ie oN the universality of the great flood Was question that the entire globe was suh- ist merged. i HEAD-ON collision has occurred be- tween the whisky bottle and the rail- roads of the country. Railroad men, casting critical glances over the thousands of saltes of tracks, are unanimous in declaring that the roads are in very much better condition than they were be- fore the collision happened. It's more than a mere figure of speech, 'this head-on collision. When the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad "went dry' on New Year's Day, what is believed to have been the greatest swear-off in history took effect, 25,- 000 employes of that big system becoming total abstainers. Then, a few weeks later, a smash-up of the bottle occurred on the Baltimore and Ohio 'Railroad. Third Vice President Potter, head of the operating department, issued an order prohibiting all employes having anything to do with the direction or running of trains from. using intoxicants at any time, when on or off duty. Thousands of men on that im- mense system were affected. ; Alli over the land railroads are frowning more and more upon the use of intoxicating Yiquors by their employes. A new chapter ts being written in the history of the remarkable prohibition wave that is sweeping the country. the part of all employes. In fact, their fight against alcohol goes back many years; but now, with a victory, after repeated defeats, that is amazing in its thoroughness, they find them- gelves indorsed by other enterprises and other classes of men to an extent amazing even to the most ardent 'opponents of the drink habit. It seems as though a wide wave of abstinence from Mquor, impelled by the tremendous local agitations that have swept counties and states for the last year, is flooding the country, gathering up men of various call- ings not only singly, but in groups of thousands. And the callings are as diverse as have been the tastes of 'humanity for its forms of alcoholic stimulation. So the railroads are far from being alone in the triumph of their collision with the pottle. Yet so com- plete and imposing has been that victory that its mag- nitude makes {t overshadow all the others. Charles R. Jones, chairman of the National Prohibition Com- mittee, has put the situation most tersely: "There are a million railroad men in the United @tates under what amounts to a practical rule of total abstinence. "Our statistics show that the following roads, other than those mentioned in recent news items, have stringent rules against the use of intoxicants by em- ployes, and all provide severe penalties: Duluth, South hore and Atlantic, Grand Trunk, Central Vermont, Maine Central, Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo, Interna~- tional of Canada and others." Yor over a month preparations had been made for the great swear-off among the Chicago and Northwest- ern employes; all along the lines the pledge had been circulated, It is belleved now that in time every man employed, no matter in what capacity, fromyend to end of the 7000 miles of' road, will become a total ab- atainer, In Omaha the effect. of the movement was pro- nounced, and may, perhaps, be cited as typical of the changed conditions in other railroad centers affected. 'At least 2000 railroad men who reside there, or reach there on runs, are now among the abstainers. : OLD PLACE LOSES PRESTIGE " Roehrig's Place,' known for years by every train- man west of Chicago, and particularly to those run- ning in and out of Omaha, as the railroad man's re- treat, is a thing of the past," says a dispatch from that «ity. "Famous for a generation as the 'catch-as-catch- ean' for the hungry brake twister and the grizzled en- gineer and fireman, where they might get a whole meal and a glass of beer for a nickel, it has lost its prestige. "Andy Roehrig's famous hot soup and wienies and cold lunch, held out as an inducement to the thirsty, have been supplanted by steaks, chops and 'ham and. 'They have gone on the water wagon, every mother's son of them, he declared. 'There is only one thing left for me, and that is to serve them plenty of Miseourl river water. I am going out of the saloon business next month.' "Roehrig's experience is not unlike that of many other ectoonkeepers who in a great moasure have de- pended on the patronage of railroad men in Omaha, and in towns along the lines of railroads entering the city. While this swear-off started with the trainmen om the Chicago and Northwestern, it has 'spread In a most remarkable manner to other trainmen in Omaha until, as Rochrig puts it, 'they are all on the water wagon.' "John Studen, yard foreman for the Chicago and Northwestern, 1% given credit for having or!ginated the abstinence movement, Whether or not this ts true, it js certain that, once the movement was started 'tts growth was spontaneous, and many thousands of dol- Jars which, up to January 1, Were being spent in sa- joons are now going into other channels of trade. No railroad has ever operated without an fron-clad rule against the use of intoxicating liquors, but many T IS MERELY that the railroads appear to have taken a recent lead in insisting upon either total abstinence or the most temperate kind of living on Jipere SEY BOY 5 Ee are NMeedel ear eens CAE AEen€ coe PLIES CCE SE I" 642 weer "Gf railroad men have considered it an indication of mental and. physical weakness to admit that a temperance pledge was a requisite to total abstinence. "In the case of the Chicago and Northwestern men, {t is not doubted that the world-wide reform spirit actuated them to a great degree in their swearing off; perhaps a bigger factor was an