Morris tribune., 1912-10-25
An
Upward
Step
Made by q Station
Agent
By MARK TRAVERs

James Doughty went to work in a
telegraph Office carrying messages
when he was ten years old. When
not engaged at what he was hired to
do he was questioning the operators
as to how they communicated with
distant points, the alphabet they used
and other matters pertaining to teleg
raphy. When he was twelve, though
he would not have been fitted to FIJI
an operators position, he knew many
things about the Geographic system
that some operators did not know, for
Jimmie was Of an tnQuiring turn Of
mind and was always looking into
things and the reasons for their being.
When he was fourteen, being large
and strong for his age, he was given
a job as assistant in the construction
department Of a telephone company.
Here, too, Jimmie wanted to know the
"why and wherefore" and at the same
time absorbed the practical features
of making telephone lines. By the
time he was eighteen years old, hav-
ing the materials. he was perfectly
capable of setting up a telegraph or
telephone line and operating it.
The first situation of any importance
Jimmie secured was that of station
agent on the Y. G. and St. G. railroad.
But he was only nineteen, and to Sc
cure such a place he was obliged to
take a station in desolate place, the
nearest house being mile away. At
this house he took his meals, sleeping
in q room over the station.
IN the family with which he boarded
was country lass two or three years
younger than Jimmie, whose blue eyes
and yellow hair naturally had an eff
feet on the young station agent. A
single girl off by herself is to a young
| man as a jackknife is to boy. That
same knife in store among a hun
dred other knives is not nearly SO
| beautiful as when he gets it home
1t wasn't long before Jimmie and
! Kitty concluded that 1t would not be
half so lonely for Jimmie if they could
| build a little nest nearer the station.
| where they would dwell together. Jim
| mic had the framework Of small
house and the other necessary parts
shipped to him. The people Whereabouts
| got together for house raising, and
| Kitty's pop, with occasional help from
Jimmie, did the rest, except the paint
! ing, which Jimmie did at such times
| as he could leave the station.
When all was finished those who had
helped to build the nest were invited
to the wedding and after it was over
| left the young couple in their new
home. The first thing Jimmie did after
| they were married was to build tele-
| phone from the station to his home.
He located the station end Of it in the
bedroom. in order that if any one came
| in while he was talking with his wife
| he might not be overheard There was
q steep, narrow staircase leading up
! to this room from the waiting room.
ticket and telegraph Office below.
He wrote to his old employers. the
| telephone company, to send him the
| apparatus he needed, knowing that
| they had plenty such material in old
| stock. and they made him present of
| an outfit, including a desk transmitter
| and receiver. Since there were nights
that he was obliged to remain at the
| station he put the instrument between
| his cot and the side of the house.
| Since the latter was not plastered
| there was convenient place for it be-
tween two joists and the clapboards.
] Often when he was about to snatch an
| hours sleep he would throw himself
| on the cot pick up the instrument, call
Kitty for few words, then set it down
| again on the floor The wires passed
directly out Of the house. down behind
to Jimmie's home
| During the day. when confined to the
station, he would often go upstairs, es-
| pecially after the baby came, to call
up Kitty and ask her how she was
getting on, if she wanted anything and
to send kiss for both mother and
child One day while thus engaged a
| person came into the station. and since
the room below was neither sealed nor
| plastered Jim was overheard. After
that when telephoning, upon hearing a
step below. he wrapped his head and
the instrument in bedquilt, which
! deadened the sound.
, These details may seem untmpor-
| tant, but time came when they were
| turning point in Jimmie's life. But
that was not for some time after his
marriage. Meanwhile he was thinking
about his wife and baby's future. The
appearance of helpless child in a
mans life stimulates him to action.
Jimmie was not getting on very fast
in accommodating surplus funds, and he
felt the responsibilities resting upon
him. He didn't like the idea in case
he should die Of leaving his wife with
no income. and as for the baby, boy,
he wished him to have the advantage
of an education. That meant the
| ~herewithal to secure one. Since the
| fo4har bod not hoon a lo m crot ,o,1nb h