The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1904-04-01
WAVES Of RAILROAD MEN
Aggregate More Than $4,000 Per
Month in MankatO.
Neat Sum Is Distributed Among the
Merchants Each Month.
Two Hundred and Twenty.four En-.
pIoYes Live Here.
Include All Glasses From Conductors
to Section Hands,
From Fridays Daily.

FROM frlday'S Daily.
Seldom does the average Mankato
denizen stop to reflect and attempt to re-
alize the vastness of the Importance of
the four lines of railroad to the city's
commercial welfare. 1t is indeed hard
to form any estimate of all that the rail
roads are doing for the material adj
vancement of this city, there are 80
many different ways of looking at such
a question, and so many different points
of view from which men may form their
opinions. There is one way, however, in
which the subject can be presented so as
to appeal to the mind of every practical
business man. To observe how many
men living in the city obtain their liveli-
hood by serving the railroads and what
this livelihood itself amounts to. Of
course such compilation would not by
any means furnish an adequate state
ment of all that the railroads are doing
for the city, even in the way of bring
ing in money, since the vast amount of
extra labor employed here from time to
time and the materials purchased areleft
entirely out of account. Some concep-
ton, however, of the very minimum flow
of money into the city's trade channels
through the medium of the railroads
may be gained by ascertaining the num-
Der of steady employees living in the
city and the pay they get.
The four railroads entering Mankato
employ steadily just 224 men, all living
in the city. The men draw salaries ag-
gregating $l5,5s6 per month, averaging
$69.59 per month per man, fully enough
to support 224 families. Of course these
men are not all heads of families but
they live in the city and spend their
money here for all that and the volume
of Mankato's trade is that much larger
than it otherwise would be.
The resident employees of the Omaha
railway alone comprise two passenger
conductors, one freight conductor, two
yard masters, two passenger brakemen,
two train baggagemen, two freight
brakemen, five switchmen, six engineers,
six firemen, four warehousemen, ten sec
ton men, two section foremen, six car
repairers, three roundhousemen, ten
bridge carpenters, one pump repairer,
six office clerks, including the freight
agent, four telegraph operators, one
superintendent of bridges and buildings,
one roadmaster and one roadmaster's
clerk
Employees of the Chicago & North
Western by itself who are living in the
city include five engineers, five firemen,
ten brakemen, five conductors, two train
baggage men, fifteen section men, one
section foreman, seven bridge carpenters,
seven car repairers, two coal men, three
warehouse men, two roundhouse men,
ten clerks at the freight office, road
master and roadmaster's clerk.
Jointly employed by the Northwest
ern and Omaha companies in their union
! depot and resident in the city are the
agent two baggage men, two clerks, and
one janitor.
Then there is the Milwaukee road with
its two freight conductors, one passen-
ger conductor, one passenger brakeman,
FIVE. freight brakemen, one train bag
gage man, three engineers, four fire
men, four freight office clerks including
the agent, two warehouse men, four sec
ton men, one section foreman and two
car repairers.
The Great Western by itself has liv-
ing in the city one freight conductor,
three freight brakemen, one passenger
brakeman, six regular engineers, six
regular firemen, one extra engineer, one
extra fireman, four round house men,
one round house foreman, four section
and gate men, and three men employed
in the freight office.
At the Milwaukee Great Western pas
senger station are employed jointly by
the two companies one ticket agent, one
night operator and one baggageman.
After the Minnesota Central railway
becomes realized fact, with Mankato
as its most important commercial point,
it is safe to assume that the number
of the towns citizens, obtaining their
living by railroad work will be increased
twenty-five per cent at least, and that
the volume of money thrust into the
city's commercial arteries by the rail
roads will be correspondingly increased.
Surely Mankato has future out of
all proportion to her past. A mere
glance at an up-to-date railroad may
suggests this prophecy to any thinking