Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1893-03-12

"N s1o sh4ii Il be-
ssel Charles " Tllden. 81 the Sin.
s@.nth said 4: and IN less than min
ute the Whole gallant record offthis ssi.
disr sas e<fore me. the story ~hseh
bad heard a. a boy IL the little town
uhence be had gone - the war There
was the charge Al Gettysburg from
which he dsd not rctnrn. tise inprsson-
fnent in illbhss noi>oms dtns. the e.
cape. reeapfurc aud srsond ceczpe. rhe
record ~ what he had suffered ia the
rebels hands. and his return 10 the
ranks Of the blseoosts- The minor In
eisients which | had remembered aud
which had caused me u take his case -
a iest were all there In black and bite.
Ihen tried Others in humber ranks
and found the same accuracy in every
Instance spent les> than half an
hour ln the room. The information
which | received would have taken
months Ia secure under the old system
Much of IL. indeed. would never have
been obtained.
OF course great care h taken "a pre-
serve these records from improper use
No person with doubtful rrrapd can
learn anything which he might uss for
malicious purposes - annoy the living
or di>credit the memory 81 the dead
There are endless stores Of queer
in the Indian troops They were. am
told. of little use "a the service not
enough Judge. 10 pay for the keeping
Of records which include such names as
lut-tuk l<o- ko mer-ner and Na-ta she
iso-wily- Some Of them. however.
bad names which were more 10 the
point One box. ! remember. contained
the records Of those who alphabetically
fell between Liar" and Mixed Wa
ter" What the water was mixed with
anybody familiar with the Indian char
acter can guess.
did not expect 20 come across the
name Of jefferson Davis in this collec-
lion, but little reflection might have
prepared ne for H. He served in the
First Mississippi infantry In the Mexican
war and there was an Interesting ac-
rount-though told with military brew
ity--of the operations near Monterey.
in which he took part in September.
$50
Now and then during my stay amid
The records I saw men with small
baskets passing rapidly through the
rooms
They are the mail carriers said
Col. Ainsworth. II have introduced a
system of communication between the
various parts Of the office which obvi-
ates one of the worst forms of delay ex-
isting under the old system. In such .
large Office as this. where papers pass
through many hands much time is or
slinarily lost by the accumulation Of
matter upon the various desks A clerk
would finish his work upon a great
many papers and then transfer them a.
the next man. who might have been
waiting in idleness for some hours
That is impossible now. have mes
sengers who start from the main Office
IT five minute intervals and make the
rounds. Each clerk has basket of
cards bearing the numbers by which
various departments are designated
When he haG finished work on paper
he fAstens 10 IL q card bearing the num-
Der Of the department 10 which il should
20 next The carrier takes II from q
box provided for IL and delivers il by
number. When IL is 20 be returned the
clerk simply turns the card over. and
there upon its back is the mum
Der Of the department from which
il came The next carrier going
the opposite way takes IL back. BY this
system the average delay is not more
than two and half minutes II used
To he twenty-four hours"
II would pay any business man 10
study the methods Of this Office For
instance. in all the vast operations con
Quoted there. involving endless core
spondence and the most perplexing de
tails. there is only one book. That l.
i'm the 'Tenth'str-et branch" and j.
used for keeping track Of the card work
u shows where any card Is at the given
time. When the carding l. completed
the hook will be destroyed. Every
other matter In all that vast establish
aent j. kept track ~ by the index card
system The method of dealing with
correspondence Is a marvel Every let
ter received or written - transferred 20
a card which Is extended by means 81
pastors. and the result is that instead 81
hunting through the INDEXES Of letter
books the entire correspondence on any
subject can be found in minute all to
gethcr. iust like "A soldiers record
There are hundred other details 81
the system equally perfect in their
es.aptAtion 10 the conditions. hut the
limits Of space forbid reference 10
them. Taken "a IL stands. the oficc.
believe. iustifi~> the statement ! made
NJ the beginning that il cmbodics the
most remarkable triumph Of systemiza
ton la the world. IL has been done. a.
have said. practically without eost -
ihe government. and the reduction -
tho clerical sor,e which it will permit
wIll save sseo 600 a YEAR In salaries
And the rs.cor.is II the nations defend.
ers have been preserved.
II is now proposed a. rs~iuce the rec
ords q the revolution aud tho war ~
1917 10 the >anie systern. and doubtless
thi. viii ~ done Ihea this govern
snrnt will have the most complete mill
AIRY history that EXISTS anywhere.
Ho~'s This
w oiIef enc hundfei dollars reward
To- al, rase - catAffh that cannot -
4 -. III. ff..s....t. 49,