The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-05-29
OFFICES NO one WANTS.
Some Government Places for
Which There is No
Competition.
HAZARDOUS WORK. LITTLE PAY
Marine Hospital aud Forlorn Little
cousulates-Scanty Pay for
Learned and Expert Men.

Offices that 20 beggipgi 1t would
hardly be supposed that there We're any
such. Judging from the swarm Of place.
hunters that lave besisged Washington
for the last two months In fact, how
ever. there are manv saiaried positions In
the Governments gift which it is hard to
get men to accept. Some OF them In
voIve great danger, while others are too
poorly paid to be desirable.
For example. just o the Treasury
finds it almost impossible TO secure
available men for revenue agents In the
mountains of Tennessee. A number OF
those officers have been murdered
recently in that region by moonshiners.
Three of them were shot from an ambush
and killed only the other day. The
occupation in which they met
their death Is the most hazardous
known. During three consecutive
years twenty-five of these seekers
after Illicit stills were slain and forty-nine
were wounded. No wonder that 1t Is
difficult to fill their places at IS a day and
expenses. To do the duty well requires
sense aud discretiop, as well as courage.
One fool agent in five minutes can get The
1uLCt NNA llSfSHQS 0utS60 iht0 gu =
rassmept that will take a year to get out
out Of besides entailing great expense.
NEW SOUTH LLIGHTsHIP.
The Treasury nnls " hard TO get and
retain officers on board OF the New
South Snosl Lightsnip. which is stationed
twenty-sight miles south OF Nantucket.
Here. In a region of almost perpetual
storms, the vessels rides at anchor. Like
the storied phantom ship. she 10 per-
petually buffettsd BY the waves, though
never destined TO get auywhere. From
time to time she breaks adrift M is
blown u into the ocean. During
three consecutive months OF
on two such involuntary cruises-once
for thirteen days and the other time for
eight days. Usually on such occasions
she is lowed back by q steamer that is
sent to look for her: sometimes she man
ages to get back under sail. Besides
er, gets So henth, the engineer $50.
the assists : engineer $e5, aud the as
sistant kee or $50. Insspite of such good
pay IT is rarely that a man can be per-
suaded to spend = second winter on this
lightship- which is the last landmark, so
tn speak, seen by transatlantic voy2gers
Oh their way to Europe.
The Marine Hospital service, which be-
longs to the Treasury, is having trouble
In finding physicians to seud abroad for
service IS inspectors OF vessels at Euro
pean ports during the approaching sum
msr. These officers who win sx
United states, are required to have
had experience Of cholera. Furthermore,
they must know the language spoken III
the place to which they are dispatched
aid must possess some acquaintance with
the country. Fol example, the medical
agent at Liverpool ought to be familiar
vEffh the cIry a m I .nuhna In ngHa ~ fa0f
he may be on his guard against persons
coming from danger spots.
NC M WILL GO TO BEHRING SEA.
For available persons are willing to
accept com missions from the Treasury to
repre- seat the United States Government
on the Seal Islands, in Behriug Sea, Those
isles are 500 miles from Sitka, aud s, 900
miles from San Francisco. After the
steamer leaves in October, they are shut
off from communication with the rest OF
the world until che following June.
For like reasons few men care to serve
as observers for the Weather Bureau on
top of Mount Warrington, Officers q t
this station must live through the white r
In an iceberg, chained aud ancfored to
rocks amid the clqdds-for into such q
shape Is their cabin-shalter transformed
by frost and the accumulation OF snow.
For months together they are cut of
from all the rest of mankind. The con-
Alb - 80 AftY
Prof. Harrington recently excused him
self for having kept u disrepurable per-
son in charge there on the ground that
he could not get any more desirable IN
dIyidual to accept the Job. When the
Weather Bureau was absorbed by the
Department. of Agriculture its obs ervers
were classified under the Civil Service
Law. Thus their pay became from 81. 300
to 81, 600a year. Previously they received
only the remuneration. of sergeauts III
the army-$S4 q month, with rations and
clothing.
During the recent pleure-pneumonia
excitement the sgeut sent by the DEPART
meht of~Argriculrure toipspect cattle and
aid slaughter diseased animals, WHISTLER
the OF ner were willing or no. found
their occupation a hazardous Que. Taey
were frequently received with pitchforks:
krtckbats and bulldogs. Some of them
Were badly hurt. Consequently In some
places il was hard 20 secure veterinary
physicians to do this work for salaries OF
$1,000 to 81, 800 per auuum.
MANUFACTURING DYNAMITE.
For the small wages paid the Navy De-
partinent has difficulty in retaining the
expert employed to handle high expio-
sives at the Newport torpepo s~Ietlon.
THESE men manufacture dynamite by
mixing nitro-glycerine, with infusorlat
earlb. Iu ordinary Iatbes they turn
cnuHcks of nitro-glycerne. which is the
most dangerous OF all explosives, into
shapes of loading shells. Also they chop
1t up with chisels. While undergoing
these operation che stuff is Kept saturated
with water. II by accident it got a little
dry it would blow the factory 10 pieces.
). The Post Office Department Offices go
begging by wholesale. There are thou
sands OF fourth-ctass postoffices which it
is hard TO get anybody to accept. People
are constantly sending IN requests to the
effect hat postmaster shall De appoint
ed at this or that u -of-the-wHy spot, u
no one will take the plsce.. Tuere are
n~fnety-seven designations of postmasters
now on file from The State OF Washington
alone. and there are applicants for only a
few of these POSITIONS. Hundreds OF post
Offices have to be discontinued every year
because nobody will lake charge of them,
There are 10. 900 ppstofices which pay TO
the fncumDenls less than so q year.
Whenever there Is d change of Adminis-
tration at Washington, resignations of
p5stmssters pour ip. Many OF them
notify the Postmaster General thai
they have sold OUT to somebody else.
Most. small post olices are In country
stores and the pronrietors dispose Of the
mail privileges together with the g0oa-
will aud fixtures. or course, such q
bargain is not Recognized by the depart
ment, III the purchaser is likely TO De
appointed II The neighbors endorse his ap-
pIicutioD. A fourth class postmaster gets
no saiarv, but receives u percentage on