Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-09-07
GOVERNMENT CLERKS.
What It Is to Work in the De-
 partments at Washington.

! A TOilor Tolls About the Lifo-Its Fov Pleasures and Small Pay The Money Lenders-A Clerks Dis couraging Prospects,.
 There are three classes of clerks who, ac
 cording to Washington correspondent,
 are alike contemptible. The gossips, the
 money lenders and the money borrow
 CTS. l mention the gossips first, because ! they are by all odds the most harmful.
 They are no respector of persons, and can't
 be put down by any thing shorto dismissal.
 In some mysterious way they possess them l selves of more or less information concern
 ing each new appointee, in their own and
 neighboring divisions, and seem to find l nothing so interesting as little bit of scan-
 dal their ever-vigilant ears may catch.
 No matter how slight or innocent its ori- gin, 'they understand their business so
 well," as a friend of mine remarked one day, that by the time it has passed through l two or three noon discussions in various corridors it comes forth full fledged for any
 purpose that may be desired, and not infre- l quently forms the subject of a sensational
 article in the daily papers.
 The money-lenders are men, and occasion ally women, who by thrift and economy l manage always to have 8 sum of money on | clerks, at interest varying from five to ten per cent 8 month. This is all done very | quietly, but it is done. Perhaps it might be ! said that the poor clerks are foolish to be SO l imposed upon, but they feel-well, it's only for short time and will relieve present embarrassments; forgetting how many dol lars such transactions have already cost them and thanking their friend for the loan.
 There are two kinds of money-borrow- ! nrc hn fhriff tn yvyhnv o0o 1f from q 900 to s1 500 seems large enough to cover any extravagances they may indulge m. Very soon they find themselves in- 1 debted to landlord, grocer and various | others, whose demands become so dis agreeably pressing that borrowing is re- sorted to and kept up until they get too deeply involved to extricate themselves, and every body that trusted them has to l suffer in consequence. The other kind should be called swindlers, as they make 8 business of obtaining money under any pretext from every body they can, and then l resort to all sorts of means to avoid paying 1t back. The latter are found among the men only, and, fortunately, are not numer- ous, but even one such Is just one more than should be tolerated in the public serv- ice.
 Among the women in the departments there are many widows of deceased ofa- cers of the army and navy, and others who, a few years ago, moved in select l circles of society, and were surrounded by l all that wealth or position could give them, and who then little thought that a very short turn of the wheel of fortune would give them such an intimate acquaintance with the inside of the building whose ex- l teriors only had been familiar with them before. There are others who, besides per forming heavy clerical duty here, manage to accomplish surprising amount of l literary work. Some of the raciest and best letters from Washington and many valuable contributions to the current | periodicals come from them. It has been said that Washington women are the most industrious of any women in the country, and thlnk 1t might be added that they are, as class, the brightest and most intelli- gent
 l Amopg the men we have ex-soldiers of all ranks, or at least they were of all ranks when first appointed to Government posi- tions, but once appointed it Is amusing and amazing to note the rapidity with which they assume the different army titles. Whether the G. A. R. has some secret method of promoting it's rank and file now engaged in fighting Uncle Sam's pen-and- ink battles know not, but certain it is, they move onward and upward in that line | so rapidly that very few are now left below tpe rank of General or Colonel Outside of the ex-soldier class and officials, my ten years' study of the men who accept and re- tain as long as they can the ordinary Gov ernment clerkships, has revealed nothing very complimentary to either their ambi-
 ton or their energy. can not help think ing there must be something essentially l weak in able-bodied men who aspire to noth-
 Ing higher In life than to occupy desks in QoverQmeut departments ranging from 600 to $l. 800 per year. Such positions are demoralizing.
 l They may present fine opportunities to young men of limited means to equip them Selves for various professions, as Washing ton can boast of excellent law, medical and 1 other institutions where lectures are given ct night, but even this frequently proves Q dangerous way of acquiring profession, as one of numerous instances now in my mind wii illustrate.
 Fifteen years ago poor but talented young friend o1 Senator Conkling, full of ambition to become as famous Q lawyer as the Senator, Bought and obtained position here for the purpose of taking 8 law course.
 Re began at a salary of q 200, and was shortly after promoted to q, 400. He studied hard, was graduated with honor, and fully intended to resign his position and begin his cAreer as . lawyer at once. Just ct tha. time he unfortunately received another pro- motion to sixteen hundred, which caused ! change, giving as excuse that 1t might be better to wait awhile and accumulate a lit- tic capital to start with. That man is still drawing sixteen hundred dollars in the l 6aIne bureau, Q typical Government clerk, dead to any higher aspiration than retain ing his present position.
 1 A celebr ated lawyer told me not long since that when he was trying to get an cd pcatiop, he heard of the advantages in this line afforded by official employment in Washington, and thereupon went to Q po- litical friend of his father who had patron | sge to bestow and asked him to procure him disappointment. "Can't do it, my young fr&epd," answered the judge, bluntly;
 think too much of your father to spoil your future prospects in that way. It would be l the greatest unkindness could do you, and some day you will thank me for this re- fusal" "And have thanked him during all my professional life," continued the lawyer.