Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1920-10-03

as 70 the aDiiity OF single track
system TO handle the immense traffic
At the Newport News terminal. he
replied: III you unload the cars as
fast as they arrive. T. Will guarantee
stated that the road was going TO
spend {. great deal of money. and
stressed the fact that the previous
dcpcndabiiiiy oil the 5000 men in the
employ of the system would be re-
lied on to undertake this new de-
vciopment. In the course his adj
tenn. which. he said. would be mod
eled after that OF the Pennsylvania.
except man at 20 would not be re-
no-strike record.
Master Mechanic a. +. Stewart IRE
a, tho conclusion OF his informal
talk, in which he urged upon the men
that only labor would perpetuatc the
organization. That it was what We
took into our bodies that destroyed
or preserved US. and such an orKani-
zation as the veteran Empioy@s, As
eociation was a parallel to the human
body. G. W. Boius urged upon the
men the Importance OF the safety
First campaign; TO be foilowed by
fear Of exaggeratlon. has hauled
from Richmond to Old Point more
than the population nj this city many
lotted five minutes kept the meeting
in an uproar of merriment and con
cluded by reminding hts comrades
that 'he would not Dc old until thc
ladies' considered him no." J. l.. Nell
son cpitomized what the gathering
stood for when he reminded the men
! that their services were not meas
| urcd - the pay roll. ;hat !, meant
the number OF times unrccordcd that
they had risked their lives for duty
| and come through the ordeal ready
! 10 face the silent arbitrator and stern
master. Conscience. with unh!nchinE
| eyes. and that while some one who
cals had condoncd through their long
| periods o! Scrvic: many faults that
they. the employees. had done the
same in the same spirit OF co-opera-
| ton. lie remarked that the orsan;-
| cation had as its purpose the holding
| high Of the standard of the ROAD. II
ute tina, duty must be uppcrmost.
and in closing cited the immortal
| word OF the held Of Waterloo The
old guard dies. but never surreh-
l.. G. Dcntly gave a Eraphic &C.
| count of the accidents which have
Safety First" and then the follow
| ing officers were elected for the en-
rrs;sldeni,. +: b BIO; Mo, Ct vice
L. q. Bcntly: assistant secretary. }.
a. Pack treasurer; }. a. ,han a.,
details the entire association was the
| cues, OF President stevens FOR din
ner IN The main ia,a, din.nSrS Segr o. me
! Specials left ne was again tho host
| OF the men at Il beautiful buffet sup
,hcr.
Impressive az the actual meeting
was il pales into insignifcancc when
! compared with little personal cnats
| and rcmcmbranccs OF that Silent
band Of modest men. one o. the most
difficult tasks that this writer has
| faced was to get some OF these VET
Grams TO talk. We could see no reason
why they had done anything out Of
| he made over them. But when told
them that they were perhaps the most
| unique organization in the railroad
world today go, na ID rai'FGaa par-
! them the spacious corridors of the
! Greenbr.c- came across the Grizzled
! old veteran OF afty-thrcc years SER
vice a. i. Griffin. known 10 every man
| looked into his smiling face Won
dcred If the average person who
travels today realizes how these men
who hold subordinate positions in
great railroad system are some
times the king pin in III. great throb-
! bling machine OF organization. which,
center!ng at the presidents desk.
reaches out in a thin-spun web TO
! the humble sw.tchtcuder and gate
man.
II he falls in his duty the web is
n. y
ccrncd he has meyer forgotten his
| duty. Here is man who started as
a waite fboy. rose 10 workman on the
tool train and then TO brakeman and
| had the distinction Of firing for Seth
| Mack" one of the heroes for the
! c. a. O. Railroad. who, when At rivet
| on his engine blew out, filed the hole
In the boiler with his thumb. lie
| did not receive Carnegie Medal
that is a mere sign of heroism, but
| he got that something, which is more
| priceless than gold. the love and re-
spect OF the entire system. But. to
was to run an engine. and now in
| the fuilness of years. he guards with
the same fidelity. the same ideals OF
duty. one Of the crossings in the
| went TO work Il was the Virginia
| Central Railroad. wrecked by the
war; when he Aired there were no
Mallet self-stokers. but he had to
! chop every bit of wood (grccn at
! thaU that fed the moloch in the
! fircboX.
Another fireman for Seth Mack"
was Captain Niche. one of the oldest
men in point of service on the road.
| Every whistle post from Orange to
Strathmore knows this veteran con-
! ductor.
Now to go from the sublime to tho
| ridiculous. was talking 10 one old
| seasoned trainman who forcibly il
lustrated that necessity is the
mother OF invention" He told me
that in 1880. a freight train got loose
on siding at one OF the mines in
West Virginia, ran wild, rear-o on. into
No. G engine. knocking her smoke
| stack of and otherwise damaging
her. The difficulty narrowed itself
| down to replacing her stack, and
my friend putting his head on the
side told me in very dry way, that
| he substituted n barrel in lieu thereo:
which served admirably the purpose.
and brought old No. G to her desti-
nation.
In going through the train on the
Trip up j came across group OF
colored veterans. and after much per-
suaSion got one OF them to talk.
rms man, T. NJ. Taylor, an engine
Golfer at Clifton Forge. with thirty
eight years Of service, related with
| great gusto story on Engineer Fred
weaver Mr. Weaver was driving his
engine up North Mountain and de-
cided that she needed some oil. II
was a bright moonlight night. with
the wind blowing gale Just as
weaver reached the part of the ma
chine he wished 10 lubricatc the
moon was obscured by a cloud. So hc
followed to his fireman. SAY. Rili,
bring the torch. the winds blew the
moon out"
Passing on through the train +
came on crowd I'm the smoker
headS together, and il looked lilx. n