The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-02-26
LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS-.
An Instance Showing How His Salary
Might BE Raised.

Washington Special in New York Post.
Now that it is no longer a secret tina the
President made an effort in good faith to
procure the services of one of the great pro-
fessional librarians for the head of the Lii
brary of Congress-, and was foiled by the
meaSreness of the salary he could offer, it
may be further stated that the question of
increasing the salary has been discussed
more or less freely among the members of
both houses. The President at one time
thought that, IL he secured q librarian at
whom nobody could oavil, bur VINO accepted
the office only in the hope of an early in
crease Of salary, Congress might be willing
to add another thousand or fifteen hundred
dollars to the 5000 now paid. There was
no encouraging response, however, to the
hint thrown out in various quarters. The
attitude of the rank and file of Congress
generally might be expressed by some para
phrase of the answer of one Western men,
Der to a suggestion from your correspond
ent: '"They needn't stick so awfully close
to Massachusetts If they can't get anybody
there who'll take the place for 5000, / know
a dozen good men in my State who'll take
But Congress, while a selfish body, has
a certain sort Of business sense. 1t will
haggle over spending sixpence for the no
blest cause in the world which does not come
within it's narrow arc of vision, and Will
tEen turn around and shovel out dollars BY
the thousand for something which directly
affects its own comfort. A case IN point was
that of Col. Ainsworth, chief of the record
and pension office of the War Department.
When Judge Endicott became secretary Of
war. it was not for his depart
ment to take four. six, or eight weeks to
answer a question sent up there by a com
mittee of Congress. because the hospital rec
ords, regimental rosters, etc, were all in q
muddle, destitute of indexes, and many of
them so worn as to be almost beyond decl-
phering. Thousands upon thousands of dol
lars were spent continually for copying and
%recopying these documents, but never a dol
lar on a systematic plan to ~straighten them
out and make them accessible. Secretary
Endicott was almost beside himself with an
noyance, after a number of unhappy expe-
riences. Find me a man, he demanded
one day, who has q head on his shoulders,
and can unravel this tangle for us.
Somebody found Ainsworth, who was then
an unknown army surgeon with the rank
OF captain. but had had a chance to show
some cIeverness at methodizing his hospital
work. He was installed, and given a pretty
free hand in the running of his office. He
laid down the rule that laziness would not
be tolerated in his clerks, and adopted a
system of work which was like an endless
~chaiu-always moving. Nobody had a
nance to smoke. or read the papers during
Office hours, or sit with his hands In his lap
and "swap stories with fellOw-clerks. OF
curse, this soon earned for the new chief
he name Of a slave-driver and the enmfty
Il all the shirks and laggards in the serv-
ice. But he kept right on, regardless Of
the question Of popularity or u~npopularlty.