That railroad man

Front matter

A.P.Graves

Class __J3S(jm^ Book.

CopyiighlN"

Introduction

It has fallen to my lot to have traveled much, both in America and in manv other lands : and I have learned to entertain a high idea of the intelligence, capacity, and politeness of railway men as a whole. Out of this appreciation of their character has come a deep interest in their welfare. The entire community and all branches of the church ought to be earnestly engaged in promoting their highest moral interests. I have examined, with that thought in mind, the new volume entitled, " That Railroad Man,'' by Dr. A. P. Graves, and I take pleasure in saying that it is a suggestive, timely, appreciative, and inspiring volume. Its wide circulation will do much to advance all the interests, social and moral, of the railway men of our beloved land. All who aid in its circulation will confer a blessing on a great and worthy class of laborers and American citizens.

K. S. MacArthur.

Calvary Baptist Church, New York, March 1, 1900.

Preface

The day I was born there was not a foot of railroad on the globe. A few weeks after my birth the first track was laid and the fiirst train was run. I have grown up and advanced in years with the railway enterprise. Nearly fifty years 1 have traveled extensively — thirty-four years as an evangelist in all parts of the United States. Presidents and all the operators of railway systems have been very kind to me, and I have constantly endeavored to reciprocate their kindness by doing them good. I have felt that I enjoyed many social and moral privileges of which large numbers of the now one million two hundred thousand of these men and their homes in our land were deprived. And I now in my sunset years send forth this book, ^^That Railroad Man/^ to this multitude of my fellow-citizens and to their homes in the hope and belief that it will be to them a great social and moral benefit.

A. P. Graves.

Contents

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Chapter I

Name of first engine. — Date and place of trial trip. — Extraordinary occasion.— Progress of railroads.— Number of miles. — Machinery. — Immense cost. — Number of men employed. — Works of reform. — Influence of railroads.— Their national power.

CHAPTER V The Presidents of Railroads 81

Their number. — Self-made. — Their helpful power. — Their benevolence. — Their felt obligations. — Their moral responsibilities. — Infidelity a failure. — Few, if

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X

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any, infidel presidents. — Need of the hour.— Experience of blessing.

CHAPTER VI General Managers of Eailroads 40

Their moral position. — Establishing towns. — Conventional advantages.— Secular aggressiveness.— Their opening of new regions. — Pioneer work. — Influence upon their men.— Elevation and reform.— Happiness for railroad men.

CHAPTER VII Superintendents of Railroads 46

A man of authority. — Character building. — Has vast possibilities.— Work of blessing.— The higher positions. — The unhappy mistake. — Noble character attainable.

CHAPTER VIII The Railway Ticket Agent 51

Ticket agencies indispensable. — Idea of agent's work. — A safe ticket needed. — Tickets advertised. — God's plan. — Exactions. — Agent's kind purpose. — Social standing. — Moral standing.— Belief of agents. — Agent's reward. — Now. — Hymn.

CHAPTER IX Conductors 56

Cares.— Annoyances.— Most of them trustworthy. — Law for drunken passengers —Opportunities for good. — Attentions appreciated.— Usually kind.

CHAPTER X Railroad Engineers 60

Men of weighty position. — Engineer converted. — Family and friends happy. — His death. — Accidents by drunkenness. — Engineer who stood for the right. — Triumph for good of comrades. — Safety demanded. — Men of fine impulses. — Surmounting obstacles. — Convictions. — Wise conclusions.

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CHAPTER XI Brakemen on Eailway Trains 67

His position.— His exposures.— Faithfulness.— Happiness of passengers. — They give kind words. — Next to the conductor.— Noble examples.— Prepared for emergencies.

CHAPTER XII General Workmen on Railroads 71

Army of men. — To be encouraged. — Fine elements of character. — Commendable attainments. — Establishing character.— Positions not gained easily.— Low ideas. — The plowboy. — Rufus Choate.— Easily discouraged. — Failure. — Mettle tried.— Victory.

Chapter XIII

Women endued with power. — Home a center. — Christian womanhood. — A happy home needed.— Railroad man injured. — His dying prayer.- Personal observation. — Sad home of a railroad man. — His wife and children. — Conviction. — Repentance. — Sunshine. — Wife should pray. — A cloud of witnesses. — A consecrated woman's voice.

