The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-04-01

perhaps $500 a year. but their chances
are small and the limit is fixed 1t is sell
oom thata clerk becomes a Cabinet Min
,ster. though cases of this kind have been
known I'D the past. Horatio King went
III 70 s,o the Postoffice Department as a clerk
a. SIuoo year and he acted as Postmas ter
General under James Buchanan. There
are assistant secretaries IN the depart
!nents VINO nave been clerks, but the ma
Jority OF the men who go into the great
mills OF Uncle Sam are ground between
.ne upper anu neither milestone and soon
pecome, as lar as energy, push and am
bilious work is concerned. inanimate
powder.
You have all heard the story of how
Salmon P. Chase once came TO his uncle
who was then in the United States Senare
and asked for Government lob. His
uncle told him be would give him 81 to Inv
an ak or spade, but that he would not
aid him in digging his own grave in one of
Uncle Sans official cemeteries. Post
master-General Bissell told me not long
ago that he did not consider the Govern
ment departments good place for young
men, and there is no doubt put that an
enterprising energeti young, fellow he'd
ment service. The hours are short
and all the tendencies are to lazi-
ness and good-for-nothingness. A man
has to have very positive qualities IN
order not to be turned into machine. and
all the tendencies are TO eXtravaganceS IN
living. Washington Is city of rich young
men and place in which nearly every
man lives up 10 his income. 1t is city
containing many Observation-Disclosures, and
l know of society women as we'll as gov
eminent clerks who buv the dresses which
they wear at our fashionable reception
on in ailments, and who have not always
paid Tor them by the time they are worn
out. The business houses of Washington
expect people to run bills, and they have
their settlements just after the Govern
ment paydays at the 10Th or the last of the
month. Compar atively few of the Gov
eminent clerks save money, and only the
fewest try to save any money out of thai
which they 40 save. ..:...
Washi ngton is great place for people
to 90 into debt, and there is II small class
OF the Government clerks who are in the
habit OF borrowing money at 10 per cent a
month. There are about the Canitol and
the different departments brokers who
lend money at this rate. and they turu up
about PAYDAY In order to catch the clerks
who owe them. They know their money
is good and they lose but little. Instances
have been known of clerks who have paid
$40 month for ten years for the use of 500,
and the ma 9rity Of those who borrow at
this rsie do not appreciate how much in
terest they are paying. 1t used to be that
such brokers when they could not get the
money on time would make complaints 10
the chiefs oil the departments. aud through
them would collect their bills. This has
been abolished of late years, and no note
shaver has now any control over the salar-
les of the clerks. Brokers of this kind
were in times past connected with Con-
gress, and | know of past sergeani-at-
arms who made fortune in this way. He
would lend money at high rates to Con-
gressmen and deduct the amount when he
came to give them their salaries. The en-
ployes of the Capitol and Congressman
sometimes anticipate their pay in this way
even now. but it is done very quietly and
no one hears of IT,
FRANK G. CARPENTER.