A PROMOTION BY FAVOR AND ITS RESULTS
I had been on the C. N. & Q. for about eight months, when my second
trick man took sick, and being advised to seek a healthier climate,
resigned and went south. Generally speaking the chief despatcher's
recommendation is enough to place a man in his office; and as I had
always believed in the rule of seniority, I wanted to appoint the third
trick man to the second trick, make the day copy operator third trick
man, and call in a new copy operator to replace the night man who would
be promoted to the day job. In fact, I had started the ball rolling
toward the accomplishment of this end, when Mr. Antwerp, the division
superintendent, defeated all my plans by peremptorily asserting his
prerogative and appointing his nephew, John Krantzer, who had been night
copy operator to the third trick. I protested with all my might, in fact
was once on the point of resigning my position but the old man wouldn't
hear of either proposition, and Krantzer secured the place. Now while
Krantzer was an excellent copy operator, he was very young, and lacked
that persistence and reliability so essential in a successful
despatcher. After I had protested until I was black in the face, I asked
Mr. Antwerp at least to put the young man on the second trick, so that
in a measure I could have him under my eye. But no, nothing but the
third trick would satisfy him, so on the third trick the rattle-brained
chap went the next night.
He struggled through the first night without actually killing anybody,
but his train sheet the next morning resembled a man with a very bad
case of measles; there were delays on everything on the road, with very
few satisfactory explanations. There was the fast mail twenty-five
minutes in going six miles. Cause? None was given. But a perusal of the
order book showed that Krantzer had made a meet for her with a freight
train, and had hung her up on a blind siding for fifteen minutes.
Freights that had been out all night were still out, tied up in all
kinds of shapes. Meets had been made for two long trains at a point
where the passing track was not large enough to accommodate either one
of them, and the result was thirty minutes lost by both of them in "raw
hiding" by. Many other discrepancies were noticeable, but these
sufficed to show that Krantzer's abilities as a despatcher were of a
very low order. However, I reflected, that it was his first night, and I
remembered my own similar experience not many years ago, so I simply
submitted the sheet to Mr. Antwerp without comment. He wiped his
glasses, carefully adjusted them on his aristocratic nose, and after
glancing at the sheet for a few moments, said, "Ah! humph! Well! Well!
Well! Not a very auspicious start, to be sure; but the boy will pick up.
Just jack him up in pretty good shape, Bates; it will do him good." I
jacked him up all right to the queen's taste but it was like pouring
water on a duck's back.
The second night was not much of an improvement, and I made a big kick
to Mr. Antwerp the following morning, but it did no good. The third
night was a hummer. I was kept at the office pretty late, in fact until
after eleven o'clock, and before going home I wrote Krantzer a note
telling him to be very careful as there were many trains on the road.
Our through business at this time was very heavy, and compelled us to
run many extras and specials. I was particular to inform him of two
extras north, that would leave Bradford, the lower end of the division,
some time after 12:30 A. M., and directed him to run them as special
freights having the right of track over all trains except the
passengers. Each train was made up of twenty-five cars of California
fruit bound for New York, and they were the first of their kind to be
run by us. We had a strong competitor for this class of business in the
Valley Route, a line twenty miles away, and were making a big bid for
the trade. The general manager had sent a message that a special effort
was to be made to put the two trains through a-whooping, and I had
ordered engines 228 and 443, two of the best on the road, to pull them.
Burke, the second trick man had everything running smoothly at the time
I wrote the note, and I told Krantzer that, as it looked then, all he
would have to do would be to keep them coming. No. 13, a fast freight
south, had an engine that wasn't steaming very well, and I suggested to
him to put her on the siding at Manitou. It would delay 13 about fifteen
minutes but her freight was all dead stuff, so that would not make much
difference. I did everything but write the order, and that I could not
do, because I couldn't tell just what the conditions would be when the
extras reached Bradford, where they would receive the order.
Krantzer succeeded in getting them started in fair shape; but not
content to let well enough alone, he thought he would run No. 13 on to
Burnsides instead of putting her on the siding at Manitou as I had
suggested, and gave orders to that effect. After he had given the
"complete" he told the operator to tell them to "fly." If he had given
this same order for the meeting at Burnsides to the two extras, _at the
same time_, all would have been well, except that the extras would have
been delayed some fifteen minutes, but this he was unable to do.
Burnsides itself is only a day office, so he could not communicate with
them there, and they had already passed Gloriana, the first night office
south of Burnsides. The operator at Gloriana heard the order to 13 and
told Krantzer it was a risky thing to do; but he told him "to mind his
own business, as he (Krantzer) could run that division without any
help."
No. 13 was pulled by engine 67, with Jim Bush at the throttle, and he
was such a runner that he had earned the sobriquet of "Lightning
Jimmie." While he had reported early in the evening that his engine was
not steaming very well, he had succeeded in getting her to working good
by this time. Burnsides is at the foot of a long grade from the north,
and about a mile up there is a very abrupt curve as the track winds
around the side of the hill. The two extras were bowling along merrily
when they struck this grade; and although there is a time card rule that
says that trains will be kept ten minutes apart, they were right
together, helping each other over the grade. In fact, it was one train
with two engines, somewhat of a double header with the second engine in
the middle. They were going on for all they were worth, expecting to
meet No. 13 at Manitou, as originally ordered.
In the meantime, Bush pulling No. 13, had passed Manitou, and with
thirty-eight heavy cars behind him, was working her for all she was
worth on the down grade, so as to get on the siding for the extras at
Burnsides. He was carrying out Krantzer's order to "fly," with a
vengeance. And just as he turned the curve, he saw, not fifty yards
ahead of him, the headlight of the first extra. To stop was out of the
question. He whistled once for brakes, reversed his engine, pulled her
wide open and then jumped! He landed safely enough, and beyond a broken
right arm, and a badly bruised leg, was unhurt. His poor fireman,
though, jumped on the other side and was dashed to pieces on the rocks;
and the head man and engineer of the first extra were also killed. I had
known many times of two trains being put in the hole; but this was the
first time I had ever seen three of them so placed.
Krantzer had sense enough to order out the wrecker, and send for me. I
knew just as soon as I heard the caller's rap on my door that he had
done something so I lost no time in getting over to the office and there
sat Krantzer as cool as if he had not just killed three men by his gross
carelessness and cost the company thousands of dollars. I had the old
man called and when he came and learned what had occurred, his
discomfiture was so great that I felt fully repaid for all my annoyance
on his nephew's account. He directed me to go out to the wreck and
report to him upon arrival. I had Forbush, the first trick man, called
and placed him in charge of the office during my absence. Incidentally,
I told Krantzer he had better be scarce when I sent the remains of those
crews in, because I fancied they were in a fit mood to kill him. When I
returned I found that he had gone. It appeared that Jim Bush went up
into the office, and although he had one arm broken, he was prepared to
beat the life out of that crazy young despatcher. Forbush saw him coming
and gave Krantzer a tip, and as Bush came in one door, Krantzer went out
the other.
The effects of this wreck were far beyond calculation to the company
because they lost the business they were striving to win, and the way
the general manager went for old man Antwerp was enough to make us all
grin with delight. It is needless to say I was allowed to place my own
men thereafter.