a week such as few men ever made. He was just beginning
to realise that circumstances are not always in our control. We are
all obliged to wait for time to do some things. We cannot redeem seven
years of selfishness with seven days of self-denial. The death of
Scoville revealed to Mr. Hardy his powerlessness in the face of certain
possibilities. He now feared that the superintendent would fail to
return in time to let him confess to him his just sorrow for his lack
of service in the school. He sat down to his desk and under that
impulse wrote a letter that expressed in part how he felt. Then he
jotted down the following items to be referred to the proper
authorities of the road:
_Item_ 1. The dust in the blacksmith shop and in the brass-polishing
rooms is largely unnecessary. The new Englefield revolving rolling
fans and elevator ought to be introduced in both departments. The cost
would be but a small item to the road, and would prolong the life and
add to the comfort of the employes. Very important.
_Item_ 2. Organised and intelligent effort should be made by all
railroad corporations to lessen Sunday work in shops and on the road.
All perishable freight should be so handled as to call for the services
of as few men on Sunday as possible, and excursion and passenger trains
should be discontinued, except in cases of unavoidable necessity.
_Item_ 3. The inspection of boilers, retorts, castings, machinery of
all kinds should be made by thoroughly competent and responsible men
who shall answer for all unnecessary accidents by swift and severe
punishment in case of loss of life or limb.
_Item_ 4. In case of injury or death to employes, if incurred through
the neglect of the company to provide safety, it should provide
financial relief for the families thus injured, or stricken by death,
and, so far as possible, arrange for their future.
_Item_ 5. Any well-organized railroad could, with profit to its
employes, have upon its staff of salaried men a corps of chaplains or
preachers, whose business it would be to look after the religious
interests of the employes.
Under this last item Mr. Hardy wrote in a footnote: "Discuss
feasibility of this with Mr. B----, influential director."
It was now three o'clock. The short winter day was fast drawing to a
close. The hum of the great engine in the machine shop was growing
very wearisome to the manager. He felt sick of its throbbing tremor
and longed
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