Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-03-13
Looker-O,1 In Iona!

1 lows, MafCh 1S.-COmmenttng on 8
story that was told In this column OF
a railroad engineer that owned dhe
engine he used and was paid mileage
by the railroad company for the use OF
1t, another engineer knows Of q pass
enger conductor living in Iowa, who Is
worth over a million dollars and still
makes his daily run between Lastown
and NeNtown. Said conductor owns
considerable stock in the railroad
company, not controlling interest a.
some times this story is told. 1t seems
that one day an official, call him
division superintendent which he was
not, had occasion to slack up this
millionaire conductor, and one word
leading to another, the millionaire
finally told the superintendent, why
I'm not working for you, you're work.
ing for me-" Then came some railroad
language always printed in polite dsli-
lies as dashety dash, dash, dash. But
when the wordy battle was over the
millionaire conductor cooled off and
owned up "he was working for the
superintendent.
And here's another story that there's
nothing funny about. 1t seems on the
way freight new man went to work
that morning. OF course he was green,
and awkward, and before they were
twenty five miles out the engineer was
boiling mad. Wrong signals, failure to
make couplings, etc. made the en-
gineer so hot that he advised the con-
ductor to fire the damn fool" The con-
ductor advised patience, he'll learn,
etc" But this engineer was mad clear
thru. He commenced quilting" sent the
cars back so hard when switching that
he smashed coupling, and finally
pulled out drawbar. This brought the
conductor up to the engine again, and
he said, you've raised hell with the
new man, he's afraid to work Behind
you Now I'm going to do some OF his
work, and remember I'll not stand for
any of your, foolishness. If you send
back any more cars as you did against
that boy, by God I'll come up to your
engine with a coupling pin and you
won't run an engine again for while"
Just before the next station was
reached the new man was sent out
ION top" to set some brakes, (no
safety brakes those days), and goirg
around a curve fifty miles an hour. eff
went the new man. The engineer ran TO
the station uncoupled and went over
to the switch and whistled for q
brakeman. The conductor went back
with the other men Of the crew,
picked up a, grain door, placed the
body OF the new man on it, carried
1t to the caboose, and then went out
to call on the engineer, still angrlly
whistling for a brakeman. And when
the talk was over, when the engineer
had been told he had killed the new
man, that engineer got over being
mad" There was no more "bulling"
on that days run.
And when this story was being told
the narrator didn't know there was "a
cttel amang We takin' notes." of course
this all happened years ago, long be-
fore any interstate commerce laws. it
seems in those older days, each mem
Der of P. d. @. Brotherhood, carried
a. membership card, and on, preserlta-
ton any conductor on any train, any
where, was supposed to allow person
having such card to ride free. Well.
one day a conductor on a freight train
not allowed to carry passengers. found
two men carrying such cards. in his
caboose and naturally they rode with
him" After a while the division SUI
.perintendent got on and also rode
with the conductor" He asked the
ICON" why he was carrying passengers
and was told they had P. D. @. Broth
erhood cards The next day this con-.
duotor was called up on the carpet,
cot utI3,+y vnarka and TEN DAYS Law
off," He reported the case to the
brotherhood of which he as we'll as
the superintendent were, members, the
grievance committee called on the
railroad officials, and theyl were
turned down" Other meetings fol-
lowed and finally "a tie up" was
threatened, which resulted in the con-
ductor having the thirty marks
erased, and getting full pay for the
ten days he was laid off. This Of courss
-. nd