Show A Brakemans Version I have been a railroad man twenty three years and a conductor ever since 1 could work out of abakemaus position siid a conductor 1 have had through runs and i served my time in the suburban service and I think I know most of the difficulties I and annoyances which conductors experience exper-ience In more senses than one our position is not enviable We are required to be j polite and attentive to passengers and I I while most of us want to be we find it a I pretty hard task We are held responsible for the safety of the passengers ana oi tile I train and a e blamed for things for which i we are not at all at fault In short we I are between two fires one from headquarters head-quarters and the other right on the spot whenever and wherever anybody takes a notion to kick There is all the difference in the world i I between the work of different conductors I The men who have the long runs on ex i press trains have the easiest time unless Iou i I-ou except the conductors of emigrant trains who havenothing to do but take up tickets and not hear questions On the mited express trains that stop but a few times the conductors work is not comparable compar-able with that required on an accommodation accommoda-tion train The one conductor can sit down most of the time the other has to go through his train between stations regularly I regu-larly The men working on suburban I trains catch it the worst and jet may con1 I ductors prefer these Tins because they enable I able them t5 be at home more This stopping stop-ping at every third or fourth street like a i norse car when the danger of accident from carelessness or indifference is greater than on the through routes is ono of the things that makes the suburban service anything but desirable from a con1 I ductors standpoint People dont think I that going back and foth is traveling and I they get careless They stop and chat till i i the last moment and then get off after the train is under way Now Mary Jane you will come and see me wont you And bring your work and the baby and By this time the train has started and we are expectcdsmilingly gallantly to help the lady off and throw her bundles after 1 her This illustration is not forced It is enacted every day on the suburban roads i The greatest annoyance of the through i I routes of course is the askingof questions I 1 often natural enough in themselves but reiterated I re-iterated by one passenger after another till a the thing becomes so stale as to be almost r unbearable Often one passenger will make inquiries and in less than ten minutes min-utes somebody in full hearing of my answers tJ an-swers will ask substantially the same questions ques-tions I have seen times when I actually I thought people were guying meby making i their inquiries It would naturally seem that the men touts gett ii having different routes should get pij pro I 4 portionate to the work required and the priuations undergone This however is not the case The pay is uniform whether we live at home or have to board part of the time at a hotel as we have to do when our runs are long Conductors get better pay than they used to Now our pay runs from tS3 to 100 per month There is a growing custom of paying conductors by mileage which affords them much better wages than the ordinary method and I apprehend appre-hend that this plan will some day prevail In point of renumeration I think conductors conduct-ors have seen their worst days Hnw about the opportunities for cribbing crib-bing bingin that regard they have seen their best days The conductor who tries to pocket fares today is a fool The ingenuity of railroad managers is too highly developed to permit the cribbing that once was so common The conductor who attempts to get rich at the companys expense will be tripped up before he has got even the corner stono of his fortune laid |