Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1905-09-22

FORM
that he was no cringer or time server.
lie respected a man as a man and not
because he held position. Three times
an Ave years he was called upon to
contribute to a fund to buy an official
n silver dinner set, and three times he
refused and was discharged. He did
moi refuse because he disliked the man
who was to benefit by the gift, but
because he believed that the official
should be satisfied with his salary, the
same as he WAS
In the course Of ten years Tim was
discharged v times, and seven
times he was taken back after he had
1oafed around for u couple Of months.
The term for It In railroad parlance is
suspension without pay. In no in
stance was there cause enough to a
rant putting his name on the black
llst, and Tim had an affection for the
w. and W. road and did not look for a
position on any other. The seventh
time he was taken back he was sent
down the line to q wretched little sta
tion on half salary. He had to be
freight and passenger agent and tele-
graph operator at the same time. Tim
did not object to his new place. He
knew that within a few weeks he
would be invited to come up higher.
There was much chatting on the part
Of other operators along the line, but
Tim took 1t good naturally and went
on with his work
He had been holding this position al
most two months when a crisis hap
pened. There was an accident four
miles up the road from his station,
and On employee was sent back to do
~telegraphlng. He found the office
closed. The hour for closing was 8
O'Clock, and It was now midnight. Per
haps this part Of It would have been
excused, but that night Tim happened
to be or 10 q dance with a crowd Of
young people. There were no orders
forbidding him to go to a dance when
or duty, and no was not supposed to
know when accidents were going to
happen, but he was held to be crlmi-
nally guilty and told to prepare for de-
capitation.
Two days later the superintendent
arrived on a special train. He was
showing a committee OF the Legislature
over the road. On the same train was
h telegraph operator who had come
down to take Tins place. The spe-
eial had twenty minutes to walt that
khe ran east might be clear, and the
superintendent personally saw to the
transfer Of the station. Then he told
Hlm that he should eve click an in
gtrument on that line again. Tim re-
piled that II would be no loss to him,
and a few hot words passed.
As It happened, Tim had received his
pay the day before and was free TO so
where he would. What he did was to
cross the tracks and take a seat on a
pile OF ties and wonder whether he
should turn navy or farmer. The su-
perintendent's train was to make a run
OF fifteen miles, side track for seven or
eight minutes and then have a clear
Eun OF sixty miles. Tim could hear the
new man clicking away after the train
had pulled out, and he heard the word
rome back that it had reached R.
and taken the side track. Three min
mites later he was on his feet and all
Intention.
Darkness had fallen, and FAR up the
track he could sec q locomotive head
Hight. According to arrangements made
there should have been no following
. Train for half an hour. The headlight
was three miles away when sighted,
but Tim knew by the humming of the