CHAPTER XIV The Children of Railroad Men 87

Their needs. — Their claim. — Efforts for children. — Their moral nature. — Hallowed training. — Imperative demands. — Advantages for them. — Duties of parents at home.— Culture in good habits.— Evil ways shunned.— Bad literature. — Snowflakes.

RAILWAY ILLUSTRATIONS

Chapter I

Analogy. — Teacher of mankind. — The foundation. — Mountains tunneled. — Human character. — Weak points. — Exhibitions of victory. — The ties. — Teaching applied.— The rails.— Analogical lesson. — Object of life.— The right train. — Termination.

Chapter II

How made. — Human body. — All the machinery should be right. — The false course. — Immense power. — The hidden power. — Moral forces.— Rightly directed. — A right heart.— Unbridled passion.— Great value of service.— Soul powers.— Above rubies.— Soul lessons.

Chapter III

Valuable purpose.— Pure principles.— Something significant. — Picture of human life. — Beautifully arranged. — Vehicle for the soul. — Not compelled. — Swift in motion.— Guide book.— Way to heaven.— Blind eyes. — Faithfulness.— Beware.

Chapter IV

Necessity. — Man must eat.— Soul food.— Good waiters. — Evil waiters. — Advantages. — Life's journey. — Moral volition illustrated. — Freedom to act. — Partaking. — Refusing. — Sunlight of joy. — No new invention. — No stopping at the station.— Pilgrims.

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Chapter V

Seems insignificant. — Imperative necessity. — Connections. — Love and hate. — Small instrument. — Little things. — Destruction. — Diamond flashes. — From one track to another. — Conscience. — Conveniences. — Action of the will. — Eternity of man. — Change needed.— Will you make it?— Main track. — Switch off.

Chapter VI

Dormant.— Aroused. — Whistle is small.— Is powerful in influence. — Warning. — Winning. — Monitor of the soul. — Stop. — Every avenue guarded. — Is a guide. — Made happy.— Awakened. — Momentous lesson.— I quit it. — These rejoice. — No regrets. — Timely words. — Will you receive?

CHAPTER VII The Railway-car Brakes 138

Railroad engineer.— Afraid no more. — Cable and anchor. — All right. — I am safe. — Brakes of decision. — Bible and drunkards. — Reason enough. — Man needs brakes. — Brakes applied. — Fond regrets. — Down brakes. —If I only had.— A decided stand.— Cable chain.— One pull.— Be right.

CHAPTER VIII Headlight of the Railway Engine 146

Railway officials suggestions. — The Creator's statement.— Figure of the eye. — The great necessity. — Adapted to every need of the heart. — Light a means of safety.— The Sun of Righteousness. — Striking incident of the headlight.

CHAPTER IX The Railway Lantern 151

Light needed.— Red, w^hite, and green.- Dark places. — The Bible. — Another guide.— Signal for duty. — Joy in

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the light.— The sleepless guide— Obstructions. — Morning dawn. — Headlight six miles.— Increasing light.— Swallowed up.

CHAPTEE X The Grip-car Railway 156

Ingeniously made. — Hidden propelling power.— The grip. — New inventions. — Drones and laziness. — Under lying principles. — The cable underneath. — The narrow opening.— Way to heaven. — Strong faith. — Heaven itself.

Chapter XI

Propelling power. — Actuating motive. — Recognition of character. — Its perpetual secret. — Executes plans. — The conducting wire.— Power from above. — Brightness. — Satisfying service. — Signs of progress.— Hopeful expectations.

Chapter XII

Foundation. — Stations. — Lessons. — Distinctive difiference.— Elevated.— Paying the cost.— Soul elevation. — Road above. — Road below. — Moral improvement. — Infinite benefit. — Failure. — The better way. — Live to learn. — You must climb. — Noble railway men. — The steamboat train.— Order issued.— Liberty.— What is it?— The terminus.— The highway. — The chariot of blessing.

