The times., 1899-10-22

As requisitioa clerk in the Interior De-
partment opened letter from the West
the other day. he remarked. Here We have
a request for stationery for a United states
district attorney in the Indian country. He
is new man. and has not yet learned that.
although We furnish everything Of this
kind TO the Indians, the Department OF Jus
tice is the proper place 20 procure his sta
tionery. I viii trausfep this request TO the
Attorney Generals ofice, and. no doubt.
this applicant VIII obtain more suitable
stationery there than he would from this
office.
In connection with an the great depart
ments and the larger bureaus at Washing
ton there are stationery divisions. some OF
them of such magnitude that separate
warehouses are used for the goods ia stock.
and Government truckmeu, laborers. and
vehicles to considerable number are con-
sJanuy employed in moving this material
from place to place abou, the city
One Of the largest and most interesting
stationery stores is in connection with the
Department Of Justice. It supplies every
United States Court and judicial branch OF
the Government with pens, pencils. paper.
ink and other stationery. and does the Iarg-
est business in this line in the country. The
stationery division of the department is
temporarily located liz the Old C1rcorau
Art Gallery Building. corner Of Seventeenth
Street and Pennsylvania Avenue but great
stores are always housed near the railroad
depOts for convenience in shipment.
Some years ago. said one Of the Gus
todians Of this stationery division, we
. supplied only the wants Of the department
here at Washington At that time the
United States 3Idiciary-judges. clerks Of
courts marshals- district attorneys. and
other officials throughout the country
purchased such supplies from the stores in
their cities and sent TO Washington their
accounts for settlement. We were then
compelled BY this method to pay the retail
price for everything. More frequently ex-
orbitant prices were paid As the Govern
meut expanded and its clerical forces grew,
the extravaganza OF the system became
enormous and il was resolved that this
condition Of affairs must cease So the
officials set about to make another new
departure. by which not only hundreds OF
thousands Of dollars have been saved, but
which, il is said, actually forced a large
number of retail stationery firms in this
and other cities out OF business firms
that depended more on the patronage from
the Government than that Of the general
public.
Everything in the stationery line is
now purchased at wholesale prices. gen
orally from the manufactures Each year
We advertise for bids, and usually the low
est bidder gets the contract 10 supply Is
for the year. Every branch or official Of
this department throughout the country
now makes requisitiOn and receives his
supplies from Washington. often by mail,
at small cost TO the Government for trans
portatiou. We carry between six and eight
thousand dollars worth of stock at all
times, and sometimes it viii run Up 10 Sl6,-
eco. The assortment comprises nearly eV-
cry variety to suit the CapriciOus as veil
as the ordinary consumer Sometimes GER
tain patrons want a peculiar pencil,
strange ink, an extraordinary kind OF pen,
OF an unusual style Of paper
"As we Try TO please ALI perhaps our
stock is the most varied in the country
People. you know, viii differ in their IDEAS
OF stationery. as well as in other things n
common use. Tney are often very particu-
lar in getting what they want and 10 sat
isfy this class we carry a limited stock OF
certain goods never requested by others
A certain Judge in the District OF Columbia
is a great fancier of lead pencils. and,
while sitting on the bench listening 10 ar
guments he has been noticed 20 roll be-
tween his fingers half dozen OF them at
a time, seeming TO occasionally study their
quality and construction.