The Sunday herald., 1886-11-14
THE TREASURY SUBSTITUTES.
Tho ystcm TO be Practically Abol llshcd
Tomorrow. ms All tho Clerks Having
Substitutes are q, dercd TO Report for

Tho system 20 be Practically Abolished
Tomorrow, as All the Clerks Having
substitutes are q, dercd TO Report for
Duty.
There has been considerable commotion among
the Substitutes In the Treasury Department dur
ing the past week In consequence Of the clerks
having substitutes being ordered to report for
duty by Monday, November 10. For a number Of
years It has been the practice In the Treasury
Department to allow clerks who wished to pe
IN excess q thirty days on
furnishing substitutes for the time being. Up to
the time Of the present Administration the clerk
tute and make such private arrangements with him
In regard to compensation as would be mutually
% receive az h py but
sionally he received low as one.third. Whether
the substitute served for q month or year his
or pay receipt, and personally pay the substituted
mi e snos @ Mr. %es ons
| OF the Appointment ONCE the custom Of allow
@ s sG Ss ssec
| reserved the right to furnish the substitutes. 1t
served as an opportunity to appcnt temporarily
ordeal. At 1rst the appointing power insisted that
clerks salary; then twoihirds; then three fourths;
and some have been paid as high rs four-nfths, or
cents he e s:rs s ar pG9Spss for
must have been III indeed to have II granted on q
| condition OF sacrificing or surrendering tnree-
fourths of his or her salary, leaving hardly enough
to pay for board alone. Still, Notwithstanding this
fact, q member OF Congress got up sensational
howl to the effect that the Treasury substitute
business was running into an abuse; that able
bodied clerks were bumming around and drawing
from $500 to 5000 year from the Government for
| doing nothing. A Congressional committee then
called for list OF the substitutes and, upon inves
tgaton, suggested that the substitute business had
better be abolished. The result OF all OF this has
been that Acting Secretary Fairchld, probably not
wishing to have the fantest taint OF even an alleged
abuse Of any kind existing during the present
administration OF Treasury affairs, issued letter
to all clerks having substitutes to the effect that
they must report In person for duty on or before the
18th of November.
This order is Of course quite hardship to both
the principals and substitutes, for In some cases 1t
cuts of both from compensation, as some OF the
clerks on sick leave are too Ill to return aud conse-
quenily have resigned There are about seventy.
live substitutes In the Treasury Department, who
will probably be dropped tomorrow whether the
principals return or not. About nine out of ten OF
these are women. In extreme cases Of sickness,
| where 1t is known beyond shadow of doubt that
the clerk is too III to return to duty,t s thought al
the Treasury Department that exceptions will be
| mnde. Some OF the Treasury officials say that 10
some cases the substitute business has been greatly
abused. The following la the form used In notify.
| ing substitutes OF their dlsnissal
| "The chief of -: Sir: Please notify the sub.
stitute for Mrs. -, OF your Ofiice, miss -
that her services will terminate the 18th instant
Very respectfully, Z. Higgins, Chief Appointment,
/ niysiOnp