214 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



more, and have a greater number of able 

 men than all other industries, including 

 the profession of law, as to enforced mo- 

 rality. All employees are required to ab- 

 stain from the curse of drunkenness, in- 

 cluding moderate drinking. 



As to favoritism and passes for friends, 

 it is one of many ways of showing grati- 

 tude to friends, and we are frank to con- 

 fess we like the plan. For several years 

 we never were refused a favor asked along 

 this line; during the past ten years we 

 have traveled many thousand miles and 

 paid full fare for every mile, not asking 

 favors in an instance, hence this is not 

 offered as recompense for pist favors, nor 

 are we to any extent mixed in politics or 

 railroad ''favoritism," but only that jus- 

 tice may be meeted where so justly due. 

 And if it be true that hundreds of averi- 

 cious minds have extorted millions unjustly 

 from the masses, it is equally true that 

 hundreds? of thousands of better inclined 

 men have come up from a job at $1.25 a 

 day on the section to $3.000 or $10.000 a 

 year with comfortable homes arid happy 

 families; and the way is open to any sober, 

 industrious young man to "go up" just as 

 fast as he is worthy of promotion; and for 

 every politician that rides on a free pass 

 may you all worthy philanthropists, 

 preachers, lecturers and reformers be fa- 

 vored as well as the poor and afflicted. 



Stand up for the railroads. 



LIVELY RACE IS WON. 



Because Her Majesty, the Queen of 

 England, had urgent need of divers im- 

 portant documents of state contained in 

 256 sacks of mail from far-away New Zeal- 

 and, seventeen men emptied a loaded ex- 

 press car in seventeen minutes t the 

 Grand Central statitin to-day, and then 

 skilled drivers drove three teams headlong 

 through the city streets to catch the steam- 

 ship Campania, scheduled to sail for Liver- 

 pool at 11 o'clock 



The fast special mail that brings letters 

 and packages from the uttermost parts of 

 the Occident to N*w York and the rest of 

 the effete East was ten minutes late, and 

 that meant a record-breaking trip to the 

 big Cunarder lying at pier 51, North River. 



Uncle Sam's dash through the city was 

 successful, for the mail caught the steam- 

 ship just before the lines were cast off, 

 and Queen Victoria's prime minister will 

 get his letters in good time. 



The race against time began in SanFran- 

 cisco the day before Christmas, when the 

 256 sacks of mail, 15 of which were from 

 New Zealand, the rest coming from Aus- 

 trailia, arrived at the Golden Gate. The 

 mail steamship left Melbourne on Nov. 30, 

 touched at Sydney on Dec. 1, Auckland 

 five days later and Honolulu on Dec. 17. 



Long before its arrival word was carried 

 about that the mail contained documents 

 from the New Zealand government that 

 should reach London by Jan. 5. It was 

 a long race across an ocean and a conti- 

 nent, and Uncle Sana's officials determined 

 to do their best to rush the mails through. 



Messages were flashed across the coun- 

 try, and the steamship line, working in 

 connection with Superintendent Maze of 

 the foreign mail service, arranged for the 

 delivery of the bags aboard the Campania. 

 A tug was made ready to carry the mail 

 from the foot of Fortieth street if neces- 

 sary, but it was rushed aboard the train 

 that was to speed it east. Across the 

 plains and mountains it flew in a special 

 express car, which was piled to the roof 

 with the heavily laden sacks. 



Across the Mississippi and into Chicago 

 the train flew, and then the car was shift- 

 ed to another train that carried it through 

 Cleveland to Buffalo and thence to Al- 

 bany. The special mail o?er the New 

 York Central whirled it down from Albany 

 to New York without a stop. 



At the Grand Central annex stood a 

 force of men under Chief Mail Clerk Ed- 

 ward Herr waiting for the bags. Station 