ultimatum from the officials of the road that with the annual reduction of forces temperate men would be retained in preference to those known to indulge their appetite for intoxicat- ing beverages."' That this reformation was in a great measure due to the influence of Frank Walters, general manager of the Northwestern lines, there can be little doubt. Speaking of the swear-off, the general manager said: SAFE AND SANE "We are trying to operate a railroad safely and sanely, that's all. I was in Washington, January 1, and read the news of the 'swear-off' first in an eastern paper. Of course, I was pleased, but I must admit that I had nothing to do with the circulation of pledges, and I presume it was simply a unanimous decision to join the increasing throng of teetotalers. "Our line, like others, reduces forces about Jan- uary 1, when business is slack. We always give pref- erence to non-drinkers, other things being equal. Just at this time men with jobs are doing their best to hold them. I hope the action of our men will enable the road to boast of an army of employes in the train service who are total abstainers." Operation of great railway systems has kept abreast of the times, and comparatively young men, educated to modern methods and familiar with the requirements of the critical traveling public, have re- placed many officials of the old school who heeded only matters which had to do with the paying of divi- dends. Anxious to bring the service up to the highest standard of efficiency, these, younger officials have realized that inebriates in the train service formed the worst menace not only to the safety of the trav- eling public, but to economics in freight traffic as well. The Chicago and Northwestern issued periodical bulletins threatening employes found indulging in in- toxicating liquors. These bulletins became more and more drastic, until summary discharge was threat- ened for any employe caught entering or loafing around a saloon or known to keep intoxicants in his home, Toward the close of the year the officials gave out the announcement that, with the annual reduction of the force, temperate men would be retained in prefer- ence to those known as indulgent of their appetite for intoxicating beverages. A reduction of the force occurs annually, and the announcement of the company's preference for sober men has long been a regular feature of the year's close. But this year men with employment have felt a@ peculiar unwillingness to run the risk of losing it. Just then the Omaha Y. M. C. A. made a fervent campaign for new members--the. local manifestation of the remarkable work which the association has been doing for the improvement of the morale of rail- way employes of all classes. It was a sign of the times that the new membership secured numbered between 800 and 900 men, went over bars for alcohol from railroad men as & class is the fact that when it came to purchasing ii- censes along the Northwestern line a number of saloonkeepers this year concluded that their business would not be sufficiently profitable to engage in longer." : Only a few weeks elapsed before an occurrence fol- lowed which was as startling as the Northwestern movement, George L. Potter, third vice president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, promulgated this rule: i Employes of the Baltimore pt pons to do with the direc Ww 1 not b to us into hereafter--either on or off duty--an ployed. Under such wipes a will be e will exceptions be made. And, when universal curlosity demanded his rea- sons for an order more drastic than any ever applied to an organization, he explained: "Tt is believed by the management of the road that this is an important stepin the effert to reduce acci- dents to the minimum and to raise the efficiency of the service and the safety of patrons in travel to the highest standard." The order applies to dispatchers, trainmasters, en« nd Ohio Railroad having jen or Sree of trains canta at any time no persons using no circumstances aie WR SS baits aa It was then that John Stuben, yard foreman, thought of an effective method of keeping together, safe from discharge, the crew of men he was accus~- tomed to work with and liked too well to see any member suffer in a wage cut. "Boys," he told them, "let's all swear off--a gen- uine, all-wool, yard-wide swear-off that will put every one of us in the strict T. A. B. class and, I hope, keep every one of us on the payroll." Hie had no need to argue or persuade. They saw it so quickly that it was all over except the swearing. When they happened to mention their good resolu- tion to other trainmen, the enthusiasm for temper- ance amounted almost to a mania. Everybody swore off. The Chicago and Northwestern example set going the men of other roads, until finally the modest John Stuben movemént grew into the greatest New Year resolution on record. A COMMERCIAL ASPECT There is a commercial aspect to the phenomenon that is singularly enlightening when its bearings upen the railroad liquor trade are considered in their na- tion-wide ramifications and in the light of the state- ment of Chairman Jones, of the prohibition commit- tee: "Those 2000 men who have quit spending their money in Omaha saloons are conservatively esti- mated to have spent $1000 a day for liquors. With the railroad man, every day is work day, and the total in a year, for Omaha alone, amounts to $365,000 saved by the men for food, clothing and bank accounts. "Equally significant of the amount of cash that , ed ew Che Near le wes ye Tak. Degeia be Grezé. , <DWwEerr LL gineers, firemen, brakemen, conductors, yardmen and all employes having anything whatever