Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-10-11
THE McW|[L|AMS SPECIAL,
BY FRANK q. SPEARMAN,
t(Copyright, 1900, by F. H. Spearman)

How, for instance, the mysterious car
was ever started from Chicago on such
delirious schedule, how many men in the
service know that even yet?
How, for another instance Sinclair and
Francis took the ratty Old car reeling into
Denver with glass shriveled the paint Bills
tered, the hose burned and tire sprung on
one of the .Five-Nine's drivers-how many
headquarters slaves know that?
Our end of the story never went in at all.
Never went in because it was not deemed
well, essential to the getting up of the an
nual report. We could have raised their
hair; they could have raised our salaries,
but they didn't; didn't.
In telling this story l would not be mis-
understood; ours is not the only line be-
tween Chicago and Denver3 there are 9TH
ers l admit it. But there is only one line
Gall the same) that could have taken the
McWilliams special, as we did, out of Chi
cago at in the evening and put it in Den
yer long before noon the next day.
communication came from great La
Sale street banker to the president of our
road. Next, the second vice president heard
of it, but in this way:
why have you turned down Peter Nc
Williams request for a special to Denver
this afternoon" asked the president.
He wants too much came back over
the private wire. I'VE can't do it,
After satisfying himself on this point the
president called up La Sale street.
Our folks say, Mr.. McWilliams, we sim
ply can't do it.
You must do it,
when will the car be ready?"
AT 3 o clock
when must it be in Denver"
Ten o'clock tomorrow morning..
The president nearly jumped the wire.
'McWilliams. you're crazy. What on
earth do you mean?"
The talk came back so low that the wires
hardly caught 1t. There were occasional
outbursts such as. situation is extremely
critical grave danger, acute Distress,
must help me out
But none of this would ever have moved
the president had not Peter McWiliams
been bigger man than most corporations;
and a personal request from Peter if he
stuck for it, could hardly be refused; and
for this he most decidedly stuck.
Il tell you it will turn US upside-down,"
stormed the president.
DO you recollect,' asked Peter McWiIl-
iams when your Internal old pot of road
was busted eight years ago-you were
turned inside out then. weren't you; and
hung up to dry, weren't your
The president did recollect; he could not
decently help recollecting. And he recol-
lected how. about that same time, Peter
McWilliams had one week taken up for
him a matter of two millions floating,
with a personal check; and carried 1t
eighteen months without security, when
money could not be had in Wall street on
government bonds.
Do you-that is, have you heretofore
supposed that a railroad belongs to the
stockholders? Not so; it belongs to men |
like Mr.. McWiliams. who own it when |
they need it. At other times they let the
stockholders carry it-until they want it
again.
''We'n do what we can, Peter" replied
the president, desperately amiable. Good |
by
1 giving you only an inkling of how
it started. Not word as to how countless |
orders were issued and countless schedules |
a
numberless trains abandoned in toto, and |
numberless others pulled and hauled and |
held and annulled. The McWilliams special |
in a twinkle tore great system into |
great SplinterS
1t set master mechanics by the ears and |
made reckless falsifiers of previously con-
servative trainmen. 1t made undying enc
mics of rival superintendent, and incipent |
paretics of jolly train dspatchers. 1t shv- !
cred us from end to end and stem to stern,
but it covered l,026 miles of the best steel |
in the world in rather better than twenty
hours and a blaze of glory.
My word is OUT said the president in
his message to all superintendent thirty
minutes later. You will get your division
schedule in a few moments. Send no rea-
sons for inability to make it; simply deliver
the goods With your time report which
comes by Ry. M. s.. want the names and |
records of every member of every train
crew anw every engine crew that haul the
McWilliams car Then followed partcu-
lar injunctions of secrecy; above all, the
newspapers must not get 1t.
But where newspa pers are secrecy can
only be hoped for-never attained In spite
of the most elaborate precautions to pre-
serve Peter McWlliams' secret-would you
believe it?-the evening papers had half a |
column-practically the whole thing Of |
course they had to guess at some of it. but |
for newspaper story it was pretty correct
just the same They had to a minute, the
time OF the start from Chicago and limited |
broadly that the schedule was a hairraiser;
something to make previous very fast rec
ords previous very slow records And-here
in a scoop was the Secret-the train was TO
convey a prominent Chicago capitalist to
the bedside of his dying son, Philip McWill-
Jams in Denver. Further, that hourly bull
!etlns We're being wired to the distressed
father. and that every effort of science
would be put forth to keep the unhappy hoy
alive until his father could reach Denver
on the special Lastly. it was hoped by all
the evening papers to fill out the half first
column scarce that sunrise would see the
anxious parent well on toward the gateway
of the Rockies
or course the morning papers from the
Atlantic to the Pacific had the story re-
peated-scare- headed in fact-and the pub-
nc were laughing at our peoples logged re-
fusal to confirm the report or to be inter-
viewed at all on the subject. The papers
Hdu the story, anyway. What did thew
care for our efforts to screen private dis
tress which insisted on so paralyzne
tlme-card for 1,026 miles?
When our own. the west end Of the sched- |
ule, came over the wires there was a mi
versal, vociferous, kick. Dispatchers, su-
perintendent of motive power, trainmasters
everybody, protested. We We're given about
seven hours to cover 400 mies-the fastest
percentage, by the way, on the whole run
This may be grief for young McWfu-
Jams, and for his dad grumbled the chief
dispatcher that evening. he cribbed the
press dispatches going over the wires about
the special, but the grief is not theirs
alone"
Then he made protest to Chicago What
the answer was none but himself ever
knew. 1t came personal and he took It
personally; but the manner in which he
went to work clearing track and making a
caro- for the McWilliams special showed
peter speed than the train itself ever at
tempted-and he kicked no more
After all the rev. 1t seems Incredible but
they never got ready oleave Chicago till
4 o'clock: and when the McWilllams sDG-
cial lit into our train system, 1t was like
dropping mountain lion into bunch Of
steers.