Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1910-04-14
HARVARD TEACHER LEARNING
CONSTRUCTION BY DIGGING
DIRT WITH SUBWAY WORKERS.
s,IT CONTRACTOR NOT Stuck
ON COLLEGE MEN AS
TRENcHERs.

subway. Covered with clay, carrying
clay pipe in the corner of his mouth,
q sloutch hat on the back of hishead,
clad in kahki and his white hands
protected by wollen mittens it is diff
cult to distinguish him from the ordl-
nary laborer.
But Professor II. U. Ransom, teach
er of mathematics and civil engineer
ing at the Harvard summer school and
assistant professor at Harvard uniyer-
sity, does not care how he looks so
long as the subway is going through.
How do you like working in the
subway" was asked
"Oh, fine The professor turned
quickly, immense
Then he lened over the edge Of the
platform and called to the bottom of
the ditch, thirty feet below
Hey, Mike, | am sending letter
for you down with this buck ct of
stone"
Let 'er come" replied Foreman Mi
chael Stapleton from below, where he
was supervising the distribution of
the subway bed.
He's my boss" exclaimed the pro-
lessor. Got to keep on the right
side of the boss, you KNOW"
why, | am here learning construc.
tion," he explained; kind of hard at
first, especially in the cold weather
when you are up to your eyes in mud
and you get an order to clean up the
street SOS the trucks can get by. But
yon get used to it.
There isn't much chance, of course
to exercise technical knowledge here
It's mostly bull work | am on. Tn in
the Office | suppose they have the
wise men to plan it all. Here it's a
case OF dig. My boss yells out what he
wants and | got to see that he gets it
and gets it quick. But Mr.. Nawn is
gong to give me gang to handle
soon. Getting promoted Then
got to go to work dragging out the
cross-pieces, the SNORING timbers and
the rangers SOS to get ready for the
concrete job
You see up at the university I
got all the technical work | wanted,
struction. OF course during vacations
had put in some time over at NAL
den and around, but this was the first
chance | ever had to study practical
subway work"
Do you expect to be at the sum.
mer school this year?'
"Oh,yes," he answered, 81 suppose
so, But | don't think I'll go back TO
the university. | got my A. 3. in 'O6,
and my masters degree last year. so
am through with books / want to
go INTO contracting for myself some
day and you can't do that until Won
nave the actual experience handling
dirt"
1t was through one of his pupils.
Contractor Nawn's son, that the pro-
lessor got his job as laborer in the
subway. Young Nawn, who gradu-
ates this year from the engineering
department, is his fathers assistant
IN the Cambridge subway. While q Nh.
PHI in the Harvard summer school he
interested Professor Ransom in the
subway construction, whereupon his
teacher asked his pupil to get him q
job.
I am not the o2ly Harvard man
IN the job, observed Professor. RAN
som. There's Jack Lyons working
IN the engineers gang, and there's
george Homer; he's around some.
where carrying an engineers transit
IN TACT, there are lot of college men
on the dltch, especially among the
elevated companys engineers. Lot
more coming. too, during vacation
suppose they'll all go on the roll as
iaborers, just as did"
Hey, Shaft, come down here.
came a yell from the ditch.
That's me-" explained thepro.
lessor, looking around for the mud
dredge.
Where did you get that name?"
The professor raised his hand to
signal the engineer.
"Oh, don't know. That's college
label. Somebody pasted it and it's
stuck" He waved to lower away and
sank into the ditch.
A little farther along the excava-
ton, sighting with transit, was H.
w. Routenberg, of the Elevated com
pany's men. He confessed to just es
Gaping from Yale.
The rodman over there" he vol.
unteered," is d. R. Bates, just out of
Worcester Polytechnic, and down in
the bottom you'll find Jack Mcknight
OF Holy Cross. We've got another
gang down the line made ND of one
man from Harvard. one from Tech
one from South Africa, one from
TUFTS. and we did have Cornell man
in the bunch"
Yes, Professor Ransom told nv son
he'd like 20 work in the ditch, so I
put him on as laborer at first" said
Contractor Nawn. "but / don't think
college men are worth as much in the
ditch as the men with the shoyels,
The work is good for the college man.
put hard on the contractor. But Pro
lessor Ransoms earning his pay. I'll
advance him from time to time. civ.
ing him more money and responsible.
tiles. Guess he'll know something
about construction before we finish >,
GlRI A rINKr- cHrA,,.