The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1885-04-18
Correspondence Baltimore County Onion.
LETTER FROM WASHINGTON.
It is a business" Administration-No
Favors to be Shown "Pets"-Hard
Worked Clerks, Etc, Etc.
WAsHINeroN. D. C.. April 18th, 1881

WASHINGTON, D. c., April 14th, 1885.
Messrs. Editors THAT President Cleveand's
administration will in fact be "business" one is
becoming more and more evident every day. 1t
will not probably be of that Cuisines" character
that many on the outside would wish, which would
be to turn out the present efficient incumbents of
the offices and put others in their places on ac-
count of which there is already considerable dis
satisfaction and dark mutterings in sundry direc-
lions. But il will be business administration in
the sense of making every one, "from the highest
to lowest as was recently said, in the government
employ, perform faithfully his or her duty. From
this would not have your readers to understand
that the clerks and other employees of the govern
ment here not generally very faithful in their
duties. In fact it is remarked by every one that
the government service in all its branches has
greatly improved of late years and it is doubtful
whether there are any more faithful employees in
any private establishment anywhere than those
in the government departments here as a rule
But if there any drones or useless ones in the
departments it is evident they will have to, under
this administration, perform their share of the
public work, for which they are paid.
In the Sixth Auditors Office of the Treasury
flor the Postofce Department. several lady clerks
who belonged to the money order division of that
office had been assigned to one of the other divi-
sions where the duties were not so onerous.-
| When Sixth Auditor McConville came into office
| and found these ladies a division to which they
did not belong, he immediately ordered them to be
transferred back to their proper divisions, al
| though they loudly protested against being so
| transferred. But the Auditor remarked that there
would be no "pets" in the office, and those "who
would not work would be dismissed" On another
occasion lady who has been in the habit of blan-
dishing with the higher officers in order to get
| promotions an easy berth in which to work,
first Intellectually sought an audience with the new
| Auditor, and having failed, sent him boquet OF
| flowers. But the Auditor simply replied that he
knew what it meant; the flowers were not for him
| personally, but for the "Sixth Auditor" who
| might have favors to bestow. He let tho lady
| know her boquet was not appreciated. Another
evidence of the unimpressibity of this Auditor is
| that he has not sought familiar acquaintance
with auy of his clerks 1t is said that number
| of clerks (ladies beieve) desired to call upon
him to become acquainted, but he sent word that
when he "wanted to see any OF the clerks he would
| send for them" He has, however, passed through
all the office and observed how the work is being
done. The money order work of the office has 80
increased OF late years that the official hours OF
the money division have been increased and every
clerk of the other divisions that can be spared
from their own duties have been assigned to that
division; and even with this help the Auditor
only hopes to get the work up to date with the aid
of the As new clerks the office will be entitled to
under the late appropriation, on the lst OF July.
In several of the government offices the new ad-
ministration has found the work considerably
in arrears not by any fault however, of the EN-
| ployees because the work is really more than they
| can do This is the case in the Office referred to
| above where the clerks are the hardest worked OF
any in the government employ, and have for a
| wear past worked several hours over each day
In the War Department the Secretary found that
the clerks were not able to keep up the current
daily work, and ordered that the hours should be
| from a. m. to .. IN. instead of from to as
heretofore. In the First Assistant Postmaster
Generals office the clerks are simply to be pitied
There are about AZ 600 postofices in the country
of the fourth class besides nearly 1000 Presden-
tial Ones in the most of which of the former elias;
it is expected that changes will take place. or at
least the outside citizens think so, for applications
and petitions have come to the Postoffice Depart
ment for appointments of other persons to the
most of them. All these papers and petitions,
which could be measured almost by the mail
wagon load have to be examined briefly and filed
by the employees of the First Assistants Office
and in order to accomplish this immense amount
of additional work the said employees, in addition
to the regular Office hours are required to return
to the office at p. m. and work till $50 o'clock.
In the meantime the President appears to b'
tying himself down closely to business and it II
doubtful whether he leaves the city during thu
whole summer, except to remove out to the Sol
dier's Home during the hottest months. He ha
during the past week appointed two or three per
sons whose names were not acted on by the Sen
ate, besides very few others, to positions.
' ANON,