Page:Hine (1912) Letters from an old railway official.djvu/177

 that the hobby is a real horse. Then it is the turn of the horse to laugh.

Whenever I see an announcement that a division has adopted the telephone for train dispatching, I always feel that there should be an accompanying apology for being several years behind the times. For years progressive young railway men advocated the telephone only to be assured by old-time dispatcher officials of the unwisdom of such a course. Time and practical tests have shown that not only is the telephone practicable for dispatching, but it actually makes operation safer because of the increased human touch. Whenever and wherever we can replace a specialist with an all ’round man we are gaining.

The first train dispatching is said to have been done by Charles Minot when a superintendent on the Erie in the early fifties. So seriously was the matter taken that only the superintendent himself could issue a train order, even though this involved calling him out of bed. Hence the foolish feudal custom of signing the superintendent’s initials to all train orders. It soon developed that a regular dispatcher was necessary. Accordingly, a