The Engineer Who Broke the Record
By John G. Woolley
I WENT forward with others to congratulate the engineer who had drawn our special train in a glorious burst of speed between two stations where the track was smooth and straight and firm. One enthusiastic passenger who was filled with enthusiasm (and other stimulants) passed up into the cab a pretty little flask covered with silver openwork, and said to the engineer, “Have a drink, old man, and keep the bottle as a souvenir.” The gift was laughingly but emphatically declined, and the giver as good naturedly asked why. “Well,” said the engineer reflectively, and without the faintest odor of preaching, “there are four reasons, and maybe more. In the first place, the company might fire me, for it is the theory of this company and every great railroad company in the United States that no man is fit to hold the throttle of an engine like this if he uses alcoholic drink in any quantity or form. In the second place, some of the passengers back in the coaches might object to me handling their train on a ticklish trip like this. In the third place, I am trying to make a good engineer out of my boy here who is firing for me, and his chances are better without brandy. In the fourth place, this train might go in the ditch, as trains sometimes do, and a brandy bottle in the cab of the engine would look bad to the coroner’s jury.” The liquor traffic multiplies the perils of the railway.—John G. Woolley.