Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1898-08-19
The Onerous Duties Of Office,

tempest in a teapot" over a simple
matter of detail in the duty of the
janitor of the courthouse. The STAND
ARD asserts that it is matter of ex-
travagance to allow the magnificent
and costly flag lately purchased by
the county to be frayed out by con-
slant service, night and day, while the
U. S. Government, and all corpora
tions and individuals who own regula-
ton flags, house" them from sunset
to sunrise. Oily asks the silly ques-
ton, " Are not the American people as
patriotic by night as they are by day."
Presumably not, if flag-fying is the
gauge OF patriotism, and that is doubt
less the feeling on the matter of all
except those who, like our neighbor,
make their principal display of pat
rlotism at the end of long pole.
There is as much charlatanism on
this as on other subjects, and its
matter of common comment that
many who make the greatest preten-
siOns from the housetop have very
little reverence in the heart for their
country, or anything else which may
not be used to put gold into the
pocket. A true respect for the flag
would impel one to shield it from
harm, to reverence it as the Christian
does the bible, and many who own
flags take them in on approach of
storm by day, course that is almost
impossible to adopt by night.
1t is not surprising that our neigh
Dor should look with disfavor on every
proposition to increase the labor paid
for salaries, or to reduce salaries, for
he belongs to the salarygrab" party
He is one of the tax-caters; one of the
parasites on the body polite, and it is
but natural that he should dread any
suggestion of comb or brush, while he
and his fellows are gorging themselves
with blood from the fountain-head.
The salary paid to the parasitic
janitor of the courthouse may be
small, but the best indication that we
have that it is satisfactory to himself
is that lie has held the position sew
eral years and hopes to hold it many
years more. Salaries are not like
wage-rates, as our neighbor knows.
It's continuity gives it wonderful
charm. 1t goes right on, day and
night, week day and Sunday, rain or
shine, prosperity or adversely, and all
its owner need do, ii he has the proper
political "pull," is to adapt his cx-
penses to his income and work on and
sleep we'll, free from care After Oily
had enumerated and padded out all
the duties Of janitor, he failed to
make case that would debar very
many of our laboring men from ac-
cepting the position, if it should be
offered to them. Forty dollars per
month to the head of n household,
paid promptly as all salaries are paid.
is great aid to any ordinary family
income, and is infinitely better than
the revenue derived from an uncertain
and ever-varying wage-rate OF 50 or SO
per day, for skilled labor, controlled by
the demand. The wage Garner is lucky
nowadays if, with persistent effort, he
finds employment half the time, and
it is safe to say he rounds up at the
end of the year little if anything more
than the man with the forty dollar
salary, but he has met at every point
more exacting demands for skill and
experienced infinitely more worry.
Our neighbor comes honestly by his
convictions, however. He, himself,
draws fixed stipend as Register of the
General Land Office, and we will wa
ger doughnut he thinks it is too
small and altogether disproportioned
to the service rendered. The duties
may be onerous and ill-paid, from his
point of view, and he might be able to
construct as artful mountain of labor
for himself as he has so ingeniously
contrived for the barnacle Republican
holdover janitor of the courthouse, but
it has been observed that he finds time
to edit daily paper and traipse around
the country putting up jobs to enable
him to hold on to the teat or to grasp
a larger one.
The vail OF the Olympian is simply
the cutlery of an Gin" against any ac-
ton which may change conditions
and make oflice-hOlding more Ia
borious or its emoluments less salts
factory. That's about the size of his
incentive for championship of the man
who is oppressed by an Office.
so 1T seems the dlsSentlOnS In the 6.
o. p. have attained such state that
candidates in embryo must come out
and resign possibilities that were never
likely to happen and probabilities
that it was improbable would ever &C.
cur. The Republicans are, however,
always doing something funny.
No wonder the Olympia boys wanted
to 60 to the Philippines. An Oregon
boy writes back to his chums that
they are resting on their arms, eating |
pineapples and making love in dam
aged Spanish to the pretty native
girls in short dresses.
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