The San Francisco call., 1909-05-23
fTHERE is a great and silent
revolution going on in the rail-
L road world" remarked the old

4 revolution going on IN the rdii-
i road world" remarked the old
raflroadman. as he leaned up
"a gainst the bar OF the Transportation
club and swallowed his whisky ana
we are not alive TO it,
Boys" he continued solemniy, the
day IS coming soon when there won
be no railroadmen. The railroads will
be run by women. Women are not
all alike. Some of the gurgling kind
| that want TO hang over any kind OF
man won't have much show in the rail-
road offices. but there are some OF the
kind that will get ahead. and while you
boys are doing the great social ACT
they will be taking all the cream and
| leaving you the skim milk
| Don't you go TO despising the girl
element in the railroad Offices Some
of them know more about raiiroading
than you imagine. But they are not
the fiirtatious kind who think they are
winning the hearts of men by Ginning
and grinning and gurgling, when IN
fact they are getting pretty generally
cussed for being nuissnces.
Women are being more trusted
daily. and some of them are getting
pretty good offices to hold down. Some
of them make mistake by putting on
too manly airs, and one across the bay
who cuts her hair short and wears
long coat does get little laughed at.
But she is there with the goods, and
while you boys think you are the lords
OF creation and can't be touched at your
own game, you are having the ground
cut away from under your feet.
why, wasn't there a woman traffic
manager of a large hardware concern
and didn't she route the business as
we'll as any man and do her firm no end
of good? You never heard tell of her
butting into other peoples business
and telling the railroads what they
ought to do. No, sir; she attended
strictly to business and wasn't forever
getting her name into the papers as
the savior of the country
You may snicker all you like, you
young fellows in the corner playing
you are playing this, that and the
other, the girl who does not get as
much as you do now is merely the fore
runner of those that are about to do
you all out of your jobs.
.T remember a frail little woman down
on the desert whose husband got took
sick and was near TO die He was a
telegraph operator, and that is all he
knew. and he was sent TO the desert 10
get back his health. But the rheuma-
tism took him so bad that he could nor
operate the keys Did she despair?
No. sir; she learned telegraphy and ham
died the office as well as ever did her
husband. II it were one of you boys
in that fix you'd give up at once.
"Then you take a idgety man TO
work for. He'll want a woman to be
his stenographer every time. And
why? Ten chances to one she knows
more about spelling and punctuation
than does the average boy, and she
won't have to be running to the die
tionary every time the boss uses
word which isn't train or cars or
freight
Then again the bosses say that girls
never give away anything and can
keep their own counsel. L don't say
that the boys ever talk. for they are
too honorable for that But, boys, 1
am telling you what you will all have
to realize sooner or later. The smaller
positions in railroad Office will be ?
monopolized by women.
There are one or two roads in the
country which won't give women en-
ployment. but 1 hear they are break
ing away from tnat rule.
1T don't look very cheerful for the
boy in the future, that is the boy who
thinks he is going to have an easy
time getting his bread and his but
ter. Railroading is going TO be more
scientific from day to day, and Uncle
Hartman is setting the pace by start
ing an educational system for lads
who have passed college to become rail-
roadmen.
NO, you can't be all baggage
smashers, Joe McIlroy, for there are
girl baggage smashers and 1 would
like to see what kind of a showing
you would make. Joe. with that girl
in the Santa Cruz mountains. who could
toss trunks with the liveliest baggage
smasher there ever was in the country.
And Fred Prince over there is get
ting opposition in his line of business.
Wasn't there a sweet slip of a girl
sent out to this coast by E. o. McCor-
mick, who was forever taking coIored
pictures for lecture purposes Now.
jules Clerfayt, if you want to know
anything more about her I will refer
you to General Fitzgerald
There will be held in the city next
Wednesday the second semiannual
meeting of the Western freight agents,
Imnnrfinnnf 0I,