The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-07-31
LETTERS TO EDITOR
Answer by Locomotive Engineer

To the Editor of The Age-Herald:
referring to the article reproduced
in this mornings Age Herald-July %
lin regard to Locomotive Engineers
(which the New York Sun claims to be-
letter written by locomotive engi
neer. desire to say that | have beer
an engineer myself and the person who
wrote this letter to the Sun either is
not an engineer or he willfully mis-.
represents the life of an engineer.
In the first place the average en-
gineer has fired a locomotive for foul
years, and during this time he Is called
| to go out in all kinds of weather, with
no more salary than enough to pay
his board and buy overalls for he has
no use for anything else. he does this
with the hope of becoming an engi-
neer. and what has he when he gets
| to be an engineer? He is slave with
no special pleasures. for he dare not
make any enga gements as the railroads
are liable to call him to go out at
any time and he dare not refuse Then
another thing he has to keep in touch
| with the shop all the time or he will
| be called upon the carpet" which Is
| very Objectionable to an engineer; also
| he is liable to be punished. especially If
there has been a delay to some train.
| Now, the party that wrote the ar
ticles referred to has only pictured
the very brightest and most pleasant
side of the life OF an engineer. He fails
to say anything about the rigid ex-
aminations that a person has to under
go in order to get a position as an
engineer. He fails to have anything
to say about anyone except the man
that has spent his lifetime running
an engine and has finally gotten a nice
good run, of which there are but
very few and he surely ought to ge.
as much as any other skilled laborer
is paid, the plumber. brickmason or
glazier for instance and they do not
undergo any of the hardships that a
| locomtive engineer has to contend
with.
| l contend that the locomtive engi-
neer is the poorest paid employe that
works for a railroad when you take
into consideration his responsibilities
and the small amount of authority that
/ he has
! When a good run is made. or when
| any unusual thing is done by the train
the conductor gets all of the praise
| by the public. This makes me think
of all the glory Hon. Richmond p. Hob
son got for his part in the sinking
of the Merrimac and no one knows who
| the engineer was that stayed down
| in the hole and reversed the engines
after the ship had started down. He
surely must have been very "nervy"
and brave man. don't you think?
| Now in regard to the brakeman run
| ming the engine. they might get UP
| there after they had been In actual
service for years and run the engine
| as long as everything went o. K.
which would only be very short time,
but when something went wrong con-
nections would be missed and great
| damage would be done in case of poor
| Judgment In stopping the train.
| have tried my firemen after they
had been firing for me for years, and
let them handle the engine. and
would fire myself. and / venture to
say that there has never been one
of them that could have finished the
| trip without destroying property and
| great loss to the company, besides
many firemen are put back to firing af-
ter they have been promoted to en-
gineer for incompetency.
! I am not running an engine now and
I hope that I never will. for 1t is the
! nATQeSl lire that a iiiuH tdh Acou ~
the money there Is In ut. taking into
consideration the responsibilities.
| Do YOU think that you would feel
as safe If, after you had gotten on
| No I on the A. G. s., tonight to go
to Cincinnati. Ohio someone would
come up and tell you that the engine
was in charge of brakeman instead
of the regular engineer?
Take the Insurance COMPATIBILITY
/ .rix N OF N ~ q
unless he pays a much heavier rate
than the treveling salesman and some
insurance companies will not even give
you any insurance at all-and I ask
you why?
Isn't the risk that Mr.. Engineer
takes worth something? He puts his
life into the hands of hundred dit
ferent men every time that he goes
out Do you ever hear of many az
| cidents where the engineer is not either
killed or injured for life? He is first
on duty and first killed or injured In
an accident, and first to be questioned
/ as to whether he was at fault, and VINO
! II he survives from an accident Is
the first to be questioned as TO the
resuming of traffic And. nine times out
/ of ten, he is hurt or killed through
the carelessness of someone else
\ I have said nothing of the hardships
4 through which the engineer has &c
go after firing but his hardshfps have
only begun for before he is promised
from firing he has no mental strair
to go through with after he is pro
NOTED up until he has some preferred
run, He has to stay out of the wa,
Of the preferred runs. and II he take.
n chance and fails to make the gfver
time at some station where the pre-
ferred run is due he has to tell thu
superintendent why, and IL he doe
not take this chance he is no good, ans
sooner or later they get someone e
| take his place The successful enginee
is the engineer that does not have t
make excuses. I expect the last claus
L will fit into most any business.
This is my first attempt at writing
for newspaper. but II | were abl
TO express myself as / feel ! know
that l could knock the letter REFERRED
to in the first part of this into
cooked hat"
1 have said nothing of the, man,
| times that Mr.. Engineer has to craw
under his engine to adjust somethfn,
driving box, lying on his back. an,
probably in water. where the fiues ar
leaking and running out of the ash
pan, or probably after rain or snow
storm.
The gentleman in the New York SUI
speaks of inspectors to look over tn
engine before she goes out on he
run. He docs nor say how he Is go
ling to tell about the pounds ant
knocks that are not visible and can