The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-12-20

! electric bells don't ring Mr. Hess has to
oe very patent man, and his corps OF
ASSISTANTS are so accustomed to the
plants OF the chief clerks aRent the
VagaFles OF electric bells in general and
theirs in particular that thew oniv smile
When they hear the welI-worn tale. Bat
teTieS viii wear out or something or
otner happen to the electric parapher-
mana, the result Of which is constant Ia
POT Ior the l0cksmith and electrician The
i To- ooFN Whlch comes under his jurfs-
oictIon Is also very active occupatfon-
ana the picking OF them not Infrequent.
especially When somebody leaves home or
roses the key to some desk or cupboard
wherein are stored documents which must
be had forthwith The business OF lock
man and electric man Of a building hav-
ing 50 many Offices as the Treasury IS
no small matter, and Mr. Hess fuffiIs the
requirements with both skill and de-
spatch.
". H Bowen, chief OF internal revenue
agents. has returned from visit to his
old home at Coyington. Ky. and is again
at his desk in the Internal Revenue Blu
reau. Mr. Bowen is one Of the best
equipped revenue men IN the United States
and stands high in official circles In his
capacity as chief OF the revenue agents
he picks up many interesting trophies
sent BY men in the field who hunt down
moonshiners and other vioIators of the
revenue laws Not long since he ran
across rather singular weapon which
he presented TO Commissioner. Yerkes. It
IS a pistol which can be fred eighteen
times without relOaQing ana which ex-
DlodeS Two cartridges al one time. The
pistol, IN general, IS very much Ike other
arms OF its class. excepting that the cylin-
der IS three times as capacious as the
cylinder OF the ordinary six-sh9otsr This
curiosity was fouu,. by a revenue agent
in pawnshOp on the Mexican border. but
it has no marks indicating where It was
manufactured. Mr. Bowen also gave the
Commissioner a small pistol which was
captured from a mOOnShineT- and which
was evidently q home made weapon The
Commissioner IS not At all wariIke. and
VIII utilize these gifts purely as exhibits.
One Of the mc.C skillfuI penmen and
mathematicians in the Government serv-
ice IS Charles " Hancock, who has
charge Of the division Of statistics in the
Internal Revenue Bureau Mr. Hancock
prepares the intricate and voIuzlinous ia
bIes for the Commissioners annual re
port. which entails absolute accuracy and
an immense amount Of hard work. Long
years OF fig7Ir.> work have not impaired
the vision OF this veteran clerk, VINO stiI
reads and writes without spectacies and
can with ease tTansoFibe the lords
prayer on a space covered by a ten-cent
piece, perfectly forming every word and
letter. Mr. Hancock is prominent IN
Masonic circles, is a thiTty-third degree
man and a Shriner.
Col H. c. Dunwoody. Signal Corps. sta
toned at New York. has been ordered TO
New London. ConD- and Gardeners Isl
and. y Y for the purpose OF superin-
tending the laying OF a submarine cable
between those points
Governor Miguel A Otero. Of Mexico.
accompanied by Mrs. Otero called at the
Interior Department yesterday It WIS
the anniversary OF their wedding. They
received many hearty congratulations
from their friends II The department
Capt ] E, Kuhn, Corps Of Engineers.
stationed at West FONT Military. Acade-
my is visiting friends At 1895 Jefferson
Place
Horace B. Durand. superintendent and
Indian agent al the QuapaE agency. IL
dian Territory. was a caller al the In
a.
Allen assistant superintendent at the
Carlisle Pa Indian school also called
to pay his respects TO the Assistant Sec
rotary OF the Interior.
One Of the most popular men in the
District service is Mr 4 L Thomas an
inspector CT the service division OF the
Engineer Department 1t falls 10 the Let
Of Mr.. Thomas to visit the scene Of CON-
plants relative to sidewalks. alleys. street
railroads and the like In these ezcur-
sious he is frequently called upon to see
the compliments and 20 listen to their
tales Of woe. Mr. Thomas is said to have
developed q very large degree OF diPlo-
macy il dealing with the problems which
come his way. and on many occasions he
has been able to settle troubles out Of
court. 50 10 speak IN other words he
has either modified the compliments OF
has so shaped the form Of their appeals
to the Commissioners as to satisfy all con-
cerned- Mr. Thomas can be. CT occasion.
very stern II his TefUsaIs. bus his recOg-
niZed popularity IN the District attestS
that he is seldom driven 70 that extreme.
The District Inspector of Plumbing, Mr-
c. c. Bail. carries a big load OF response
biIity in locking after the work Of his
Office Mr. Ball may be called the right
hand man Of the Inspector OF Buildings,
as applications for permits TO build which
involve questions Of plumbing pass
through his Office OF no less Importance
to the building than the strength OF ma
terIaIs and the forms Of structure s the
plumbing. The best erected structure
may be made unfit fer the hzbitatioR Of
human beings nv bad plumbing II is the
duty Of Mr.. Ball and his Office force to
prevent II. With this end in view the
plans for the plumbing are submitted to
careful scrutiny and after the work be-
gins inspectors OF his Office keep watch
on the plumbers to see that the regu1a-
tons of the District are faithfully carried
out in the execution Of the work. Mr..
Bali has go ccmpunctiCp in compelling a
plumber to tear cut and do over again
job which has been improperly done
The superintendent OF Street Cleaning
has a very efficient clerk in the person
of F E Edgfngton. He looks after the
clerical work of the efice. receives re
ports from the inspectors and keeps the
principal records Of the work Of the de-
partment. Mr.. Edgfngton is a careful
worker and it is with him matter Of
great pride to have every thing IN shape
for reference by his chief When Mr.
Edgingtou has any iOafBg to do It IS
after the books are posted and his desk
IS clear of every scrap of business. The
superintendent sometimes says that his
Office would lack good deal Of its pres
eRt order and efficiency without the serv-
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