The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-09-27
GOVERNMENT CLERKS.
The Important Place Which They DC
cupy in Washington Society.
From the Washington Star.

cupy in Washington Society.
From the Washington Star
In Washington ballroom last season
were conversing three people-the Baron
de -, newly attached TO a foreign le-
cation, a young department clerk, and
girl from Boston.
And then" said the girl, "there are the
people in the departments here. They
are large part of the population, aren't
theye"
80. re Departmental said the baron. 81
have heard Eat zey are re houses of aims for
re paupers, helnm
And l have heard" said the clerk,
promptly that the foreign legations here
are the places of refuge for the impover-
ished regulations Of European diplomats"
The girl from Boston was equal to the
occasion, and prevented the hot retort on
the baron's lips.
"Ah," she said, 81 am so glad, for I'm a
philanthropist. you know, and adore pow
erty-of all kinds"
Half the men in the room and several of
the women were department clerks.
The elegantly elderly gentleman who was
asslduously feeding the pretty daughter Of
Chtcago Croesus rejoiced in the possession
of a 81 400 clerkship in our department, the
bowling swell, who was lazily allowing
himself to be amused by sweet rosebud
debutante, was the chief of a division in
another department. the group of young
exquisites, 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
jovew
He was entirely right. Who are the
rlrin huu Il, ri 81.
the chief patronizers of the theatersa Who
form the bulk of the renters of houses2
Who are most Of the readers of the Star
Who will fill the churchesg Who crowd
the barss Wno.make up the rank and file of
'socetyW Who are the members of the
clubs! Go calling before O'clock: go to q
| barroom before that hour; sit In the club at
| $3.50. You will find yourself almost alone
| Nothing goes on in social way till the de-
| partments 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 Russians and Ameri-
| cans among them. Some are Californians,
| some FloridianS, some Yankees some Mich
| iganders. They are rich and poor-from
the clerk whose carriage calls for him (pre-
| cious few OF these are there, but still some)
| to the poor fellow who wears an alpaca coat
far into the fall and heavy frock coat far
| into the spring Some are rakish looking
| bachelors, who spend their money in forbid
den pleasures. others are the fathers of large
| and struggling families, some are spend
thrifts always in debt and generally in the
T, clutches of the money lenders, others are
| thrifty ana own property, some are not yet
| out of their teens, others totter upon the
verge of the grave When o'clock comes
this strange assembiage disintegrates; their
call gives them nothing in common after
| office hours.
Did it ever occur to any one how curl
ously the selfishness of men manifests itself2
| A man-of-war goes on cruise for three
| years. During tnat time the officers are
literally cooped up together and see practi-
cally no one but each other. That ship
goes out of commission, say at San Fran
cisco, and the officers are ordered east
Yet those of the officers who make the long
journey across the plains together fire.
quently do so by accident. The cruise being
over, it is a matter of indifference 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, sometimes.
whether he is married.
Curious friendships sometimes spring I'D
strange, incongruous. inexplicable friend
ships. Won, with ferocious burly beard
and mild blue eyes, suspected of nihilistic
tendencies, and said to be political refugee,
may be seen any day or night with that
dapper little trifier, young s., and real
affection exists between the two, and when
old Won falls i'll this youngster nurses
him and tends TO him as though he was his
brother. Or, more frequently a 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 scientific
cally about him He must borrow from
Besant and Rice's book, and entite his
treatise "All Sorts and Conditions of Men. u