The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1904-09-02
MESSENGER DISCIPLINE


New Jersey Managers Plan Of
Reforming His Boys.
BETTER PAY IF THEY OBEY RULES
John F. Coo&an Of Newark Adopts
Plan to Stop Novel Reading, CiEa-
rette Smoking. Etc.-Co-operative
Arrangement That Already HRs
Worked a Manifest Reform.
Newark IN. J) business men are
thinking Of voting a medal to Local
Manager John f. Coogan Of the Postal
Telegraph company or at least Of rec
ommending him as worthy of the pro-
posed benefits Of the Carnegie hero
fund, says the New York World. They
are convinced hat Coogan is not only
a hero, but also a genius.
Coogan directs the energies of some
thirty boys who deliver messages that
come over the wire to Newark resi-
dents. Once upon a time Coogan was
champion batsman of the Eastern
Baseball league, and he is thankful
for the rigid discipline he was then
placed under. He has ~endeavored to
follow the same methods in his bust
ness life, but for years he was frus-
trated because Of the seeming impos-
sibility of drilling his staff Of mes
senger boys into a recognition of dis
ciplinary efforts.
Coogan fancied Newark boys to be
the same AZ boys are everywhere.
Rush messages were always to them
OF less Importance than to discover by
reading to the end of the story how
BUTTS, the boy detective" got the
drop on Scar Scanned Sam, the senti-
mental sailor, and saved the fortune
for Little Lady Lucy, the beautiful
wait.
1t was also in keeping with the mes
senger boys code Of ethics to smoke
a cigarette before he answered a hur-
~ call.
Manager Coogan studied the problem
of the reformation Of the messenger
boy. He tried discharging them, but
this brought only temporary relief, as
the newcomers oon fell into the easy
habits Of their predecessors. After
years of study Coogan has evolved the
scheme that has branded him as being
of the stuff heroes are made of. He
put his plan into effect a few days ago,
and the change he has wrought, even
in a brief time, has been wonderful.
In effect he has divorced the boy
from the novel, caused him to look up
on the paper smoke" with loathing
and turn his head away in honest hor-
ror at the sight of a colored boy with
a couple of dice in his hand.
He called his thirty boys together
and said:
Boys, I have come to the conclusion
that we can get along much better if
we adopt a little cooperative plan I
have in mind. That means that we
should work to help each other. Now.
I am authorized by the company to
promise you all an increase of pay.
Some of you will get 81, some 50 and
some So a month more than you are
now getting. Maybe you will all get
the $3. 1t will depend upon yourselves.
"In order to become entitled to this
increase you will have to promise me
these things: During the next six
months you will not smoke cigarettes
nor read dime novels during business
hours; you must promise not to curse
or swear, gamble with dice or in any
other form and deliver your messages
promptly. If you do all these things L
will agree that the company shall pay
for your uniforms and give you some
more money"
The proposition came as a surprise.
It tickled the boys. Every one Of them
solemnly subscribed to the. promises
exacted. They also willingly agreed to
forfeit certain portions Of their expect
ed raise for each fall from grace, and
the new order of things was at once
established. The success Of the plan
Of Coogan has thus far been complete.
THE change produced in my boys Is
wonderful" he said but recently. .'They
have entered heartily into the spirit of
the thing, and they are adherlng strict
" to the conditions. I made it plain to
them that I did not seek to make
saints of them. but merely to engage
with them in a plain business PROPOSE
ton for u mutual benefit. There has
not been a serious breach committed as
yet, and | believe the boys will, become
so accustomed to the change that the
benefit to them in a moral sense will be
far greater than the gain they will re-
ceive in their pay"