American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1910-12-03

EvyXl bilious boy-may work ur
S to the highest grade OF
~ technical skill and au-
thorlty without having had
even the slightest preparation prior
to getting his start. 1t Is one of the
numerou lines of employment that
are offered by street railway com.
panies throughout the land, and ia
open to any boy that wishes to begin
at the bottom at a fairly good wage
and have a certain and direct avenue
Of advancement straight up to a high
position.
Maybe your boy has not cared to
a up a job as motorman or street
car conductor, which was elaborated
upon In this series a few weeks ago
but still would like to get in some
phase OF railway work as represented
by the street car interests. Well, If
tina Is the case. and you have been
unable to furnish him with a good
education. and he has a mechanical
turn Of mind, he probably could not
do better than to get into touch with
one OF the superintendent or fore
men Of power houses.
The Job at their disposal, which fs
the subject Of this article, leads to a
line OF practical electrical engineering,
the basal power that enables street
cars OF the present day to be operated.
The requirements are slight. OF
course. the applicant must have had
sufficient education to be able to read
snd write. as he must In practically
all occupations; but further than this
virtually nothing more is required
than that he must be eighteen or
twenty years old and Of fairly good
physique. Unusual shortness of stature
Is a handicap. as workmen have to
do considerable reaching for levers.
The first pay you boy gets will be
about $3.50 a day. He probably will
not be very enthusiastic over his work,
as there will seem to be nothing tech
meal In wiping off machinery, clean
Ing up things generally. and running
pyramids for the foreman; but he must
remember that he has to become &C.
.quainted with tools and equipment
before he "a understand them. and
this viii come o than he expects,
II he Is attentive and ambitious. In
deed, 1t will probably be only a few
months before ne will be given an ad-
vance to $1.75 a day and sent out
from the main power house t. one of
che substations in similar work.
The advantage Of this move is that,
on account of there being
lively few employees. he will have a
greater range of duties and respon-
and thus advance more rap
idly. He will have to clean the big
generators, s~witchboards, and wiring
apparatus, and thus the complex ma
,hinery will gradually become familiar
to him.
Within a few months more he NAV
be sent back to the power house as
boss OF he cleaners there, at about
" n day. or be set to operating a
small auxiliary switchboard under
close supervision. and after he has
sufficiently. go back to a
as dynamo tender. 1t will
probably a year and a half
before he reaches this position:
then he will be paid from $3.50
to s2.75 a day. while he Is getting
there.
Then, In all likelihood, he will 60
back to the power house as dynamo
tender, to prepare him more thorough
~ for the important advance to switch
operator at a substation. which
Is one of the most Important lesser
In the business. These opera
must stand their watch of a third
Of a day with extreme faithfulness. as
On them directly rests the response.
oility of correctly distributing the !
power through the lines connected
With that station. II they permitted
.heir attention to be diverted from
heir work for G a moment. some
ludden powerful change in distribu-
don OF current might take place that
would cause great damage. All this is
on indicators above the switch
board. requiring almost a constant
of levers. The pay OF switch
board operators at substations runs
rom So to 1925 a day.
After demonstrating his earnestness
md ability at the substation, your now
killed boy Is again sent to the main
'ower house to do similar. but more
important, work. at q further advance
II Is cents In his daily wages. Tho
distributed to the various lines
" the substations IL FIRST generated
md sent out from the power house.