Evening star., 1898-10-29
A@THIN0S N@
Z.HEAPD -SoE<{{TN
5EH% %

perience well as that of many others en-
gagged in the business. We in the hat trade
also know that politicians as a class wear
the largest size hats
Il have recently spent some days in the
national library hunting for the origin OF
the phrase Georgia crackers" observed
a prominent southern literary man to a
Star reporter. "and was surprised at the
small amount of reliable information that
I found there on the subject. What sur
prised me more than any other one fact
learned was that the term cracker seems to
have originated in New England, and is
not southern coming at all. In 1l6O the
term Is used several times in newspaper
articles printed in Boston, though the ar
ticles may have been written by a south
ern man, who may have gone there from
Georgia, which was settled twenty years
before that The general impression In
Georgia is that the term cracker applies
to any southern white person of a low
grade, an ignorant mountaineer or country
person, but far L have been able to
learn it has no more reference to Geor-
gia than any other of the southern
states. Some writers have gone into the
subject very thoroughly, but they admit
that they had to draw their own conclu-
sions in the absence of positive informa-
ton. Originally, before railroads, or. in
deed. any other roads, were constructed,
there was great deal of hauling across
the country to the seaportS, principally to
Savannah. The drivers of these teams
used very large and long whips. and they
were heard by the cracking of the whips
long before they came in sight. 1t is rea-
sonable to suppose that this may have had
something to do with the origin of the
term cracker Some very careful southern
writer's think the term arose from the
cracking of the rifles of the Georgia hunt
ers, while others are of the opinion that
the cracking of whips or rifles had moth
ing to do with its origin; that the word
cracker was simply name given to poor
white sand-hillers.''
x x X
The remarks in a recent issue of The
Star about Independent clerks being the
best kind of clerks in the departmental
service has caused more comment in the
departments than any short article ] have
ever read said a Treasury Department
official to a Star reporter. lit touched
upon subject that is close to the II 900 or
more departmental clerks in this city 1t
is true, as stated that the best clerk is the
man or woman who gets down to work
promptly at o'clock and gets up as
promptly when the clock strikes 4, giving
no extra time for the purpose of making a
record for efficiency. The record of gov
ernment clerks, the efficiency part of their
record l mean, Is based upon the amount
office nours, and not upon that done before
or after office hours. 1t is all right of
course, for clerk to be ambitious and to
strive to do a good days work in the office
hours, but L take but little stock in the
clerk whose only claim to efficiency is that
ne wants to get in the office a half hour
carry or to lnger there a half hour after
closing time. He makes a dress parade of
MS efhclency, and to that extent, if not
more than that, he is not a good clerk, for
me reason that he interferes with dis
clpline and raises antagonsms which are
harmful This Innd of an efficiency clerk
is not young man who would naturally
be supposed to have more ambition than
an old-timer, but is generally past middle
age, VINO mas been engaged in many kinds
OF business and calling, and has been
forced by circumstances to accept a gov
ernment position. There is one of these
eInclency clerks in most every division in
every department, and they are all about
lhe same caiiber, and that poor caHber
as lar as real ability and a capacity to do a
1alr days work are concerned"