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To wear a uniform is the sole ambition of many young men. There are two uniformed men on electric trolley cars. One is the conductor; the other, the motorman. In olden times, there were no conductors or motormen as separate individuals; both were one and the same, in the person of the driver. The time was when there was no electricity, and the old familiar "bobtailed" horse car wobbled along the public streets at an uncertain pace. To-day the modern trolley car bowls along our thoroughfares, and the ancient horse car has been relegated to the "boneyard," or cut up for scrap iron and kindling wood. In cities like Chicago, the working hours of motormen are long and tedious. They are compelled to get out very early in the morning, and are frequently obliged to work "split" runs, which have a tendency to deprive them of their natural amount of rest. This, of course, applies to the large cities, where the men are at their posts, on an average, ten hours each day. In order to give the reader an idea. of what the duties of a conductor and motorman are, we shall attempt only an outline; brief it must necessarily be, but sufficiently comprehensive to enable the casual reader to understand their daily routine. To secure the position of conductor, the applicant first visits the office of the street car company, where he fills out an application blank. This done, the applicant is placed on the "extra" list. In the meantime, if his references have been found satisfactory, the "caller" is notified, and very soon the applicant is told to report for duty. When he puts in an appearance at the barns, he is placed in charge of a car and for several days makes trips under the direction of, or with, a "pilot." The duty of the pilot is to instruct the new conductor how to collect and ring up fares, issue transfers, and learn the various streets on which the line runs. When the pilot is satisfied that the new man understands the work he is expected to do, he so reports to the superintendent and is relieved from further duty with the new conductor, who then makes his first trip alone. The salary of electric car conductors ranges from 19 to 28 cents per hour. This scale only applies to cities where their organization is perfect, and where the men stand together. The conductor must have $50 in cash to deposit before he makes his first trip. This is remitted when he leaves the service of the company. The life of a conductor is anything but a pleasant one, as he is compelled to take considerable abuse which is heaped upon him by a class of passengers who are constantly on the alert to quarrel. Conductors do not, as a rule, remain more than four or six years with a street car company. They become dissatisfied and resign. The motorman, who is so often held responsible for accidents, has even a harder row to hoe than the conductor, for it is his duty to keep his car running on time, and in order to do so he often loses his temper on account of drivers of heavy truck wagons, who insist on holding the right of way, despite the fact that the motorman has signaled several times with the gong. The motorman must ever be on the alert to prevent accidents. The car may be moving along at a moderate rate of speed, when, without warning, a man runs directly across the track, and if the motorman does not act quickly, the man may be injured or killed. Again, a reckless driver of some vehicle may attempt to cut off the car, which sometimes results in a collision, and is the cause of heavy damages suits against the company. Nervous, excitable men do not make good motormen. A steady man, with nerves that can withstand sudden and unexpected shocks, is the one who lasts longest this capacity. In order to become competent for the position, one must generally serve an apprenticeship in the shops. Even in that case, a pilot is sent along for several days, as in the case of the new conductor. The wages of motormen at present are from 24 to 29 cents per hour. The work is hard, and therefore competent motormen are almost always in demand. A DAY IN THE FIELD WITH WOMEN WORKERS Four hundred and fifty thousand women toil in the fields of this country. This large number of women laborers is distributed over the United States, but the majority are to be found in the East. In the vicinity of Jamaica, Long Island, the women in the fields are so numerous as to remind one of Austria or Italy. Everywhere in the East are to be seen the browneyed women, busily working out in the sun, in the level fields. At evening time, when the sun has sunk behind the trees of Woodhaven, the tourist may see before him many a scene suggested by Millet's "Angelus." the women with the hoe being much in evidence. Long Island's women farm hands are mainly Poles, from Russian Poland. They work for American, Irish and German truck farmers, who hire them by the day. In harvest time, when a farmer needs women laborers, he lays in a stock of $1 bills, and passes the word to one of his men. The man stops the first Pole he meets, and points to a field. Few Poles speak English, but the sign is enough. The man's work is done. Next morning, at the farm gate, 50 women may be waiting. Women are employed for planting onions, for harvesting crops that are picked by hand, such as green peas, string beans, lima beans and tomatoes; for bunching rhubarb and for weeding tender crops, like onions and young carrots, that cannot stand a cultivator. In planting time, and in June and September, when the first and second crops of peas are gathered, the outflocking of women is sudden. One may see as many as 50 at work in a plot of a few acres, where, the day before, there was not one. In June, when green peas must be rushed to market, and every day's delay means monetary loss, the larger farmers need all the help they can get, and so even women with babies are set picking. Up and down the fields, between long, straight, green rows of vines, stand baby carriages, covered with mosquito netting. While the mothers work, the babies sleep or take in the sunshine. As soon as children are old enough to pull a pod they, too, are called into service, and at noon, when work stops, and the luncheon of rye bread, cheese and onions is eaten, the scene is festive. Groups gather by families under trees or shelters thatched with green bows. Sometimes, among Italians or French laborers, there is singing. The wages received by women farm hands are better than might be supposed. For filling a two-bushel bag of peas a picker gets 25 cents; for beans, half as much. At these rates a good hand earns $1.50 per day. One reason for comparatively high earnings is curious. The old two-busheled bag has gradually shrunk in size, until now it holds only a bushel and a half. The farmers have tried to substitute the bushel as the unit of measure, but the women object, and the bag measure is still customary. A DAY AT THE THROTTLE WITH THE ENGINEER |