station meant prodigious labor, we retraced our steps back to the main drive of before. We found it continuing on, to end at a great wall near; and late autumn winds had a way with them of blowing old paper off the streets to this point and letting it accumulate, like some snow drift, down here. Where the autos halted, we discovered further, groups of porters

would stand, in red caps, blue shirts and trousers, ready to take up baggage. Every so often one of these, a tobacco chewer, helped deface things; cleaning had to follow in their wake, beside.

The porters led their charges, as these came out of the motors, over the wall and by way of another "level," that came to a huge grating, where one might stop and look down upon a vast

floor of endless passages, that seemed to lead about everywhere. All those passages were clean swept, immaculate, and you marveled; then you went on beside this grating, and down a broad stairs, and to a huge waiting-room.

Here, in turn, row on row of substantial wooden benches ranged on the floor of heavy glasswork, a floor that admits of the light coming through. Heavy posts, square cut, and of white, glazed brick, divided all these into sections; the posts rising to a white ceiling, done in whiter squares, inset with glass. At the sides, the walls were of the white brick, showing dirt instantly, and yet you had to confess that, except for dirt born of the moment, all things here were most spotlessly clean.

A lunch stand at one side beckoned; then came a queer, wee chalet, selling toys. "Don't Forget Your Kiddies" signs advised you, and the "kiddies," who gathered, saw to it that they littered the floors here. A directory bureau, with folk dropping slips of paper they'd brought to write on; a fruit stand; all gave their quota; across, another news stand let you toss about old magazines.

There, in the wall, were the ticket offices, to be kept clean, too; then, from this one chamber you passed on, over the same floor level as it had, but to the right of the stairs you had just come down, into a still vaster cementfloored area, with more benches 'round its three sides. Arched alcoves led the way, in places, from this; these with more benches, also, while at the far other end a great grating fence work separated all from the trains.

Four gates, seeming few for so great

a station, beckoned on, here; the heavy, brass rails about the ticket inspectors at all times ultra-bright. Men in white caps, blue uniforms, tripped about, setting red placards, with yellow lettering, telling when the next train here should leave. Over such name plate an iron pedestal, neatly wrought, this tells departure times, in a way quite much the same. At the pedestal base a handle appeared, and the guards attached this to varied little plugs, thereby turning the respective hour numerals in the time's space, and so filling the section where was stated that "Train Leaves at---P. M."

Passengers, heedless, careless, throwing refuse in their wake, here, passed on, through the gates, and onto cemented platforms level with it. Thence, down a stair, and to a long, clean, cemented passage, flanking the tracks themselves.

The very ensemble of the view here spelled neatness, spick and span. It seemed impossible that it should be the abode of smoking locomotives; that the heedless, careless public should gather here.

"And this is just one section, one phase of it all," our mentor explained,

as we halted. "You haven't seen a tithe of the big depot itself.

"And you'll find we have to keep it all as clean, as spick and span, as this is."

Out of which had come the long study in "clean-up" organization of which he was master, the study which has brought to a solution the problem of the greatest "clean-up" job in the world.

A facing point switch is always a dangerous proposition in the track and is to be avoided whenever possible; however, on single-track roads and in many cases on double track, they are hard to be eliminated. Accidents occur at the switch point from many causes, some very trifling. A wreck

costing three hundred thousand dollars was the result of a section man leaving a cotter pin and strap off the stand after making repairs; the switch points opened while a fast passenger train was passing over them and a bad wreck resulted.

We are all human, regardless of our

vocations, and ever railroad men will at times make mistakes. The Perfection Safety Switch will take care of matters when someone fails to do the things he should or when the switch itself goes wrong from any causes.

Of the many causes of derailment, 14 per cent are due to misplaced or broken switches; broken rails account for about 22 per cent, and the balance from various causes, including soft track, sun kinks, etc., which shows that derailment at facing point switches is a serious problem, almost as much so as defective rails. We have yet to find the perfect rail and also the perfect switch, but the Perfection Safety Switch is an advance in the right direction, and is but an addition to the standard switch, and does not necessarily mean renewing the present points.

