Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1915-03-26

(Copyright.)
In the smoking compartment OF q
Pullman on the westbound train were
three men. Two of them, one the
superintendent Of the road and the
other an ex-railroad man, were en-.
gagged in conversation on the merits
Of railroaders in general, and con-
corning those who maintained their
positions through official relationship
in particular. The third, a we'll.
groomed, portly gentleman, sat quiet
ly in the corner, pulled a cigar, and
listened. ..
'Railroading isn't a profession; it's
q science" the ex.railroad man was
protesting. I've always maintained
that these relationship Jobs are a
detriment to the service, and it's been
my observation that, az a rule, the
incunbonts never make good
i've known some exceptions to
that rule; in fact, l have n in mind
now" said the superintendent.
1T was in the old days on the NJ.
l, and N. Old Man Goodell had come
down to Kensington from the 500 to
take over the management of the
road; and while he didn't have a great
deal of style, he more than made up
for it in a system of his own, that
resulted in making the two streaks
of rust and a right-of-way II Of the
best paying little roads in the country.
l was a general utility clerk in his
Office at that time, and sorted out the
old mans mail. One morning ! came
across a letter from Tom Goodell.
Tom was a brother Of the old man,
who had been in the lumber business
up North, but who had taken a sud.
den notion that he wanted to be q
railroad man. The letter vas a re.
quest for a Job.
Joe Kelsoe was trainmaster up at
Centerpoint at that time. He had some
set notions, like yourself, about Toms
kind, and wasn't at all backward
about expressing them. The boys
said he cussed a blue streak when
he got the old mans letter ordering
him to send Tom out braking on the
local to learn the road.
We'll, everybody knew at once
what that meant, and there was q
general howl all along the line among
the trainmen, not official, of course,
but a lot Of talk, and, as usual, that's
about where it ended.
About three months after that, Ed
Burton, q freight conductor with q
through run, came within an c Of
getting into a smash-up with an east
bound passenger on an order he mis-.
construed, and, Of course, went on the
carpet. The old man was always
mighty square with the boys when
they got into trouble, and was dis
posed to be lenient with Ed, though
he had known for some time that Ed
wasn't a man to be running a train.
He was oversensitive on the sub.
ject, as that kind usually are; SO
when the old man offered to com.
promise by giving him thirty days,
and a gravel train when he got back,
Eds flared up and quit, taking a pass
back to Arlington, where he lived.
THAT was the only time l ever
saw Ed to know him; ard when he
came through the office, looking as
black as a thunder cloud, / surmised
he had been having his troubles In
the old mans little sanctum.
, We'll, as everybody expected, two
days later Tom Goodell got his train.
Il had been out on the road look.
ing up a claim on some stock that had
been killed, and happened to be in
Tom Goodells caboose on his first
run out. / altered my opinion of Tom
that night and haven't changed it
since, for he proved to be one Of the
exceptions spoke about.
The night operator at Menden had
given him orders to pick up some
empty stock cars at Arlington, and l
guess that's all that saved us from
about the worst wreck the road ever
had, for we would have gone into that
open switch at a forty-tive-mile clip.
They usually went through from
Menden without stopping, that being
a part Of the run where they made up
time. As it was, they had slowed
down for the stop, and when they'un-
expectedIy shot in on the siding from
the upper end, the engineer had his
train pretty well under control; SO
the little bump they gave that string
OF empties did no damage. The switch
had been thrown, and the light
changed SO that it showed white.
when they found out about the
changed switchlight, the crew laid it
to every cause but the right one. As
Tom jumped down from the caboose
steps, however, his quick eye had
caught sight of a man ducking around
the edge Of the station that looked an
awful lot like Ed Burton.
HE said nothing about this when
he came up where the boys were talk
ing, but the next. morning he and
the cid man were closeted for the bet
ter part Of an hour. 4 could tell by
his loud tone that the old man was
considerably worked up about some.
thing, for he always was a quiet sort
Of a man. All the while Tom was
talking In a low, pleading voice, and
pnur. md than I rau1i hoor I'd Due