davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-12-05

center of the freight car with the product which takes the 20 cent rate. and entirely covers and hides it with the product which takes the 10 cent rate. Under the rules the whole carload should pay 20 cents hum dred But If the base and deceitful shipping clerk, entirely without the knowledge Of his unsuspecting employers, bills it to the branch house at Seattle as car at the 10 cent rate. who Is to see that the railroad is not de- frauded7I
 That is the duty of the traveling freight in- spector, who, If he finds a case of the kind described has 1t in his power not only to enforce the collection of the higher rate, but to report the offending corporation for pun ishment by the law. Cases of this sort or quite involuntary relating on the part of rail- road companies are by no means uncommon.
 Freieht lon the Road"
 Now the train of west bound freight Is all properly made up and is started straight through for the Pacific coast. UP In front is the big 100 ton engine which will pun 1t through to the end of the first division. The tender carries ten tons of coal In the engine cab are the engineer. his fireman, and the head brakeman, who is held re- sponsible for the safety of the front half of the long procession of fifty cars. Away at the tail is the old caboose, where the conductor and rear brakeman keep house. pIayfuIly alluding to the old brown car as their carriage" Through the night the fireman Is kept busy pretty steadily shovel ing coal into the yawning frebox. Between each shovelful he closes the door, to save every atom of the precious heat. Nearly two tons an hour, for five hours at stretch. he shovels 1t up. There is job for real man.
 Out behind the conductor has seemingly turned double entry bookkeeper. He sits at his little desk and writes away patiently. keeping the way bills for his fifty cars Of freight perhaps five cars of 1t L-C-L, with a separate way bill for each package. When the train runs by a station the two brake men are out on top of the cars. walking back and forth on the little runway, jump ing like cats across the space which sep arates each car from the next. They must keep an open eye, also. for tramps riding the bumpers, or. perhaps, forcing their way into some car for greater warmth and comfort. The blood feud which runs be- tween the freight brakeman and the hobo has before this resulted in more than one mysterious tragedy which never got into the papers. And on 6 winter night, with
The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-12-05
Shipping Room Often Neeced Its Importance Not Appreciated

pected to watch things as they should be watched. If the manager had allowed more room for the shipping Eoer lad paid the men there little better money. and hadn't looked upon that department as sort of a necessary evil, Nelson & Spindt would have got their goods in good shape and there would have been no angry letter from a displeased GUS toner.
 Ii may be safely set down as a rule that where one finds successful firm, firm that is going on doing business year after year, and building up list of satisfied customers. it will be found that the shipping room isn't a neglected hole In the wall A poor shipping room with an underpaid, inefficient force is just as sure a sign of " sick business as a poor selling force. Either one fails to de- liver the goods in the right way.
The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-12-05

I. And, say. Clarence. If you see good looking girl that you want to cop out, just take her. See? Don't let the fact that a lot of rude guys are looking cross stop you"
 Never" says Clarence. understand all about that"
 That's right" says l. And now, Clar- ence. you just excuse me for a few minutes. cause I've got to run out and see friend. You wait right here. I'll be back in ten minutes"
 l went straight over and saw Fatty Fla herty who was running the dance up at Mahaffeys hall that eve.
 Fat" I says, "when come up with friend. tip every body off to leave him alone, no matter what he does. see? If he kills a fiddle player. apologize for having him in the way. Get mel"
 Sure" says Fat. You owe me SO much money I'm afraid to lose me stand-in with you
 About Clarence and I breeze into the wax at Mahaffeys, and the first thing we
The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-12-05
Charlie His Own Judge

