The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-07-19
-voRa1ANs IN DEPARTMENTS.



~ Columbia who are holding depart
-..r,r uositions in Washington, ID. @. A
--..r everyday proverb is to the effect
.t.- all sorts Of people are required to
,.9ls no the population of this planet,
[..,,e it is fair to presume that all sorts
- PERSONS are engaged as employees in the
,-.,,5-1u of the government, which if true
- evident that they are secured from a
-.ry limited territory, for on investiga-
,..n il is found that the District of
,-..-,r5fa has over 5000 (nearly
fsm more persons holding positions
~ the government service than she is
TITLED to under census appOrtiOnment
T. Gems that 50 great had become this
t;snroportionmeht of the federal positions
IN 6re department (treasury) that there
- an act of congress passed in 1876 and
r,.anacted in 1S53-statute at large, vol
me II. pages 1884, 9-which reads as fol-
lows Provided, that on and after Janu-
or, 1876, the appointments OF this de
'sr+meur treasury shall be arranged as
n he equally distributed between the
several states of the United States. terri
-5rfrs and the District of Columbia, ac-
c9rding to their population" Forty-third
CONGRESS. second session, 1875.
However good the intention of the law,
II is evident that it never was lived up to
~ NUT into force to any extent, for the
fou6wing appeared in one of the dailies
nj this city not long ago-the Evening
News of April 10. In an interview with
The rcportcr for the Evening News Secre-
t1ry carlisle said: when [ first as
srmed the office Of secretary of the treas
Urv WAS besieged with applications
far positions through members of
congress and for this reason |
determined to have made out a
ready reference list of the people in the
depgrrment, with the state from which
they come In going over this list l dis
covered that the District of Columbia
which was actually entitled to II en-
moves. had an actual representation in
ihrdepartment of l, l55 persons, or just
los times the number to which the dis
trict was entitled. ! was struck with
amacment when discovered this fact, as
was when | found that the quotas of
Maryland aud Virginia, for instance, were
astonshingly Overcrowded.
The figures given below show that the
federal District of Columbia has for years
been eucroachmg upon the rights of the
states in the matter of securing positions
in the departments and that every south
ern and western state has been preYed
upon in this way to a greater extent than
any Of the other states in the union, New
York, Maryland and Virginia being way
ahead Of their quotas. BY our tables,
which have reference solely to the clerks
employed in the departmental service at
Washington, and do not include those
branches Of the government established
elsewhere, il appears that the majority
Of r,. tgf 7pHe fhan ha1f Of n
positions in the various departments to
which they are entitled. This system of
robbug the states for the benefit Of the
District of Columbia has been a constant
" growing evil for years, and we sincere
ly hope that the incoming congress will
exert every effort TO break up this prac-
tice and legislate 50 that each state may
be able to get approximately its just de-
seats
The state of Georgia has $50 clerks in
the government employ at Washington,
d. c., and is entitled to a little over 5S2
by virtue Of her population.
Eleven of the above $50 clerks (seven
males and four females) are native born
residents of the District of Columbia, who
have been charged to the state for some
reason or other. This would decrease
her actual number of bona fde clerks to
1859, or less than one-third the number to
which she is entitled. In addition to
these eleven natives from the district
could be added several from the states of
Maryland, Virginia and other. states
close by who have been wrongfully cred
tied to the state also.
A portion Of these clerks draw an ag-
gregatc salary of 3lS4, 1880 a year. All
those employed in the government print
ing Office and the bureau of engraving
and printing are piece and hour workers
ana the salary paid to them in addition
10 the above amount cannot be estimated
The state Of Georgia as at present rep
resented stands as the oath one, and rep
resents the ninety-One hundredth part of
the entire number Of clerks employed by
Uncle sam. The state should stand as
The 18th one and represent two and
hlhety-tour hundredths part of the total
number OF clerks, or considerably more
Ihdn lhree times the number she has at
present
Inc District of Columbia ought to be
near the bottom of the list in the distri-
Outlon OF these departmental positions,
pUI DIS n matter of fact, She stands out in
oQ ll relief at the head Of the column.
me district has 5, lGS clerks and is only
e.,l to d, by virtue of her population,
ss'O''55 100000 nOn-reSidents deducted
IRON the 22O, 1872, as reported). A portion
VI tntsC clerks draw an aggregate salary
Ul s"'3fN IO9.S6 year. Nearly / 900 of
aeL clerks work by the piece and hour,
anu lhe amount paid to them, in addition
20 lhe above, cannot be estimated. Nearly
!''OJ natives of the district are charged
~ various states, which makes about
UoOO persons from the district holding
titled
me me district as at present represented
eo1ulS 4rst in the list and represents
sSthA-slX and fve-one-hundredths part
y. I!e entire number of clerks employed
W Chcle sam She should stand forty
t-loAu III the list and represent only
to,tg,IIOy-seyen hundredths part of the
s sgg1L number Of clerks she has consid-
G LaoIl over one-fourth Of everything I'M
t;r, lhe government, while her popula-
S S,ou Is only about 1850 Zone three-hun-
Co, gu ana tiftieth) part of the whole
4. Slaoy Of these people have been in of
I,,So lohg now that they think they
lr [,g vested interest in them and that it
tnor'U De nothing short of conhscation to
ba,.a OHeh out They believe that they
o4t,. 9lylne right to fill these places, as
ci-,. uOiulng IS the chief industry of the
ngro aIu Jhat 1t is simply matter of
ba,a WI Puoence for any state to assume to
Nm snare In the business. A shake
fba viewer, viii occur some time, and
ounces are that they will have to go.
ALBERT L. Ross.
q n 49, -