Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 90.djvu/293

 Could You Pass This Examination?

It is the one given by a street railway company to applicants for the positions of motormen and conductors. It is harder than it seems at a casual glance

��APPLICANTS for posi- tions on the Dallas ' street railways are sci- entifically selected. The pur- pose is to secure the quick- est thinkers and those most capable of obeying orders. According to P. W. Ger- hardt, superintendent of transportation, the question of accident prevention rests with the man on the car. Fool-proof equipment, safety first campaigns, lectures, con- tests and prizes all do their part toward the reduction of accidents, but, according to Mr. Gerhardt, it is the man behind the controller that really counts.

Prospective employees are given three tests, respective- ly, attention test, obser\-a- tion test and judgment test. In the accompanying illus- tration the printed question blank used in the attention test is shown. Qliestions one and two are in the way of catch questions and require the closest attention of the applicant. Questions three, four, five and six are arith- metical questions. The ap- plicant is timed with a stop watch to determine how long he takes to answer the questions, and the number of omissions and errors are counted. The test is given but once, as its effectiveness depends wholly upon its novelty. The object is to determine the applicant's ability to receive instructions, and to do as he is told to do. '

But long before the applicant comes to the attention test he is put through other tests he does not know about. Says Mr. Gerhardt:

"All applicants are eliminated who are in any wise crippled, or deformed, or who are repulsive in appearance, dirty or sloven- ly in their dress, or who show signs of ex- cessive use of tobacco or liquor. We cannot afford to place on our cars any man whose

��ATTENTION TEST

��GE>ER.\L DmECTIONS:

Do what the printeii instmctions teD yon to do.

Do not ask the examiner any questions about the exanination.

Do not ask any other person who is taking the examinatioa any qaestjor or watch any one to see what he does.

Work as rapidly as yon can WITHOUT MAKING ANY MISTAKES.

1, Write your name and permanent address here.

��2. Do what it says to do as quickly as yoo can. but be careful to notice just what it does say. With your pencil make a dot over any one of these letters. F G H I J. and a cross after the longest of

these three words: BOY, MOTHER, GIRL, Then, if Christmas comes in March, make a cross right here but if not. pass along to the next qaestion and tell where the sun rises If you believe Edison dis- covered America, cross out what you just wrote, but if it was some one els«, put in a number to complete

this sentence: ".\ Horse has feet," Write YES, no matter whether China is in .\frica or not and

then give a wrong answer to this question: "How many days are there in a week? Write any letter ex- cept C in this space and then write NO if 2 times 5 are 10. . . Now, if Tuesday comes after Monday,

make two crosses here ; but if not, make a circle here or else a square here Be sure to make

three crosses between these two names of boys: George Henry. Notice these two onBben.8.S.

if iron is heavier than water, write the larger number here But if iron is lighter, write the smaller

here Show by a cross when the nights are k>nger: In summer? in winter? Give the correct

answer to this question: "Does water run uphill? and repeat your answer here Do nothing

here (5 plus 7 equals. unless you skipped the last question; but write the first letter of your first

name and last letter of your last name at the ends of this line

3. Add the following as indicated:

��63429 34321 76005 19587 19358 19008

�57333

58888

�63491 66647

�78»45 10002

�10001

�27345 15493

�4. Subtract the foUowins as indicated:

� � � � � �98563 56321 98765 83647 10057 56789

�76543 56539

�79989 78890

�80001 71000

�90990 10009

�7659S 35873

�5. Multiply the following as indicated: 38764 78692 95976 5 3 17

�53002 5

�41999

8

�59117

�41009

4

�35873 6

��Set down and add the following:

Five hundred and fifty. three dollars and five cents.

One hundred and ninety-nine dollars and four cents.

Two thousand and three dollars.

Two thousand seven hundred and forty dollars and ninety-one cents.

��Teat blank used in determining the eligibility of an applicant, and his ability to do exactly as he is told without hesitancy

personal appearance may be repulsive to our passengers, nor can we afford to risk hiring a man who is a slave of the cigarette, or who needs the stimulus of alcohol to carry him through the ordeal of making application for employment.

"We further eliminate all applicants under twenty-one years of age or over forty years. The work on the street car is a man's job, and cannot be intrusted to a boy, nor can we hope to secure the best results from a man who has lost his spring of youth and is passing into the summer of middle age."

Many scientific appraisers of employees lay great stress on the applicant's walk. Much can be inferred from it, they say, as to habits of thought and conduct.

��277

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