Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-05-09
CIRCUMSTANCES CONTROL
Mr.. Benedict Holds Large and Continual
Reception.
The Government Printing once Force
to Be Greatly Reduced-Uneasy
People with q Pull.

Mr.. T. e. Benedict Of New York is now
the public printer of the government, fully
installed In the duties, the prerogatiyes and
the emoluments OF that position. This
should make Mr.. Benedict very happy, for
1t is an honorable and important trust that
he holds. but there are reasons why Mr..
Benedicts happiness should be largely mix
ed NTH bitte1iess. The pressure on him
rhAs sbe9uh. It II safe to say that the new
public printer Is the most sought man In
Washington today-not excepting the Presi-
dent. The clerks who stand between Mr..
Benedict and the great American public are
at their wits end to keep their chief sup
piled with not more than five callers at
once. but they are not wholly successful
A Star reporter made an unsuccessful ef-
fort to see Mr.. Benedict this morning, mere
ly to learn the result of all this calling and
receiving. 1t was then $50 o'clock an hour
when the average Congressman is at his
own leisure, yet there were then six Repre-
sentatives and two Senators in the inner
presence. Mr.. Benedict responded to the re-
porter's card that he was very sorry the
surrounding circumstances would not per-
init him to grant an interview.
BY circumstances" Mr.. Benedict prob
ably meant influences. His market is great
ly overstocked with influences just at pres
ent. They are a sad drug. They work &c
two ends. One class of these influences
seek to keep men I'm office and the other
class seeks to get men In. There is no spe-
cial class seeking to get men out but tha,
Is not Necessary. for men are going ou,
nevertheless. and by the score and huh
dred. Naturally enough II member OF
the second class succeeds he causes a
vacancy to be made, for nowhere than ir
the public service is the physical law more
true that you cannot get two pints OF wa.
ter into a pint cup at the same time. Mr.
Benedict however. is going to disappoin-
somebody, for he has announced his in.
tention to reduce the force OF the offcs
very materially, perhaps by eight hundred
He says he has found there are now 1884
persons on the rolls, as against less thar
200 when he turned the ONCE over to Mr.
Palmer four years or SO ago.
In view Of this declaration Mr. Bene
dict is having more callers OF the first class
than of the second. and he is in serious
straits. for nearly every man In the ON q
has a ''pulf' somewhere, and hence the
crowds At Mr.. Benedict's receptions There
are, besides. scores of applicants for thu
mere important positions In the Office sucf
as the foremen and superintendents mors
than enough to I'LL each place. five times
over.
AS result of this pressure the men and
women employed In the Office are in a seri
ous state of unrest and await Developments
with eager anxiety. Already some have
been laid of and these stand idly about on
street awaiting a chance to be taken back
The little community that has grown VI
around the printing office is greatly con.
cerned over the situation. for changes I'm tbs
office mean much to the families as well a.
the merchants In that vicinity. Some OF ths
men have already made arrangements to gc
with q large printing house In Cincinnati in
anticipation OF the probable upheaval I'm tn.
government Office. There will probably be
many houses for rent in this neighborhooc
between now and the lst of July.
AS the reporter was leaving another cir.
cumstance" surrounded Mr. Benedict in the
form Of Senator Jones of Arkansas, who had
laid aside his trying duties as manager OF
the tariff compromise for an hour to inter.
cede with Mr.. Benedict either for an in OF
an "out" The other eight were still there.