''Yes, I'll go, MT. Potts. though'-his at tempted smile was more like grin-'of course I'd prefer to do something of more importance" s I'd N
 'Everything that needs to be done in this office is important, Charlie" Potts replied kindly. es r- sS '-'
 "oh, know that'-Charlie misinterpreted Potts smile of interest for a sneer-ffbut some things are more important than others, and I feel that my work entities me to something more important"
 Maybe so, maybe so.'' Potts answered. "Pll think about 1t. You needn't bother to do this I'll get somebody else. and see what we can do for you
 Dick Hilton went to the suburb and Charlie sneered when he saw him leave the office on the jump.
 picks a fool to cheapen himself that way" Charlie commented mentally. He ought to have more pride in his work
 Potts began to study Charlie little more closely He had taken a great deal of inter- est in the bow when he first came to the office, and had wondered frequently during the re cent months what was the matter with him. In talking about him with Temple. Potts said:
 Charlie does pretty good work. but he seems always looking for a double meaning in everything. He's always on the defensive. He'd do lot better if he'd quit such tom- foolerJ."
 A few weeks later Potts discovered an error in the plans for a new bridge on the northern Wisconsin division. A number of men hac worked on these plans, including Charlie, and Potts, in an effort to discover how and by whom the error had been made, had talk with each of them. When Charlie
The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-12-05
lob Price of Poor shuffle.

The yardmaster must see to it that freight cars from other roads are promptly started back home. If he should fill Pennsy lvania freight car, for instance, with package freight bound for Oklahoma, the car tracer for the Pennsylvania road would see that a nice sum for rent was charged up. against the road the yardmaster worked for. And If that sort of thing happened often the yard mast would lose his job. Cars freight. and c-ews-all must be shuftied correctly and as fast as man can think.
 Even with the carload lot freight the thing Is not as simple as 1t may seem All the tricks in the freight game are not known to the railroad companies alone For instance here is a corporation making two classes of product, one taking freight rate Of 10 cents a hundred pounds and the other 20 cents hundred Now suppose the wicked shipping clerk Of the innocent corporation fills the
The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-12-05
You Can't Jolt New Workers Conceit.

see@is Mamie, the belle of the canning room walking across the floor to meet her steady.
 You for me-" says Clarence, without waiting for an introductions and he picks Mamie off the floor and swings her into the first waltz And nobody even kills him. .s, Pshaw" says Clarence, after the music stopped. knew that these things had been advertised. Why, down on our east side in New York a man would have been slain for doing that"
 Lamb Ready for Slaughter.
 told you to go as far as you like" says l. There isn't anything to this talk about these places being rough"
 q knew 1t all the time" says Clarence
 Just then Fatty comes up and whispers: " For the love of my reputation for running decent place. take him away! I've got two of the boys locked in the ice box to keep them from coming out and tearing him limb from limb'
 Well. had got Clarence started right. so I took him away
 |" We'll go on to the next dance" says I; and led him to the hall above Kedrowicz's s booze joint where they were having Hun yak wedding dance. Another one of those fourfiush tough places" I says oontemptu- ouslike. Go in and hsir youraelf. Clarence, If you see anything thar looks fit to dance with"
 He did. He grabbed the bride
 go out to see Clarence every evening now. The nurse says he'll be able to go back to New York in another week. Every time I come he says: Who threw the bomb?" And I tell him: "There must have been a. magazine writer present, and those boys had been ordered to show off''
 He don't know whether to believe me or not. As he says: " If I wasn't from New York I'd actually believe that you were kidding me"
 o, pifie! IL must be great to feel tha& way whatT
The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-12-05
By HENRY BOWLES.

And Bill. an IS year old boy on ST a week who packed the order in a dark hole under the stairway-the rest of the shipping room being crowded with other orders-grumbles and says: " Aw, packed that all right; sure I did. You needn't lay 1t to me; ain't to blame for that"
 Bill is right; he isn't to blame. The man. ager is. if he is responsible for making the shipping room what 1t Is. In the first place, Bill at $7 a week isn't the proper person to pack goods for a freight journey to Zum- brota; in the second, the dark hole under the stairway was no place to pack in; and. third, the shipping clerk, at Sl6 week and work ing overtime every night. couldn't be ex-
The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-12-05

that they were poorly packed, and that, any how, they weren't like sample.
 The course of business system then runs something like this: The manager hurries into the shipping room with the letter in his hand, " Here, Smith, look at this Those goods we shipped to Nelson & Spindt at Zum- brota, Minn,, have arrived in awful shape Whats wrong with this end of the house? Huh?"
 '' Bill packed that order" says the shipping clerk. 70, Bill, come here. How many times do I have to show you how to pack goods? Heros that order for Nelson & Spindt arriving on the bum"
The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-12-05

