The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1904-07-09

dlngy shop OF an old man, Wainwright, IN
Philadelphia. The abolishment of serf
labor vastly affected the aristocracy and
was bitter blow to that class. To no one
! did the Imperial ukase come with more
crushing force than to the elder prince,
the head of the house of Hilkoff The
greater portion of his wealth was invested
in estates, which, necessitating large
amount of capital to work them with free
labor, placed him in most embarrassing
position. While loyal to his sovereign the
new order of things greatly embittered
him.
The young Prince, Michael, hailed the
freeing of the serfs with enthusiasm All
| the democracy of his nature rose to greet
the new order of things. The elder prince
and the son quarreled. over this great pub
! lie question, and the latter left his fathers
house to accept the position of Judge arbi-
ter, thus placing him in position where
he must render justice to the former serf
as well as his former owner. The quarrel
/ finally reached the point where the son
! told the father to leave all that he had to
another son. As for him, he would not
touch a rouble of the fortune of the old
Prince. Then young Hilkof prepared for
his journey to America, and for the rail
road schooling he was eager for.
IN WAINWRIGHT SHOPS.
"For four years he remained in the en-
ploy of Mr. Wainwright With his wife,
the Prince, who had taken permanently
the name Of John Magill, found board
ing house where the fare was, to use the
Princes words, most excellent For his
accommodations he paid 81, 80 each per
week. The boarding house was on Market
street, near the river. At the table the
Prince sat with his wife on one hand, a
shipping clerk ON the other, while the rest
Of the company was made up of bOokkeep-
ers and other clerks, seamstress or Two
and several mechanics Hilkoff several
times declared that it was one of the jol
hest companies he had even come in con-
tact with.
1t has been stated in some of the frag-
mentary notices of Hilkoff' stay in Amer
lea tha, he was employed at the Baldwin
I.oeomotiveWo Works in Philadelphia. Anoth-
er story was that he worked in the Penn
sylyania shops at Altoona. Both stories
have not the slightest foundation. About
1865 Mr. Wainwright and several col
! leagues secured a contract to build and
equip and start running railroad in Ar
geutinq, and it was suggested that young
Magill, who had been advanced from time
10 time in the mechanical work Of the shop,
be one of the workmen sent from the States
to the South American republic. Mr..
Wainwright, learning that Magill had
wife. at first refused, declaring the good
old Quaker principle that man and wife
should not be separated. The Prince as
sured his employer that Mrs. Magill would
| quickly follow. and 81 he was permitted
10 Join the expedition. Before leaving the
young man's wages were raised to 81 per
/ day. The Princess who had some funds
/ immediately followed and joined her hus
band in Buenos Ayres.
As a SToKER.
/ .The Prince showed so much enthu-
siasm and intelligence in his work that he
was advanced to the positions of sub-fore
man, foreman, and finally to that of su
perintendent of the locomotive roundhouse,
at 81 per day. The general manager of
I the road, who drew salary of S24, 600
/ per year. was the engineer of the first To-
/ eoniotiye sent over the line and his stoker
wa, the Russian. The imported engineers
had struck for higher pay, and the general
manager and his stoker continued for four
DAYS to run the one locomotive, when the
former grew sick Of his job and gave the
/ Prince his first chance at running an en-
\ zine. The Prince declared that the knowl-
I edge gained over the new road while run
ming the locomotive was the most valuable
he had ever gained When he left the
cab at the end of the strike he declared he
/ knew all there was to know about that
particular engine.
Letters from St Petersburg had been
multiplying to show that Russia had awak-
ened to the Importance of improving her
/ railways At last came letter from the
father of the Prince, which breathed the
true affection that lies in the blood, and in
his unbending mood asked his dear son to
consider the door closed on the past and
to return to the home of his forefathers.
ssAPPREcIArIoN' AT HOME.
The Prince and his wife straightway
bid adieu to Buenos Ayres, and after
year lingering in France, still studying
the railroads and their equipment, h. re-
turned to Russia. Straightway he applied
to his Government for employment. Nat
urally, with his experience, he expected
to be offered position of power, and he
confessed to having been much chagrined
that he was offered nothing better than the
post of locomotive driver, or engineer, as
we say.
d" 1t did not seem quite the thing,
said the Prince, after all | had gone
through to learn what | knew, serving in
every capacity from boiler maker, pipe
filter, blacksmith, foreman of shops, stoker
and engineer and so on to locomotive super
intendent, that | should come back home
and be regarded as only competent to drive
an engine on an accommodation train. But
| had made it a rule of my life to do what
ever had to do to the best of my ability,
and accepted the engine and ran it three
months when | was created locomotive
superintendent and remained in that one
position five years.
''In the early eighties came the oppor
tunity of the Prince Skobeloff, the
dashing general in command of the Rus
sian movements in Central Asia, was de-
termined there should be radical change
in the transit situation. By his suggestion
General Annenkoff, Imperial Director of
Military Transports of the Empire, was
ordered to Central Asia to devise and direct
plan of construction. Annenkoff and
Hilkoff had been children together, and he
nominated his friend for the post of Chief
| of the Mechanical Division of the work
! The appointment was confirmed Some
months later, when Annenkoff, by reason
of wounds sustained, was permitted to
leave the Transcaspian, Prince Hilkoff
succeeded to full charge of the work The
following year he was made Chief Direc-
tor
To prevent lamp chimneys from crack