CHAPTER XIII The Railway Stations 180

Frequent detentions. — All classes. — Accommodation. — Accepted by millions. — Various features. — Watching for the station.— Unbelief. — Stations of moral action. — ^The blood. — Prayer station. — Thy pilgrimage. — Heaven.

CHAPTER XIV The Trunk Railway Lines 186

Magnitude. — Commanding influence. — Life's callings. — Large responsibilities. — Acquiring wealth. — Unspeak-

CONTENTS

XV ably happy. — No human independence. — Accounts reported. — Their salutary power. — Christianity. — Untold blessing.

CHAPTER XV The Railway Union Depot 191

Activities of partnership. — Man in God's image. — Many roads meet. — So with men. — Perplexities. — Anxiousness. — Celestial road. — The Cross. — Long lines meet. — Mutual connections. — Various reforms. — Associated blessings. — Safety. — Paradise of God. — Uniting on the other shore. — Popular at headquarters.

Chapter XVI

Pearsal the ticket agent.— His conversion.— Wife also converted.— Happy family.— Their joy.— Is all of God's grace. — Little girl eight years old. — Mamma gone to heaven. — Conductor converted.— Wife happy. — Desire to adopt the child. — She died. — A railroad in song. — God's call to railway men. — Going home.

Chapter I Digxity Of The Railroad Enterprise

^MALL beginnings make large endings.'^ There ^ is a conflict in history as to the location of the first railroad, whether it was in Darlington, England, Pennsylvania, in America, or a small town in South Carolina. By the best evidence I can get, August 8, 1829, was the day of the trial trip, and Honesdale, Pennsylvania, was the place where the event occurred. ^^Stourbridge Lion'^ was the name of the engine that drew the first train. The town, then the wealthiest in the State, having but a few hundred inhabitants, was but three years old. It was a time of extraordinary interest. All the inhabitants turned out. The farmers for forty miles around came to town. The occasion was signaled by the firing of an old Queen Anne cannon brought from New York. The steam was generated by fire made out of anthracite coal, from mines in the Lackawanna Valley. The railway track was made of hemlock rails, eight by ten inches in thickness, placed four feet and ten inches apart, and spiked to hemlock ties. Not being well seasoned they warped considerably before the day of the trial trip. Nevertheless they were used, and thus was commenced one of the greatest enterprises the world has ever known.

One can hardly imagine, looking at the gigantic proportions of our railway system of to-day, that within the limit of so few years the first engine and car were made, the first ties and rails were laid, and the first spike was driven. But so it is. Incredible as it may seem, there are now one hundred and ninety-five thousand miles of railroad in this country, one million two hundred thousand employees, thirty-five thousand engines, which cost about twelve thousand dollars each ; sixty thousand passenger cars, and one million five hundred thousand freight cars.

The capital invested in these vast lines and resources is estimated to be about one hundred and nineteen billion dollars. The gross earnings last year are said to have been nineteen billion dollars, of which there was paid in wages about five hundred million five hundred thousand dollars. And all this immense growth from so small a beginning in about seventy years. Yet such an enterprise in its incipiency could but point to the greatest designs and results.

The progress of such an enterprise must be marked with very great interest and anticipations. These, with such foundations for hope, could never

DIGNITY OF THE KAILROAD ENTERPRISE 3

be doomed to disappointment. The course of no other great enterprise has ever been characterized by such uninterrupted success. And further, the old adage, " Necessity is the mother of invention," has here given the strongest exhibition of its truth. Constant progress and improvements have excited the closest attention of a wondering age.

