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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (March 1, 1908)
1 l' ' I. : ' ' M 'I. v, w . . .'r . v is- fcjyi inwaA txt'V f t 1 'Wl-.II,, v.. -ir W i V Ore -50 r : r : : if-. AW ivsv 4 Have'3a rv l j Til Their Train CretfiM went over barf tor alcohol from Mil road men a data Is the fact that whan it"fcam to purchasing censes along the Northwestern lin -a numbnr saloonkeepers thla year Concluded that their bust)' would not bo sufficiently profltabl to engage longer. ?' A HEAD-ON collision has occurred be ynf tween the whisky bottle and the rail roads of the. country. Railroad men, casting critical glances over the thousands. miles of tracks, are unanimous in declaring that the roads are in very much better condition than they were be fore the collision happened. It's more than a mere figure of speech, this head-on collision. When the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad 'went dry" on New Year's Day, what is believed to have been the greatest swear-off in history took effect, 2$, ooo employes of that big jystem Incoming total abstainers. Then, a few weeks later, a smash-up of the bottle occurred on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Third Vice President Potter, head of the operating department, issued an order prohibiting all employes having anything to do with the direction or running of trains, from using intoxicants at any time, when on or off duty. Thousands of men on that im mense system were affected. All over the land railroads are frowning more and more upon the use of intoxicating liquors by their employes. A new chapter is being written in the histbry of the remarkable prohibition wave that is sweeping the Country. O km-- A ..f y :1i 1 .' 4 r 7 mt I s TO" it I f Only a few wreka elapied befora an oecurrenca lowed which waa as "startling as In Northwest movement. George L. Potter, tblird tJ? president the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, "promulgated 1 rule: .. ' ' :r"'-- Employes nf the Baltimore isd OhW iRallread h' anythln to do with tho direction or-running-., of trnl will not be pvrmlttad to ut lntoxlcama-at anr Hr herraftr Either on or off duty and no ;pron nii uh bevtraite will be employed. Vnd.0 oirvumstauG will esceptiwna a made. I , i v.fit j J. Y':,,' , And, when universal curiosity, Jmaiide4hU ,r sons for an order more drastic than' any avar appl to an organisation, he explained:, i:5"' t;1; !. "It la believed by the tnanagamen of ;tb toad tl this is an important step in the effort'to reduce ac denta to the minimum and to raise the efficiency of 1 servloa and the safety of patrons; In, travel to I highest standard." The order applies to dispatchers, trainmasters, e C26i tAlt -C)3:Jooji Aar Jisi6 o&f- if l ' i win I i ill l s L ;'i I i r IT 13 MERBXT, that the railroad appear to hava taken "a recent lead In Inalatlng upon either total abstinonca or the most temperata kind of living on tha part of all employee. In fact, their flght against alcohol goea back many years; bu now. with a victory, after repeated defeats, that is ai&wlng in its thoroughnaaa, thoy And tham aelvea indorsed by other enterprises and other classes ' of men to an extent amasing even to tha most ardent, opponents of tha drink habit. It seems aa though a wldt wava of abstinonca from liquor, Impelled by tha tremendous local agitations that have a wept counties and states for tha last year, la flooding the country, gathering up man of various call ings not only singJy, but In groups of thousands. And the callings are as diverse aa hava been tha tastea of humanity for Its forma of alooholio stimulation. So tha railroads are far from being alona in tha triumph of their collision with tha bottle Yat so com plete and imposing has been that victory that Its mag nitude makes it ovarsnaaow an ma oiners. nri , X. Jones, chairman of tha National rronioiuon yow ralttee, has put tha situation most tersely: "There are a million railroad man In tha United States under what amounts to a practical ruls of total abstinence. ; "Our statistics show that the following roads, other than those mentioned lrt recent news Hams, hava stringent rules against tha use of intoxloanta by em ployes, and all provide severs penalties: Duluth, South i Chore and Atlantlo, Grand Trunk, Central Vermont, Malna Central, Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo, Interna tional of Canada and others." For over a month preparations had bean made fof the great swear-off among tha Chicago and Northwest ern employes; all along tha lines tha pledge had' bean circulated. It la believed now that In time avary man employed, no matter In what capaolty, from and to and of tha 7000- miles