Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-05-23
IN THE HOTEL LOBBIES.

Col Thomas p Ochltree has been in the
city for several days. visiting his old
friends. His presence has inspired the ra-
contours TO new efforts, and number of
new stories have been told regarding the
famous Texan. The best of these is re-
lated by a newspaper man who knew the
colonel in the odd days" 1t appears that
Col. Ochiltree graduated from a certain
law school in Texas before he had reached
the lawful age, and he had excellent pros
poets of doing nothing and forgetting every
thing he knew about law before he could
be admitted to the bar. Fortunately he had
friends holding high places in. the state
government and through their influence Il
bill passed the legislature declaring Thomas
2. Ochiltree TO be of age when he was only
nineteen years old. This enabled him to
cure admission to the bar and practice his
profession two years before he would have
been permitted to do so under the law. He
soon became widely known as an attorney
and briefs came to his office by the dozen.
Col. Ochiltree's father was also lawyer
and had considerable practice before his
son started in the profession. but he grad
ually lost many of his clients. who seemed
to prefer the son to the father. The pros
perty of the young man seemed to nettle
the father for a while but he soon got over
his chagrin and one day appeared in his
sens office and requested a private inter-
view.
Tom" the old man began. you appear
10 be doing a big business.
Yes. father, l can't complain" the young
man replied.
We'll, Tom, you know 1 raised you and
spent a good deal of money clothing and
educating and feeding you while you were
young. You are now way ahead of me in
my own profession. and think you ought
to take me in partnership with you. That's
what I would have done had the circum-
stances been reversed.
The young man unused a while and then
said he agreed with what his father had
stated. and he was willing to take him in
Just have your books and papers moved
in and I'll go down town and see about
having another sign put up" he told him.
The elder Ochiltree appeared to be salts
pressman to carry his books to his sons
office. The old man did not go near the
Office Of the new firm for several days, and
when he did go it is recorded that he was
very much startled by the new sign which
his son had had painted in large letters on
the front of the building. The sign attract
ed great deal Of attention from the street,
people stopping in their hurry to transact
business to gaze at il. 1t read:
Thomas P. Ochitree and Father,
Attorneys at Law.
at seems to me that Congress should do
third-class post Offices said Mr.. Timothy
Campbell of New York at the Congression-
al last night This branch of the govern
ment offers absolutely no inducements to
young men. 1t needs the services of bright,
intelligent and capable men who can per-
form their duties in businessike manner
The post office service is one of the most
solid business institutions in this country
and should command the services of bust
ness men. AS the matter stands at pres
ent, a man who goes into the office literally
buries himself. In the second and third
class, and even the first-class, post offices
a man Is without the chances of advance
ment which are held out to the clerks in
the department stores.
I'm the post office service, and 1t is al
most the same in every other branch of the
public service. a young man enters through
appointment at a certain salary, after hav-
ing passed a civil service examination. And
he can remain there for fifty years without
this salary changing in the least. 1t will
not pay the government to continue in the
policy it has adopted. The present condi-
ton of affairs Is the fault of no one in
particular, unless we say Congress. There
is a bill now before the House providing
for the changes 1 would like to and re-
warding the clerks for continuous service.
Every member of Congress ought to make
1t his duty to vote for the passage of the