT any on the road.
mo, We have no blacklist of men
dismissed. If a man applies to us for
we write to his references,
if the cause Of his dismissal is in
emperance, WI do not employ him, and
lie passes on to try his luck elsewhere.
PREVIOUS experience on a railroad, how
yer, counts for a great deal. If we
ave evidence that a mar has really re-
and he is a good railroad man,
sometimes give him a trial on what
$ known as a hard division, and if
lives up to his determination, he re-
aims his place, and a good citizen has
'een made of him.
"1t is singular, though true, that once
railroad man begins to tramp as we
ay, it is the exception that he climbs
p again. He soon develops a grievance.
ike other men on the downward road.
nd falls into the error that. everybody
against him. He seldom lays the
ault at his own door, where it belongs.
"We demand the s~trictest sobriety
mong the train dispatchers. These men
always be in the full possession of
their faculties unaided by stimulants.
f the smell of liquor is detected on the
reath of a train dispatcher, the old
ran calls the culprit down in unmis-
akable terms, and a repetition of his
Hense means the loss of his place. AS
rule, train dispatchers are teetotalers.
The prevention of destruction of its
by accident and the safeguard
1g Of the lives of its passengers are
ne cardinal principles governing the
ontrol of railroad employees. The
wager conductor or engineer, with his
erves keyed up by a "few drinks" is
ow almost a memory. Each year the
abits of sobriety, neatness. accuracy and
are becoming more and
lore part and parcel of a railroad man
Y reason of rigid enforcement of the
lies. While it is true to a large. extent,
companies are actuated by self-inter-
IT. and not by temperance or humani-
motives, the result, as far as the
zen are concerned, is the same as if the
tier considerations were the only ones
~ssue."-Wdshington Sfay.