Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-09-23
Handling Freight.

nduo11uS ETelSnC.
In the handling OF freight the genius
of the Sanskrit scholar and the Egypt
ologist pale beside the demands made
upon him. With hundreds of PAM
phlets bearing on rates, circulars from
the superintendent, general freight agent
and the laws of Congress he must
grope as through a maze and lind in a
Jlfy the rate on dried beans less than
car load to Saskatchewan when destined
for Asiatic ports" He must do this while
trains pass and the dispatcher is hurting
dire threats at him on the wire and pas
sengers clamor for tickets, the Office cat
walls hungry dirge, and the leading
merchant holds in his hand a bill for
demurrage and berates the railroad. Life
to him is real, life is earnest. and more
of nightmare than an empty dream As
II this was not enough for one freeborn
american, he must carry the mail bag to
the post office four times day ana bring
the outgoing mail bag back. This burden
produces the munifcent sum of $50 a
month from the railroads. If he kicks
dull silence sreets him, and he is too old
Joke to receive polite and serious at
tention.
AS agent he is in correspondence with
every official on the road. From the
general manager. superintendent, SUI
perntendent of telegraph division onera-
tor. auditor of revenue, auditor of Nor
chandse receipts, general passenger
agent. auditor of passenger recent, en-,
perintendent OF car service, master Of
transportation down to irate shinners ana
the interstate commerce commissions he 10
the recipient of letters ranging from
stereotyped iterations of technical matter
to long trades on his general cussedness,
To say his life is dull or that meIsnchoiv
marks him for its own is far from true
The wooing springs of his life flow so
swiftly 1t Is little wonder he becomes a
grouchy and little given to flashes of hu
NOR or bursts of glad song
Hit Fat (p) Salary.
The salary of this ubiquitous Pooh Bah
is quite modest. Lest he should become
too self-lmportant the railroads consider
so month as ample remuneration for his
duties. Should two trains escape the notice
of this of manifold duties and come
together. killing scores, the officials at
tribute it to an act of God" Their "sys-
tenn Is invariably defended and the man
discharged. knowing he cannot perform
the impossible, he must nevertheless at
tempt tiff he fails he is fired" Consid-
ering the agents duties and his starvelng
wage, is 1t any wonder that the railroads
believe in the fatalistic theory? Thus, be-
ing undergrad agent with the duties of
a Hercules he is predestined to forget
result, wreck-discharge-"
answer the railroads. Sure it was unavo!d-
able-bound to happen-under the circum-
stances.
Now that the train auditor" has arrived
railway employees are demanding relief for
the agent They claim agents should not
do operators work, and that higher pay
should be inaugurated. With the reform
of agency work railway employees claim that
accidents will be fewer.
One thing is certain, the duties of agents
are onerous, and the danger of compelling
them to be operators and block trains is
great, and threatens the lives of thousands
daily.
1t is said the interstate commerce COM
mission is investigating the duties Of agents
on eastern roads. with view of determin-
ing the cause of accidents.