ood for me, seventy dollars per month, and I
was thoroughly satisfied. Really all that is necessary to be a first
class copy operator is to be an expert telegrapher. It is simply a work
of sending and receiving messages all day. However I wanted to learn, so
I kept my ears and eyes opened, and studied the time card, train sheet,
and order book very assiduously.

The first trick despatcher was honest old Patrick J. Borroughs, a man of
twenty-five years' experience in the business and as good a man as ever
sent an order or took an O. S. report. He was kindness and gentleness
personified, and assisted me in every way possible, and all my future
success was due to his help and teaching. The memory of the time I
worked under him is the brightest spot in all the years I served in the
business. After I had been there for about five months, he would allow
me, under his supervision, to make simple meeting points for two trains,
and one day he allowed me to give a right-of-track order to a through
freight train over a delayed passenger. Then he would let me sit around
in his chair, while he swallowed his lunch, and copy the O. S. reports.
I was beginning to think that my education as a despatcher was complete,
and was thinking of asking for the next vacancy, when a little incident
occurred that entirely disabused my mind. The following occurrence will
show how little I knew about the business.

We had received notice one morning of a special train to be run over our
division that afternoon, carrying a Congressional Railroad Committee,
and of course that meant a special schedule, and you all know how
anxious the roads are to please railroad committees, especially when
they are on investigating tours (?) with reference to the extension of
the Inter-State Commerce Act, as this one was. We were told to "whoop
her through." The track on our division was the best on the whole road,
and it was only 102 miles long; we had plenty of sidings and passing
tracks, and besides old "Jimmie" Hayes, with engine 444 was in, so they
could be assured of a run that was a hummer. Mr. Hebron, the division
superintendent, came in the office and told Borroughs to tear things
loose, in fact, as he said, "Make 'em all car sick."

After he had gone out Pat tossed the notification over to me, and said,
"Bates, here's a chance for you to show what kind of stuff you are made
of. Make out a schedule for this special, giving her a clean sweep from
end to end,