All nations have been provoked either to build, or want a railroad ; and in our own land there is scarcely a town or hamlet in which there cannot be found railroad accommodations. In the beginning of this great movement every town and city not only wanted a road, but the railway managers aimed to put their lines in communication with these centers in every State. And while this has been going on, the wild lands of the West have induced emigration from Europe and the older States of our own country, making great demands for railroad facilities. Railway corporations have not been slow to see this. Marvelously have they encouraged new settlements, until in many parts of the new States and Territories, they have surveyed routes, laid tracks, run trains, and built stations before scarcely a person had settled about them. This state of things does not last long, however. Very quickly farms are made and towns are built. To the railroad enterprise, above all others, may be attributed the astonishing scenes now before our vision in Western life. True, in many similar aspects we behold the activities and life of Eastern and Southern cities. Progress in no other scheme or system has ever been like this, not even in steamship lines, which belt the world. Besides its vast progress, the very nature of the enterprise is full of interest in character and consequences. It has a strong bearing upon every person, household, agricultural, mechanical, and mercantile pursuit. There is scarcely a settlement in the whole country where, at your very doors, there are not facilities for long or short journeys. By this, postal facilities are afforded by which, at the expense of a penny or two, you can converse daily with friends many miles away. Business, with every convenience for our homes and towns, is dispatched with great ease and rapidity. Religious, educational, and political conventions, and even the funerals of our departed loved ones can, by this wonderfully providential enterprise, be attended on a few hours^ notice. And with this for those outside railway ranks, and yet dependent on these facilities for the conveniences of life, what shall we say of the railroad men themselves?

With one million two hundred thousand employed in the various ranks of railway life, with their service on the one hand and their livelihood on the other, there are considerations of great moment. Add to this their wives and children and dependents, and I think it may be fairly believed there are twelve million fully enlisted in the railway lines. Besides this, call to mind the vast numbers who own stock in the trunk and smaller roads, and you have a very great number who are wholly or in part supported by railway corporations. In this view we have, of people actually supported by railway corporations, besides exerting an immense influence, more than twice the population of New York City. And while we thus classify the railroad interests and people, we must regard them only as a component part of our commonwealth. They are but a strong ligament by which the great w^hole is fitly joined together.'^ No branch of industry or public interest is like this. In some respects our nation's life is dependent upon this enterprise. Its moral, as well as secular aspects, have an important bearing. These are not what they might be and ought to be, but they will compare favorably with other enterprises of industry in our country.

There are many decidedly Christian men in various railroad corporations who wield a strong influence for God and humanity. Some of the best helpers and supporters I have found in religious revival work, for thirty years past, have been railroad men. In the temperance reform they are fast coming to the front. Indeed, total abstinence by railroad employees has become a necessity. The people will not trust their lives and property in the hands of drunkards. This railroad managers feel. One large corporation in the West has issued this order : " Persons employed in running trains, in any capacity, who are known to drink intoxicating liquors, will be forthwith discharged.'^ Several others have sent out a similar order, which is said to seriously atFect the business of thousands of saloon keepers. These are but examples of many. The ball is rolling. It will be nothing strange if the temperance battles now hotly raging, and which are destined to have a mighty victory, shall find a strong arm of their strength in the railroad men of our country. Besides this there is now going on marked agitation on the subject of suspending the running of trains on the Sabbath. Some roads have already issued orders to this eflFect. And they now give testimony, after months of trial, that it is a success, and a benefit rather than an injury. This may yet become universal. It is the opinion of many influential men at present that this is feasible, except, it may be, the livestock trains which travel long distances, and express trains that carry perishable goods. And it is believed if railroad managers should unanimously adopt this plan, the people of all classes would soon cheerfully concur in it. They could scarcely fail to do so when they see the benefits of righteously observing the Lord's Day.

Another feature of the railway enterprise is seen in its present influences upon the activities of the country. Take the iron trade in all its forms and powers of industry, not only in its bearing upon the manufacture of rails and railroad machinery, but its vast necessities and supplies in other branches. From the ore beds in the mountains to the finished product of the factories^ railways are indispensable to the transportation and trade. How would it be possible to carry on this department of industries of our country with its thousands of the manufactories and tens of thousands of men, and many millions of capital in almost every State? No such trade or development could be possible without the railway system.

And what should we say of the coal trade and development by this means ? Our homes, business, manufactories, churches, schools, gas-lighting, steamship navigation, and, indeed, the propelling power of the railroads themselves, are so utterly dependent upon this commodity that it would seem almost impossible for our country to exist without it. And thousands of trains are employed daily to draw it to every part of our land. What but railroad conveyance could ever carry this article to our homes and centers of necessity? It is exceedingly doubtful whether the coal mines of our land would ever have been opened and utilized had it not been for the invention and employment of this means of transportation.

