The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1905-04-01
A BOY OF THE olD-rAsH1oEED TYPE.


81 can't figure out what's become
of all the unsophisticated boys, or arr
there any of them left at all?" said {
man who, though we'll under so, is {
noted figure in the railroad world
"The lads that we meet up with now
adays are so marvellous wise, finished
up-to-the-minute, that I never cease
to wonder where and how they pick
it all up.
1--WE got houseful of growing
boys myself, and I declare that they
are a great deal more blase than ]
am. Things that still divert and en-
tertain me have long since become 9
bore to them.
"And I am quite certain that any
imposition could befool me, right now,
a great deal easier than he could any
of those boys. They appear to know
all of the kinks. Nowadays, in fact,
boys know so blamed much that
gravely doubt it they have as much
fun during their youth, and especially
during their early manhood, as the
boys of my generation did.
IT fell to thinking of all this when
I took on few extra young men
most Of them under 2o-in my office
the other day. They were well
groomed lads, held themselves we'll,
looked alive and alert and seemed to
be smarter than steel traps. The
sight of them caused me to think Of
what Rube of a boy / was when ]
took my first job-and it was with
the same railroad that 1 am still con-
nected with, by the way.
II was IS and small for my age.
I was born and brought up in little
Indiana town.
when / was bit over IS made
up my mind to be a shorthand writer.
l peddled newspapers and did odd
chores to get the money to attend a
shorthand class twice week in Terre
Haute. I studied stenography for
about six hours a day and bamboozled
all of the boys in my neighborhood to
dictate to me I got to the point where
I could take dictation.
I'm just one year was an expert
stenographer-not only an amanuen-
sis stenographer, but able to take
speeches. Yet I was about as un-
couth yap Of country boy as ever
you heard tell Of.
my mother had a relative who
was auditor for railroad that had its
headquarters in Omaha. She wrote
to this relative that she had a boy
who was an expert stenographer and
typewriter and who wanted job.
The auditor didn remember how
old I was, if he ever knew, and my
mother didn't tell him in her letter.
He wrote to her to send me along to
Omaha and he would put me to work
in the railroads Omaha Offices. He
enclosed a letter for me to present to
the railroads agent in Chicago to
enable me to get transportation from
Chicago to Omaha.
"Well, when I left the little Indi-
ana town for Chicago 1 had exactly
$3o.25 in a huge wallet that had be-
longed to my father. I kept it in
side of my shirt. The money was
what remained of my own savings as
news and chore boy. had, besides,
one of those big, old-fashioned, black
glazed bags, which contained all OF
my clothes and other possessions, and
one of those extremely heavy type
writer's of that period.
"The train was late in making
Chicago, and it was after Office hours
when I arrived there. My idea was
to get that transportation from Chi.
cago to Omaha and go right through.
$50 l started to lug my big black
glazed bag and the exceedingly heavy
typewriter through the Chicagostreets
to the Office of the railroad agent tc
whom l had the letter calling fol
transportation. was, asI say, only
small boy, and the things were SC
blamed heavy that had to drop 'en
about every half square and rest up.
"After about an hour, however,
reached the railroad Office. 1t was
then 7 o clock at night, and the agent
of course, had gone home. The
janitor of the building gave me hi
house address.
IT determined to start for his hous,
Immediately. But / had no idea o
taking a street car to reach his house
The reason for this was that I wa
afraid to show my money or to breal
bill.
IT had spent my odd change TO
food on the way to Chicago and hat
six S. bills left. Nothing in tn
world would have induced me to ex
pose the wallet containing them on
Chicago street car.
$50 walked to the agents house
which was way over to the South Sid
of Chicago. 1t makes my arms ach
even now to think of that journey
It took me four hours to get to tn
house and four hours to get back.
had to drop the heavy bag and tn
typewriter three or four times in eac
block.
"It was II O'Clock at night whe
/ pulled the doorbell of the railroa
agents house, and the wooden pave
street was as quietas death. Though
it would be all right to pull the dool
bell at that hour-didn't know an
better.
"I rang for ten minutes before th
agent poked his head out of a secon
story window and grufhy asked whs
was wanted. told him.
UtCx'wav how y prOwled the aPen