St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-05-06
POLITICAL FRIENDS,
CLERKS WORKING HARD.
| Fears of Removal Prompt Them to
Toe the Mark.

Toe the Mark.
Special to the Globe.
WASHINGTON, May 5.-Mr. Wood Of
Illinois has been removed from the position
of chief Of the examining division in the
sixth auditors office. Mr.. Conville simply
says it was done to promote the efficiency
of the Office 1t is stated by persons in the
department that the trouble with Mr..
Wood was that he was rather
slow. The examining division is the
one to which all postmasters' accounts
first 60. There is an enormous number OF
these accounts and any errors or delays in
this division makes delays in all other divi-
siOns 1t is absolutely necessary that the
chief of this division should be quick,
energetic man, capable of turning off large
amount of work in given time, and sharp
enough to see that all his subordi-
mates are doing good work. The
chiefs of three divisions in this
office have been removed and none OF the
vacancies have been filled by promotion.
Whether new men are capable remains to
be proved, but it is presumed that they are.
Mr. McCarville has already established the
reputation in his office of being quick-sighted
and rapid worker, a man who handles
whether subordinate is doing work right or
wrong. A new man has a good deal
to learn when made chief of one
of the divisions and for a time the three
new chiefs will have to depend very much
on their clerks, but if they are the right kind
of men the changes will increase the eff
cheney of office. Postmaster's accounts are
being settled with a good deal more rapidity
than usual. With Democratic officials over
them, armed with the power of prompt
removal, the clerks feel the neces-
sity of attending strictly to business.
They are a good deal less apt to add half
an hour or an hour to the usual lunch time
and to waste five or ten minutes talking in
the Railways than they were when they had
less fear of removal. One effect of Demo-
cratic administration, OF anticipation OF it,
has been to improve the health of
clerks. Not nearly so many sick leaves are
taken as formerly. There are 372 clerks in
the office. During the last six months of 1884
sickness averaged 552 a month. During
the first four months of the year the sick
leaves have averaged 400 month, though
the weather the past winter was unusually
bad. and more sickness would be expected
during the winter than the summer.
Cleaning Ihem out.
Special to the Globe.
WASHINGTON, May 5.-The weeding-out
process has already begun at the depart
ments, particularly in the treasury port
folio The greater familiarity the new of
ficials gain in regard to their different bu-
reaus, the more rapidly follow the dis
charges of worthless and incompetent
clerks. Appointment Clerk Higgins has re-
Gently been notified that seven members of
one family are scattered about in different
departments There are innumerable in
stances where there are from three to five
members of one family snugly provided for.
The law is intended to prevent married
women, whose husbands are able to sup
port them, from holding clerkships, but it
is evaded by putting the woman in office
under her maiden name. This practice
has become so common as to excite little or
no comment In the majority of cases
these people have been backed by sena-
torial and congressional influence, and the
bureau officials under whom they served
tacitly countenanced fraud in order to make
their own positions the more secure.
Then, again, there are men in Office who
keep stores, and whose time is SO much Oc-
cupied with private outside business of diff
ferent kinds that they cannot properly at
tend to their official duties. These people,
too, are being rapidly marked for decapita-
ton.