The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-03-01
Is GREAT
ORGANISM.
Railroading IS Done Through
Many Various Departments.
AN ARMY OF EMPLOYEES
zach System Gives Work to Many Hun
dreds Who Are Separated by De-
partments-;Railroa Men Have
Lingo Of Their Own.
py W. M. elckERs.

p % /. d .
III Is related of 1.-THE lninentcd ID i.
Smith, so popularity known In Richn1ohu
and throughout the South, that Wheh
q Eoneral superintendent Of the Chesa penko
md Ohio he was visited by a brakeman
whom he had discharged Tor an M ,' az
ton OF the rules and who wished 10 nave
" ht,$ sentence mitigated. Anticipating the
n,oba Sic outcome OF his appeal for Glenn
ency tho "twister las the brakcinen
were called in tho days prior 10 ar
"A brake freight cars) had provided MN
4 self with pocket railway map wnich
n Showing all the roads IN the Onlteu
States, was a veritable network OF pi ~
lines. When tho afrable, but strictly
business superintendent politely inform
) ed his visitor that the welfare of the SER
Vice and of the public demanded strict
#alscipline, the unchagrinod erstwhile en-
%nloye pulled out the map, and striking an
attitude, said "Mr. Smith you see az
4 those black lines? Well, they are rail-
roads Yours may be good one, out
there are others. Good bye!" The gen.
AL ,superintendent' prompt reply was: III
4 they are all as good as mine you WI, WI
shire the same fate on any one or thom
under similar conditions, but ! hope YOU
viii have prohtted BY experience ana
q hercafte mako fine RECORD!
This little incident serves to INTRODUCES
%lhe subject Of the vast number or rail-,
ways and what Is frequently donominated
I (he great army Of railway employees. Yer
Gy it Is network Of steel rails span
d ding the oountry-North, East, South ana
Il iVest, Constructive genius has caused
a Vie pathway OF the Iron horse TO span
" flyers and ohasms, wind up the mountain
Steeps and through the heart of the ever
II lasting hills. Everybody are nelshpprs,
& Boon the Molly Cotton-Tail. whose an
q ty, NrnI n
far removed from the snort OF the loco
motive, will have no sequestered spot or
Y aboda The great train Of material pro
y Eress must have right Of way through
the land!
slff455 "ARJY OF RA1LROADDRS."
s8Bg The term army as applied to the
aggregate OF the -teeming thousands or
people actively Identified with the opera
@tion Of the multiplicity Of railways Is
used primarily with reference to num-
bers. The word is frequently used 70 ex-
65nress a multitude and sometimes to de-
note strength. But tho army OF rail-
readers. also suggests the departmental
divisions and subdivisions Of the rail-
way servlce AS a military Hrmy IS
organized into many divisions or depart
IA ments, SO the railway army has Its Com
a 1nander-i in Chief Major and Brigadler-
as Generals, Colonels Captains, Corporals,
2 Commissaics, Surgeons, Engineers etc,
FAD inflnitum'' and privates galore! Tho
Az service OF cachi great railway system
v issa compact organization OF numerous
well-defned departments. performing
{ their respective functions in an ordor-
IL manner and all combining to effect
a perfect and methodical whole. The
n stockholders elect the Board OF Directors,
"A these in turn the president, who names
Z the general manager, and some other
+ general officers and the general manager
appoints the division superint eildents and
n other heads of departments; the division
n superintendent his subordlnates, and SO
n on through the list. There are such gen
eral divisions as the transportation de-
pertinent, passenger freight. motive
mower. maintenance Of way departments.
and each has Its subdivisions, and oil
4 working In as complete harmony and
b relation to each other as the wheels IN
q a perfect clock Tho inetiicency of any
sub-department would disarrange the
whole and each unite In tho sub-depnrt-
,hnents sustains relatively the same re-
lation to his sphere OF work rs that
sphere does to the service as a whole. II
as important for the section hand &c
do his duty faithfully and we'll as for
x the enginentan,, dispatcher or superln.
tendent But while the largest measure
OF efficiency results from a conscientious
v regard of this fact. 1t Is over greh'
mistake for an employe to imagine thai
the company would go into bankruptc!
a. he should resign his position. The
company is dependent upon the faith
full discharge Of every duty. but is no
entirely circumscribed to particula
personnel It Is not bad idea, however
for an e1nploye in any capacity to 80 dis
t!nguish himself that his company Woult
be 10th to give him up. "The big head
and "a level head are different things.
d WOULD BID REVELATION.
The perfection OF tho auditing and &C
counting departments Of tho railway ser
vice would DO a revelation to tho unin.
atated. Tho most superb banking house
cannot excall tho railways In this regard
A balance sheet can be gotten out q
any time Which Will show In minute
uotau the complete stat,E, OF the com
pa.uy> It IL worthy OF remark In THU
connection that record Is kept OF tn
eaileG run by each engine--how man
tsns hauled per mile how much fue
ihr1oannx I'D, eta, used, and when a
Smstn> has worn out and goes to tn
oq9np-palo It's lifes record Is cast "
IND preserved with the archives Of tt
road Tho cur service department On
likewise give tho car mileage record
I Any given car and can also locate al
car o., short notice. These arc just cursor
vlances at a system OF accounting u
nicety of which Is apparent to all pra
tical business men. ] will deal with tn
subject more In detail in some future q
y ucIe OF this series.
Speaking OF engine mileage, an O
slneman OF thirty-fve consecutive year
sery1ce recently told me that he conse
yatiyely estimated that no had run
IN average OF one hundred miles di
for three hundred days year durlf
his ''residence on his engine" belle
mat figures one million and nifty tho
Sand miles, or forty-two times the CT
sumference of tho earth! The old &c
.leman looks hale and hearty, doesr
need any liver pellets. Is not BATH
scared and has never had serious a
rident! He said he really thought h
figures were too conservative, but
81 agreed to accept them 1t he would fu
,@iCish me some Experiences" which
Fl agreed TO do. =
Ef This recalls recent conversation wi
81 ID veteran dispatcher who figured tn
y. curing twenty years Of continuous serv
Z lat the key he mad worked an averai
p Of three hundred and twenty days
gear giving an average OF twenty @
iers, embracing three movements IA da
which figures ono hundred and tWent
sight thousand orders and three hundr.
B tnd eighty-tour thousand movements. al
Y. vet no has had no collisions and slice