And then the grain trader which has become a source of such untold wealth and supply to our people, has found in the railway enterprise the right arm of its strength. It may well be said and believed that the vast empires of the West were opened by railroads. Were it not for these lines of communication, where would be to-day the great wheat fields and the men to make them? Striking out as pioneers, the railway corporations made the great highways to uncultivated lands, and the people soon followed. Now what do we see and hear ? Millions of acres of golden grain waving in the wind, billions of bushels ready for the market and our homes and every form of consumption, and the tidings wafted on every breeze that untold moneyed wealth is flowing from these vast resources into our country^s revenues and the pockets of our capitalists. Can the wisdom of our greatest men tell us what could ever produce such wealth for our people but the wonderful system and march of the railway enterprise ? It is doubtful.

The gold mid silver tirade is no small matter to be counted in the category of our national and private benefits. This is vital. But with all its importance, where would it be to-day were it not for the trunk lines and branches of our railroads ? We can hardly conjecture. As soon as the first specks of gold and silver were discovered in the mountains and river beds of the wild territories traversed hitherto only by roving Indian tribes, men of heart, muscle, and brains began to push the railway track to the "Golden Gate.^' And from this branches were stretched out in every direction, until from ocean to ocean trunk lines and their branches reach all places where there can be a possibility of gathering the precious dust. Machinery and men to work it have been quickly transported to the mines, and immense loads of golden fortunes have been brought back, until mints are worked, and treasuries are filled in every great center of our country.

But what we see of this vast enterprise is all in the past and present. Yet, with such a view and scene, what may we not anticipate for the future ? It is probable that not one person living can form an approximate idea of what the future will bring forth. As not a man could conjecture seventy years ago what would develop in such an enterprise up to the beginning of the twentieth century, so not one can anticipate the inventions, improvements, and developments of the railway enterprise in the near or remote future. There can be no doubt that it Avill be grand beyond all description. Its future prospects are bright. The building of new lines, towns and cities springing up along their track, and the march of industry of every conceivable kind, pushed on by this system of indomitable energy and power, will doubtless astonish the nations of the earth.

With its present advantage in commercial interests it has a prospect of enlarging and pushing forward every branch of trade to incalculable dimensions. In educational interests it will give transportation to educators and their helps, such as building material for universities and schoolhouses, books and apparatus, until our land shall be filled with intelligence and lettered power by the education of our home and foreign population.

Political matters of every character will be closely allied to the future of railway movements. While they will have much to do in shaping the progress and prospects of the railway system, it will have much to do in controlling ^Hhe powers that be.^^ Amid the complications of the past, intriguing politicians, as well as leaders in some railway corporations, have doubtless contrived to shape laws for their mutual and personal benefit. But as the railways enlarge and multiply they will grow in conformity to the will of the people and the general political benefits of the country. Courts of justice, county. State, and Territorial, will share in their benefits. The sessions of Congress and legislatures will be more and more facilitated by the railroads, which will ever readily assist in the prosecution of our governmental affairs. The prospects of railroad conveniences increase continually, Sunday-school, missionary, medical, and editorial work, conventional, and of every grade. On the frontier, in every home and hamlet, the messengers of grace can be carried with their counsels, sympathies, and prayers. The most ignorant of citizens and smallest of children alike can receive the teachings of truth and righteousness. The great work of evangelization never had, nor can have, a stronger ally than is found in the railway corporations, and prospects of marching on to victory brighten every day.

One of the grandest features of the railroad enterprise of our land is that it has ever been willing^ yea, anxious, to help on works of reform and philanthropy, and in no feature more so than in vital Christianity. And its prospects for usefulness and helpfulness in this direction were never so good as now. It is a matter of congratulation for railroad men themselves that they have this disposition, and, on the other hand, of hopefulness to the friends and advocates of truth that they have such a gigantic ally. It is mutually a good omen. If, with such assistance, the past makes such a vast showing, what may we not hope for the future, since amid the whirl of commercial activities the leaven of truth and righteousness is being sent into every avenue of our public and private life ? Truly, the morning dawneth.

