Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1907-05-24
{. 8. 5. 3: 90 81 3.

to the stockholders? Not SO. IL be-
longs to men like Mr.. McWullams.
who own II when they need It At
other times they let the cl;holders
carry it-until they want II again.
We'll do what we can. Peter" re-
piled the president. desperately amia-
BILE. "Goodby."
am giving you only an lnkling OF
how Ii started. not a word as TO how
countless orders were issued and
countless schedules were Cancelled. not
u paragraph about numberlcss trains
abandoned I'm toto and numberless 9TH
ers pulled and hauled and held and
annulled. The McWilliams Special In n
twinkle tore great system into great
| splinters
1t set master mechanics by the ears
and made reckless falsifers of previ-
ously conservative trainmen. 1t made
undying enemies OF rival superintend-
entS and lncipient parctics of Jolly
train dispatchers. 1t shivered us from
end to end and stem to stern, but it
covered 1925 miles OF the best steel In
the world In rather better than twenty
hours and blaze OF glory.
'My word is out" said the president
I'm his message to all superintendent
thirty minutes later You will get
your division schedule in n few mo-
ments. Send no reasons for inability
TO make II. Simply deliver the goods.
| With your time report. which comes 10y
by. M. s. want the name and rec
ord OF every member of every train
crew and every engine crew that hauls
the McWilllams car" Then followed
| particular inimctlons OF secrecy.
Above all. the newspapers must not
get II.
But where newspapers are secrecy
can only be hoped for. never attained.
In spite OF the most elaborate precau-
lions 10 preserve Peter McWilllnms'
secret-would YOU believe it?-the even
Ing papers had half Il column. pract-
cally the whole thing. OF course they
had TO guess nj some OF Il, but for n
newspaper story II was pretty correct.
just the same. They had 70 minute
the time of the start from Chicago and
limited brJatl. hat the schedule was
n hair raiser. something 10 make pre-
| vious very fast records previous very
slow records. And-here I'm SCOOP
was the secret the train was 10 con
vey prominent Chicago capitalist 10
the bedside OF his dying son, Philip
| McWillams. In Denver. Further that
| hourly bulletins were being wired TO
| the distressed father aud that every
; effort OF scieace would he put forth to
Keep the unhappy boy alive until his
father could reach Denver on the spe-
cial. Lastly, II was hoped 10y all the
evening pnnprs Go nll out the half first
column scarel tina; sunrise would see
the anxious parent well on toward the
gateway OF the Rockies.
or course the morning papers from
the Atlantic 10 the Pacific had the
story repc2 tea -scnre headed. In fact-
and the puhlic We're laughing ut our
peoples logged refusal 10 confirm the
report or 10 be interviewed Mt all on
the subject. The papers had the story
anyway. What did they care for our
efforts TO screen private distress
which insisted ON so paralyzing n time
card for 1.020 miles?
When our own, the west end OF the
schedule, came over the wires there
was universal. vociferous, kick
Dispatches. superintendent OF motive
power. train MASTER everybody. pro
tested. We were given about seven
hours TO cover 400 mIles-thc fastest
percentage. 10y the way. on the whole
run.
This may he grief for young Nc
Williams and for his dad" grumbled
the chief dispatcher that evening as
he cribbed the press dispatches going
over the wires about the special. but
the grief Is not theirs alone"
Then he made protest To Chicago
What the answer was none but him
self ever knew. II came personal. and
he took IL personally, but the manner
In which he went to work clearing
track and making card for the Nc
Williams Special showed better speed
and he kicked no more.
After all The row II seems Incredible,
but they never got ready to leave Chi
cago till o'clock. and when the Me-
Williams Special lit into our train sys-
TEN it was like dropping mountain
lion into n bunch Of steers
Frelghts and extras. local passenger
trains even. were used - being side
tracked. but when II came to laying
out the flicrS and q whisper this) the
White Mail and the Manila express the
oil began 10 Si;ZIe In tlie journal boxes.
The freight business. the passenger
traffic, the mail schedules OF whole
railway system were actually knock
ed by the McWlliams Special into a
cooked hat
From the minute it cleared Western
avenue it was the only thing talked
Of. Divisional headquarters and car
tink shanties alike were bursting with
excitement
On the West End we had all night to
prepare, and ut , O'Clock next morning
every man In the operating department
was on edge. At precisely 1888 Il. m.
the McWilliams Special stuck its nose
] l.,k< Il ll..I