Albuquerque citizen., 1908-01-09
HOW A FARMER
BOY BECAME
MANAGER
Began as a Station Agent
and Worked Up.-Hdd Eye
for the Future.
tFrom the Topeka JournalD

Dewitt G. Moon as a boy didn't
want to become a farmer. Neither
did the ministry or the law appeal to
him. He refused a clerkship i'm the
general store at the crossroads sim
ply because he could see no future in
it,
'What under the sun does the boy
want to do. mother?'" asked his faith
er. Impatient with him.
81 guess that he wants TO go on the
railroad, father" she replied. Hes
been talking of it for these two years
now. Since they began to talk of
building that new road he's been
worse"
Boys nowadays are funny boys"
was the commet of Moon, Sr When
j was his age l had four acres in corn
and enough stock to pay my way
through school.
'No good can come of his going
railroading. He'll get his head cut off
some day"
1t wasn't long until the surveyors,
laying out the Dunkirk. Allegheny
Valley & Pittsburg, a line which was
to run from Warren. Pa, to Dunkirk,
N. Y, came TO talk with Farmer
Moon about getting a right of way
through his meadow land.
He wouldn't listen to them at first.
''I'm not going to have my cows and
chickens scared to death" he de-
clared. The engineers left without
the right of way.
They were back within the week.
They simply had to run their lines
through the Moon farm. otherwise
they would have to make long and
expensive detour, besides bridging a
small creek that bisected the adjoin-
ing farm.
They doubled their offer, "Ill talk
it over with mother" the old man
told them.
Mother. thinking of the ell she
wanted to build off the kitchen and
of the things her parlor needed, told
her husband to sign the grant. De
Witt, the boy, was wildly enthus-
iastic With "a railroad running right
behind the barn he saw an oppor-
tunity for accomplishing that ambi-
ton that dwelled in his dreams by
night and his thoughts by day.
81 hate to see the railroad come"
Moon, Sr., confided in his wife.
''There'll be no keeping of Dewitt
at home after they begin to run
trains through here"
Let the boy have his way" she
advised. Then a happy thought
came to her. They're going to build
station here, they say-why not get
Them to give Dewitt job here on
the old farm? They'll have to get
somebody"
Farmer Moon finally surrendered.
Though the surveyors demurred
strenuously at first at the thought of
furnishing a raw country boy with
position as one of the consldera-
tions Of right of way through his
parents land, they finally consented.
A few months afterward Dewitt c.
Moon was formally appointed station
agent of Moons station" There was
no telegraph office in the little depot,
only way freights stopped there. Way
freights ran without orders those
days.
In a year or 30 the D., A. V. & p.
decided to make Moons station
telegraph station. Then they proceed
ed to break the news to the boy sta
ton agent that his services would no
longer be required. I'VE need a tele-
grapher." they explained.
"Well, / can telegraph" he told
them. They gasped as he proceeded
10 explain that he had put in his time
practicing Morse between way
freights In the end they decided TO
keep him.
Moon developed into first class
operator. He never broke" his re-
ceiving and sending was perfect. One
day they needed a new dispatcher at
Dunkirk. Moon got the place.
The farmer boy made az good a
dispatcher as he did an operator.
When he wasn't handling trains he
was thinking up ways and means to
better the service. He took many
suggestions TO the division superin-
tendent; many of his suggestions were
put into use.
Then they promoted the super
He suggested Moon as the logical
successor Of the assistant superin-
tendent who succeeded the super
intendent. Moon was appointed.
II wasn't long until he became
superintendent Then train crews and
operators remembering the days OF
Moons station, began to talk o.
MOONS luck"
But it isn't luck" the boy told hi!
mother when he came back to the
old farm-in his private car. "Tv'
worked for this. and worked hard. /
they only know the hours | hay,
srent in preparation Tor these thing
they wouldn't say that, mother"
Dewitt c. Moon is general mana
ger OF the Lake Shore now. The.
made him the successor of the lat
E. Handy the other day. Some day
predict his friends he'll be the mail
spoke IN the great wheel of all IN
New York Central lines. Moon, mod
est. isn't saying anything i'm this con
nection. But he believes in his owl
prescription for the achievement o
success IL follows:
''Work. Work hard. Work ever
day. Sunday or week day. Worl
nights Work all the time, If you