Sunday, August 13, 2017

94 Years Remembered in 94 Days-Post 37 (Our grandfather's trip for the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen)

Douglas Daily Dispatch
Sunday, August 31, 1947

Douglasite's Trip Successful;
Story Told in National Paper


E. A. Scott, retired railroad man who lives at 858 Fourteenth Street has returned from an eventful visit to the grand lodge of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen at Cleveland.

His visit was the subject of an article in the Trainmen News, official organ of the national brotherhood.   The article described the Douglas man as a "real old-timer" of the brotherhood, mentioned the 40 year button he received in 1938 and traced his career.

Mr. Scott and Dave Lowther were sent by the Douglas lodge to Cleveland to represent the interests of the lodge in opposing the attempt to move the terminal for Southern Pacific freight employees in this area from Douglas to El Paso.

They conferred with A. F. Whitney, president of the brotherhood and a close personal friend of Mr. Scott.

The proposed change was defeated last week in a vote of brotherhood men involved.

Mr. Scott also went to Washington to visit his son, Tom Scott, a senate investigator.

While there he made an attempt, apparently unsuccessful, to convince two Arizona representatives in congress--John B. Murdock and Richard F. Harless--that one of them should move to Douglas.

Reminding the congressmen that both will be able to retain residence in Maricopa county, he invited them to  Douglas.

Both were non-committal, he reported.   "They laughed it off." he explained, adding that both men hastened to get way from a newspaper reporter who was present.

The Douglas man had lunch with both congressmen, both of who are personal friends..  He also met Rep. Robert Crosser of Ohio, father of the railroad retirement act.

While in Ohio, Mr. Scott visited relatives.  A native of Amherst, Ohio, he was first employed on the Cleveland, Lorain and Wheelin railroad and later on the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern as a brakeman.

The brotherhood paper related that Mr. Scott later moved to Knoxville and worked as a switchman for the Southern between Ashvillle and Spartanburg Junction.

He also worked as a switchman for the Baltimore and Ohio at Washington and the Illinois Central in Memphis.  He went from there to Raton, N.M, working as a brakeman for the Santa Fe.   Next he was a Leadville, Colo., where he married Miss Catherine Roughan in 1902.

He came to Douglas in 1912 and was employed by the El Paso and Southwestern railroad for 32 years serving as a brakeman and freight and passenger conductor.   He was a state legislative representative for the brotherhood for many years.   

The picture below was the Depot in Douglas during the early days.  I found it on a Facebook page about Douglas history.



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