Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1907-03-23
Average Life of Man at the
Throttle Is Surprisingly
Short.
The Limit of Human Endurance
Has Been Reached by
Firemen.
BROTHERHOOD PIFTY-FOUR THOUSAND

motive engineers in the United States,
Canada and Mexico, who stand to-
gether in a single Brotherhood. They
compose perhaps the most respected,
iignified and effective labor organize
ton in the world. An Iowa man,
Warren Sanford Stone, is their Chief,
He is forty-six years old. hearty,
candid and cool, and has pulled every
thing from local freight to linn.
tied. aHtet 600 ftetts @
what is the membership of the
Brotherhood he was asked:
"Fifty-four thousand. We have sub
divisions in all the States and Terri
tories and also in Canada and Mexico.
HrYere growing at the rate of four
thous~r5~ engineers a year. The
freight TIRE -e'c in this country doubles
every decade, $~d it requires a good
many new men tO~meet the naturIl
expansion of business. Three hun
bred and eighty-one engineers were
killed on duty in the last Two years.
Notwithstanding our growth, We
haven't enough men to supply tne
demands of the railroads. Informa-
ton which has been carefully OBJ
tanned shows us that the average life
the engineer is only ten years. In
that time he either dies on duty or
from natural causes or is totally dis
abled. The average of our members
l. rat
gineers of seventy who are running
fast trains. When you see an old
man in the cab, however, you can
wager your last dollar that he is de-
livering the goods.
1.-The figures 1 have given may need
some explanation. Standing alone
they seem to be incredible. 1t must
be remembered that engineers suffer
more from exposure than do any
other workers. This is especially so
in the West. When the front window
of his cab is covered with snow or
frost the only thing the engineer can
do is to hang his head out of the side
window. He may be running forty
or fifty miles an hour, and the wind
may be coming right into his face at
the same velocity. Flesh and blood
give way under such terrible condi-
tions, and hundreds of engineers go
to pieces every winter. Some of them
recover and some don't"
'How long must a fireman serve
before he gets an engine?"
"From two and a half to three
years, but in the meantime he must
be man of iron and willing to work
like a horse. Firemen on modern
freight engines shovel from eighteen
to twenty-five tons of coal each trip.
The limit of human endurance has
been reached with them. 1t is no
longer a question of larger and
stronger engines, but the problem is
to stoke the engines already in use.
1t seems TO me that a machine will
have TO do it. Two firemen are some
times employed on a single engine,
but that arrangement is hardly prac-
teal. One man works, gets over
heated, sits down and takes cold. The
other man, when his turn comes, has
the same experience. The best fig
ures we can get, and they cover ten
years. shows that only II per cent. OF
the firemen on American railroads
become engineers, and that only 6
per cent. get passenger trains. Some
of them, having but little stamina,
give up but more OF them lose their
health.
Nowadays fireman doesn't
straighten up from the time his
engine gets under way until his run
is over. Furthermore, the door of the
firebox on a modern engine is about
face high, and the intense heat often
ruins the fireman's eyes. At least Is
per cent. of the firemen who serve
their time fail to get engines because
of defective sight. Even If the eyes
can be made normal with spectacles,
the fireman can not become an en-
gineer, although he may have grown
up on the road and been a steady and
man. After he runs an
engine for a while he may be per-
mitted to wear glasses. but he is
barred from certain trains and from
all employment as an engineer on
other lines.
But let us get back to the firema2-
who has served his time. He ESes
gayly about his business and 81 the
end of two years is ordered no head
quarters for another exaDnnation, a
biennial performance WHICH continues
as long as he lives. BE is compelled
to know his engine aid how to get it
to the next station III it breaks down
and must UNDERSTAND the electric
dynamo which, is often in the front
Of the cab. Hfe must be familiar with
tbe mecbaudsm of airbralxes and
n,,mps consequently an engineer
not onl, runs his engine, but heats
his trIsfn and frequently lights it,"
van an engineer who is not n
|member of the brotherhood get en-
"Yes, a tenth of the engineers in
his country are not in our organiza-
ion. We give them no trouble and
bake no effort to deprive them of
heir places. All that we do is to in
ist that they be paid Brotherhood
wages, work Brotherhood hours, and
ave all of our own conditions and
Privileges. These matters we arrange
18th the railroads and not with the
pen themselves. Some of those who
re out would be welcome and some
ould not be accepted by us under
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