of road, will become total ab stainer. , ' - In Omaha tha effect of the movement was pro nounced, and may, perhaps, be cited as . typical of tha changed conditions in other railroad canters affected, At least 1000 railroad men who reside there, or reach there on runs, are now among tha abstainers. OLD PLACE LOSES PRESTIOE " 'Jtoehrlg's iMace,' known for years by avary train man was rtt hloflvn. nl nfl.rtlniilB.rtv tA thnaii run ning In and out of Omaha, aa tha railroad man's re treat, is a thing of the past," says a dispatch from that city. "Famous for a generation as the 'catoJi-as-oatch-can' for the hungry brake twister and the grisslad en gineer and fireman, where they might get a whola meal and a glass of beer for a nickel, it baa lost Its prestige. - "Andy Roehrlg's famous hot soup and wienies and cold lunch, held out as an Inducement to the thirsty, have been upplauted by steaks, chops and 'ham and.' 'They have gone on the water wagon, every another's son of them ' he declared. 'There is only one thing left for me, and that is to serve them plenty of Missouri river water. I am going out of the saloon justness next month.' "Roehrlg's experience Is not unlike that of many Oiner bbiuuiihocjjoi wuu i. a bti cat nicMurv nave ae nnnded on the Dutronasre of railroad men In Omaha.' and In towns along the lines of railroads entering tha city. While this swear-off started with the trainmen on the Chicago and Northwestern, It "has spread in a most remarkable manner to other. trainmen In Omaha until, as Roehrig puts it, 'they ara all on the-water railroad men have considered It an Indication of mental and physical weakness to admit that a temperance pledge was a requisite to total abstinence, "In the case of. the Chicago and Northwestern men,, it is not doubted that the world-wide reform spirit' actuated them to a great degree In their swearing off; perhaps a bigger factor was an ultimatum from the officials of the road that with tha annual reduction of forces temperate men would be retained In preference to those known to Indulge their appetite far intoxicat Ing beverages.'' . ' That this reformation was in a great measure due Jo. the. Influence of Frank Walters, general manager of the Northwestern Hoes, there can be little doubt. Speaking of the swear-off, tha general manager said: SAFE AND SANE "We are trying to operate a railroad safely and sanely, that's all. I waa In Washington, January 1, and read the news of the 'swsar-off first in an eastern paper. Of course, I was pleased, but I, must admit that I had nothing to do with the circulation of pledgee, and I presume 11 was simply a unanimous decision to join the increasing, throng of teetotalers. "Our line, like others, reduces forces stout Jan uary 1, when business Is slack. We always give pref erence to non-drinkers, other things being eijual. Just at this time men with Jobs are doing their beat to hold them. I hope the action of our men will enable tha soad to boast of an army of employes In tha train service who are total abstainers." Operation of great railway systems has kept abreast of the times, and comparatively young men. educated to modern methods and familiar with tha requirements of the vltlcal traveling publls, have re placed many officials of the old school who heeded only matters which had to do with the paying of divi dends. Anxious to bring the service up to tha highest standard of efficiency, these younger officials have realised that Inebriates in the train servloa formed the worst menace not only to the safety of the trav eling public, but to econorclce In freight traffic as well. 1 The Chicago and Northwestern Issued periodical bulletins threatening employes found Indulging In in toxicating liquors. These bulletins became nor and more drastlo, until summary discharge was threat ened for -any employ caught entering or loafing around a saloon er known to keep intoxicants la his home. Toward the close of the year the officials gavs out the announcement that, with the annual reduction of the force, temperate mn would be retained In prefer ence to those known aa indulgent of their appetite for Intoxicating beverages. A reduction of the force occurs annually, and tha announcement of the company'a preference for" sober men has long been a regular feature of the year's close. But this year men with employment have felt a peculiar unwillingness to run the risk of losing It Just then- the Omaha Y. M. C. A. made a fervent campaign for new members th4 local manifestation of the remarkable work which the association has been doing for the Improvement of the morale of rail way employes of all classes. It was a sign of the times that the new membership secured numbered between (00 and 100 men. It was then that John Btubsn, yard foreman, thought of an effective method of keeping together, asfe from discharge, the crew of men he was accus tomed to work with and liked to well to see any member suffer in a wage out - "Boys," ho told them, "let's all swear off-a gen uine, all-wool, yard-wide swear-off that will put every one of us in the strJot T. A. B. elass and, I hope, keep very one of us on ths payroll." 