Chapter II

IT is now nearly two-thirds of a century since^ while a very small lad, I walked across a green field and up a hill to see the first train of cars from Boston to Worcester. An indelible impression was made upon my mind. Indeed, it was one that has increased with the growth of the railroad enterprise. Then I had little thought of the railroad men (unless it was to think that somebody had made a ^vonderfiil invention), but the very peculiar appearance of the locomotive and cars commanded my attention. But, as years have rolled on, and with them have come improvement and enlargement in railroad enterprises, I have come to feel deeply that when all that has been done, and the last invention for railroad improvement shall have been made, yea, more, when the last vestige of rails, cars, and all material shall have passed out of sight, the first inventor and all inventors and operators of the roads in their moral spiritual natures shall still exist.

What a thought, and what a reality ! Then have these men and their families any moral claims upon themselves and upon the world ? Certainly they have. One intelligent view and one sober thought will compel this conclusion. The most distinguished merchant, the most eminent professional men among editors, priests, doctors, or educators, have no more. The farmer's claim can be no greater. And perhaps as his dangers in their nature are less, so his moral claims in some respects might be less. And when we look at the railroad official's position, witli the liability of being called at any moment to face the emergencies of a fearful disaster, we are constrained to feel an earnest anxiety that his moral nature may be prepared for the responsibilities of the hour. Look also at the anxious homes of multitudes of railroad men and behold the loud and needful calls for moral attention amid the resources God has placed within our hands.

I do not single out this class because no others have claims upon us. Everywhere there is a call for help in grace. But I write thus because of the neglect of the past, the demand of the present, and the encouragements for the future to do good to the vast numbers of the railroad men of our time. Every sentiment that moved the heart of the Son of God to visit this world to bless mankind should actuate us in this work.

Every president of a railroad, every manager and superintendent, every engineer, conductor, brakeman, and operator of whatever kind, has, within him a nature, and in his every duty a claim, demanding our sympathies and prayers. We cannot look upon this demand too strongly. It calls for

THAT KAILROAD MAN earnest action. And so much the more as the numbers of these men are increasing so rapidly. Never has the public mind been so taxed to regulate the conduct of these men in every commonwealth as now. In not a few corporations there is great disposition to breed discontent and riot. And with this, means and measures of the baser sort are resorted to, to carry out wicked plots. Failure is not the worst thing in such movements. This is almost always sure to come, but also moral disaster not infrequently comes to soul and body. Sometimes individuals, and sometimes whole families, endure protracted sufferings that may be worse than death itself. And then beyond this, large corporations have at such times endured perplexities and injuries that could liardly be corrected in years. Why these distracting and injurious movements ? Whatever causes may be named, one answer I am sure may be given, and that is, that there is a lack of moral sentiment in railroad men themselves, and in the community on their behalf. There is by far too much of the notion among the people that this class of men are outside the pale of moral culture, not to say moral needs. This notion is false, and should not be entertained for a moment. In a public life of many years and large intercourse with these men, I have found it too sadly true that the moral claims and needs of railroad men are underestimated. It need not be so. It should not be so. They are our brothers, their wives are our sisters, and their children are our children's associates and schoolmates. And our churches, our homes, and our hearts are called upon to follow them in remembrance and sympathy, on their engines and trains and posts of labor, and above all, to help them by our attention and prayers in their fearful surroundings of intemperance and profanity. Thanks to many important organizations which are already working a work of blessing in this respect.

Thanks for the Christian Association and the chapel car. May the usefulness of these be increased many fold. But the true nature of this moral demand must not be overlooked by the railroad men themselves. I speak now more particularly of the masses of w^orkmen. There is a principle among men that enjoins that if a man would be what he ought to be, whatever others may do, he must help himself. This is true here. It is just as possible to be a true man in the railway shop or on the train as elsewhere. Let the men of our railway corporations, large or small, make up their minds to be men, good men, and our country will w^itness a change that shall be more radical and beneficent than has hitherto been thought of. Such a thing is possible. Many have proved it already. Grit and grace will assure it to many more. And I believe the day is dawning that shall witness this.

J^ow let me add in this moral bearing one important thing. It is this : The soul is the fountain of all moral action. This w^ill bear investiga-