Those familiar with the operation of the spring rail frog will see in this the application of the same principles, only applied to a switch point instead of a frog; in other words, we introduce a spring point in back of the standard switch points, which allows the wheels of a car to return to the main line if they foul the points in running against them.

If you will notice the illustration of this switch as installed at the union depot yards at St. Paul, Minn., you will see that the points of the switch are set neither for the main nor the siding; now should a train approach a switch in this position it would soon drop on the ties, and if traveling rapidly would result in a serious wreck. The points could take such a position either by the lever of the stand not having been shut down on the notch or by the breaking of the connection rod or its bolts or again by the points becoming worn, so that a sharp wheel flange could tear them open, besides the other causes, freakish or otherwise.

With the Perfection in the track no derailment occurs because the wheels are at all times on the rails and building route to go the right way.

THE PERFECTION SAFETY SWITCH.

ciples and its mechanical simplicity. In its entirety the additional parts to the ordinary switch consist of an "emergency point," shown in Fig. 1, butted up to the heel of the standard point on the left hand side facing the switch. This and the standard point are fastened together by a "filler bar" bolted to the outside of the points and which bears on the tie plates as it partly carries the wheel load when the emergency point is opening.

The "emergency point" is kept in position by two springs at the heel of the points and another pair of lighter springs at the point of the "emergency point" (not shown in the cut), which keeps the point shut against the main line rail at all times, but allows the point to open for passage of the wheels, causing the left hand wheels to open the point.

When a train is passing through the emergency point slowly this guard rail is necessary, but under moderate and high speed the guard rail is not used, as will be shown.

hand wheel is riding on the ball of the rail on its tread. The diameter of the left hand wheel being the greater, it naturally tries to go faster than the right hand wheel, but being rigid on the same axle it cannot do so, but remains a force that is trying to force the wheels to the main line tracks. If we take a spool and cut down one end smaller than the other and roll it along the floor, it will roll in a circle. This is what the car wheels endeavor to do and therefore rushes itself through the emergency point rather than being pulled through by the wheel action on the guard rail.

We can now see that when a train approaches a facing point switch that is in the position as shown in the illustration, one wheel will try to follow down the side track while the other is trying to take the main line. With the Perfection Safety Switch in the track the left hand wheels will ride on the filler bar and as the emergency point opens will return to the main line without jar or damage to the train.

A further addition to this switch not shown in the photo or drawings is a trip and detector bar arranged to throw the points open after a train has taken a siding, so that the following train will pass through the safety point, instead of going down into the train standing there should it happen

that the switch has been neglected and not been again set for the main line.

The Perfection Safety Switch has been fully demonstrated and has seen hard actual service summer and winter in the rigorous climate of Minnesota; that it is simple and reliable has been attested to by well known railway officials. The ficials. The Twin City Frog and Switch Company of St. Paul and Minneapolis is now manufacturing this switch and recently placed one at Cambridge, Mass. Other switches of this type are now in use in Winnipeg, Canada; Mexico City, Mex., and around St. Paul and Minneapolis.

There is no more maintenance required than on the ordinary switch and nothing to go wrong. It works equally well from either direction and does not make the track "doubly dangerous," as reported by some track engineers, on account of introducing another facing point.

Locomotive engineers familiar with the switch do not hesitate to run against the open points on this switch and it is the one and only switch in any yard where installed that is free from trouble.

When the points are set right it naturally follows that the track is right, but when the points are wrong it is still right; it is then correct to use the paradox, "It's right when it's wrong."

"If you don't give up that worthless Willie boy you'll relinquish every claim upon me," were the final words of the coal magnate, Peter Braff, to his fair daughter, Mildred.

It was one of those interviews that sometimes happen in real life and are multiplied in stories; a struggle for supremacy between a firm parent and a lovelorn son or daughter. It took place in the library as they are supposed to do.

The Braff library was a ponderous room, dark and cheerless, walled with weighty volumes of priceless bindings that were seldom opened. At night, with the wall lights burning and a grate fire glowing, drawing out the fiery colors of the soft red-brown rug, it was not so cheerless. But only old Peter himself found comfort there, and that to read financial reports and trade

news.

His daughter lived a little in ad