Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1914-07-12
HUMBLE ENPLOYE
A POPULAR MAN
Known to the Public as
Sammy" and Holds Re
sponsible Place.

At the plant Of the WHY'S Overland
company, makers of Overland auto
mobiles, in Toledo, o., there is a GER
tain humble employee who has the dis
tinction of being the most popular man
in northwestern Ohio. And though
he is daily greeted by a large ma
Jority of the 5000 of his fellow en-
ployes and officials of the company,
and has a CHEEKY Hello" and a IA
miliar wave Of the hand for every one
Of these friends of his, it is safe to
say that the paymaster of the firm is
the only man in the big organization
who knows his real name. For this
man is Sammy" to everyone of the
thousands who pass his station sew
"Semaphore Sammy" but the major
ity are content with the shorter part
Of his nickname.
Though at first glance, "Sema-
phore Sammy" looks no more impor-
tant than any ordinary factory watch
man, his is a responsible position.
According to statistics compiled by the
heads of the firm, Sammy" daily
averts more costly wrecks than even
the New Haven railroad is able to
bring about in a whole year In fact,
that is "Sammys" whole duty to avert
wrecks, and his capability along this
line is shown in the fact that in the
Is years or more he has been at his
post there has not been a single acct
dent attributable to his negligence.
While "Semaphore Sammy's" work
ing quarters in no way resemble those
of the towerman on a big railroad,
his duties are just as arduous and i'm
portant Where the towerman has a
big, elevated building, with a long
line Of switch and derailer levers to
manipulate, SO that the trains under
his control are run on the proper
tracks without accident and without
loss Of time, Sammy" has only lit
tie watchhouse, scarcely large enough
to whip a cat in" as he puts it him
self. Instead of levers he has only
half a dozen signalling devices and
there are only three roads to watch
where the tower'nNn sometimes has
so or 60 switches and a score or more
Of tracks constantly under his eye.
But "Sammy's" is the nerve racking
and wearing job, for there is more
travel in an hour on the three road
ways he guards than over the busiest
railroad in the world.
"Sammy's" station, where he has
held forth since the old Pope Toledo
company occupied the present Over
land plant, is at the intersection of
three driveways, two of which come
from inside the huge quadrangle
formed by the factory buildings and
the third from the street This lat
ter driveway is closely hemmed in by
two of the buildings and a mammoth
new building crowds closely up into the
triangular point of the big 'Y" formed
by the other two roads. Including the
cars which are being sent out and
brought back from the road test to
which every Overland is subjected,
factory cars, visitors cars and heavy
trucks, an average of two automobiles
a minute cross the three cornered area
And here every working day in the
year "Semaphore Sammy" holds sway.
He occupies the little coop" which,
because of the lack OF space is literally
pasted up against corner OF one of
the buildings. Arranged conveniently
to his hand are the operating devices
/ for his signals two electric horns
tuned to different keys, an air horn
and three sets of sign boards which
can be turned so as to flash Clear
or STOP to any of the three drive
ways.
With an average of 120 cars an hour
dashing up to the danger point from
three different directions, Sammy" is
usually a busy man, His hands and
fingers flash back and forth over cleo