entered his private office Potts tried to speak kindly.
 Charlie" he said with smile. 'ft looks like you're the goat"
 What is 1t?
 why, these Rawton bridge plans. There's an error in the calculations. I've asked all the others who worked on them but you, and 1t looks like it's up to you" ,sg Goods Found on Charlie. Charlie bristIed T didn't make any error in my part" He thought another attempt : was being made to humiiiate him.
 Lets look 'em over and sec Potts re- 4 piled quietly. l s ' The two went over the plans and presently found wherein Charlie had forgotten to com plete plus sign, leaving 1t minus He ad- mitted the error was his. That's earelessness. Charlie, Potts re- marked, but carelessness at times is just as bad as ignorance"
 The next day Dick Hilton was placed in charge of a division. with Charlie under him One of the other men in the office, who knew of Charlie's attitude toward Potts and Dick. said: Charlie. that's not fair. You're en- titled to that place. wouldn't stand for 1t '"
 I'm not going to-" Charlie answered in- dignantly.
 That afternoon he went to Potts.
 ..see here, MT. Potts" he began beiligerent- fy. don't you think I'm entitled to some consideration when you're making promo tions?'' fksa ae.34s
 Certainly, my boy, I always consider you when there is higher place to be filled and think you are competent to fiji it."
  Time for "piain Talk
 "u doesn't look that way Charlie sneer- ingiy replied /" I'm good workman. I've done lot of work in this office. I've put in a lot of extra time have come downat night, worked late in the afternoon, done odds and ends when I was asked to, filled in half a dozen places when men were absent. I've always kept myself free to answer any call from the office. know I'm competent"
 "Charlie " - Potts spoke slowly -" I'm going to talk plainly to you. It may hurt. but it will help If you're the kind of a man [ think you are You are a good workman,
The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-12-05

blizzard blowing and the mercury 20 below, there are many promenades more enticing than the narrow, wind swept top of nov ing freight car.
 Now the train is running up through the mountain country and the brakemen are con- stantly .' out on the roof" ready to rein force the ''air ' with the hand brakes if any thing goes wrong. If the grade is steep two and often three extra engines are coup led on to help the long train over the d. vide
The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-12-05

When his engineering course was completed Charlie applied for. and was granted, a transfer to the engineering department He worked on the road for a couple of years
 gaining practical experience as a surveyor and engineer, and at the end of that time was brought back to the. Chicago office. His salary at this time amounted to SlOO a month and he felt well pleased with himself.
The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-12-05
Thinks Chiefs Against Him.

Charlie's interest in himself and his desire to advance made him do good work, however. and he did not manifest any of the symptoms of sensitivitis until six months later. He had been sent out in the summer to take charge of the work on a stretch of track that was being changed to avoid a steep grade. The work had been well done. the chief en- gineer having praised 1t, and Charlie was somewhat unified when he was given the old place under Temple upon his return to the office.
The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-12-05
By STOCKYARDS FREDDY.

"Yes, yes And distinctly tribal custom of assaulting a stranger on the scene"
 "Yes?" says I, still looking foolish.
 Yes" says Clarence, but of course l know it's all bunk. These magazine writers go around and tell the police captains what they want to see, and the police fix up the show for them. All made to order
 Sure" says I. By this time I was feeling happy inside. and it wasn' the drinks, either.
 Nevertheless, I wouldn't mind taking in one of your celebrated balls. if convenient" says Clarence.
 70, there isn't much to 'em," says l. Hardly exciting enough for you"
The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-12-05

