The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1894-06-16
Discharge of Government EN-
plOyes Brings Gloom
Reductions and Dismissals in
All the Departments
BRING MUCH SORROW.
Three Hundred Clerks Go in
Treasury Alone.

There has been abundant rain and not
much extreme heat, and all nature shows
her richest emerald huss- There are river
excursions every day, AID for a land trip
one may take his choscs between Chevy
Chase, the great ZoSIsogica1 park, the
Georgetown Heights, C.Sban Johns bridge,
Coxey's camp, Mount WGruon and all the
rest And yet we are ns'e happy In fact,
the statement one hears often that there
Is more sadness in Washington now than
at any time since the war is not far from
absolute truth 1t is a sadness that can be
felt. One who walks through the depart
ments, or in the districts where there Is a
great deal of petty retail trade, or among
the boarding houses, takes the general i'm
preston OF sadness even when nothing is
said. Dismissals from the various depart
ments continue, and, contrary to the usual
rule, the reality has proved far worse than
the anticipation. The discharge of one
employee brings trouble to many persons,
and general trade is seriously affected.
Some say the falling off already amounts
to $3.50, 600 per month, and this in turn
causes contraction in every branch
DismissaIs Cause Hardship.
The figures hitherto published do not
show the full number of dismissals. Tho
first estimate was that 81, 600, 600 in an
nual salaries was to be saved, but there
will probably be more. The first statement
decrease of $24O, 600 in the treasury depart
ment and the discharge of some 500 clerks,
as the second cOmptroller's Office is to be
entirely abolished as well as two divisions
in the sixth auditors Office. Secretary
Carlisle says it win take until Nov. 1 to
complete the consolidation of the Offices,
but dismissals are already in progress.
In the war Office something between
500, 900 and $3.50, 600 is to be saved in
clerk hire In the record and pension bu-
Tl,1.- &f1<s~ =
ter rolls and records of individual soldiers
have now been arranged and copied in
such convenient shape that any question
thereon can be answered at once. The ex-
act number of Clismissals in other bureaus
of tho war department. is not yet settled,
but it will fall little, if any, below 500,
and a bad feature of it is that in a major
ity of the bureaus it is not yet certainly
known who is to go. In those bureaus
where the work is practically completed
all or nearly all the discharged employees
viii be Republicans, simply because there
are few others there
Fewer Persons, but More Work.
In some Of the divisions moro than four
f1fths of the employees came in before Mr..
ClevelanG's first term and were not dis
turbed, nor will the pending disnissals
be made political grounds. The eff
cheney record will determine and the most
competent be retained without regard to
age, sex or politics. Congressman have
least dependent should be dismissed, but
Secretary Lamont found it impossible to
make minute inquiries in every case, and
there was proof that every dismissal
would cause hardship In the navy de-
partment alone is there a prospect of in
creased employment. At least there will
be no dismissals. In the state department
much of the reduction of force results from
the same causes operative in almost every
kind of business-that is, new methods
hpv ma 10 10 for to
do more work AS instance, instruc-
tions to officials, especially consuls, have
heretofore been carefully written out and
three copies made-one for the official,
one for the files and one for the public
printer. Now they arc to be done on
typewriter, and the three copies be
made at once, that in place of three
penmen receiving 5000 per year each there
is one expert typewriter receiving 81, 200.
correspondence with representatives or
foreign governments is still to be done
with pen, and in this line, of course, the
most skillful writer's are employed
In the interior department. there are also
many reductions. At the beginning Of the
year there were over 1000 employees in
the census bureau, and at the close of it
there will be little more than half as
many. DisInissals will continue steadily
thereafter, as all work on the census Will
be completed by next February Down
to the present it is estimated that nearly
swo-thirds Of those discharged have been
women, most of them with salaries of SIS
per month or less. In the land office less
than 100 persons have been discharged
during the entire year. and in consequence
of the opening of tho Oklahoma strip and
some old Indian and army reservations
the commissioner asked for an increase,
but it was not granted Whenever con-
gross adjourns many clerks, typewriters
and others are thrown out of work tenn
porar1ly, and the number will be larger
than usual this year. Altogether it is esti-
mated that about 5000 people will lose
their jobs between June 1 and Aug 1,
which Will amount, as near as can be de-
termtned, to a withdrawal of $3.50, 600 from
the money paid out each month in this
district and possibly 5000, 600 from the
men
Jerry simpson Hopeful.
An unusually large number of states
men and their families are at Berkeley
Springs, Va, and our genial Populist
friend, Jerry Simpson, sends a daily
note to his copartisans in the house that
he is enjoying himself there very much
more than he had expected, is regaining
strength and confidently counts on being
able soon to take his seat as representative
and thereafter enter on the redhot cam
paign in Kansas. Incidentally it may be
added that while politics will be lively al
most everywhere this year it is generally
conceded that Kansas in the north and
North Carolina in the south will be hot
terri a limekiln' from start to finish. Tho
socialists and those more or less affiliated
with them have opened q regular local
campaign in this city. their chief apostle
being Mr.. Morrison I Swift Of Boston,