to do with the handling of trains, With resolutions and iron-clad prohibition ringing the country Hast and West, and with stretches of Sa- hara waste at which the traditional camel would shy in the South, there has been needed only some system by which every man on every job on every railroad should be made amenable to rules of employment and discharge so rigorous that the intemperate, habitual or spasmodic would be debarred from a foothold. It would appear that financial institutions are soon to follow the examples set on these railroads. The Fifth Avenue National Bank, of New York, has issued this list of prohibitions to its employes: You must not drink any intoxicants with meals in public restaurants. You must not enter any saloon. You must not enter any gambling house. You must not enter any poolroom. You must not visit any race track. You must not enter any bucket-shop. You must not Fie ee You must not attend prize fights. You must not have vicious companions. You must not frequent Broadway resorts or conspicuous where the great white lights blaze. become Nor is indulgence regarded in the same lenient light as formerly in other vocations. The actor who, while on duty, is observed to have passed the sharp line of complete sobriety is ruthlessly dropped from the cast by the great majority of American managers. Even a "star." with a goodly portion of his manager's capital dependent upon his completion of an engage- ment, may not offend often--and those whe run any risk of overindulgencé in liquor are as few nowadays as locomotive engineers who drink. School Children Whoklave Saved Millions. », 66 MMA LAWRENCE!" "Yes'm." "How much for the bank this week?" "Five cents." "Why, Emma! That makes your bank ac- count $5. You will get interest on your savings from today on." In more than a thousand schoolhouses, in more than a hundred cities, in more than a score of states, dialogues of this kind go on every Mon- day morning between the teachers and nearly 200,000 scholars who are the thrifty owners of ac- counts in the School Savings Banks, amounting to nearly a million dollars. Within a generation, children by the hundreds of thousands have been launched from the public schools into the world of hard reality with the priceless habit of regular saving instilled into their minds. And an old gentleman--a very kindly old gentleman--who is still living and laboring for the advancement of this simple and wonderfully efficient training of American youth in the prin- ciples of economy, is responsible for it all. I years ago--on March 16, 1885--~he, succeeded in establishing in the city schools the first Scheol Savings Bank in the United States. It is the most interesting development of the sav- ings bank idea since, in the first grapple with the in- cubus of poverty that welghed down upon Eng and and the Continent, Mrs. Priscilla Wakefield, of Totten- ham High Cross, in Middlesex, inaugurated, in 1801, her epochal "Friendly Society for the Benefit of Wom- en and Children," Mr. ---Thiry, * who verging now upon fourscore years aud ten, is ihe father of a brand new baby whom he hopes to live to see a depositor in one of the banks IS name is J. H. Thiry, and his home is in Long Island City, Long Island, where, twenty-two is _he founded in Long Island City's schools long after he was old enough to have been a grandfather. If any man ever deserved such a reward it is Mr. Thiry, He was some 65 years old when his unselfish efforts to accomplish something for his country in a manner that should have permanent value after he should pass away, came to their first, modest fruition. A good many persons thought him a crank then, just as many good persons have discerned only cranks in other men devoted to one big idea, because they felt its successful advocacy would use up all their energies. Very simple is the plan he evolved: Teachers in the public schools give only ten minutes of the Monday morning session to collecting the savings of the chil- dren. The deposits, recorded in the ordinary roll books, are turned over to the principal, who places them with a bank or trust company. 'The child's weekly deposit may be one cent; it may pe ten--whatever sum ha ' eran the pupil's sayings amount to $1, & hank book is as béen saved during the week. . SA Thiry founder of lhe Alo, SIVIAG: BAMKG 177 LUMCTICE Except in cases of sickness or of removal from the city, deposits cannot be withdrawn until the amount reaches $3, and then only on the second Monday of every month. Deposits of $5 or more béar regular in- terest. Withdrawal of money from an account can be ef- \ fected when it is indorsed by the presence of the child's father or mother, and the signature of the school prin- cipal. During the summer vacation, the cashier of the funding bank is empowered to receive or pay moneys fn accordance with the rules, requiring identification where' the child depositor is not personally known to him, precisély as he does with the "erown-ups." Extensive as has been*the growth of Mr. Thiry's idea, it has not been all plain sailing., Changing school officials have exposed it to setbac 2 various locali- ties. The introduction of manual training, gymnasium work and other féatures that draw upon the time and energy of teachers has caused suspension of the School Savings Bank, until it was realized that the drain of the system was too trivial to be regarded when its great merits morally were duly weighed, « First enthusiasms have waned at times, and, fre- quently where success was most signal, the rivalries of local banks have brought about the discontinuance of the system in a whole city, But the report compiled by