Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-10-18
PER|[S IN MEXICO
FOR RAILROAD MEN
Mai. Hine Tells of Operating
Difficulties in ar-Ridden
Republic.
BURNING OF BRIDGES
A FAv0RITE DIVERSION
Cutting of Wires Often Leaves
Trains for Days Without
Running Orders.

After nearly two years Of experience
of railroad work in the revolutiOn-rid-
den northern part of Mexico. Maj.
Charles Hine of Vienna. Va, a member
Of the Army and Navy Club here. has
resigned his position as senior vice
president of the Southern Pacific rail-
road of Mexico and the Arizona Eastern
railroad. He is to take up work with
the Canadian Northern railroad. with
temporary headquarters in Toronto,
Canada.
Maj. Hine who is a graduate of West
Point. and has served In almost every
possible capacity on railroads. has in
teresting stories to tell of his recent
experiences in Mexico with the revolu-
tionists. He recently told of his ex-
periences in a paper on War Time
Railroading in Mexico" which he read
at a meeting of the st. Louis Railway
Club
Violent Political Opinions.
For nearly three years." said Maj.
Hine. Mexico has suffered from what
are politely termed political conditions.
The various participants have expressed
their opinions in terms of force and
sacrificed: millions of dollars worth of
property has been destroyed. Railways
have suffered severe losses, both by the
destruction of physical property and by
the paralysis Of revenue, resulting from
prolonged Interruptions to traffic.
THE normal method Of procedure in
cludes the burning of all wooden bridges
In the theater of opera lions. The small er
the band, the greater seems it's concep-
ton OF the importance of preventing
pursuit by destroying railway bridges.
The topography and climatology Of Mex
leo are such that provision must be made
for adequate draininge in cases Of sudden
and severe rainfall. The greater part
OF these openings are as yet bridged by
wooden structures. Traffic can. there
for easily be tied up and operation null
iihed by a few bridge burners. The
southern Pacific railroad of Mexico alone
has found over three hundred bridges
burned In the last three years The num-
Der destroyed on the other railways of
the republic must run into the thou
sands"
Maj. Hine proceeded to describe ply
steal conditions on the line, and told
OF some personal experiences in the
course Of inspection trips, illustrative
of the dangers Of wartime railroading.
Experiences on the Line.
Ou one occasion the writer's motor
car" he said. was run by a man who
had been railroader, q frontier DEPUTY
marshal and chauffeur For the par
ticular trip in question he united the
desirable qualities of careful motor
| man. a crack shot and a good cook.
The first night was spent in tool
house. one night in q freighthouse, an
other in 4 waiting room, and still an
| other i'll the open country. The car was
towed around burned bridges through
! the arroyos channels OF dry streanls).
"On another trip good-sized river
| had to be crossed the long trestle ap-
proach to the steel bridge having been
burned some weeks before. Visions OF
| swimming the river, like Funston In
the Philippines were ended when the
thouGhtfulness OF an assistant SUPER
intendent showed q section gang as
water rats towing a raft made of ties
typical of the all-around training in
culcated on the Southern Pacific rail-
road of Mexico by the unit system OF
| organization. Two years. of complete
and consistent application of the un.
DERIVING principles of this rational and
! practical system have produced graft
\ flying results. Today every department
| including traffic and accounting, has
available from one to three developed
and tested understudies for every Of
fetal position. Coincidentally during
| the only period OF eight months when
conditions approached normal. the
nance charges fell from 90 to rs per