The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1884-01-11
sold Autograph"

few days ago General T. f. Spin
ner, of Mohawk. so many years Treas
urer of the United States, passed up
Genesee street, in Utica, looking almost
as hearty as eyer. He wore the military
style of SLOUGH hat and short blue cloak.
and looked every inch the veteran that
he is. He had come home from Florida
to vote. and was looking around our
city on shopping excursion with the
ladies of his family. A correspondent
writing from Washington to the Pitts
burgh (Pa) Chronicle says that story
is printed that has this for its begin
ming
+. Sophy is the name of an old cOlored
woman who had been appointed upon
the scrubbing force of the Treasury fc-
partment by Secretary Chase
We may observe that Scrubbers in the
Treasury Department are never APP
pointed. They are not subject to the
annoyance of civil-service nonsense;
they are not put to the ordeal of com
petitive test; they receive no written
certificate signed by the Secretary
making them ofice-holders; they are
not furnished with a yellow envelope
when they have TO go. The custodian
of the building employs them; he keeps
the labor roll, and pays them at the
rate of fifteen dollars month. They
work from four until six p. m, and
when they are no longer wanted he
tells them they need not come again
until notified. Nevertheless, >ophy is
a reality, and has been in the Treasury
n
time She is on the down grade of fifty.
is a fine figure of a woman, and is
worth her weight in gold-which is
about two hundred pounds--for her
| faithful and Trustworthy traits. 1t IS to
| illustrate these that the story locating
her with the scrubbers is told She
ranks us a messenger now, a somewhat
soft position, when, as in Sophy's case,
| the duties consist chiefly in waiting up
on the lady clerks. This may sound
| strange, but is nevertheless true; nor
ls this kind of attention confined To
| these ladies. An army OF male messen-
gers render ike service to the gentle
men clerks.
1t is related of Sophy that she once
distinguished herself by some volunteer
| guard duty in the interest Of the Gov
| ernment It was when General Spin
ner was Treasurer that, one evening
when she was sweeping and busting,
| she discovered in one Of the counting
rooms pile Of uncovered greenbacks,
| which had been carelessly left by one
of the counters. The find frightened
her, because all of the officials had left
the building and there were only
| watchmen, sweepcrs, busters and scrub
| bers there, to none of whom did she
dare reveal the exposed condition Of
the money, lest they might be tempted
| beyond their power of resistance. 1t is
told that in her extremity she put her
ample weight upon the pile OF money,
| which had the double effect Of conceal
| ing it and keeping it down.
In these days Father Spinner slept in
a room adjoining the Treasurer Office
-an eccentricity which brought upon
him quantity of scandal aud Sophy
knew that, in the course OF time, he
would come home to bed 1t might be
late for the father. was liable to stay
o nights-but she resolved to stand OF
sit guard until he came She heard
him come in at last, and she let up on
the greenbacks and ran to his room.
The old man rescued the money, com.
mended Sophy, and delivered some TO-
bust adjectives to the careless clerk
The General was not only a charac-
ter, but he possessed some better quail
tications for the Office than have ever
been identified in his predecessors,
If he had remained there would have
been realized an average advantage
One OF his peculiarities was his candor
and his healthy and forcible way Oh
saying what he thought. Years ago
there was lady clerk among his count
ers who had been appointed by the favor
of Stanton, and who, not being quite
strong, was often restless and uncom.
Portable Work and dependence were
in severe contrast with her former sta
ton, and she chafed under the restraints
OF Government servitude. One summer
she had obtained her months vacation
and at the end of it she wrote me from
her summer resort, asking me to plead
with the General for an additional thirty
days. went at once to see him, and