The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1886-09-12
UNCLE SANS SERVANTS
A Radical Change in the Dc
partnent Clerks.
SALARIES PAID TO LADIES
Cleveland as Mugwump-An Easy
POsitIon-A Day OF Dread
Whose Turn Next.
SALARIES PAID TO LADIES

From our own Correspondent.
When Congress is not in session
| Washington, d. c., having no CONNER
Ciai Indus:r of importance, IS yer.
dull city. All the lead ng hotels havei
deserted appearance, and the street
wear very funeral asp ct. This mon
otone, however, is broken twice a day
in the morning between and 9 O'Clock
and IN the afternoon 1t 4 O'Clock, tai
hours at which The great army of De
partment clerks 60 10 and return from
their work. The government building
being situated in various parts of town
the street cars and thoroughfares, be.
tween the hours above mentioned, arr
crowded with men and won of al
ages, of all compilations, and dressed II
all fashions, either hurrying to, or re-
turning from, their place OF EN- ploy-
! ment. The time was, under the Repub
| hcan Administration. when The clerk:
were not over particular IN getting tC
/ business exactly at the hour stipulated
/ by law, but now it is different. When
very stringent set of rules were, issued
in all the departments IN regard to the
time at which clerks should be at thelI
desks, the length of time allowed for
luncheon, ana the hour of leaving, and
so heavy. are the penalties for an In
iTingement of these rules amounting
in some instances to absolute dismissal
that the clerks nowadays are IN Il
continual dread of being late IN the
morning, of exceeding the time allowed
for luncheon, or of venturlng 10 leave
before the proper hour in the afternoon.
This is, perhaps, as it ought TO be,
considering the vast number of people
employed in the various departments in
Washington, numbering som sthing
over fifteen thousand persons all told.
The days labor in these departments
is not long, and in view of the super
abundance of employees, the work to
be performed is by no means heavy. In
deed l have many a time thought,
while walking Though the various de-
partments, that hundreds of the clerks
scarcely knew how to kill the time.
More especially did this appear t. be
the case with the lady clerks. With
several documents in their hand, scores
of them seemed to be floating along
the Railways, popping in this door
and out the other, for the fun
of the thing-just to exhibit them
selves alter the fashion of so many pea
cocks, to all who may be around. There
are many lady CLERKS, however, who
hold very responsible po ,itIOns in each
Of the departments, and they are very
literally paid, some of them drawing
from 81. 900 to 81 900 per year. Of course
u, oil ry hirrh col rInG
ladies, the bulk being paid at the rate OF
$50. $50 and $40 per month. The male
clerks are paid all the way from $500 TO
s., 900 per year, the chiefs of divisions
receiving from 81, 400 to So 900 per year.
1t is conceded that Uncle Sam pays very
good salaries, and that he is not very
hard taskmaster. Many OF the govern
eminent employees have often expressed
to me their belief that they were ~etter
off under the government than they
would be anywhere else. They &C
knowledged that their salaries were far
ahead of what they could make as office
clerks in any of the large establishments
in New York, Philadelphia. Chicago, or
anywhere else; that the length OF their
days labor was exceptionally good, and
that, in addition, they we're allowed
every year thirty days leave of absence.
The change Of administration, how
ever, has made it uncomfortable
for many an old time govern
ment clerk. He feels that the
Republicans must go to make room for
the Democrats. l have met many who
have already been removed, notwith
standing they had been in the public
service for over twenty years, aud had
proved themselves most efficient OH
GERS in every respect. And the axe in
this direction has only begun to fall.
The end OF every month is time of
dread 10 hundreds and thOusar DIS of
government clerks IN Washington. Es-
peeially is this the case in the Urea ury,
Interior, Postoffice and Pension Depart
ments. 1t is not so, however, in the
War, State and Navy DEPARTMENTS
The employees in these don't seem TO
have any dread of removal, and why
this is so have never been able To find
out. Yet it is nevertheless a fact that
the ordinary clerks employed in the
War, State and Navy Departments
seem to have no dread OF removal. I'm
there have been many
changes in the heads of bureaus n these
departments, but the common fellows
seem to be left uudisturbed. Whether
tell It is only reasonable to suppose
that in the near future all the depart
ments Of the government in Washing
ton; as well as elsewhere, will, as far as
changes of employees are con-
cerned, be radically disturbed. i
Democratic administration must,
in time, look after its friends.
President Cleveland may be called
"MugWump," and accused OF givi.g
the best Offices in the State of New
York to politicians of that ilk, but the
interests of the great party of which be
is the head will not be overlooked. Men
in sympathy with the administration
viii be put where they can do the most
good before the great Pre- .idential cleo
ton of 1888, when, according 10 the
opinion OF some of the best men of the
country, President Cleveland will be re
nominated for q second term. Thou
sands of good offices are still in the
hands Of Republicans, but between now
and the meeting OF Congress in Deem
Der, and between March next and the
meeting of the new Congress in the
following December, there viii be a ter
rible amount Of removals N all the gov
eminent positions In favor of the Demo
cratic party. .aany people blame Presi-
dent Cleveland for beng too slow in the
matter of removals. and argue that had