Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1892-11-23
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT CATS.
Three Hundred OF These Animals En-
nnued IN Proteoting Reoords.

rhros Hundred or These Animals En-
gagged In Protecting ReOOr6s.
Three hundred and odd cats are
maintained by the United States
government, the cost Of their sup
port being carried as a regular item
on the accounts of the postotfice
department. They are distributed
among about fifty postofces, and
their duty IS to keep rats and mice
from eating postal matter and mail
sacks. Their work is of the utmost
importance wherever large quaint
ties of mail is collected-as, for ex-
ample. at the New York postofhce,
where from 1000 TO 5000 bags OF
such material are commonly slowed
away in the basement
Formerly great damage was often
done by miscl .evous rodents, which
chewed holes in the sacks and
thought nothing of boring clear
through bags of letters in a night.
Troublesof this sort no longer occur,
now that the official pussies keep
watch. Each postmaster is allowed
from eight to forty dollars a year
for the keep Of his feline staff, send
ing his estimate for "cat meat" to
Washington at the beginning of each
quarter. Care is taken not to feed
the animals too high, y in order that
their appetite for live game may be
keen. It is laid down as a rule that
no meat shall be given where there
is a mouse or a rat to be caught.
Cats are kept in all the government
buildingsat Washington. In that of
the state. war and navy departments
they are employed not only to pro
tect the priceless papers stored there,
but to guard against fire. Twice the
war department has been set afre by
rats gnawing matches on one OF
these occasions in the Office of the
secretary of war in the middle OF the
night. A year ago the treasury had
nine cats, but they made themselves
obnoxious and all were given away
but two. These are rs wild as pos
sible, getting living by foraging for
themselves. Mice are VIGOROUSLY
fond of chewing up money, but they
have no chancetO get at Uncle Sans
paper cash, which is kept IN rooms
with iron walls that defy their teeth.
Rats occupied the pension office In
great numbers while it was in pro
cess Of building. taking up their resi-
dence in the walls and floors as fast
as they were put up Two years ago
four cats were introduced there TO
guard the records of the old soldiers,
and they have driven most of the
vermin away. The best rat killer of
the quartet not long ago, being
frightened at something, fell from
the second gallery, fifty feet, to the
tiled floor and was killed. The White
House has two cats, one black and
white female kept in the kitchen,
and the other q black Tom kept in
the stable. Mrs. Harrison had four
handsome Maltese cats. but they dis
appeared.
But vhe Capitol Is the greatest
place in Washington for cats. The
huge building swarms with them,
and at night they scamper about in
troops. Nobody knows how many
of them there are, but the watch
men reckon them by scores. They
are all Migrants and wild as hawks
In summer they are scattered about
the neighborhOOd to some extent,
but in winter they gather within the
building. AT about 10 o'clock every
night they begin a mad racing
through the empty corridors, which
are made TO resound with their cries.
The acoustic effects produced are as
tonishing. Let q single grimalkin
lift up his voice in statuary hall, ia
nous for its echoes, and the silence
of the night IS broken by yell IS
loud rs a locomotive whistle. a
favorite place for cat concerts is the
whispering gallery down below,
known as the crypt, where the
feeblest sound is magnifed into a
roar.-Washington Cor. New York
World