Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1892-12-15
UNCLE SANS PAY ROLL.
II Represents an Annual Expeno
ture of $9o,oOo,ooo.


The Blue Book, and Its List of 10000
OiNcers--A Document That is in Great
Demand just Row.
Special Correspondence Of Gazette aud Journal
WASHINGTON, b. u, Dec. l2.-rhe most
popular book in Washington Just now is
that pondernils and statistical looking
work entitled ''rhe official Register of the
United States,n but more commonly
known ms the "Blue Book Just why it
is called "Blue Book" beyond the fact
that it is bound in blue is not quite clear,
unless 1t is because SO many people are
blue because they cannot get their names
into it, and so many others are blue over
the prospect that their names will soon
disappear from il.
At any rate, it is popular volume just
now. Everybody who wants an office is
anxious to get n chance to examine the
"Blue Book" for it contains full list
Of the 10000 offices under the gov
eminent. And, it is safe to estimate
that for 10000 offices there are about
| iS00,O10 aspirants. This would be an
average of 10 aspirants for each office,
which is, perhaps, n fair estimate As the
edition of the "Bue Book is limited, and
as every one of these 800 600 people want
to sec it, the consequence is that, ms indi-
Gated above, it is an extremely popular
! document and one not easy to be had,
| although it is distributed by the govern
| ment free of charge. where distributed at all.
| Every two years, ut the beginning Of
new Congress, the official register makes its
1 appearance. 1t is prepared by an officer of
the interior department, and from single
| thin volume of few hundred pages not
many years ago it has grown now to two
| ponderOus volumes of Il thousand pages
each And it is still growing. Every issue
| sees thousands of names added to it. a
decade ago the number of employees was
Nntn a. (ft,Eil
Service Commission puts the figures at
10000 The number has increased right
| along through Democratic and Republican
| administrations, and seems likely TO in
crease with the growth of the country. In
poStmasters alone, there is an increase of II
thousand or two every year, and, in assist.
ants. in the larger pust'ottices of the coun-
try, there is also steady increase. Every
week sees some raid on the post-oifice de-
partment by some enthusiastic postmaster,
intent upon improving the service of his
post-otlice for the people of his city, with
demands for more clerks, more carriers, Of
more employees Of one sort or another.
Every session of Congress sees legislation
enacted which in some way increases the
list of employees, and salaries run up far
into the millions.
The amount Of money paid out for sal
aries of government officials is in round
numbers 500 900 a year. This is an
average of $3.50 apiece for each individual
in the country, that makes il easy to re-
member. There are 60.000000 people in
the country, and they pay $40 100000 i'll
salaries to the 10000 government officials,
big and little. of course. the man who
gets the largest salary is the President,
who draws $4,000 year. The man who
gets the smallest salary is the postmaster
at Podunk, or some other cross road, who
is paid certain amount on each letter
mailed at his post.oltice, and in some eases
gets less than 81 for the entire years
service.
,, The next highest salaries after the Presi
dents are those OF the ministers to the
: first-class foreign powers who get Sl15Ol
each Next after the ministers comes til,
collector Of customs at New York who
gets $4,000, then the supreme Gonr
justices, with life job of $4,000 each, tn,
!: Vice. president and cabinet officers, SSDOt
|, each. few OF the officers of the depart
ments as high as $4,000, and so on dow
to the Podunk postmaster.
The average per capita salary of this
governmental officials is about $500 pc
annunl.
, The salaries of the executive depart
! mcnt of the government, which in
!, cludes the President and Nice-presi
. dent and his assistants, amount I
! $1,000; those Of the department of jus
I tce fail tritle below 81 100000 year
those of the state department and its sui
prdinates, including minister's consuls
&c, amount to triile over Sl,0OU,UO0
year. The agricultural department costs
!, for salaries alone, u trile over Sl,oOG00
? annually. Next comes the legisl ATTY
/ branch of the government, which include
Is House, Senate and their employees, an
e costs s3,2bO,000 a year. The Interior de
d partment, with its force OF pension agent.
Indian agents, &c, comes next wit
salary roll Of considerably Owe
S50OO,o00 year. The navy departmet
# comes next in order, paving a llttl
q more than u.s. 000,000 per annum III salafie
ii while the war department nearly double
l. that amount, its salary lists amounting I
n over $l5 00O,00O yenr. The treasury d
II partment has a still larger salary roll, 8
n its internal revenue service alone, pays OF
nearly SI000,00U year for salaries fc
customs service. The treasury officials I
various grades and ranks, receive oyt
$1,000, 900; the bureau of engraving an
= printing nearly $i,0OO,OOOi the mint an
y assay offices nearly another Million an
y !, the District of Columbia, which is tackt
y, on under the treasury department
y 81 100000, bringing the total salary Ii
= under the treasury department up
Sl2, sos 4U4.
The department paying out the large
sum for salaries, however, is the post-uilit
department. 1t has, of course, a muC
y, larger number of employees the pos
~ masters alone numbering over G0,UOO, ~
~ the letter carriers, railway mail clerk
s.i and Others run the expenses up to a tot
~ of nearly $6O0OO,0 600 per annutn.