The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-12-24

Postofhce Department began January
1898. being appointed chief clerk Of the
Dead Letter Office September. 1895. sax
him promoted to the position of Superin-
tendent Of Postofice Supplies and in jan
uary, 1886, he was advanced TO the posi-
ton which he now so ably fills
John H Norton's name does not very
often appear in print. nevertheless he is
one Of Uncle Sans hard working and eff
Gent scientific students He is OF the
stan Of the Deudro-C Chemical Laboratory
of the Bureau of Animal Industry CT the
agricultural Department. The work of
the division IS conducted in collaboration
with the Bureau OF Forestry and include
Investigations Of the constituents of trees
OF commercial Importance, or which prom
lse 70 become of commercial value and
Importance. particularly the study of tan
ning materials. resins. and gums their
compositions and properties. distribution
IN the trees producing them. and fnves-
tleatIons OF the chemical technology OF
processes for the manufacture Of tanning
extracts, for the destructive dfstIIlaIion OF
wood for the manufacture Of charcoal.
wood alcohol, tar, acetoHe and ether
products A position Of this kind can only
De held by one who has practical knowI-
edge Of chemistry in ali its higher
branches Mr. Norton must also note
the influence Of environment on The chem
zeal composition Of forest trees
William B Todd IS one OF the bzst skill
ed craftsmen in the Government service.
He is connected with the Office Of sopog-
rapheT in the Postofiee Department. and
in this capacity holds a very important
position in the department. The work Of
this Office IS hard and tedious, but Mr.
Todd holds his own despite the fact that
he is veteran in the service, having been
appointed in 1871 He IS well known in
this city and counts among MS friends a
great many OF the prominent men in
public and private life. He IS = Wash
instonisn by birth.
Charles P GrandfeId. one OF the assist
ant superintendent in the Office Of the
First Assistant Postmaster General. was
appointed from the Ninth Congressional
district Of Missouri, August It. 1855. He
is one Of The best-known men IN the de-
paTtment, probably from the fact that he
las been IN the service longer than any
OF the other assistant superintendent.
and also that he has the gift Of making
friend OF almost all with whom he comes
in contact
Colonel De Witt c. sprague. connected
Treasury, IS a veteran Of the civil war.
He can always be found At ms desk, at
the Treasury Department. and hardly
ever leaves It. except when business OF
the Office or occasion demands The colo
mel is also an sttoTney-at-Iaw-
Cyrus Field dams. Assistant Register
Of the Treasury Department, Is rot only
an accomplished Iinguist, but is an equally
accomplished politician In the last na-
tional campaign he was on the advisory
committee Of the Republican National
Committee IN Chica 60 In that ca opacity
he had charge OF al the press work for
the colored constituents OF The party His
services, 50 earnestly given. were Fecog-
nized by President Mckinley. who ap-
pointed him last year 10 the position
which he now fills.
The librarian of the Agricultural De-
partment IS Josephine !. Clark It comes
within her province to purchase books and
periodicals.; 10 supervise their arrange
ment. and catalogue them She also
has charge Of the preparation of bibliog-
raphies asd similar publications The
work connected with her position. though
exacting, is neTert heIess interesting. at
least to her. for, being book lover her
self, the opportunity fer satisfying her
desires IN this line are al her command.
She has gained quite q reputation by the
mastery manner IA which her work IS
done
The time OF Allan y. Dow the chemist
of the Engineer Department, is employed
in testing the quality OF asphalt and ce-
ment pavement laid in the District. No
street covering is spread and 10 side
not know the constituents Thereof, and
the way of the contractor is not a bed Of
roses when he attempts to palm of an
inferior article on the taxpayer Mr.. Dow
has been engaged for several years in
this special work. and ne knows TO a
of what gwen kind Of Pavement should
consist. Last year AfT. Dew instituted
series Of experiments upon different kinds
of asphalt pavement the result CT which
was tour Of the principal American
cities and a special study OF the pave
ments put down by them. He came back
to Washington, and his report upon the
subject enabled the Commissioners to en-
ter into a contract which saved upwards
OF S1G0, coo to tie District fer the asphalt
pavement To be laid during the present
fiscal year Mr.. Dow is a studious man.
bat he IS heard from to a purpose when
!. his OpiE[ons count IN dollars and cents fer
the District.
Warner stutIer, the affabIe supe-in-
tendent Of Street Cleaning for the District.
is : genius in his way His adminfstra-
tfen Of the office has been marked with
great energy and with good results a
few days-ago the secret was let out and
few of his intimate friends were made ac-
quainted with a few of the methods of his
success. In the first place the sEperin-
tendent has & way Of making himself solid
with the powers that be He is on friendly
| terms With 4 greater number Of Congress-
men than many suppose In the next place
ne knows how to get the most and best
service out Of his employees, and r.e two
/ together form a combination that cannot
be broken Withal Nr. StUt1er IS a wise
ard far-seeing man. and he gives scrupu-
lous attention to his department during
all the working days OF the year Re IS
on terms of friendly acquaintance with
every employee of his department, and
every man Of them is ready on all occa-
sions TO work overtime If the boss"
wishes IL Ia this way the service IS rem
dered Efficient, and the best possible re-
suits ensue.
It has always been the custom of the
clerks of the different departments to re-
member the messengers in substantial
manner at YuIetide. and this year viii
not be an exception to the rule These
+ testimonials are intended 10 express the
appreciation OF the clerical force for the
many little favors done by the messan-
gers. who are. almost without exception,