Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1911-11-09
CHAPTER /.


headquarters of the Pacific
Southwestern at Copah look
Il northward over bald, brown
mesas and across the Pannilin to the
eroded cliffs of the Uintah hills. The
prospect. lacking vegetation, artistic
atmosphere and color. is crude and
rather harShly aggressive, and to Lid
upon 1t through the weather worn
panes scratched and bedimmed by
many desert sandStorms. it was pecul-
iarly depressing.
mo. Ford; hate to disappoint you.
but I'm not the man you are looking
for" he said. turning back to things
present and in suspense and speaking
as one who would add a reason to I'M
qualified refusal. I've been looking
over the ground while you were COM
ing on from New York. 1t isn't in me
to fog the Red Butte Western into a
The grave eyed man who had Dor
rowed Superintendent Leckhard's pivot
chair nodded intelligence.
THAT is what you have been saying,
with variations. for the last half hour,
Why?"
Because the job asks for gifts that
l don't possess. At the present mo-
ment the Red Butte Western is the
most hopelessly demoralized 300 miles
of railroad west of the Rockies. There
is no system, no discipline. no respect
for authority. The men run the road
as if it We're n huge joke. Add to these
conditions the fact that the Red desert
is country where the large calibered
revolver is
Eyes. | know all that" interrupted
the man in the chair The road and
the region need civilizing- it bad
am trying to persuade you to take
hold. You are long on civilization,
Howard"
mot on the kind which has to be
inculcated by main strength and Il
cheerful disregard for consequences.
I'm no scrapper."
To the eye of appraisal Lidgerwood's
personal appearance bore out the
peaceable assertion to the final well
groomed detail Compactly built and
neatly, Drawn and bulk We're conspic-
uously lacking, and the thin, intel
lectual face was made to appear still
thinner by the pointed cut of the
closely trimmed brown beard A phys
ECONOMIST would have classified him
as man of studious habit with the
leisure to indulge in it, and uncon-
sciously he dressed the part
In his outspoken moments, which
were rare. he was given to railing
against the fate which had made him
a round peg in a square hole, a tech
meal engineer and man of action
when his earlier tastes and inclina-
tics had drawn him in other direc-
lions. But the temperamental quail
ties-the niceties. the exactness, the
thoroughness-which. finding no outlet
in an artistic calling, had made him a
master in his unchosen profession
were well known TO Mr.. Stuart Ford,
first vice president Of the Pacific
Southwestern system. And it was
largely for the sake Of these qualities
that Ford locked his hands over one
knee and spoke as man and a com
rade.
Let me tell you. Howard, you've
no idea what n savage fight we've had
in New York absorbing these same de-
moralized 300 miles. You know why
we were obliged to have them. If the
Transcontinental had beaten us it
meant that our competitor would build
over here from Jacks Canyon. divide
the Copah business with us and have
a line 300 miles nearer to the Nevada
gold fields than ours
president Brewster has a copper
property somewhere in the vicinity Of
Angels. and he knows the road. He
contended that we were bgying two
streaks Of rust and a right OF way in
the Red desert More than that. he
asserted tina the executive officer
didn't live who could bring order out
Of the chaos into which bad manage
ment and a peculiarly tough environ
ment had plunged the Red Butte West
ern. That's where had him bested.
Howard. All through the hot fight !
kept saying over and over TO myself
that | knew the man"
"But you don't know him. Stuart
that is the weak link in the chain. II
II were merely a matter Of technical
fitness I suppose l might go over 10
Angels and do what you want done
with the 800 miles Of Decentralization.