The Elk Mountain pilot., 1921-04-07
CHAPTER ~
"Head. Off. eentIsmenln

Gosh all Friday-say but the next
few days did see tear-up to beat the
band on the old Short Linel With
the printing Of his appointment cir
cular, Mr.. NorcrOss took the offices
in the headquarters building lately
vacated by Mr.. ShGffer, and 1t was
something awful to see the way the
heads went into the basket. One by
one he called the Duntonites in; the
traffic manager. the general superin-
tendent. the roadmaster. the master
mechanicNclear on down to the round
house foreman and the division heads.
Some few of them were allowed to
take the oath of allegiance and stay,
but the place-fillers and payroll para
sites, the cousins and the nephews
and the brothers-in-law, every last
man of them had to walk under the ak.
Three days later, when the whole
town was talking about the new "Jack
the Ripper" as they called him, Kirgan,
who had been our head machinery
man on the Midland construction,
tumbled in in answer to a wire. Mr..
Norcross slammed him into place ten
minutes after he hit the town.
"Your Office is across the tracks,
Kirgan," he told him. "Tve begun the
hOuse-cleaning over there by firing
your predecessor and three or four Of
his pet fOremen. Get in the hole and
dig to the bottom. I'll give you six
months in which to make good as a
model superintendent of motive power.
Get busy"
''That's me-" said Kirgan. who knew
the boss up one side and down the
other. "You give me the engines, and
I'll keep 'em out of the shop" And
with that he went across the yard and
took hold. before ne had even hunted
up a place to sleep in.
Mr.. Van Britt, our general super
intendent, was the next man to show
up. He was fine; a square-built.
stocky little gentleman who looked as
If he'd always had the world by the
ear and never meant to let go.
.'Well. I'm here" he said, dropping
into chair and sitting with his legs
wide apart. And then, Ignoring me as
II hadn't been there. "Graham, what
the devil have you got against me.
that you should drag me out here on
the edge of nowhere and make me go
to work for livingT
The boss just grinned at him and
said: TITS for the good of your soul
Upton. You've too much money. Your
office is up at the end of the corridor
and your chair is empty and waiting
for you. Your appointment circular
has already been mailed out"
Mr.. Hornack was the last Of the
new office staff to fall in, though he
didn't have nearly as far to come as
some of the others. He was red
headed and wore glasses. They used
to say of him on the Overland Central
that he could make business grow
where none ever grew before. and
that's what traffic man lives for.
Naturally. the big turnover brought
all sorts of disturbances at the send
OF. Some of the relieved cousins and
nephews stayed in town and Jumped
In to stir up trouble for the new man.
agement. The Herald. which was the
other morning paper, took up for the
down-and-outs, and there wasn't any
thing too mean for 1t to say about
the boss and his new appointees. Then
the employees got busy and the griev-
ance committees began to pour In.
Mr.. Norcross never denied himself to
anybody. The office-door stood wide
open and the kickers were welcomed.
as you might say, with open arms.
"You men are going to get the
sQuarest deal you have ever had. and
still sQuarer one little farther
along II you will only stay on the
job and keep your clothes on" was
the way the boss went at the train
mems committee. 1--WE are out to
make the p. 8. l.. the best line for
service. and the best company to work
for, this side Of the Missouri river.
I want your loyalty; the loyalty OF
every man In the service. I'll 20