Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1911-11-17
Looker-O On In Iona

Esnawha. Nov. 17.-Along the Sl1e
of the railroad tracks at TINS place "
a pile of sugar beets, some twenty ar
loads. These beets will not be loaded
and shipped to Waverly probably until
some time in January. If they freeze
| solid so, much the better for the OWL
ers, for they will weigh much less anu
the freight charges are quite an item
in he beet sugar business. The dump
used here is made of an iron frame
, work. say fifty feet in height. Inc
farmer drives up with a load OF peets'
/ packs I'D to the dump and unhltches
his team. A rope and tackle is at
tached to the front wheels, an engine IS
/ started and the whole loa rolls into
an iron receptacle below the level OIL
the ground. Then the wagon is yet
down. and the load of Deets elevated
say thirty feet, when a rope Is puiieo'
the side of the dump pen and the
beets roll over iron rods an inch apart
| into the coal car below. The dirt rat
| ties off into a box below. This again IS
! Jumped into the empty wagon box, anu
when the farmer weighs back MS
wagon the pounds Of dirt are deducted
from the weight of the load he hauled
to town, Some one tells the writer
this kind Of d dump Is successfully
used in handling potatoes as the open
iron rods on which they are dumped
sorts" the small potatoes out for the
farmer to haul home to feed to his
stock.
A travelling man tells of a plan that
he works on the trunk line in Dakota.
All of the boys" in the caboose OF the
wav freight when they start at a. m,
make a deal to feed the crew for the
dav. This includes the engineer ana
fireman, If in wet" towns n private
deals there are outside the contract. AS
soon as a town is reached the travelling
men rush over to their customers VINO
are now accustomed to the custom ana
do not use any cuss words at being
hurried. After the freight crew get
their work finished, the engineer blows
his whistle long and loud, the d
tor calls the roll and away they go 10
the next town to repeat the perform
ance with no change of program. He
saws on one occasion one of the boys
got left and the big freight train wa
backed I'D three miles for him. Twelve
towns are hus made in a day. NO one
in the hotel office disputed the facts as
related.
Speaking Of r~ailroading, over the
state are now man. station agents that
have beer "the railroad agent for a
score or more of years. They have
grown with the towns. grown with the
railroad business mad growing gray
with the added years. In such towns
they are classed with the leading citf-
zens and are foremost in all public at
fairs for the benefit Of the town. Many
Give over the depot" from choice, where
they nave reared families, n fire.
quently raised boys that are now sta
ton agents on the same railroad sys-
tenn. In many cases the wife has been
assistant agent all these years. and
can transact all of the railroad bust
ness excepting the telegraph operating,
and that is not 80 requisite in these
days Of increased use OF the telephone
for moving the trains" Some OF these
agents have peculiarities much like the
rest of mankind, but every man, won
an and child knows of the agents
crank ideas and makes full allowance
for the same. 1t would astonish some
people il the figures could be given OF
the large percentage of these railroad
agents who are total a~bstaiEers, and an
! almost equal percentage, consistent