The evening times., 1899-11-05
THREE YEARS BEHIND.
Slow Work In the AUDITORS ONCE of
the War Department.

Slow Work In the Auditors ONCE Of
the War Department.
For the last few months there has been
incessant complaint by soldiers and widows
| of inability to get their claims against the
Government settled. The Secretary OF
| War and the Secretary of the Treasury
looked into the matter and found the Au-
| ditor's Office Of the War Department three
years behind in the work of many OF Its
| departments. In August last the pressure
| grew to be so great that Secretary Root
and Treasurer Roberts asked that Auditor
| Frank H. Morris, of the Navy Department.
| whose office was up to date, be assigned
to duty in the Auditors office OF the var
Department. The exchange Immediately
| took place.
| OF course Mr. Morris has brought the
| usual volley of abuse upon his head by
| trying an innovation in the Off1ce-that is.
| to have the Office turned into workshop
for seven hours every week day, instead OF
headquarters for drawing pay, interspersed
| with q little work for a pastime. and
| rushing business in desk calls, hall con-
| sultations. and debating societies about
social. business and family affairs.
| Il expected the abuse said Mr.. Norris.
II should be surprised il no complaint was
made against me- That is always the way
| when there is an innovation in an ONCE.
| and especially when the working capacity
| of the clerks Is increased. We are three
| years behind in some branches of work in
| this ofiice. and there is a reason for 1t. 1t
| is urged that the force is inadequate for
| the work and would have to be greatly in
creased / looked into the matter and
found that most of the tardiness was not
from lack of sufficient force, but from an
indisposition to work on the part Of
large number of the clerks. With the as
sistance of Mr.. Brown, chief clerk. be-
gan to gradually increase the work OF the
force. ~S
"He made note OF the amount Of work
done by the best clerks; from this he made
an average amount that should be required
from each clerk. 1t was such startling
innovation that l lowered it several de-
grees. The clerks who dawdled through
their work and managed to write As or. so
| cards day are now required to write 16O.
and the number will be gradually increased.
A woman who formerly wrote on an aver
age of 25 cards now writes from 200 to
212. Others keep very much higher. There
was no reason why the clerk who now
writes 200 cards should not have done 1t
before. 1t was simply lack of of applica-
ton to business during business hours. The
clerk who formerly managed to do any
where from 10 to 20 lines a day of schedule
work was at first required to get through
with As and this is rapidly increasing. This
average was gotten at just as the other
was and then lowered from SO to 40 lines.
Many clerks have done twice the work and
not complained"
us the movement more against women
than against men clerks? ?"
I'm this case yes: though an increase in
work is also required from the male clerks.
They are less likely to loaf and talk during
business hours than women. They depend
more on their work and less on their pull
or influence, as they call their political
backing We have in this office, as in all
offices under the Government, several wom-
en- who actually pride themselves on the
strength of their pull and the weakness Of
their work. Men understand better that the
work of an office has to be kept up than do
women, and as general thing stick closer
TO it, l like women. / think the hours and
pay OF a Government position suits them
and think they should have the positions
that are best adapted to them; but they
should be made to realize that only
through their work can they retain them"
What about those who fall short?''
Their removal is imperative. 1t is not
a mere fancy that the work be gotten up.
1t is an urgent and just demand Of the
people and one that can no longer be
| ignored"
Has the work of the clerks materially
| increased since the new regime?"
Very materially / am getting more
work out of ninety clerks, under the new
! rule than was formely gotten out of 800,
and not working out of hours, either. We
are just simply asking them to work to
/ their full capacity, giving the Government
| the full benefit Of their intellect and energy
| during Office hours"
Il used to believe that civil service was
! the best and most just thing, both to the
Government and the employe, but l am
| more and more impressed with the idea
that il is poor criterion for judging of
| good clerk. He may pass high in every
| branch of English, and from that stand
point be an excellent clerk, but there is
| a part that the civil service does not, can
not look to. and that is his capacity and
intelligence for general office wo-k. An
| other feature of civil service that stands
much in the way OF heads of departments
| in the progress Of their work is the secure
| feeling that il gives one. The clerk who
has passed high too often feels that that is
the only requisite, and when combined
with a pull their removal is impossible.
They may have capacity for passing ex-
aminations. but not for work. They may
have sufficient intelligence for the work,
and also the capacity, but If you would
hunt I'D their previous record you w0u q
find that they never would work. There
is a lot of material of this kind in Govern
ment offices. and it ought to be gotten out.
Take it all in all, think the clerk does
the best who gets into Office by good man
agement and hard work and who strives
every day to make record that will keep
him in. There are now too many old peo
pie In the offices who are conscientious
enough, but who really are unable to work.
1t is cheaper for the Government to pension
them, after they have given the best Of
their lives to the service. than to allow them
to remain as an impediment to official
work."
Asked when he thought the work of the
Auditors office would be brought up to date
Mr.. Morris said he thought it would take a
year.
All of the heads Of departments sustain
Auditor Morris in his steadfast decision to
have no loaf1ng in his Office, and In many
of them it has caused a small revolu-
tion. The women clerks, who formerly
promenaded the halls and visited outside
of every door, who found it convenient to
have headache every day or so and lay
off from work, have begun to cast stead
fast glances about to see If authority is In
sight. There is a steady watch kept upon
their Office record, not only in Auditor Nor
ris' office, but in every department. And
the time has come in other Offices as we'll
as In this, when the idler must depend more
on work and less on influence.