The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1910-11-18
Ely c. W. JENNINGS.

:: men of today are graduate mo- ::
:: tormen and conductors. 8:
!: Ely c. W. JENNINGS. s:
:: Z:
MA'5mo man wants an to Street be a car motor con.
EXEV ,W 0uctor? Of all occupations
&yEZY on earth they would SEEM
W W to the average father or
mothe" helping a son to
choose his life calling, to be the least
promising, least remunerative. and
most arduous. Indeed, there are few
parents that would consider that line
of employment for moment, as is
shown by the fact that most motor
men and conductors are recruited
Of a job or else those who have no
particular aims and don't care partic-
'llarly at what they work, so long as
they can earn a little money.
That is the ordinary, usual notion
about the thing. But, to get down to
facts-and these are facts, despite the
emphatic protests by nearly every
body that reads this-there are few
callings In the entire range of occu-
pations that offer Speedier, more re-
munerative, moro permanent advance
lnent than is to be found in the
humble, maligned, prosecuted, down.
trCtlden motorman or conductor Of
trolley cars.
The beauty OF it is, from the view
point of the young fellow that hasn't
been able to go to school much and
hasn't anteccdcnts that lure him to
the so-called higher callings, that
absolutely no preparation is needed,
except the native spirit Of industry,
good health and ability to read and
write that every average boy in this
land possesses.
First, to get the Job. The boy must
be about nineteen eighteen will do,
if he is particularly we'll developed
physically, have constitution that
will stand hard work, be able to write
we'll enough to fill out very simple
summer uniform. If he seeks the job
in the fall he will have to pay $50 for
the winter uniform. These are aver
age figures for the large cities of the
country. It doesn't require much
time for the boss to pass upon the
application (these bosses are adept in
sizing up fellows that ask for work.
and before the applicant has had time
to think much about it he is told to
Get on that carr" and go to work.
But that car" doesn't mean that
the pay has begun; for there is a
week or ten days of experience that
has to be got before the neophyte is
a full-fledged employee. He has to
learn the business; but the company
looks out for that, asking only that
he pay his own board for this time.
They have men of experience whose
sole duty is to show newcomers how
to twist the lever that controls the
current Of the motor; how to slow
down at crossings or when somebody
wants to get off or on; what to do if
there's little explosion and the car
stops; and explain the street regula-
tons OF the particular city the expert
rnce is being gained in.
Or, If the beginner is to be a con-
!uctor (lnotormen and conductors are
on a par. as far as beginning is con-
cerned, and get the same pay, and are
promoted in the same directory, the
Instructor shows him how to make
change; cautions against starting too
quickly when old ladies or neurotic
old men are getting aboard: explains
the necessity Of civility in answering
The avalanche of queries that come
from the public; what 70 DO when
somebody is hurt by falling from the
car or there is a collision with a
truck or farm wagon or somebody
that lost his nerve when he saw the
car bearing down on him and couldn't
get out of the way-in short, all the
simple things that are not peculiar to
1rolleying at ALL but are merely prob
lens. generally speaking, that might
confront anybody.
Well, the boy has gone through this
course of sprouts and starts out with
his car. OF course, he gets on aver
agely we'll, as the average boy will,
and if he has ambition it is not long
before he begins to think seriously
of the next step. In the meantime he
is earning 81 day.
That is the pay generally for the
first year, and after that there is a
gradual increase-if the employee has
not sufficient ambition to work out of
his rut-until, at the end of five years,
he earns from $3.50 to $3.50 day.
Most companies pay by the hour, or
the trip, and the figures given show
the average for ten hours a day, the
average time on duty. Conductors
are obliged to have bonds-they have
to handle money, you know-but these
are generally furnished by the com
pany; so it is no hardship to the
workmen
But-and here comes the crux of the
matter-street railway companies are
continually looking out for men at
the motor or the cash register that
show little more ability than their
associates, and the minute they dis