El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-10-20

portion of this enormous amount ever
reaches his private bank account.
Tammany congressman are reputed to
pay $500 year for their places. Crok-
er takes no chances on losing his pie.
il may be assumed. and if j. thinks
il desirable to- trade off Bryan for
votes Oh the local ticket. Bryan goes.
And no amount of prediction taffy
about cabinet positions is likely to
have any influence on him.
Working With Department Clerks.
New York voters in the departments
here are being stirred up by the state
committees in lively fashion. Each
one whose political status is uncertain
has received a circular telling him
that unless he goes back to register
and to vote. after election his name
will go down on list of ''non-voters.
Naturally all sorts of dire threats are
read between the lines OF the diplo-
maticaIly worded circulars and most
of the men are uneasy. Two trips
north will be necessary. one to regis
ter and one to vote. which means a
greater expenditure than many care to
incur. The civil service laws prohibit
solicitation of money from government
employees. but do not and cannot pre-
vent the circulation of courteously
worded invitations to vote.
The New Appointment.
The census Office is hustling To get
the count of population sufficiently
complete to permit re-apportionment
of congressional representation at the
coming session. The apportionment
will not be a highly scientific process.
since practically it consists in merely
dividing the population of the coun-
try by the seating capacity of the house
of representatives. However there
will be a lively fight over it this time.
The southern states have disfranchised
the negroes but expect to have them
counted just the same in the reappor-
tionment, while the northern republi-
cans will probably try to break up
this little scheme.
4 Campaign Scare.
The census Office people had n little
scare coming them today. which is u
pay day. Less than the usual amount
was found in each envelop and in no
time at all the air was thick with
rumors of forced campaign assess
ments. But il wasn't really so: the
officer had merely reverted
to the ordinary governmental method
OF making the midmonth payment an
below the half of the months
salary instead of the next even sum
in dollars above. \ S120 man is really
entitled to $685. for October Is. but
the census paymaster on the plan pur-
sued heretofore would have given him
$50 or % cents too much. wherefore a
reslgnee today would be ahead of the
government to that extent Uncle
Sam Is careful. SO he has inaugurated
the plan of paying the census man
of 1920 only S25 for today's payment.
leaving the odd S4.35 to be paid at the
end or the month. This is the custom
In the government service everywhere
else but the census people were not
used to it and the deficit alarmed them
How Uncle Sam Pays on
Uncle Sans way of paying OFF is pc
culiar anyhow and no clerk without a
memory or a book of
tables ever knows how much is COM
ing to him on a given pay day To
begin with the year is ,.vided into
quarters of three calendar months
each. and the salary divided by four
to correspond. The s120 man gets $3.50
for each quarter. Then he is paid at
the end of each month in proportion
10 the number of days in il. Except
in leap years. the first quarters has
ninety days. the second ninety-one and
the third and fourth ninety-two In
the third for August and July. both
having 81 days. the monthly salary is
5000. but for September having only
30 days. the payment is $3.50. the !
-hree ogcther making up the $3.50. On
he fifteenth of each month the pay !
ment Will be the nearest figure in null
iples OF five dollars for half the
month : total. $50 for August and July.
S25 for September. All of which leads
% WEAKNESS of intellect on the part
IF the recipient who is trying to figure
,ut what he will get in his next en-
'elop.
Against Public Policy
Duell. commissioner of patents. who
has aspirations towards being COVER
Tor of New York himself has turned
Town an aspiring inventor who wants
q make capital of Teddy's teeth. and
lied an application for a patent on a
of the old pigs in clover
puzzle with that end in view. 1t was a
'et of carious teeth and the game con-
listed in rolling little drops of mer-
Jury or small shot into the cavities
)uell decided that il was against pub
ic policy to make game of prominent
segments thereof-in this I
way and refused to allow the patent
The First Complaint Against the
Labor Trusts
The first complaint of labor trusts
has been made before the industrial
commission. A man named Gompers
II New York. secretary of the master
steam filters association. complains
hat the steam filters union limits its
membership to about 500. although
here are ut least 1900 competent work
men in New York who would join it if
hey We're allowed to. Mr. Gompers-
who disclaims any connection with his
almost namesake" the Federation of
-abor man-charges the union with
,eing an organization in restraint of
rade since it prevents workmen from