1' He had no need to argue or persuade. They saw It so quickly that It was all over axeept the awearlng. When they happened to mention their good resolu tion to other trainmen, th, enthusiasm for temper ance amounted almost to a mania, 'Everybody swore Off. The Chicago and Northweatarn example set going the men of other roads, until Anally th modest John fituben movement grew Into tha greatest New Tear resolution on record. A COMMERCIAL ASPECT There ! a. commercial aspect to the phenomenon that Is singularly enlightening whan Ha bearings upon tha railroad liquor trad at considered in their na-tlon-wld ramifications and IN tha light of the state ment of Chairman Jonas, of th prohibition commit tee: "Those 1000 men who hav quit spending their money In QmsJha saloons -are conservatively esti mated to hive spsnt $1000 a day for liquors. With . the railroad man, every day Is work day, and the total In a year, for Omaha alona, amounts to $365,000 saved by the men for food, clothing and bank accounts. "Equally significant of the amount of cash that4 gineers, firemen, brakemen, conductors, yardmen am all employes having anything whatever to do with thi handling of trains. With resolutions and Iron-clad prohibition ringing the country East and West, and with stretcirts of Sa hara waste at which the traditional camel would eh In the South, there has been needed only som systen by which every man on every Job on every railroad should be made amenable to rules of employment an discharge so rigorous that the Intemperate, habltua' or spasmodic would be debarred from a foothold. It would appear that financial Institutions are soon to follow the examples set on these railroads, ' Th 'Fifth Avenue NltrenirBgnwrf-Ntwxkljas issue.; thla list of prohibitions to Its employes: Ten must not drink any Intoxicants with meals la public rectaursnts. ' You must not enter any saloon. - " -rrrm- Tou must not enter any gambling house), - - , Tou raut not enter any poolroom. , You mint not visit any race track. . ' You must not enter any bucket-shop. , , Tou must not speculate. ..." . ,. ' ' You muat not attend prise flghte. ' " : You must not hav vicious companions. . You muat not frequent Broadway resorts of baown conspicuous where the great white Ushta blase. Nor is indulgence regarded In the samp leni?nt light as formerly In other vocations. Th actor who, while on duty, 1 observed to hav passed the sharp line of complete sobriety Is ruthlessly dropped froi the cast by the great majority of American managers. Even a "star," with a goodly portion of his "manager's capital dependent upon his completion of an engaR' ment, may not offend often and those . who run air. risk of overindulgence in liquor are as few nowadays aa locomotive engineers- who drink. , , Smml CMkJreD'Wfeo Have 5mei mm fSs? " h ::'"" ......... . ... y a sj s$ 111 1 : . . - - im MMA LAWRENCE 1" "Yen'in." nil i i . i an j "now mucn ior ia$ Daak tan wefck i "Five cents." . f "Why, Emma! Thpt makes your bank ac count $5. You will get interest on your savings from today on." In more than a thousand Bchoolhouses, in more than a hundred cities, in more than a score of states, dialogues of this kind go on every Mon day morning" between the teachers and nearly 200,080 scholars who are tt thrifty owners of, ac counts in the School Savings Banks, amounting to nearly a million dollars. Within ft generation, children hy the hundreds pf thousands have been launched from tho public schools into the world of hard reality with the priceless habit of regular saving instilled into their minds. And an old gentleman a very kindly old gentleman who is still Jiving and laboring for the advancement of this simple and wonderfully efficient training of American youth in the prin ciples of economy, if responsible for it 'all. r - ( , ' v , ' fi 4 If i V V" til II bt .:: ;k' .;usw. -.saw si flMs, nxW5 iwr J I H wagon.' - . f "John Studen, yard foreman for the Chicago arid Northwestern, is given credit for having originated the abstinence movement. Whether or not thla is true, it Is certain that, once the movement waa started, Its J growth .was spontaneous, and many thousands of dol ars which, up to January 1 , were being spent in aa loons are nfl w going into other channels of trade. -;fo railroad has ever operated