The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-03-19
RAILROAD NEWS.
Railroads Most Interesting
Thing In Mexico.
So Says w. H. Reed of L. S.
Geological Survey.
MEXICAN ENGINEERS.
Natives Are Not Capable Of Run
ming an Engine.
Other Details of Mr. Reeds
Observations In Mexico.


thinking. the Mexican railroad is about
the most interesting proposition in the
entire length and breadth Of our sister
republic" said Mr.. William Harvey
Reed Of the United States geological
survey, who recently returned from a
months soJourn in that country. He
went there during the early part Of
January to inspectand report upon some
mining properties owned by American
capitalists
One of the first things that strikes
the visitor to Mexico" said he, is the
curious manner in which our American
railroad nomenclature has been Latin
| lied and rendered into Spanish As a
matter of course. when the first rail-
roads were built in Mexico by American
capital the state did not appoint a
learned professor 10 invent suitable
Spanish equivalents for such words as
switch brake. vestibule. etc. nor did
1t pass law authorizing the use Of
such terms to exclusion of all others,
and so it happened that the work OF
rendering American railroad termin-
I 0lcgy into Spanish was left to the
American engineers and conductors
from the states and their Mexican fire
made of it,
Here. as in all things. the transfer
OF terms took the path of least resist
anee. The American engineers and con-
duetors found that the easiest way Of
rendering commonplace railroad terms
into the bad Spanish of the Mexicans
was SIMPLY to tack an 'e' or an Il ON
the end OF each word, and so it hap
pens that the Spanish language in Mex
leo now finds itself enriched by the ad-
diti0n of such new words as 'switchie.
brakey, platfOTmey.' etc. Some of the
Mexican Guild nuncs are at present Won
derlng whether or not they should adj
NIT such words into the Spanish lam
guage and dictionary as valid terms.
Whatever they do in the matter makes
little difference. so far as the country
is concerned, for these terms have come
to stay and are employed on all rail-
roads.
Il am often asked as to the person
mel of Mexican railroads; whether or
not the mem who run the engines are
Mexican or American. That is the most
Interesting feature of the Mexican rail-
roads Today there are a few-nOt
more than three or four at the farthesI
Mexican engineers. all the rest being
American. The Mexican engineer is
such a rarity and exception that he
ought to be put under glass case in
some museum. It is on the railroads
that one sees and notes the tremen-
dOus gulf which separates the people
Of the two republics. Somehow the
Mexican is a fairly good mechanic and
an excellent blacksmith, but when
placed in a position where he has to
face emergencies and which requires
self-reliance. courage. and personal in
itiative he is a. conspicuous failure.
When the Mexican National was
first built the government sought to en-
courage the employment of Mexican
engineers. but it soon proved a con-
spicuous failure. The NeXicaus make
excellent hremen, and do very we'll so
long as they have some one to direct
them, but placed in positions of re
sponsibility they soon lose their heads
and are subject to alternate fits of
fright and foolhardy recklessness. Dur
ing my trip south to the City of Mexi-
co, we came to one section where
Mexican engineer had to be placed in
charge. owing to the illness of the reg
ular American engineer employed on
that stretch of road. I was frightened
to death throughout the entire run. and
so were the other American passengers,
not knowing what minute this fellow
would lose his head and desert his post
or do something worse.
Il learned later that this fellow had
been q fireman and engine cleaner for
seven years. yet when placed in charge
of an engine all he knew was how 70
pull the throttle. and put on the reverse
lever and brake. The result was that
being in ignorance of all the other parts
except the ones that / have mentioned,
he operated the engine in way that
made the American passengers on the
ears burn.
He would run like mad for five
miles or so, and then. becoming fright
ened. would bring the train to a regu-
lar snaiIs pace not gradually. but with
a jolt and bump and go creeping
along for another five miles. until his
courage had returned. and then, jerking
the passengers out of their seats and
making our teeth crack so that you
could hear them at the opposite end Of
the car he would go tearing off at
pace that made us dizzy, until he got
scared again, repeating this perform
ance off and on until he reached the
end Of his run, and turned the engine
over to an American And yet this fell
low was one Of the few Mexican en-
gineers
When an American boy gets a job
as fireman. the first thing he thinks
a bout is to learn the different parts of
the engine in order to pass an ex--
animation for engineer. but the Mexican
is a different sort of being As fire
man it never occurs to him to learn the
mechanism OF the engine. He knows
that his government is holding forth IN
dueements of an extraordinary char
acter 10 encourage him to become an
engineer, but he is quite content to
serve the superior American engineer.
as he does not feel equal TO the task of
shouldering 50 much responsibility
During The time I was jim Mexico they
had a strike On the Mexican National. and
to keep the lire IL operation they flied the
ter held their places three days, leaving