The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1910-01-16

ductors and engineers five minutes extra
on their orders. that is to say, a train
due at 10 o'clock would be safe II II ar
rived at 1906 or $3.50 o'clock.
IF one Of the fastest limited trains
now running on two roads from New
York 10 Chicago is thirty seconds of its
time. the conductor must report the fact
al the first stop. I timed a fast train
not long ago. We left Chicago on the
COT, and kept on the dot TO Elkhart, Ind,
thence to Toledo. thence to Cleveland,
thence to Erie. Pa; thence 10 Buffalo,
thence TO Syracuse. thence to Albany.
thence 20 Springfield, Mass, and finally
10 Boston. where We arrived on the sec
ond. after travelling hundreds OF miles
and changing engineers and engines eight
different times. I hope I an not in bad
taste when ! say that the watches Of
the ten engineers and ten conductors Of
that train were regulated and Inspected
BY nv own men. Without watches sf
absolute precision, and dependable
watches at that. eighteen-hour trains be-
tween Chicago and New York would be
an impossible achievement.
inspectors Are Appointed,
But I have wandered away from my
story" Mr. Ball went on to say. After
an investigation that covered four
months got my plans cOncretely formed
and put them into operation. Local time
inspectors, the best mechanics obtainable
were appointed at the end of every divi-
sion on the Lake shore road. Conductors
and engineers were required TO have their
watches examined every two weeks. If
a watch fell behind or gained thirty sec
onds in fourteen days. it had to be re-
paired or regulated Immediately. Small
cards were given to the engineers and
conductors and complete records Of their
watches were written down in ink at least
once In two weeks by the official in
spectors.
Since then necessary details have been
added to the plan, but the fundamental
requirements have not been changed
Every conductor and engineer on the
I25 900 miles OF railroads where the plan
is operative carries a little card in his
pocket containing a full description of
his watch and a technical history of its
fortnlghtly performances. When he leaves
his watch for repairs or regulation the
inspector gives him 1oaner watch as
II is called. that is guaranteed TO keep
time TO the fraction of a second.
LAS the scheme developed. I passed
upon certain kinds of watches The
manufacturers that had to be excluded
from the accepted list threatened to sue
me for damages. and for several years
had 10 endure all sorts OF ISLANDERS and
decline a good many benevolent sugges-
tons I now approve of thirty-seven diff
ferent kinds of watches that are manu-
featured in eight separate establish
ments."
BunkOed the Employees.
do all railroads have similar schemes
of time Inspection" / asked
I suppose so. A man, copying some
of the features of my plan, got onto an
important road not long ago and sold
1900 watches to the employees. getting
SlS piece for watches that cost him s..
Then the officers of the road fired him
and sent for me, Several years ago forty
Messengers were killed on one of the
biggest railways in the country. II was
a case where the watches Of the engineers
and conductors did not agree, and all
were wrong, l guess. I was called by
telegraph 10 organize the line
An assistant. whom I sent over the
road as a telegraph operator in search
of a situation, learned that the clock
at the operating headquarters was forty
! five years old. Indeed. the clocks st