I
may add, however, that I don't care to make any such trip again myself.
We went back on a mail train that night, that was run by a non-union
engineer, and in a day or two the strike was declared off, the men
returned to work, and peace once more reigned supreme. Daniels got his
"old girl" in as good shape as ever, and once when he was up in my
office he told me he had hoped that old 341 would get on the rampage
that day I took her out and "kick the stuffin'" out of that train and
every one on it. Poor old Daniels, he stuck to his "old girl" to the
last, but one day he struck a washout, and as a result received a "right
of track order," on the road that leads to the paradise of all
railroaders.
CHAPTER XVII
CHIEF DESPATCHER--AN INSPECTION TOUR--BIG RIVER WRECK
I had always supposed that the higher up you ascended in any business,
the easier would be your position and the happier your lot. What a
fallacy, especially in the railroad service, where your
responsibilities, work, care, and worries increase in direct proportion
as you rise! The operator's responsibility is limited to the correct
reception, transmission, delivery and repetition of his orders and
messages; the despatcher's to the correct conception of the orders and
their transmission at the proper time to the right train; but the chief
despatcher's responsibilities combine not only these but many more.
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