The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1890-12-24
GOVERNMENT CLERKS.
The Important Place Which They Occu.
py in Washington Society.

In Washington ball room last sea.
son were conversing three people
the Baron De -, newly attached to a
foreign legation, a young department
clerk, and girl from Boston.
"And then," said the girl, ''there are
the people in the departments here.
They are a large part of the popula-
ton, aren't they?"
''Oh, &c Departmental" said the
Baron. II have heard zat zey are ze
houses of aims for re paupers, hein"
''And have heard" said the clerk,
promptly, ''that the foreign legations
here are the places of refuge for the im-
poverished regulations of European
diplomats"
The girl from Boston was equal to
the occasion, and prevented the hot re-
tort on the Baron's lips.
':Ah," she said. II am so glad, for
I'm philanthropist, you know. and
adore poverty-of all kinds"
Half the men in the room and several
of the women were department clerks.
The elegant elderly gentleman who
was assiduously feeding the pretty
daughter of Chicago Cresus reioiced
in the possession of a 81. 400 clerkship
in our department, the bowling swell.
who was lazily allowing himself to be
amused by a sweet rosebud debutante,
was the chief of division in another
department, the group of young ex-
quisites, who were making the life of
the party, were all clerks. Several of
the women, who were receiving the
most court, followed the same calling.
':Ah," said the Baron, after having
met few more of the people in the
room, ''ze department clerks-zey are
Washington, ba jover'
He was entirely right. Who are the
principal buyers in the shops? Who
are the chief patronizers of the
theatres? Who form the bulk of the
renters of houses? Who fill the
churches?Who crowd the bars? Who
make up the rank and file of '-society?"
Who are the members of the clubs?
Go calling before o'clock; go to
bar room before that hour; sit in the
club at 1-2. You will find yourself
almost alone. Nothing goes on in
social way till the departments have
emptied themselves.
Any attempt to classify these clerks
is absurd. They come from everywhere
in America, from almost everywhere
on earth. There are Poles and Rus
slams and Americans among them.
Some are Californians. some Floridians,
some Yankees, some Michiganders.
They are rich and poor-from the clerk
whose carriage calls for him (precious
few of these are there, but still some)
to the poor fellow who wears an alpaca
coat far into the fall and a heavy frock
coat far into the spring. Some are
rakish bachelors, who spend their
money.in forbidden pleasures, others
are the fathers of large and struggling
families, some are spendthrifts, always
IN debt and generally in the clutches
of the money lenders, others are thrifty
and own property. some are not yet
out of their teens. others totter upon
the verge of the grave. When o'clock
comes this strange assemblage disin-
tegrates; their calling gives them moth
ing in common after office hours.
Did it ever occur to any one how
curiously the seltishness of men mani
tests itself? A man-of-war goes on a
cruise for three years. During that
| time the officers are literally cooped
up together and see practically no one
but each other. That ship goes out of
commission, say at San Francisco, and
| the officers are ordered East. Yet
those of the officers who make the long
journey across the plains together FREE
| quently do so by accident. The cruise
! being over, it is a matter of indiffer-
ence to them whether they see one
another again. 1t is the same way with
| Government clerks. Two men may
work side by side every day. year in
and year out, and each not know
where the other lives, or even, some.
times, whether he is married.
Curious friendships sometimes spring
up-strange, incongruous, inexplicable
friendships. Won -, with ferocious
burly beard and mild blue eyes, sus-
pected of nihilistic tendencies, and said
to be political refugee. may be seen
any day or night with that dapper lit
tie trifer, young s., and real af-
lection exists between the two, and
when old Won - falls ill this young
ster nurses him and tends him as
though he was his brother. Or, more
frequently, friendship is founded on
community of tastes. as when two
clerks study law together. graduate
together, and possibly resign at the
same time and become partners.
Where is the sociologist who will
study the Government clerk and tell
US scientifically about him? He must
borrow from Besant & Rice's book, and
entitle his treatise ''All Sorts and Con.
ditions of Men. y Washington Star.