Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-05-23

remely interesting. and shall be sorry, in
deed, when the column of The Star ceasa
TO bring our daily allowance of comment
on the absorbing topic. Not that 1 be-
ileVe FOR moment that Mr. 'Tawney will
accomplish more than show his interest in
! both the civil service and the clerks, but
only because IL is so inIprovint- to see our
serves as others see us. even If those 9TH
eis nappen TO wear spectacles with a de-
! cided twist in them
any person unacquainted with the facts
ia the case and reading the bulk of opin-
IONS advanced must neces sarily come TO
| the conclusion that all cxcepf the latest
additions 10 the cleric al force are mere
useless cumberers of the erou d. who hold
tieh positions With malice PREF ense SIM
ply 10 keep these lear young clerks out
oi what belongs to Them by virtue Of their
youth and beauty-to say nothing ~ their
overwhelming ability-and who now, after
! tlehdlng their princely salaries in riotous
! nNihg' are feloniously bent upon compelling
.iese same sweet youths to stand and de-
| hNef, SO that they may continue said riot
Gus nVlng for the remainder Of their NAT
I ural hVes That is, think the impression
stranger would get from reading III.
very eloquent con" arguments advanced
| mus far. And what a load of mistakes he
would labor underr iie
~, IN the first place L doubt whether any
piu clerk ever BATTERED himself that any
Eihu OF provision would be made fer his
uecHhihg years, except such as he could
| provide for himself: and he is therefore
vntiIey gulltlsss Of a premeditated assault
upon any ones pocket book and when n
comes TO riotous living-weu / cannot ouite
claim that all of Unole Sans mature SER
wants are Vegetarians or nembers of the
colu water brig lde: but / will say and I
challenge any one to disprove H. that a
inner, more estimable and more Charitable
Ciiss OF people cannot be found anywhere
IMAM these same old government clerks,
ana that all good works public and rri-
! Ndte, IN this city, depend mainly upon
the openness of their hearts ana hands.
Inc Rev. Everett Hale tells in his story,
well-intentioned rich man, throug, doing
/ ms level best for everybody. lands him
SELF and wife in the poor house MANY a
! clerk against whom The CRY of irnnrG,-i
Del &c is raised has simply so MANY calls
upon MS salary that with the best inten-
uohs IN the world he can never reach the
coveted location in Easy street. at least
not while his heart continues TO resuond
~ 'he cry OF human misery.
Some Get Rich
True, there are some who have accumu-
lated handsome completeness But TO do
! this one must either be able to squeeze a
! cent till the Indian shouts or be financial
! genius, in which case a man is thrown away
at departmental desk. and is. besides. not
nearly SO valuable as he who is not one and
| simply devotes himself to his work. II
| clerk has money-making on the brain he
either has people coming to see him in and
out or season, or wants to be off to attend 10
his ventures, and thus devotes neither his
| time nor his talents thoroughly to his office
work. Consequently II IS fortunate for the
| service that financial geniuses are rare and
equally fortunate for those in want and
sorrow that those are rarer still who pos
sess the power of banishing ali sympathy
! from their hearts
Bat it also follows that as heretofore
clerks will grow old and have Et;!e or MOTH
/ ing saved up for the traditional rainy dav
! and ev"ry one who, like Mr.. Tawney tries
| to perfect some plan for their benefit should
! receive the heartfelt thanks of every one in
! the ranks. instead of being cried down and
Looked upon as an enemy.
The Pensioners Must Die.
Much has been said against his plan. and
1 figures have been produced to prove 1t de-
fective but in all the calculations 1 have
| seen II has been taken for granted that be-
/ ing pensioned would be equivalent to be-
/ Ing immortal, since no deaths have been
| taken into the calculation, whereas 1t is
! an established fact that an old person taken
out of his daily routine is not nearly so
! tenacious of life as one who remains in IT
Taking this into consideration it seems
to me that one of the reasons against the
! Plan falls to the ground, and if the pension
were reduced to half pay. with $500 as a
maximum, a i or III per cent taxation
would be amply sufficient to maintain the
fund and would not be antagonized as the
proposed rate is, especially If the causes
| Tor retirement were limited to actual dis
| ability or old age, until the growth of the
| fund justified a further enlargement of tho
! eligible class.
But there! L forgot entirely that I'm
supposed TO be afraid to express my opin-
| ion on the subject Let me remember il at
| once, and end with Long life and happi-
ness to Mr.. Tawney and all who give a
kind thought TO the welfare of the old
clerk MISS RROIIN