chief despatcher.

It was some ten years after I had begun to pound brass, that I awoke one
fine morning to find myself offered the position of chief despatcher on
the central division of the C. N. & Q. Railway, with headquarters at
Selbyville. I was very well satisfied at El Monte, had been promoted to
the first trick and had many friends whom I did not like to leave, but
then, I was as high as I could get in a good many years, because Fred
Bennett, the chief, was a stayer from away back, and there wouldn't be a
vacancy there for a long time to come. The district of which I was to
take charge was about three hundred miles long, and consisted of three
freight divisions of one hundred miles each. That meant a whole lot of
hard confining work, but who wouldn't accept a promotion; so after
carefully considering the matter, I gratefully accepted, and was duly
installed in my new position. As I did not know anything about the road
or the operators thereon, one of my first acts was to take a trip of
inspection over the road. I rode on freight trains or anything that came
along, and dropped off as I wanted to, in order that I might become
thoroughly acquainted with the road and the men.

One of the time card rules was that no person was to be allowed to enter
any of the telegraph offices except those on duty there; even the train
men were supposed to receive their orders and transact their business at
the window or counter. Generally, however, this rule was not enforced
very rigidly. When I was a night operator I never paid any attention to
it at all. I dropped off No. 6 at eleven-thirty one night at
Bakersville. A night office was kept there because it was a good order
point and had a water tank. I had never met the night man and knew
nothing of him, except that he was a fiery-tempered Irishman named
Barry, and a most excellent operator. It had been told me that the
despatchers had, on more than one occasion, complained of his impudence,
but his ability was so marked and he was so prompt in answering and
transacting business, that he was allowed to remain. As No. 6 pulled out
he went into the office, closed the door and then shut the window. He
had apparently not seen me, or if he had he paid no attention to me, so
I went into the waiting-room and rapped on the ticket window. He shoved
it up, stared at me and gruffly said, "Well! what's wanted?"

I answered pretty sharply, that I desired to come into his office.

"Well t