The sun., 1915-06-13

ago, and for that matter Mcwill
Jams is dead. 1t wasn't grief tina
killed him either, though at one tim,
his grief came uncommonly near kill
ing us.
1t is an odd sort of a yarn too be.
cause one part of 1t never go, to head
quarters and another part of it never
got from headquarters.
How, for instance, the mysterious
car was ever started from Chicago on
such a delirious schedule, how many
men in the service know that even
yet?
How. for another instance, Sinclair
and Francis took the ratty old car
reeling into Denver, with the glass
shrivelled, the paint blistered, the hose
burned and tire sprung on one of
the five-nine's drivers-how many
headquarters slaves know that?
Our end Of the story never went In
at adj. Never went in because II was
not deemed-well. essential to the get
ting up of the annual report. We
could have raised their hair; they
could have raised our salaries, but
they didn't; we didn't
In telling this story would not be
misunderstood. Ours is not the only
line between Chicago and Denver;
there are others. / admit II. But there
Is only one line tall the same) that
could have taken the Mcwilliams spe-
cial as We did out OF Chicago at 4 in
the evening and put II in Denver long
before noon the next day.
A communication came from a great
la Sale street banker to the president
Of our road. Next the second vice.
president heard Of it. but in this way:
Why have you turned down Peter
McWilliams's request for a special to
Denver this afternoon?" asked the
president.
He wants too much" came back
over the private wire. 1--WE can't do
After satisfying himself on this
point the president called up La Sale
street.
Our folks say. Mr.. Mcwilliams, we
simply can't do It,"
You must do it."
when will the car be ready?"
AT 3 O'clock"
When must it be in Denver?"
Ten O'clock tomorrow morning."
The president nearly jumped the
wire.
"McWilliams. you're crazy. What
on earth do you mean?"
The talk came so low that the
wires hardly caught It, There were
occasional outburs;s. such as "Situa-
tion is extremely critical" "Grave
danger" acute Distress" Must help
me out"
But none Of this would ever have
moved the president had not Peter
McWilliams been a bigger man than
most corporations; and a personal re-
quest from Peter, II he stuck for it,
could hardly be refused, and for this
he most decidedly stuck.
II tell you it will turn us upside
down." stormed the president.
DO you recollect," asked Peter Nc
Williams" when your Internal old pot
OF road was busted eight years ago
you were turned inside out then,
weren't you? And hung up to dry.
weren't you?"
The president did recollect: he could
not decently help recollecting. And he
recollected how about the same time
Peter McWilliams had one week taken
up for him matter Of two millions
floating, with h personal check, and
carried 1t eighteen months without Sc
curity, when money could not lie had
in Wall Street on Government bonds
Do you-that Is. have you hereto
fore supposed that a railroad belongs
to the stockholders? Not so; /; be-
longs to men like Mr.. McWilliams,
who own 1t when they need It. At
other times they let the stockholders
carry it--until they want 1t again.
We'll do what we can, Peter" re-
piled the president, desperately ama-
BILE. "Good-by."
I am giving you only an inkling Of
how 1t started, Not word as to how
countless orders were issued and
countless schedules were cancelled.
Not paragraph about numberless
trains abandoned in toto and number
less others pulled and hauled and held
and annulled. The McWillams special
In twinkle tore a great system into
great splinters.
1t set master mechanics by the ears
and made reckless falsifers Of pre-
viously conservative trainmen. 1t
made undying enemies Of rival super
intendents and incipient paretics Of
jolly train despatchers. 1t shvered us
from end to end and stem to stern, but
1t covered 1,026 miles OF the best steel
In the world in rather better than
twenty hours and a blaze Of glory.
my word is out" said the president
in his message to all superintendents
thirty minutes later. "You will get
your division schedule in a few mo-
ments. Send no reasons for inability
to make 1t: simply deliver the goods.
With your time report. which comes
by Ry. NJ. S., / want the names and
records OF every member Of every
train crew and every engine crew that
haul the McWilliams car" Then
followed particular injunctions Of
secrecy; above all. the newspapers
must not get It,
But where newspapers are secrecy
can only be hoped for-never at
tained. In spite Of the most elaborate
precautions to preserve Peter Nc
Williams's secret-would you believe
1.-THE evening papers had half
column-practically the whole thing.
or course they had to guess at some
OF 1t. but for newspaper story it was
pretty correct just the same. They
had to a minute the time of the start
from Chicago and hinted broadly that
the schedule was hair raiser, some
thing to make previous very fast
records previous very slow records.
And-here in a scoop was the secret