The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-11-22
RAILROAD WORLD.

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 J. w Blunt, travelling passenger agent for the Central of Georgia, is still con- fined to his room. An injured foot has incapacitated him from attending to his duties.
 The Nat N. Wills Theatrical company will leave today for New Orleans over the Queen and Crescent"
 Car shortage and an inability to fill orders for grain have compelled J. J.. Stevenson and J. w. Dickson to go north to secure shipment of two hundred car loads of grain and hay to be delivered in Birmingham within the next thirty days. MT. Stevenson and MT. Dickson left last night for Cincinnati. These gen. tlemen were also accompanied by N. c. Royster, who goes to arrange a big ship ment of canned goods for this city. The New York Commercial is responsi- ble for the following:
 For over thirty-one years Tim Calvin ran a locomotive on the New Orleans division of the Louisville and Nashville railroad His death the other day serves to call attention to the fact that very few of the officials and employees of the road at that period are alive today.
 Tim Calvin it was who held the throttle of the engine that pulled the Lawrence Barrett special train from New Orleans to Mobile in two hours and forty-fiye minutes. At that time the run was re- garded as remarkable achievement in railroading, but in these days of modern equipment and fast trains it would not be considered anything out of the ordinary.
 The only two of the old engineers of the division who survive Calvin and are still in the service of the road are P. J. Mo- Donald and Thomas Goodloe, the latter now the conductor of passenger train. In 1872 Dan B. Robinson was superin- tendent of the division. He died only few years ago as the president or one of the largest railroads of the west. Will liam Murray and Matt Kennedy of the Illinois Central Railroad served under Robinson as passenger conductor and bag gage master, respectively Colonel A. s. Graham. the present ticket agent of the Texas and Pacific Railroad, was the pay master. and c. K. De Lappe, now with the East Louisiana Railroad, was the sta- tion agent at Bay St. Louis. D. M. Wal lace, now with the Southern Pacific, was the train dispatcher, and J. Everett Eaves who was connected with the
 
 of the road.
 After period of thirty-one years, out of the vast number of officials and en- ployes of the New Orleans and Mobile division of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, only eight can be accounted for in New Orleans today, the great majority of them having gone to that bourne from which no traveller returns. The railroad men of the old regime are fast passing away, and in few years more, when the roll is called. there will be none to answer to their names.
 Yesterday was the twentieth anniver- sary of the adoption of the standard time in the United States, and was recalled with interests by scientists. and particu- larly by railroad men. Up to this time twenty years ago every little village and town in the country had it's own time. causing much confusion. It was due to the efforts of Mir. William F. Allen, sec retary of the American Railway associa- ton, with offices in New York city. that the old system was done away with and a standard time adopted.
 Lieut.. Commander E. E. Hayden. U s. N, in charge of the division of chrono- meters and time service of the naval ob- servatory talked yesterday of the part taken by the United States government
 
 tenant now Capt. F.. K. Moore, who twenty years ago filled the position now occupied by Commander Hayden, ap- peared before the railway association and explained everything in regard to the government time service. Admiral c. H. Davis and Admiral John Rodgers also took part in the adoption of the stand ard time. Prof. Cleveland Abbey, of the weather bureau, attended the conference.
 ''The adoption of the standard time" said Commander Hayden. 'has tended to enormously increase the accuracy of time all over the country. Not even the best watches and clocks will keep exact time but must be referred daily to some stand ard regulated by the sun or stars The standard clock of the naval observatory is regulated this way by frequent star signs and the daily noon signal Is sent out by telegraph with an error that rare ly exceeds few hundredths of a sec ond.''