Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-01-23

duce one element of their general ineffi
cheney.
THE other twenty per cent are the
shrewd, Sinking and shiftlesst salary-ab
sorbers, relics of the old bad spells system
who cackle in the corridors, write rot tc
the newspapers, and scheme to beat the
.Bundy' or any other plan for holding
them down to work. They are robust
workers of sick leave who claimssixty days
annual absence with pay, as a vested right
For such a. these the time clock was spe.
cially made. They cannot wheede or coodle
it; it makes an unmistakabe report, and
their habitual hardness must either be cor
rected stand against them. A conclu-
sive record is thus made of one Leading feat
ure of ineffic1ency, and that record Joined to
others will In time put them in shape for
a separation from the service, in strict ac-
cordance with law.
1T Is this last named class, the twenty
per cent of derelicts, who assume to speak
for the whole. and too often give color to
the whole body of departmental employees.
1t is they who bring unmerited reproach
upon the civil service system, of which
they are almost as noxious an excrescence
as the malady known In the treasury as
Delandis m, which badgers the worthy and
shields the worthless, and exploits it's hum
bugs on weary world If they knew how
tireSome their assumptions of personal i'm
portance and political influence are to the
people of this great country, who are
molding its destinies, they would sing in
q minor key.
Records Obtained.
eve have had the time clocks in opera
ton long enough now to have the record of
these black sheep and the record will re-
main. Other black sheep will come in, how
ever, in course of time, and the principle of
the time clocks will never be abandoned.
Such revolutions never go backward. Any
one of dozen simple automatic devices al
most equally effective can be easily substi-
in he ina ipp, hi
wards can be established. where the degen-
crates can be gathered together and spe-
clal watch kept over them, for their own
and their countrys good
IN the meantime, the best class Of clerks
have made u record on the Bundy clocks
which stands to their credit / have never
asserted that employees would be given
credit for overtime made. We do not en-
courage or even knowingly permit overtime
to be made in this bureau, save in excep-
uonal cases of urgency. But with or with
out time clocks, model clerks have for years
been in the habit of reaching the office ten
or fifteen minutes ahead of time in order
that preliminary adjustments may be fin
lshed, and they may be seated at their
desks ready for work at O'Clock. They
have also been in the habit of working
fully up to o clock, and enough minutes
longer to properly finish the item of work
just then in hand. The time-clock records
now show that those people have been ring
ing in at $40 or $50 am. and ringing out
at i:iO or 40 pm. habituaIly while the
derelicts. who have been ringing in from
S:o3 to $40 and ringing out at 4:01 have
manlfestly taken some little time from that
due the government. for their own pur-
poses. An average of ten minutes for
each person in this Office equals a fun dav
Tor twelve clerks. 1t is perfectly legitima te
and is, in fact. the duty of me auditor to
take such records into consideration in
making recommendations for promotion
He has done so. and will continue to do so.
In this way the faithful clerk gets indirect
but Very substantial credit such as was i'm
possible under the Old system. Naturally,
these people advocate the clock and deplore
any suggestions as to its discon tinuance
Not one person of this class has com
planned to me, though they know that their
Views and criticisms on all matters are
cordially welcomed.
4 ne law-makinS power is supreme in this
country. If Congress shall see fit to enact
the prohibition now pending. this office will
cheer1ullY submit, but we have no apologies
to make for the inaugural ton of time clocks
Abundant means Will be found to utilize the
year s record already made, The bureau
VIII be able to readily substitute some de-
vice equally effective. but perhaps less of
1ensiVe TO the sensitive, tender spirits of
departmental shirkS and agitators whose
mouth-Vapor rises like perfumed incense
ana whose noisy clamOr, Irresistible and ir-
repreSSlble, perVadeS even to the outskirts
ana Sllences the boiler factories And the
goou work OF separating the workers from
the ShirkS and drones will go steadily on
as justly as our fallible Judgment will per-
mt. Inc latter class may record in the
pubic prints their lofty objections to being
reduced to the same plane as factory
Hahds. put unprecedented observers will
MINK lhat TO get on that plane would be
loi Such people, a great, big promotion"