The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-01-30
<1"HERE are many ways of
a. earning a living, but run
ming an elevator or acting
as starter for battery OF

as starter for a battery Of
them is not. one of the
happiest," said the elevator starter as
he answered three questions at once,
worked the castanet which signals the
operator to start, skilfully steered a
small mob of hurrying individuals to-
ward the car next. in line and refused
the proffered coin which a, visitor from
the country would have forced on
him for fare.
This remark was called forth by a
question as to whether he liked his
job and how it agreed with him.
The elevator or lift business is lit
orally one of ups and downs, and it's
a business that goes right along in
storm and sunshine, and in winter
and summer. It never stops because
there's a coal wagon on the track,
and it doesn't get blockaded when
there is a procession on the streets.
And it has been going on this way
for a good many years"
Prompted by the last suggestion,
person with an inquiring mind con-
| suited the authorities and discovered
that to a certain extent twentieth CEN
! fury civilization is indebted to the
good Queen Maria Theresa of Austria
for the priceless advantage of being
able to travel vertically when the
style Of architecture is opposed to
| horizontal transportation.
It is related that in the year 1777
| the good queen, then resident in the
| Gutenberg palace, near Vienna was
! too indisposed to walk up the stairs
| leading to and from the royal apart
ments and therefore induced some
| subject with mechanical z genius to
| construct the first Gift" of history.
| The machine travelled up and down
| a lightwell or shaft and had attached
to it three ropes, upon pulling any
one Of which she was enabled to
ascend descend or stop. Queen Maria
| Theresa's ability thus to give herself
a lift is supposed to have greatly
helped her in rising above the OBJ
stacles with which her path was clut-
/ tered.
service has improved with the other
methods Of fast living, until to-day
many elevator operators in Mime
apolis travel fifteen miles a day and
| think nothing of it. In the Guaranty
| building, for instance, the six pas
! senger elevators make an average Of
two trips every five minutes The
elevator shaft is $50 feet long; SO
/ that in the course of a day each ele-
vator travels 1913 miles, the six
running over eighty-seyen miles in
/ the ten hours, and travelling at the
rate of ESQ feet minute most of
| the time. AS the average number Of
pounds carried is from 1900 to 1000,
the amount of work each elevator does
in a day is enormous. About 1900
/ passengers are carried by each eleva-
tor each day.
while some guileless persons may
think 1t is a soft thing to wear q
uniform and be an elevator starter,
these persons might easily be dis
possessed of such notion" said the eIe-
vator starter, after he had explained
to querist that Mr.. Jones had moved
into the Phoenix building and Mr..
Brown was out Of town. and that the
building was entirely flreproof and
safe, and that one could see miles from
the top.
I'm the first place, he must master
every detail connected with his own
building. He must know everybody in
the whole structure by his or her first
name. what business each person is in.
whether he has come In yet, or gone
i out yet; what the number Of his Office
is, and his office hours, and he mustn't
| get mixed on the combinations OF