The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1921-07-01

HS gone, ana MS warm htiu wv
dream knocked sky-windlng forever
and a day.
Luckily, we found Fred May sthl at
his desk, and he was promptly clamped
10 the telephone and told to get busy
spreading the hurry call. In half an
hour every relief operator we had IN
Portal City was In the wire-room, ana
the back-breaklng job Of preparing
thousand miles Of railroad for sud
den tie.up was In full swing. MT
Perkins. as division superintendent
was In touch with the local labor
leaders. Persuadlng and Insisting by
turns, Mr.. Norcross fought out the
necessary compromises with the
unions. All ordinary traffic would be
suspended at midnight, but passenger
trains en- route were to be run through
to our connecting line terminals east
and west, live stock trains were to he
laid out only where there were feed
ing corrals, and perishable freight was
10 be taken to It's destination wher-
ever that might De.
The strikers agreed to allow the
mail trains to run without Interrupt
tlon, with our promise that they would
not carry passengers. Hoskins and
his committee bucked little at this,
but got down when they were shown
that they could not afford to risk a
clash With the Government. This ex-
ception admitted, another followed, as
matter of course. II the mail trains
were TO be run, some OF the telegraph
operators would have to remain on
duty, at least to the extent Of han
ding train orders.
With these generalities out of the
way, we got down to details. Fire
alarm" wires were sent to the various
cities and towns on the lines asking
for immediate information regarding
food and fuel supplies, and the strike
leaders were notified that, for sheer
humanity's sake, they would have to
permit the handling Of provision
trains In cases where they were alb
solutely needed.
BY eleven O'Clock the tangle was
getting itself pretty well Strengthened
out. Some of the trains had already
been abandoned, and the others were
moving along to the agreed-upOn des-
tinations Kirgan had taken hold In
the Portal City yard, and by putting
on extra crews was getting the needful
shifting and car sorting into shape,
and the Portal City employees, acting
upon their own initiative, were picket
ing the yard and company buildings to
protect them from lOoterS or fre-set-
tiers. Mr.. Van BIRTHS special, so the
wires told us, was at Lesterburg, and
it was likely to stay there; and Mr..
Van Britt, himself, couldn't be reached.
1t was at half-past eleven that we
got the first real yelp from somebody
who was getting pinched. 1t came In
the shape of a wire from the Strath-
coma night operator. A party Of men
mine owners" the operator called
them-had just heard of the impend-
ing railroad tieup They had been
meaning to come in on the regular
night train, but that had been aban-
doned. so now they were offering
all kinds of money for a special to
bring them to Portal City. 1t was
represented that there were millions
at stake. Couldn't we do something?
Mr.. Norcross had kept Hoskins and
few of the other local strike lead
ers where he could get hold of them,
and he put the request up to them as
matter that was now out Of his
hands,. Would they allow him to run
one-car special from the gold camp
to Portal City after midnight? 1t was
for them to say.
Hoskins and his accomplices went
off to talk 1t over with some Of the
other men. When the big freight con-
ductOr came back he was alone and
was grinning good-naturedly.
1--WE amt amin to make the COM
pany lose any good money that comes
a.rolling down the hill at 1t, Mister
Norcross," he said. "Cinch these here
StrathcOna hurry-boys f'r all you can
get out O. them, and ii you'll lend us
the loan of the wires, we'll pass the
word to let the special come on
through"
1t was sure the funniest strike
ever saw or heard of, and guess the
boss thought so, tOo-with all this
good-natured bargaining back and
forth; but there was nothing more
said, and / carried the word to Mr..
Perkins, directing him to have arrange
ments made for the running of one
car special from Strathcona for the
hurry folks.
Past that, things rocked along until
the hands of the big standard-time
clock I'm the dispatcher's room pointed
to midnight. Norris, who was hold
ing down the commercial wire, came
over to the counter railing just then
with New York message. l saw the
boss eyes flash and the little bunchy
muscle-swelllngs of anger come and
60 on the edge of his jaw as he read
1t, and then he handed It to me.
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