The weekly Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1861, 1861-03-20
once and Omcc seekers.


Under the impression that the relics Of
the past Administration will be entirely
swept awsy, a crowd OF Office seekers are !
beseiglng the doors of the various depart |
ments at Washing on for places, and it Ss |
said that much of the time Of tho Csbinei
officers is taken up in considering the clsins !
of spplicents. This must seriously embar
rass the administration, in view Of the com
plication OF cur nutionsl offoirs demanding
so much of its attention. 4 few Sppont'
ments and removals have been made. but i,
is thought that the political guillotine will
not be set to work very vigorously until
more important matters are adjusted.
The editor Of the tClevelend Herald,
writing to that poper from Washington, un
der date of the 18th inst, indulgcs in the
following uuth'ul views:
| Were your correspondent to write the ep.
itaph FOR any one of the thousands who come
TO Washington to seek the clerkships, and
minor positions under the Bureau heads, it
would read thus: "Who enters here leaves
hope behind" Excepting a very limited
number of assist pts TO the chiefs OF De-
partments, Office holding in Washington is
the tomb OF the victim. The swarms OF
ambitious young men-who have no fancy
for hard work-snd seedy, dilapidated, and
ell.out. in. .,he.cold politicians, who hang
around the portals of power, thrustng their
documents a, cficiOs as beggars thrust their
finger worn certificates of character at pass
ers by, is a melancholy exhibition of phase
I OF human nature not at all creditable tC
8 our race. Mind we speak OF the subordinate
positions in the Departments at Washing
ton. On no spot in the universe is so mush
money expended with so small equivalent o
labor, and with so little good to the recipi
S ents, as in Washington. We believe the
labor of the clerks in the Department doe,
. not average two hours faithful work per day
Many clerks DO not accomplish half hour
= unrenitted toll These employees Of Un
: Gle Sam, recognizing the magistrates rul'
Z that it is nine until ten, consider lhemselve
son time" if at their desks within SKI,
minutes of the nominal hour for commenc
% ing business, and the instance has neve
ID been known in which the janiior of publ
s building could not close in the edihc
when the clock was striking three, with u
the least danger OF "shuttiHg in' a clerk
t OF course, at or about O'Clock the stom
e och must be sustained by half dozen from
y the shell and o drink, aud when the busines
:. of the day is over the whole army move
rom hotel to hotel, from restaurant to res
;, tpurnnt, to learn the news, get glass q
IL whi.key and a cigar. The monthly sipen
(. is discounted in advance to satisfy som
rt camorous creditor, and the nightly couch
,e sought on an empty pocket aud bad heat
a ache.
~ The official duties OF thN great mass OF th
ID Federal dependents ere merely mech2nica
filling in the blanks OF forna printed letters
IS m king abstracts Of petitions fer flee fl
ing letters and documents, and other labor
> infinitely below the ordinary routine OF tn
y assistant teller in cOuntrY bank. Thus
day after day passes without occasion for tht
e exercise of mere mental talent than is pos
y sessed by q wooden man. These depend
ants vegetute they do not live, and the
. chief end Of such men is to eat, drink, sleep
draw their stipend, and feed upon the ranors
! that FL the air OF the capital AS a matter
! of course, these dependants are always in
debt, and promotion is no pecuniary benefit
A twelve hundred dol!ur clerkship carries
. with it power Of credit OF, cay, four hundred
dollars annually, over the sals!y, while an
eigtteen hundred doll,r place enables the
+ occupant 10 spend about twenty FIVE hun
dred. Were the whole army to be dismissed
10 DIV, two.ihirds would be forced to borrow
money in order to pay their fare homeward
and to take the midnight tFgin to escape
tailor and board bills. This is no exagera
ted picture, dark os il is, and we paint it not
as matter OF ofnmusement, but that the young
men who read these lneF, and who have as.
pirations Tor Washington clerkships, may
Iook upon the picture and sec reflected there
a portraiture their own cases will Illustrate,
If SO be their unfortunate aspirations shall
be grstifed. Washington cIerkshps dwarf
talent, unfit for any position that requires
mental effort, destroy al! independence OF
character, dissipate the mind, destroy the
body, and make man beggar and de.
pendant. There are few men that have the
moral stamina that can survive the dangers
Of Congressional term, and fewer still that
can survive an eight years. service in one
of the subordinate positions 30 greedi!y
scught under on incoming Administration.
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