The Russellville Democrat., 1890-01-16
RoBr. E. MILL rr
OFFICIAL RED TAPE.
How Government Clerk Succeeded In
 Getting a Cushion.

Getting Cushion.
 The.heads of the departments are oc-
 sasionally called upon to settle some knotty points, particularly in relation to the expenditure of the public funds. No voucher is approved until it has been carefully scrutinized, and no dis bursement or payment is authorized until the necessity for the same is fully determined and specified in detail on the face of the voucher This rule is
 imperative and is followed withou re- gard to the amount involved, no matter whether it be S2,000,000 or ? cents.
 The officials at the treasury have
 made numerous precedents in this mat ter and only the other day there came
 up at said department condition Of affairs relative to a purchase that for time at least attracted the attention of half a dozen heads of bureaus, the law officer and an assistant secretary. Now this was the case in brief: A clelk-a | S1, 200 year clerk--in one of the bureaus wanted a new cushion for his chair. In fact, he needed it, and he made writ ten request therefor and addressed the | letter to his division chief. This gen. | tleman approved the same and signified 1 his approval by writing his name in | red ink on the face of the document | Then said division chief hit the paper | terrific blow with rubber stamp and sent it to deputy auditor. It got an- other signature from said deputy and an
 other dose of stamp, and messenger laid
 it on the desk of an auditor, who treated it l to another salting of signature and | tl Treasury took fall out of the paper, | which was then shot through the war rant room and the treasurers office. By this time 1t was covered with sigma l lures and stamps in ink of every known | hue, red blue, yellow, carmine, brown and other blended shades too numerous I to mention. In the course of fortnight | the paper reached the office of the chief clerk of the treasury, who, after deci- I phering 1t, made an objection thereto because it did not specify in detail the
 necessity for the expenditure. So he
 disapproved it, and after moro stamps and signatures, it was started on a return trip. It went to the clerk again via the warrant office, the treas | urer and assistant secretary, tiie audi 1 tor, the deputy auditor, the chief of the division, and every fellow swiped it | with his stamp. The clerk needed the cushion and he needed it badly. so he
 made kick and the whole matter was
 referred to the proper law officer for ad- justment and decision. This gentle
 man, after examining the statutes at length, gave it as his unbiased opin- ion that the purchase could be made without infraction of the law, pro
 vided that the acquisition was made more explicit, and reduced
 his views to writing. Then half dozen of the parties in interest appeared
 before the law officer and the clerk was
 told he should have his cushion if the
 paper gave some idea of the particular
 reason for the necessity of the purchase.
 The clerk was Southerner and after minute or two, stammered out: II really don't know what to say. I am,
 as you see, quite tall and there is little
 flesh on my frame, sah; I suppose l might say I am bony and sharp set" and the acquisition was made to say that the clerk twas bony and sharp set. '
 The chief clerk seeing that the law was satisfied, approved the paper and
 the sharp set clerk" got his cushion, for which the Government paid seventy
 five cents This long-winded story is intended to impress on the minds of the
 reading public that it is no easy matter to get money out of the treasury of the
 United States. Washington Letter.