S freight Di F He sHS wears sI no % brass buttons,
 rides in no vestibuled Pullmans,
 | doesn't get on to the first pages of the
 newspapers and has no handsomely illustrated booklets printed advertising the swfftness and luxury of his trains. He can afford to leave all that sort Of thing to ms brothers of the passenger service. For ne the freight man--is the chap who pays the bills In the last year, while the passenger business was collecting 5000, COG. 900 from the public the freight man poured a golden flood of nearly two billions into the railroad strong box But for him there would be no divi- dends, no millions to spend for great ter minals long tunnels through the mountains, and rock ballasted double tracks over the plains
 The conductor of the flyer" boots pol ished nails manicured, uniform spotless, IS doubtless handsomer. But Mike and rom and Johnny in their overalls and blue jeans are the men who make eighteen hour trains possible. When 1t comes to real railroading the passenger people are ladylike amateurs. The freight men are the real thing.
 Altogether there were S74,O00OOo passen- gers who took railroad trips last year. In the same time 1890. .000,O00 tons of freight went travelling. The average passenger journeyed thirty-two miles The average ton of freight was hauled 242 miles. Freight trains in the aggregate, covered almost ten times as many miles as passenger trains And that gives the passenger service credit for all the fussy little suburban runs that an able bodied freight man would laugh at.
 
 Freight Service Necessity. Passenger service is a convenience and luxury Men can ride horseback or walk. if that is necessary But when it comes to moving steel, and flour, and pianos, and lum- Der, and hard coal it takes freight cars, and lots of them. The freight train is the real agent of civilization. It is the real creator of wealth. After the explorers and the pio- neers and the missionaries have worked for years and made little impression, the open ing of a good. active freight line will in a year turn bowling wilderness into a center of sweetness and light.
 In 1860 total of 360O0 tons of freight was laboriously carted over the mountains to the Pacific coast along the old Santa Fe trail. Today, running along practically the same route, single freight train carries 500 tons of freight straight through to San Fran cisco. In twelve hours a single road will haul as much over the mountains as 1t took twelve months to transfer fifty years ago.
The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-12-05

And when 1t comes fo real head work and good management. the passenger men are mere children in comparison. Here's single city freight yard more than five miles long. All told, it has couple of hundred miles of track and there are nearly 1,200 separate switches to be operated. Into that yard on a busy day 250 big freight trains may run. bringing 5000 freight cars, loaded with mill lions of dollars worth of goods, bound east and west and north and south. Every one of those trains may have to be split up into its units and the cars bound in the same direction united again into new trains The man who has that work to do Is the yard master, and his job is one that would drive any passenger person into an insane asylum.
 Inspection at Rush Speed.
 As each new train puffs into the yard 1t Is run first into that division set apart for the kind of freight it carries-west bound, for in- stance. Its engine goes snorting away to the roundhouse for a cleaning up. It's eaboose, with the crew aboard, is pulled of to the caboose tracks, where It lies until the yard master is ready to tack it on behind newly made up train bound back east. Meanwhile the inspectors are busy looking after the con- oition of the loaded cars. Is their running gear in good shape? Is there anything to prevent their being sent on towards their destination? Here's car of L-C-L Hess than carload lot-freight. with wheel in bad 
 hurrying down to the transfer house to be unloaded.
 The inspection must be over in fifteen min utes-fifteen minutes in the middle of the night, with bowling blizzard blowing. When a new train backs into the yard every six minutes there is need for, haste. A switch engine couples on to the cars that have passed, and away they go down to the end of the yard and up on the hump" The hump ' is a high grade, sort of artificial hill with a gentle incline leading up to 1t. All the tracks which spread out like a fan on the floor of the level yard below run to a point at the hump" By changing switches a car can be sent by gravity down the hump " on to any track desired. A single dumpy little switch engine operating on the" hump " will split a long freight train into its component parts and redistribute the cars on the proper tracks in@ less time than 1t takes to describe
The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-12-05

~ ENSIBILITY is too much self; 1t Is
 one of the bogies that affiict workers
 and it prevents them from accomplish A ing all they are able to accomplish.
 Too much self is narrowing, binding, stifiing 4 fseSs .
 Disregarding the ethical aspect of the sub feet and without considering the rightness or .wrongness of the matter, 1t Is safe to say that nearly all if not all, persons work from selfish motives. In its broadest significance work is the struggle for existence. the means taken by the worker to preserve himself and his family. And in this respect all work is selfish.
 On the other hand it is equally true, and generally admitted to be true, that those who achieve the greatest success are the ones who in the course of their labors, pull away. to certain extent, from themselves and from purely selfish aims. This pulling away process -enlarges their mental horizon, broadens their work, gives them bigger grasp of the affairs of the world, and stimu- lates them to greater undertakings that bene- fit others as well as themselves. .H
The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-12-05
By PHILLIP R. KELLAR.