without an iron-clad rule against the use of Intoxicating liquors, but many IS name Is J. II. Thlry, and his borne is In Lonsr Island City, Ivnk .Island, where, twenty-two years ago on March 16, 1885 be succeeded In establishing m the city schools the first School Savings Bank in the United States.. It is the most interesting development; of th aa. Ings bank idea since, In the 0rst grappiQ with th in cubus, of poverty that weighed down, upon England and the Continent, Mrs. Priscilla Wakefield of Totten ham High Cross, in Middlesex, inaugurated. In 1801 her epochal "Friendly Society for the Benefit of Worn en and Children." - Mr....; Thlry, who la verging 0f . upoq fourscore t - - . years and ten. Is the father of a brand new baby whom he hopes to live to see a depositor in on of th banks h-founded in Long Island City's schools long after he waa old enough t hava been a grandfather. If any man ever deserved Such a reward It is Mr. Thlry. He was some 5 years old when his unselfish efforts, to accomplish something fof his country in a manner that should hav permanent value after he should pass away, came to their first, modest fruition. , Th child's weekly deposit may be on cent; It may. Jfrfary, fbzsrrder cffieJcftoo? be ten whatever sum has been saved during the week. When th pupil's savings amount to tl, a bank book is given. Except in cases of sickness or of removal from th city, deposits cannot be withdrawn until tho amount reaches $ J, and then only on the second Monday oj every month. Deposits of $S or more bear regular In terest. ' , , ' 1 - Withdrawal of money from an. account can b ef fected when It Is indorsed by the presence of the child's father or mother, and the signature of the school prin cipal.; DuriDg the summer vacation, th cashier of th funding bank la empowered to receive or pay moneys In. accordance with the rules, 'requiring identification wher th .cbUd depositor Is not personally known to him, precisely aa he does with tit "grown-ups.". - First enthusiasms ' have waned at times, and, fre quently where success was most signal, th rivalries of local banks have brought about the discontinuance c" th system In a whole city. But the report compiled by Mr. Thlry when th sy tern was twenty-twoyears old in HOT ahowed .thi puplls of 1098 schools in 113 cities in twenty-two Stat : have saved a total since the introduction of the sys tem of 83.486,514.48. of which 84,75,87.2 . has been withdrawn, leaving a balance of 8S09.817.8I owned by 177.972 little depositors. t t , " These have succeeded to the lesson of. economy taught the long processions of children now developing Into prudent men and women. The high proportion of depositors is apparent when their number. 77,979, it compared with the total number of children in attend ance at the 1098 schools-500.7f7. ' All parts of the North share in the benefit, and tit idea seems to hava apread nearly stralghtly westwai with some moderate expansion on the sides of tin movement. In Long Island City, where it was begun, .then were 3200 depositors when Mr. Thlry compiled h'.f figures, with 837,312.80 to their credit. ARRESTING POVERTY" At Le Koy, in Minnesota, thirty out of the 150 pup I' in a school that opened its bank in 1907 started with fund of 862. The 265 stations of th New York fun.-, founded in 1888, with 61,114 children out of 150,000 ir -gaged in saving, trad 8110,980.05 in their books, with history of 83,003,262.28 of total deposits, and 232,2i.J .: withdrawn. & These are crude, although not meaningless, flgur Their best Interpretation can com only from the in.,u whose disinterested patriotism has made them the Im posing realities they are, So here la Mr. TMrys t lightening comment:. . .':" jav.. .. "The rspldlty with which extreme poverty tnu! piles it victims Is one of th startling fact in aoiencej The publlo srhoola, acting upon every ri must ii-th great publle agency for h arrest et t evil. If every child could be trained tJ sve as w as give tha knowledge and habits which assure I earning power, much would be done toward, suvm the very poor front temptation and suffering. , "School Savings Banks hav already yielded ! lent results and, at tha earn time, have lifipiu cheok and prevent pauperism, crime, prodlgtiiity o various vices, and lead children to th roaa of th. and frugality.;;., -, --vw .."The united effect of th pracMfal lesr,n of f' r. and economy ta srtlear ing out of th intntut . cues which open upon the moral faculties. ; ''By th ennobling power of trutu revpull f i i dren and by good surroundings, some uplif t i t J heir thoughts and purposes toward that if-.f i nduatry and rational enjoyment whicti n;ik. a i lives It , a satisfaction t himself iJ Li oclty." . . 4
