National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-10-12
GOVERNMENT CLERKS.

To the Editor Of the National Republican:
SIR: In your issue of the Sth inst. I read COM
munication from two Government clerks who
seem to be dissatisfied with the remuneration
they receive from the Government for duties they
perform in that capacity. One of these gentle
men, who signed himself Common Sense" ad-
mits that salary CT 81 200 year is ample to
procure the mere necessaries of life for persons
who occupy the humblest positions above that of
q common Iaborer or domestic, but he thinks that
the sum is entirely insufficient for the needs and
wants of any man or woman possessed of q full
complement Of ordinary taste, culture or breed
ing. These higb-toned gents who are possessed
of so many tlne qualities ought to look for some
higher position than a cleTkship in the Depart
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. to some foreign country
where they could enjoy enjoy all the comfort nee
essary for their tne culture and breeding. am
in the employment Of the Government for the
past six years. common laborer-and have q
wife and three children, whom l have always
kept well clad and supplied with an abundance
Of good food, and have saved in that time 81 ,O00
with which purchased q lot TO build on. II the
gentleman who signs himself Common Sense"
would make his signature practical he could save
money and enjoy life on 9, 200 year; Where
there's a will there's a way" p. MCC.
WANTS AND NEEDS OF CLERKS.
Tsthe Editor of the National Republican:
SIR: In drawing the picture which s'H. "calls so
gloomy in your paper Of the 18th ultimO, did
not intend nor expect that it would run into the
diatribe which It has, but the facts as stated by
I'D. A. o." and other correspondents, show to me
conclusively that am not the only person who,
is inquiring anxiously at the end Of each and
every month why receipts fail to meet demands
and why these calls upon benevOlence and del
icacy.
l know there are many wants which to q re-
fined and intelligent person may seem to DO needs
but throwing these aside, We ind that only by
pinching economy can the present salaries prove
sufficient for living to say nothing Of a surplus
The matter Of amusements should be left for the
parties themselves to regulate. Some men may
think il is amusement enough for their families
TO have them get q new suit, cane and a linen
duster, and 90 home once year to vote. (By the
way, this going home to vote is an important
matter) Others can derive great pleasure and
instruction with amusement for family thrown in,
by going to a course Of lectures, and explaining
and repeating them after going home, thereby
getting an amusement reasonable and rare and
cultiYating the Wife's mind at the same time-a
shrewd operation, and an economical one IL the
wife is willing. We eanhOt measure any ones
capacity by our own. "H. Tin the generosity of his
soul, provides for eating and drinking, rent and
ADJUSTMENTS, but says nothing Of the demand
there is upon residents of city like this for char
ity. We cannot always close our ears to the cry
OF the poor which we have with US. / am afraid
'H. would have us like the old miser, who told the
truth while reprimapdinp his neighbor for med
ding, with ''what give is nothing to nobody"
Again, as TO servants, "H." thinks because our
mothers and grandmothers kept no servants, but
washed, mended and scrubbed for children and
men upon the farm it must follow that wives now
R-days should do the same. Because they over
worked themselves, alike at all times and sea-
sons, not taking sufficient rest for brain or body
thereby entailing weak nerves and weaker backs
upon the present generations it does not prove TO
my mind that the women Of to-day should make
matters worse by the same course. Our mothers
did not live in houses with rooms piled into the
air three or four stories, reached only by long,
steep flights Of stairs; farms were not located on
dusty streets, where only by eternal vigilance
with broom and dust-pan, can the home be kept
''invitng to the tired husband, else he be driven
10 hp md ha 4 ha
lieve that is the usual eXcuse.)
An old nursery rhyme says, "Bean porridge is
best when tits nine days old, and 1t must be that
"H." and all others who can feed two or three
growing children besides self and wife upon S25
per month have tested the truth of the rhyme, as
also its filling qualities. Pa and ma may be dys-
peptic. or have grandma's cupboard to furnish tit
bits when home ratiOns fail. Iwish 81" would
give us list of articles sort of bill of fare with
prices annexed, so that we may take note from
his book. !, with many others, would like to know
how tits done, for with New England education
in household matters, and economy as watch
word for forty years. have still to learn how five
can be fed for SIS per month.
This brings me to the question of 1.-TWO or three
small children" 1 don't know that clerks as a
class are blessed with more offspring than others,
but do know that many who start with ''tWo or
three small children" on the 800 salary find the
number Of mouths increase faster than the pro-
motions, and their bodies don't remain small very
long. / think II an inestimable blessing that
John Rogers number Of progeny has gone out of
fashion, Tor can imagine how troubled he must
have been as he stood with that troop of little
mouths before him-Mistress Rogers is supposed
to have no feeling-and really wish his agony for
the future welfare Of his offspring could have
been lightened by the knowledge that five dollars
per month would feed each one.
Most Of the great army Of clerks in Washing
ton are men and women who have come from
States noted for energy, economy and thrift; Of
prudent habits, aspiring only to what Is their due
as men call to ill responsible positions, with few
vices and eXtravagances, and yet the confession
is general that with is the question is show to
liVe' upon the salary. One would suppose that
their former teachings and habits would go q
long way toward the requirement of the tart Of
living" Still the cry is, "Why is this thus?"
adams"