lie and Dick were the dnly men in the office
 who were not engaged at the time on more
 important work. Charlie didn't like 1t. He
 thought the work was beneath him. and that Potts was simply trying to rub it In" How ever, he quickly decided that he wouldn't
 give old Potts an excuse to fire" him and said with what he thought was good effort q td ba fAcetfotts: aAE 0 v EfFl
The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-12-05
Start. on Rieht Track.

Charlie Tudor went from high school into the general offices of a big railway system, ambitious clean cut, industrious. His father wanted to give Charlie college education, but couldn't afford 1t, and thought the boy should earn. his own way from high school @on While c1erking in the general offices Charlie decided there were better opportunf- ties Tn the engineering department. He saved his money and attended anight school in Chicago to fit himself as a civil engineer.
 Charlie was a boy of average intelligence and hope. He hadn't many luxuries, and though his tastes were not extravagant, he wanted some. Through the two years ne cIerled in the railroads general offices, how ever, he kept himself in check, and devoted all his spare time to studying engineering. As his heart was in this study he did not progress rapidly in the office, but he had not expected to and was not disappointed He was so busy thinking of what he was going to do that he had little time to think of what he was doing. and practically none to wonder why he did not advance more rapidly.
The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-12-05

The assistant engineer had charge of the details of the office management and Charlie at once decided the assistant chief did not like him. In his own thoughts on the sub ject Charlie said to himself: q
 ''Old Potts [the assistant chiefl has got 1t in for me because I won't get down on my knees to him. He may be a good engineer all right, but he's not little tin god even If he does think he is. ."
 When Temple was transferred to the head of another and larger division and his place was given to another man Charlie was con vinced that Potts had it in for him" A few days later extra work necessitated hav-9 ing some of the members of the force work at night for week. MT. Potts asked Charlie to be one of these, in company with several others who were unmarried.
 Huh" Charlie said to himself, "he wants to rub it in now and make me eat dirt-ask- ing me to come down here at night to do work that the newest man in the office could do''
 From this moment the onesided case of antagonism developed rapidly. Potts was not aware that Charlie felt himself sighted or abused, but this did not prevent Charlie from nursing his grudge and twisting all of Potts words and actions into an intended slight.
 Bogey Now Fully Developed.
 A fellow employe Dick Hilton, who had entered the office at the same times with Charlie, began to forge to the front. Dick was quick courteous, always willing to do whatever he was asked to do. and appeared anxious to. do even more, Charlie, his sem sitivitis being fully developed. thought Dick was a sycophant.
 He'd lick old Potts hand if they told him to-" Charlie thought Well, he can get along that way if he wants to- but none of 1t for mine. I'll not knuckle down to any hoI jtiSf he t0 ha higher up in the business world-I don't care who he is,"
 One day Potts asked Charlie to go out to one of the suburbs and help make little survey. It was an easy task one that was usually delegated to the beginners, but Char
The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-12-05
Clarence Wise All Right.

"I understand" says Clarence. But mere curiosity, you know
 "Then wen drop in on one tonight" says
The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-12-05
Yard Like Checker Board.

The first car in that west bound freight train goes slipping slowly down on to the
The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-12-05
Hospitality Allows Mo Break.

70" l says, II admit that you're per fectly right in looking at this mans town as a second hand shanty town, populated by a lot of cannibals. We're far from being civi- lzed and all that, but you will admit that we have got backbone and sand out here. We don't keep our pants as we'll creased as you do. Clarence. but won't you please own up that we do grow men?
 You see had to be nice to him. You can't rise up and murder a gick who's ordering faster than you can think of ways to get rid of 'em.
 Dear boy" says Clarence, that's only