But trainmen and tramps alike soon found out that the management of the road was in deadly earnest. The force of police had been strongly reinforced. Tramps were summarily thrown off the trains. When they showed fight, as they often did at first, they were promptly arrested, arraigned before the nearest police justice, and given a term in the workhouse.
To be sure, all this was not accomplished without some cost. One detective was shot through the head and killed, and many others had escapes more or less narrow, but the tramps soon lost their boldness. They no longer broke open freight-cars at will and helped themselves to their contents, or rode from place to place as their fancy dictated. But they took their revenge in other ways.
One night an extra west-bound freight ran through an open switch at Greenfield and crashed into the freight-house. An investigation showed that the switch-lock had been broken, and the switch thrown. A night watchman on Section Twenty-eight found a big pile of ties on the track, and stopped another freight just in time to prevent a wreck.
Ugly rumours were flying about of the tramps’ intentions, and it was at this juncture that another order came from headquarters. It ran:
“NOTICE TO SECTION-FOREMEN
“All section-foremen, until further orders, will divide their gangs into tricks, and have one man constantly on duty patrolling the track from end to end of their section. All sections must be gone over not less than once every three hours, and special vigilance is required at night. The road relies upon its section-men to see that this work is faithfully done. Double time will be allowed for this extra duty. To go into effect at once.
“[Signed] A. G. Round,
“Supt. and Gen. Manager.
“Cincinnati, Ohio, November 30.”
And simultaneously the road’s police force was augmented by a dozen special detectives. The management was determined to prove that it could protect its property. Besides, the other roads of the country were looking on with much interest to see what the result of this struggle would be, for the tramp nuisance was rampant everywhere.