3. Track work—repairing track and structures.
4. Train work—operating the trains.
5. Work conducing directly to train operation.
PLAN No. 963. OFFICE AND CLERICAL WORK
In railroad office and clerical work the requirements upon the employee are mainly mental. In this group we find the general and divisional officers—financial, legal, surgical, engineering, managing—telegraphers, train dispatchers and train directors, telephone operators, station agents, passengers and freight agents, station masters, and all sorts of clerks—accountants, rate clerks, traffic clerks, etc. For these positions a man may qualify although he may have suffered from considerable physical disabilities, providing he is mentally alert and has some knowledge of railroading. The knowledge that a man should acquire or the training that he should take will, of course, depend upon the particular position he wishes to fill.
Let us consider some of the principal office and clerical occupations, so that you may be able to select the one that appeals to you. We may well begin with the telegraph operator.
PLAN No. 964. TELEGRAPHY AS AN OCCUPATION FOR THE DISABLED
Few physical disabilities will debar an intelligent man from becoming a telegraph operator. Poor hearing, the loss of both arms or of both eyes are handicaps that can not be overcome, but nearly any other disability can be overcome. The occupation rarely subjects a man to exposure to bad weather. Telegrapher’s cramp and electric shocks are the chief occupational hazards to be guarded against.
The position of the operator is stimulating, even at a small station on a through line, since much of the important news of the day goes over the wires. Of course, he is bound to keep secret all such news, and there are through wires on which he can not listen in.