Mr. Thiry when the sys- tem was twenty-two years old--in 1907--showed that pupils of 1098 schools in 118 cities in twenty-two states have saved a total since the introduction of the sys- tem of $5,485,514.48, of which $4,675,897.26 has been withdrawn, leaving a balance of $809,617.22 owned by 177,972 little depositors, These have succeeded to the lesson of economy taught the long processions of children now developing into prudent men and women, The high proportion of depositors is apparent when their number, 177,979, 18 compared with the total number of children in attend- ance at the 1098 schools--500,727. All parts of the North share in the benefit, and the idea seems to have spread nearly straightly westward, with some moderateSexpansion on the sides of tho movement. In Long Island City, where it was begun, there were $200 depositors when Mr. Thiry compiled his figures, with $37,312.80 to their credit. ARRESTING POVERTY At Le Roy, in Minnesota, thirty out of the 150 pupils in a school that opened its bank im 1907 started with a fund of $62. The 265 stations of the New York fund, founded in 1888, with 61,114 children out of 150,000 en- gaged in saving, had $110,980.05 in their books, with a history of $3,003,262.26 of total deposits, and $2,892,282,21 withdrawn, These are crude, although not meaningless, figures, Their best interpretation can come only from the man whose disinterested patriotism has made them the im- posing realities they are. So here is Mr, Thiry's en- lightening comment: "The rapidity with which extreme poverty multl- plies its victims is one of the startling facts in social selence. The public schools, acting upon every child, must be the great public agency for the arrest of the evil. If every child could be trained to save, as well as give the knowledge and hapbits which assure his earning power, much would ve done toward saving the very poor from temptation and suffering. "School Savings Banks have already yleldtd excel- lent results and, at the same time, have helped to cheéele and prevent pauperism, crime, prodigality and various vices, and lead children to the road of thrift and frugality. "Pho united effect of, the practical lessone of thritt and economy is a clearing out of the intelectual ave- nuesAvhich open upon the moral faculties: "By the ennobling power of truth revealed to chil- dren and by good surroundings, some uplift is given to their thoughts and purposes toward that life of honest industry and rational enjoyment which makes him who lives it a satisfaction to himself and a blessing to society." j " THE FOUNTAINS OF THE DEEP. (By A. Banker.) Until the last cenjury the quesijon of te WL. Some Of Jala, howéver, lt has bes in the Biblical x come the fashion. with many to affect belleve that the nyth, was certainly only a local flood, affecting but a limited region. Although it is true thab the word erels, translated in the _recgrd as "earth," is in more than farly other places in Scrip- form great deluge which destroyed the whole Deluge, if not a submerged. the tradition of a. dred before years human race except their own progent- tors" (Chamb. Encl.); and also that the différent secular histories of the flood, Chaldean, Babylonian and. others, pre- sume a universal catastrophe, would indicate thet really the entire globe was mever raiscd, and foy more than four. ture rendered. as "région," or some sys ~ These histofieal accounts--one of ¢ecvered-in ship which he was buildin thousand years the wh ile world~ Selx nonymous word, yet the fact that "there. Which discoverct peneath the ruins of Upon the ary ground, and far away * entisis, SaVagerrleratess, meluol tlie sis Nscareely "anys Gonsiderable race of tthe anciént Babylonian city of Sip- from any sea, as "Noah's folly," or world, éveryixidy-beli¢ved without any men amongst whom there dees not ex- para; dates frova a period quite six hun- some such contempluous designation, Moses wrote--are more prolix than that of the Bible, and furnish us with greater defail of the progress of the devastation, We can imagite the scene when the long foretold cataclysm commenced. For many years the world had heen mocking the "preacher of righteous- ness," probably designating the gigantic fin and scornfully rejecting all his warn- ings and appeals, At length he has * entered the gréat vessel And no sooner are he and his safe from danger) than "the windows of heaven" are opened, and an appalling deluge descends continuously upon the dcomed earth. Soon the highways and lowlands are mighty carrying everything before them, and sweeping off cursing. crowds of men, women and children. ther from one of the» ancien} records) great earthquakes add to thé horrors of the scene; houses, towers, everything overturned -- into fusion. and is shut fountains of the great raging torrerits And: (as we ga- And now, to add to the terror; 'the up; a tremendous upheaval of the floor ol the océan-impels the frenzied waters in wild and tumultuous chaos from their ancient beds, and with maddened roar overwhehn: the earth in a watery ruin. But the good. ship weathers the aw- ful storms, and they who were content to obey the voice of the Creator float eu unharmed and soon have the whole earth and all that is therein as. their the wild watery con- inheritance. And so it will be at the "end of the deep are broken world." Those who, like the anlediluvt- nns, scorn and contemn the Divine commands will like them be-carried off in despair: while they whe complied with those behesis, and lived the lf ot the righteous, will through their Te- deemer's' ntonement inher tonee in the glory, an receive rn od Everything now-a-days. is hemmed.