The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-12-14
SCHOOL FOR MoroRMEN.

A visitor to the general offices of the
 Washington Railway and Electric Company one Friday morning recently was seriously disturbed by whizzing
 buzzing noise that seemed to come from the car barn beneath, and to his un- initiated ears betokened the collapse of an engine, the demolition of train of motor cars, or something equally as disastrous. He expressed his fears to General Fuller, with whom he was conversing, and that gentleman laughed loud and long, an unusual thing for So busy man.
 That" he said, lis Prof. William F. Dement'S high school for motormen, the newest and one of the most complete institutions of technology in this city. Would you like to inspect it?"
 On receiving reply in the affirmative, MT. Fuller pressed one of the numerous buttons on his desk, and young man from an inner office came quickly to see what was wanted. A simple direction was given, and under the escort of the young man, the visitor was escorted to the regions below and introduced to Professor Dement, while his high schoop' was in full blast. The school is on the ground floor of the big car barn and office building, and is fitted up with all sorts of contrivances, electrical and mechanical which would assist in the instruction of the street railway motor men. 7+<> %.. q. --..
 MT. Dement,, whose title of "pro- fessor'' is but recent acquisition, is a
 man who has spent the best part of the last fifteen years studying the street railway problems of the district. His study has taken in almost every branch. He began as a conductor on horse car and later became driver. Then he was a conductor again, and when cable cars were introduced he became a rnotornan. He quickly graduated from this to the position of night clerk at the car barns and rose gradually through the grades of inspector and division superintendent to his present position of dean and faculty of the school for Irlotornen which the Washington Rail- way and Electric Company has recently installed as a part of it's equipment.
 The school has but one room as yet, and it is not likely that the needs of the railroad company will require amy more for several years to come, but this room is one of the most complete of it's kind in the country. It is fitted up with every contrivance that could possibly help the Tnotorrnan and conductor on an electric railway to learn his trade. Across the northern end of the room is a line of dummy" brakes and con- 1...e trollers in the line and it is here that the prospective 1notorman receives his first lesson. Just inscide the door, along the north wall, is a model of a street car This car is fastened to the floor and is complete in every detail as to it's working apparatus. It's wheels are raised slightly from the floor and pow CT is brought in from the street to run the motors. It was the running of this car that had made the noise that had been heard by the visitor in the office.
 I've put the men in here when they first come to apply for positions" ex- plained Professor Dement,, after the ne- cessary introductions. That is, we put them in here after we have carefully looked up their references and have had them jexamied physically by the medical officers of the road. We require motor men to be not less than five feet eight inches in height and to weigh at least 150 pounds. The man comes to me with card from the surgeon, and the first thing do is to put him on that plat form there behind the dummy brakes and controller boxes. The first thing 8 man is required to learn is how to stand properly. He must put his weigh on his left foot, which is near the con- troller box and slightly behind it. The right foot is carried forward to Q point near the brake beam, where it can work the ratchet at the floor end of the brake beam. In this position the man is braced, for almost with his right foot he can also work the bell.
 'sWe then teach the man the use of the two levers on the controllers box. He is taught that the smaller lever to the right of the box is the reverse lev CT This is what throws the machine for backward. or forward movements. To push the lever forward throws the current so that when the large control Ter lever is turned the car will go for ward. To pull this lever back means to make the bar go backward when the controller lever is pulled.
 When this small reverse is in the centre of the arch over which it travels the controller lever is locked and cannot move The candidate for the position of moto1nnan is taught to remove this re- verse lever first when he leaves the car, and he is given the most positive orders to remove both levers every time he leaves the platform, no matter if he just goes into the car for 8 moment or gets off to correct a wrong in the mechanism. He Is taught to put the brake on easily and firmly, and not to hold it tight as the ear stops. If the metorman holds a brake tightly at that juncture the stop will be sort and will jolt the passengers.
 T have bell here on the wall, and put class of men on the platform there and make them work the brakes and the controller levers to the bell signals. The men are drilled with this for two days, and between the lessons they are set to work on the book of rules, so that they may learn just what the company desires them to do.~ They are required