The Daily Missoulian., 1910-01-28
THE SECTION BOSS A
BUSY MAN
THE FOREMAN is THE SOLDIER
OF THE RAILROAD AND THE
BUTT or BLAME.

The section foreman is to a railroad
what a soldier Is to a country. He
guards the right of way with his hand
car. and patrols his jurisdiction with
claw hammer and wrench.
His duties are varied and of a most
responsible character. He must look
out for weak places in the track. warn
trains of danger. and keep the right
of way neat and clean. Seven miles
of track is the territory under control
of the foreman, and to work this
properly he must have seven men to
assist him. allowing a man to each
mile OF track. These he keeps work
ing. is answerable for their actions,
and keeps their time.
Most railroads pay their foremen $40
a month, although this figure varies
according to the locality and character
of the section. The farther west one
goes the higher he will find the wage
scale to be. The. men under him called
the section hands get s1.25 a day. This,
too. is different in the various parts of
the country.
This may seem trifling sum to
pay. but when you take into consider
alton a house which Is furnished by
the railroad passes over the system.
q steady job. ii is not So bad after all.
The working hours of the foreman
and his men are long. consisting of 10
daily. All the section workers liva
within easy distance of the section:
they get up at o'clock. get breakfast
and start on tleir handcar for work
at GAS. At noon they get an hour.
and Is minutes before quitting time
they return home on the handcar.
There is always plenty to do the
year around In the fall the grass
must be burned all along the right of
way. bitches have to be dug to carry
off the fall and winter rains and
SHOWS. During December. January
and February the frogs and switches
have to be kept free from snow be-
sides doing the regular routine work.
and i'm the spring and summer ties
must be renewed, worn rails replaced.
and the roaibed graded up and replen-
ished with either cinders or gravel So
YOU see there is no time to loaf on the
job. and IL You did 1t would show up
on the section. thereby arousing the
ire of the superintendent.
The sorriest part of the whole busi-
ness. though. is this; Someone has to
be on hand all the time. including
Sunday So the foreman divides the
time between his seven men. and on
each Sunday throughout the year one
man walks over the entire section and
then back. He carries with him
hammer. wrench. torpedoes. a red
and green flag. and his dinner With
a close watch on the track and ties.
he traverses the whole distance. look
ing for loose bolts. faulty track and
washouts. II he can repair any trouble
himself. all well and good: If not. he
notifies trains with his red flag and
reports the trouble to headquarters. II
n stretch of road is found just slightly
impaired and can go over until the
next day. green flag is planted in
the locality. THIS tells the engineer
to run slow.
The chances for advancement from
section hand to boss is not impossible.
since most foremen have started out
in life with shovel and pick. From
boss he rises to supervisor, which il
a distinct gain both in wages and posi-
ton. and then instead of looking after
laborers. he has charge of the foremen
themselves of the whole division. After
demonstrating his ability i'm this ca
paeity the job Of roadmaster is open
TO him. after which, II he is a great
genius. the way is clear far a super
neutrality-suspicious. Tribune.
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