National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-10-09
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE
GOVERNMENT CLERKS.
WHAT IS A COMPETENOYP

WHAT IS A COMPETENCY
To the Editor of the National Republican:
SIR: What is a competency? Evidently 1t Is
condition state or else possession property.
We say Of person, she is living in competency"
or 'he has a competency" and in both cases we
mean that he is possessed Of means to insure, or
that he is absolutely INDUCING in the grstihca-
tion OF his wants. Such being the fact, to TX an
amount in dollars and cents which is q compe-
tency for IAN individual It is necessary to know
his wants. A cannot stand as q standard for B,
because the natural capacity for enjoyment, and
the native and acquired tastes Of B may not be,
or are not, the same as in A. A gill cup and
gallon measure may be equally full, but the gal
Ion measure holds the most; AID to NIL each to-
the extent of its power Of holding with even the
same commodity will require q very different ex-
penditure. Now suppose the gill cup should set
itself up as standard for the contents Of all
measures and estimate the value Of all BY Its own,
would not that be very nearly as preposterous as
for one individual to t1x competency for another
necessary TO make himself contented and happyP
am led to these reflections by an article in an
issue Of The REPUBLICAN wherein the writer as
serts that 81 200 year is sufficient salary for
Government clerk, and endeavOrs to prove his
position by facts derived from the consideration OF
the very humblest condition Of life above that Of
A day laborer or menial will admit his pre-
misses viz: that the sum expressed is ample to
procure Just the comforts he describes; but deny
that the comforts he gives are requisite for the
needs and wants Of any man or woman possessed
of full complement Of ordinary taste, culture or
breeding. HEREIN lies the Iallacy OF MS argu-
ment. He makes PrOcrustean bed, and he
makes all-siZed persons lie upon tiff too short,
he elongates their limbs and If too long, he lops
them of. This mode OF reasoning might do for
red man in a savage state or for man in prime
val condition; but for people living in an age Of
enlightenment and progress 1t will be necessary
to assume higher standard for domestic felicity
and for the requirements Of rational men and
women. To comprehend gentleman, man must
be H Of re 81
of man absolutely blind from birth would carry
very little weight in the selection OF cOlOrs. Even
SO the dictum Of miser would very little tnhu-
ence the expenditures, the charities or the happI-
ness of those whose minds were of higher order,
and whose lives were less mean and selfish;
some wants rise above "levy' calico for ladies' and
children's dresses. Also, some families do not
children. Some things they leave with Proyf-
COMMON SENSE.
A sENI-DIsIETEREsTED VIEW.
To the Editor of The National Republican:
SIR: The devil may not be as black as he is
painted, but that is no reason for an Gd Hbifum
use of couIeUr de rose in his delineation. The
position of a Government clerk may not have
been fairly stated in your issue of the 18th ultimO
but it certainly is not in that of the ist instant.
have been a Government clerk in this city
over ten years. Seeing that nothing could be
saved, even by strict abstinence from amusements,
intoxicating liquors and tobacco, and not being
able to ''go West" myself, 1 sent my family there
late in 1870, and by four years pinching and eX-
clusion from all that makes life worth having,
we may achieve independence.
A man OF family will not have so much leisure
by long way, as Al" states. If he does justice
to them he must live some distance from his
office, say one hours travel each way, nearly. He
must do marketing, ETC., etc.
H speaks Of facilities for consulting the best
authors" in the library Of Congress, which is
carefully closed during the only hours at which
clerk, business man or almost any other en-
ployee can reach II, The Smithsonian Institute
hnn gra af tod IN hrinEF
of the people, is similarly closed during the only
hours when any one but professionals and
pleasure seekers can reach 1t, and even when
reached it is with its Il AN informed) unlabeled
fossils and entire want-of. any facility for ele-
mentary instruction, being not much better than
huge fossil ITSELF utterly useless except for dis
play-that is, for any but professional ana sclen-
tifc persons. In fact the whole organization Of
Washington society and business seems especially
devised for the rich and the ragged, and to COM
pei intelligent and refined people OF moderate in
comes TO spend their last cent in order to obtain
decent living, decent society and decent oppOr-
tunities Of mental culture. l can particulariZe
on this point If required, but the fact is think,
pretty we'll known.
Doubtless any amount Of useless professionals
can be ground out here to order at a cheap rate,
and impressed with high ideas of their own ca
pacities and deserts, which is all that college
training generally amounts to here or elsewhere.
Civil service examinations are said to prove that
college and school requirements, not supple
mented by natural gumption and experience, are
Of small practical account. There are already
lawyers enough in Washington to ruin the
finances OF nearly all the people IN the united
States, and doctors enough to kill the remainder.
Whether there is any advantage in residing in
the vicinity Of these "mills (not) Of the GODS
which would be all the more useful If they did
"grind slowly" may be open to question.
Many clerks and others would very much like
I'll" to show them few Of those meat, cOmmO-
diOus, healthful and altogether respectable tene-
ments" at els per month. When my family was
here had to 20 two miles In order to get one at
SIS, and l think rents are little higher now, My
provisions, whether with or without q servant,
family of four) cost S35 to 80 but provisions
now somewhat lower. As to servants. those who
own work without difficulty, find q servant here
necessary. In my case sickness and perhaps a
DOCTORS bill were the alternatives. Did III"
ever try cooking over hot IRE or doing other
family work with the thermometer at 95o2 II not,
let him begin next year. Some clerks do without
servants, and after few years have to do with
out wives, or get new ones.
From 1854 to 1870 / did not spend IS for public
amusements, not q cent for tobacco or liquors Of
any kind; bought nearly always for cash at the
cheapest rates; used not over 5000 for furniture,
books and all other purposes except ordinary liv-
ing; my receipts averaged o., 400 per annum, and
at the end Of six years had no surplus money,
though economical in everything, including
books, Of which would have purchased more had
been able.
The main trouble is that the art of living is not
understood in Washington, or probably in the
South generally. Houses IRE clumsily and aWk-
Wardly fitted up, without eupbOards or labor
saving conVeniences. Even the stores here are,
and the whole arrangement of things is antedllu-
Wan and consequently expensive. may here
after state how, in few semi-Parthian shots.
A. q.