Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1883-02-21
From our regular correspondent.
WASHINGTON LETTER.
Washington. ID. c., Feb.


instead of seven. The departments
are now open from 8 a. m. to p. M,
and most of the clerks work from five
to six hours, an hour Or so being taken
at noon for lunch and loating, and half
an hour being wasted both morning
and evening in getting ready to begin
and preparing 10 quit. The idea of
adding one of these hours makes the
average clerk frantic. These clerks
are continually making out that their
lot is not 4 happy one, but they entirely
forget that they spent their time and
money freely lin getting their places,
and that not one in ten would 90 back
to his native place if there he could get
the same wages he gets here. To those
familiar with the personnel of the de-
partments these complaints provoke a
smile. When one takes out the men,
bers of the families Of officials who do
nothing but draw their pay, the people
who are put there by lobbyists, those
who got there because they thought it
was soft place, those who are young
and strong and perfectly capable of
making living elsewhere and prefer
to vegetatc i'll government Office on
$1,000 or $1,000 year to going to
work, the proportion that deserve SYM
patty is small indeed. But these are
not the worst. There are not u few
clerks in all 1.-THE departments who pay
when they choose and 90 when they
please. Not long ago case was pub
lished in a paper here recounting that
woman clerk of "intluence" found at
the end of the month her absence and
dilatory arrivals deducted from her pay
according to the new rule. Off she
flew, mentioned her "inhuence" and
indignantly demanded the remainder of
her pay. The clerk, after thinking it
over. handed the money to her, and
she went off Boosting of her exploit.
Next morning dozens of women clerks
held Indignation meetings about; each
thought herself was alluded to in the
paper, and the incident disclosed that
instead Of being an exceptional case it
had happened very often. Nobody
has a word TO say against the hard
working women who support them
selves and often their families by con-
scicntious work, but these work un-
complaningly nor for the men who
are disabled from other cmployments
but to see Il woman spending her wages
i'll fine clothes or young and able
bodied man tucked away in a govern
meut berth, living on Il pittance rather
than 20 to work-and half the employ
ees belong to these two classes-in-
spires universal disgust and rcproba-
ton. Many of the women clerks lived
IN remote places where 5000 year
would be affluencc. They come to
Washington and in six months their
ideas change. They find living in
city on 5000 to be one of the exact
sciences. But they would rather die
than 60 back home.
MIR. Carlisle and Mr.. Morrison and
Others are lighting into the tariff
bill IN & manner very amusing to the
galleries, but exceedingly doleful for
the ways and means committee. But
when the tariff bill meets Mr.. John
Randolph Tucker it will moot with its
John l.. Sullivan. lie has been load
ing up for it for weeks, and when
"them protection fellers" strike upon
Tucker they will find that they are
foHllns with forked lightning. He
was an immensely hard working man.
Although wiser than most Industrious
members OF congress he allows himself
one day OF rest and does not work or
visit on Sunday. The only dissipation
he allows himself is n Sunday night
sermon from a Presbyterian divine.
Nothing on earth would induce Mr..
Tucker to forego that rigid and sea-
soned discourse. He arrives carly
and marches into church armed with a
large hymn book, and when the cler-
gyman appears he fixes his eyes upon
him and blinks solemnity at him while
that excellent Blue Light discusses the
manner in which the Chaldeans ex-
pounded certain genealogical texts of
scripture few thousand years ago.
Meanwhile Deucon Tucker enjoys him
self hugely and has followed with un-
tagging attention. Next day, how
ever, he forgets all about the Chal-
deans until the next Sunday, aud tans
the hide of the republicans in congress.
MIR. Tucker is wise first and witty af-
forwards.
The republicans are incubating over
the reorganization of the senate.
They want the offices now occupied by
democrats and new president pro
tem'' but don't know just how to go
about getting them without special
session. Malone seems to be giving