The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1896-05-06
UNCLE SANS CLERKS
LIFE LED BY THOSE IN DEPART
MENTS AT WASHINGTON.
Clerking for the Government Be-
comes a Habit Hard to Break
"Sundown Doctors"-lm-
providence the Rule.

Several clerks and messengers in
the public service are more than
ninety years old. Fully twenty-five
per cent. of the $4,000 men and wo.
men in Office registered more than
fifty years of age when the last census
of the departments was taken. In the
history of the Government service dis
ability has never been considered q
valid reason for removing clerk.
All the Government clerks are we'll
paid. Their salaries range from 5000
to $500 year. The statement of the
employees in the custom service in New
York recently that the Government
employees receive "meagre pay" is an.
swered by this statement: The clerks
at Washington work only six and one.
half hours day, and the low protects
them from any demand for work out
of the regular hours. They are en-
titled to thirty days leave of absence,
with pay, every year, and to thirty
days sick leave, with pay, in addition
to this, and, l may add, most of the
clerks are sick nearly. if not all of the
thirty days each year. The made
quacy of the service rendered for the
pay they receive was illustrated by
the statement of the Chairman of the
Postofice Committee of the House re-
Gently that if the postal service was in
the hands of business man he would
make $40, 900, 900 year out of it, in
stead OF showing q deficit each year,
for part of the deficit is due to the
short hours and good pay of the clerks
of the department.
Working from 9 o'clock in the morn.
ing until 4 o'clock in the afternoon,
this great army of clerks lit is nearly
three. quarters the size of the standing
army of the United States) has amaz-
ing opportunities for gratifying am
bition. An inventor employed in one
of the departments could devote four
or five hours day to developing me.
chanical ideas without undue exertion.
A man of literary tastes could spend
as many hours writing, and the best
literary work Is done in as short
space of time by we'll known writer's.
A student could gives almost as much
time to his books as though the Gov.
ernment had no claim on him. And,
in fact, the medical and law schools of
Washington draw great part oftheir
pupils from the departments.
But the doctors who graduate while
they are in the department service do
not resign their clerkships. They re-
main in the department, doing cleri.
cal work, and if they practice medi-
cine at all they do it after Office hours.
"Night doctors" they are called, and
"sundown DOCTORS" and so seriously
have they interfered with the practice
of regular physicians that under this
Administration the heads of depart
ments have issued an order forbidding
them to serve two masters.
As to the lawyers who graduate
while working in the departments,
they stick close to their desks, and if
they make any use of their profession
al knowledge, it is to obtain promo
tion to better salarled position
perhaps as law clerk. &
When Mr.. Wanamaker was PostS
master General he said that if Congress
would only pension the old employees
in the department he could get at
least twenty-five per cent. more work
out of the departments force.
At intervals the clerks agitate q
proposition to have PERCENTAGE de-
Quoted from all salaries, to be applied
to the establishment of fund to be
kept in the Treasury and used for
pensioning superannuated or disabled
department employees. Such o plan
was put before Congress in shape of
a petition from some of the Govern
ment employees. They want two per
cent. of their salaries withheld to form
q fund for disabled or superannusted
clerks.
OF course there are exceptions to
the rule of improvidence among de-
partment clerks. The chief OF di-
vision in the Treasury who was con-
sidered one of the department fixtures
was removed three or four years ago.
Inquiries among his friends by those
who were disposed to sympathize with
him showed that he hand fully $50, 0,00Q
invested in real estate. A colored clerk
resigned from the Treasury Depart.
ment few years ago because he had
not time enough after department
hours to attend to his business inter.
ests. He had entered the Department
of Justice as clerk, and out of his
salary there and in the Treasury De-
partment he had saved enough to make
some fortunate investment IN real
estate. He was worth $751; when
he left the Government service. Some
clerks own the houses in which they
live. But most of the clerks live in
rented houses or have rooms in the
boarding houses which are common to
every part of this city. Some ofthem
have houses in common; others keep
boarding houses and rent rooms to
Congressman and Ito other clerks.
Many of the bachelors live at small
hotels. Comparatively few have homes,
and those who have keep them not in
spirit of economy, but to indulge q
rather expensive taste for society.
Many OF the clerks in the depart
ments belong to distinguished fami-
lies. Senators and members and even !
cabinet officers find the departments
and excellent dumping ground for
poor relations, and many representa-
tives of impoverished families which
have a place in the history of Amer
lea enter the department service be.
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