The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1911-10-14

Reports and orders poured in and out Of
headquarters and in the excitement OF the
coming contest men forgot the heat Then,
even as the switch engines in the Crescent
City's yards pulled and tugged and gangs
Of negroes strained at the loading derricks,
came further word that all the shipping
centers of the South would be drained to
help relieve the pressure, that the movement
would be much heavier than at first ex-
pected. "Beat the Shore Line" was the
gst Of a private message to Holcomb from
the President himself Out over hundreds
OF miles of wire went forthwith yet more of
the General Manager s own galvanic energy.
The derricks swung faster, the negroes
sweated and toiled furiously under the
promise Of double pay and watermelon
apiece. AS quickly as they were loaded the
cars were pounced upon and borne swiftly
away. And always came the messages
from headquarters, Hurry hurry, hurryp
A mighty Consolidated slid easily down to
the head of the fast-lengthening string of
cars and a bucking, snorting, changing
switch engine rammed a big red caboose
viciously in at the other end. 1t was thirty
minutes before Fifty-three was scheduled to
start, and the Cotton Special was ready
But the Mississippi division despatchers
were ready too. The train wires snapped
and clattered with the quick clear 90, the
despatcher's call that is law over all traffic.
Trains were headed into sidings, given meet
ing orders brushed aside here and there,
that the way might be clear. While the
copper threads were yet busy with orders
for the far end of the division, the big engine
breathed deeply once, and from front to
rear the couplings clanked and grew taut.
Then the monster roared her impatience
through the stubby stack, the drivers spun
on the polished surface OF the rails, and the
Special strained forward with fast-growing
speed onher thousand-mie race. For once
a freight ran as first Fifty-three and from
twenty to thirty minutes behind her the big
Io6I hurtled between the cotton fields with
the five mail cars for New York and took (
her dust as the second section.
All through the afternoon and into the
night came reports of the Specials progress.
Division after division took her up and sent
her its length. She was gaining on the
Shore Line train and would probably pass
Dover Tower, where the two roads crossed,
before it did
Mart. Bowman, the operator in that
tower, spent his spare time during the
afternoon informing Bancroft of the
of the Shore Line cotton train.
For the towerman bore the Shore Line a
grudge. Somewhat vindictive of spirit was
Mart, and in two respects he resembled
George Amhorn's lamented pig-he was
narrow of mind and he has place in this .
story. On this day when the rivalry be- {
tween the two lines had taken on tangi- i
oility in the form of the. Cotton Specials, /;
ne recalled afresh a little scene in his
office, and could hear
quite clearly that officials judicial tones !
IS he said, dts two to one, Bowman.
The engineer and fireman both say that you Z
displayed no red light and their reputa-
ions are fairly good. I'm going to give you
he benefit of the doubt, however, and re-
ain you in the service, but not at Woods
Jap. After ten-day lay-off you will re-
,ort for day work at Dover Tower. The
alary win be sixty dollars per month
i've less than you are getting now-and the
" G. S. viii pay half of it. That's all,