RAILWAYS RUN BY WOMEN.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11402, 20 April 1899, Page 6

RAILWAYS RUN BY WOMEN.

It .will not be; long, apparently (says an. English contemporary), before we have railway's managed entirely by women. We ourselves' have not-got far as yet in this direction, but the woman " stationmaster " has. long been known in Great Britain, and, other 'countries are paving the way for the'lady guard, the lady ticket-collector, the lady ' inspector, and even the lady engine-driver;. - I The '-''utmost that has been done in this country in, the way of employing railway women has been ori the North British railway, where, on the Rothbmy loop line, most. of. the " statioiiinasters " are of the fair sex.' It is exceedingly funny to see a woman-presiding, over the affairs of a railj way station, especially as she is not com- , pelied to wear any uniform. Australia | has-gone a little farther than the mother I country. There areN no fewer than 200 "or 300 'station mistresses in the Antipodes, and the Queensland commissioners . have actually, appointed a few girl ticket-collec-tors as an experiment. j .;.;O»e hardly expects to find such an advance on .the Continent, but France has I many tliotiSiimls of railway women—2o,ooo at the very lowest.. On one French railway1 every ticket clerk is a woman, and ! they are even to be found in the signal, i boxes. Women are finding their way, too. into the booking offices of the Ger-1 man railways, and, startling to relate, Bussia has led: the way in an extraordinary j departure—the lady guard. The" signal woman has lone been familiar in the land of the Czar, with her short skirts and high boots, and . her' little red flag. But the Minister for Railways has so far forgotten himself as to extend woman's sphere in the' i railway world by appointing a special body of lady guards. The women are to have their special work, and are not to.bein absolute charge of the train, but they will wear uniform, and will be in charge of the carriages reserved for ladies only. , But the lady ■ guard, the lady ticketcqlleetpr,' and. the lady ■" stationmaster" are comparatively orthodox in America. Here a whole railway is managed by a woman.: Mrs Charles D. Haines, who'for several years past has superintended the Medina railway in Texas, is the first lady ever appointed manager of a railway, and it requires no wild stretch of imagination to believe that she has become " very (popular with the staff." America, has also its lady engine-driver, who rejoices in the pretty name of Miss Ida Hewitt. . . Miss Hewitt runs a locomotive, on the Cairo branch line in West Virginia—a narrow gauge connection of the Baltimore and Ohio lines. Her father is. wealthy, .'arid is one of the owners of the branch line, so that Miss Hewitt follows her singular occupation from choice rather than from necessity. She began by temporarily taking the place of a sick driver, and she managed the engine so well that on the driver dying she was duly appointed his successor. Miss Hewitt wears a uniform, and neat cap and gloves. Another American line—the Northern ] Pacific—has a lady medical superintendent, Mrs Pr Lieburg. Kail way women have good 'opportunities of qualifying for the line in America, as most of the car and omnibus companies appoint women as conductors. It will be a long while, no doubt, before we in this country have our lad} 7 guards and lady booking clerks, but there is one argument in its favour which the railway companies can hardly afford to lose : sight of—the innovation would tend decidedly to popularise the railways. — are excited by improper aeration of the blood, and are akin to the unconscious, tired sigh. Both are evidence of mental fatigue, and sometimes are symptoms of brain 'disease. — One of the most curious institutions connectfcd'with the navy is the office of "inspector of singing.'.'. In all' training ships the boys are instructed in singing by tutors. In each of the Hhips there is a tonic-sol-fa class, where the boys are taught to sing patriotic airs. This ' ability to sing stirring music has a very liven- i lag and inspiring influence upon the crews, '