A TALE OF THE RAIL
f By Horatio Winslow.
"Well," said the President of
the Railroad to the Board of Di
rectors, ""we won't 4ut in any
safety system because it's cheap
er without."
"O. K.," said the Board.
"All right," muttered the Gen
eral Public; "yu Just wait afld
see if you aren't taught a lesson."
So the President and the Board
of Directors waited until the next
meeting, but as no one had taught
them a lesson they concluded the
G. P. must have been mistaken,
"This year," said the Vice
Pres. of the Board, "we might as
well make these telegraph opera
tors understand that forty is
about the right size for their
monthly pay envelopes, Of
course, this means that we'll have
to hire a lot of kids, but what's
the odds?"
"O. ly.," snickered the Board of
Directors.
"All right," the G, P. nodded
wisely; ''but you just wait and
see if you aren't taught a lesson,"
So the President and V,-P. and
the Board' of Directprs waited un
til next dividend time, bqtas no
one came around with any.school
books they concluded the G. P.
must hav.e been mistaken'.
"'Seems to me,' 'urged the Sec
retary of the Board, "that we're
spending too much money -on ex
tra shifts of men. If a man can't
stay at his post sixteen hours a
day he ought to be fired."
"O. K.," chuckled the Direc
tors. "All right," growled the Pub-;
lie j "but you jusj: wait and see if
you aren't taught a lesson. You
just wait."
So the President and the Vice
President and the Secretary and
all the rest of them waited for
some time, but as nobody with a
teacher's certificate or other cre
dential came around they decided
to start out in a private car and
find, out what the -General Public
meant.
About this time, along about
the end of the sixteen-hour day, a
seventeen-year-old boy at forty
dollars per month, and no cuts in
pay for overtime, fell asleep over
his telegraph instrument. There
was no safety system and a few
moments later two trains tried to
pass hurriedly on the same track.
Unhappily the President and
the-Vice-President and the Secre
tary and the Board generally had
had their car unhitched at the
last station up the line to enjoy a
champagne supper, tendered by
prominent citizens, so that no
body was killed except two hun
dred and fifty immigrants vho
couldn't vote and didn't count,
and an engineer, fireman and
brakeman or two.
Moral The General Public is
sometimes mistaken.
On his 77th birthday; Mr. Car
negie was in a particularly happy
mood about women.- 'Wpmen,"
he said, "women have almost at
tained a height df angelic alti
tude." Now is the time, girls;
now is the time. Strike him for a
million.' A million? Strike him for
ten millions!