Evening star., 1901-12-28
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I had not yet climbed the dome of the
Capitol said a new congreSSmanS clerk
to a Star reporter the other day, 80 one
day last week / made the climb and was
thoroughly repaid by the magnificent view.
Coming down, l had descended the straight
stairs and had reached the circular stair
way when 1 met one of the new congress-
men, anXiously peering up and down, look
ing all around, as If he We're looking for
somebody something. He stopped me
as | was about to pass and said. Young
man, will you please tell me where the
House committee rooms are. / can't find
the room l belong to, and 1t doesn't seem
worth while TO climb any higher 1 was
tempted to direct him to the feet of the
Goddess, but felt that l ought to treat a
legislator with dignity and respect, and so
escorted him to the door of his committee
room, much to his qualification. No, l
won't tell you what state he was from, nor
the committee room he was looking for,
but the story is straight"
x x x X
There are few persons says soldier
who, long since returned to civic ranks,
who know how the name of blackboard
came to be applied to a vehicle. 1t was
way back in the twenties, when the trans
portation of goods, wares and merchandise
principally all by wagons. DIR. Buck,
who for long years after was the mill
tary storekeeper here, was then in charge
of stores route TO army posts in the
southwest. In East Tennessee difficulty
was experienced by reason of the rough
roads, and there were frequent miShapS,
mostly from the wagons overturnng. DIR.
Buck overhauled the outfit, and abandon
ing the wagon bodies long boards were set
directly on the axles or hung below; and
the stores Were reloaded in such manner
that there were no further delays from
breakdowns and the stores safely reached
their destination. The idea doubtless was
not new, but DR.. Bucks example was fol-
lou inl1 rrcrIo
and soon much hauling was done by the
use of wheel axle and boards only. Now
the fashionable blackboard recalls the old
gentleman to some of us
There is always great deal of anxiety
in departments in which there is to be
change of the executive head" said a gov
ernment official recently. You would be
wonderfully surprised if you could get
around in the Treasury Department and
the Post Office Department at this time
and hear the whisperingS that are going on
as to possible changes among employees
and clerks. even those who are protected
by the civil service. Officials of these de-
partments haven't the least idea what may
happen under new executive and there
fore an endless amount of Scheming is con-
tinually going on with the object in view
of holding positions or of securing better
positions under a new administration.
There are a lot of fellows who think they
have got a good thing out of a new Sec
retary. either because of personal acquaint-
aHce with him or because they possess the
influence which they think will reach him
without difficulty. Then there are the poor
fellows who haven't any influence except
their work and their merit. Many of them
are badly frightened for fear that a new
Secretary, or some change brought about
by him, may deprive them of their posi-
tioTS or cause reductions in their salaries.
The civil service is mighty fine thing in
hTrr mot ,iSI,
security the outsider thinks. While
President Roosevelt is a true civil service
man he cannot know about all the things
that go on in the departments affecting
the clerks and other employees.
There WILL of necessity. be a number of
changes in the assistants 20 the new heads
Of the departments. The incoming Score
tary of the Treasury and the new Post
master General will doubt want to put
in few personal friends, and they will be
prevailed upon to make other changes for
political friends. There will naturally be
new private secretaries and, consequently,
many changes. the coming of which will be
watched with considerable apprehension
X * x X
THE scOrching the Washington stock
market players got last summer In the big
slump in the stock market apparently has
had no effect on them" said one of those
victims today. For the past week every
brokers' office in town has been haunted by
is supposed to be coming in the market
With diminished piles, scraped together as
best they could since last summer, they are
eager to get into the market again and re-
coup.
'All conservative brokers have advised
their friends to keep out of this market as
it has been tricky and vascilIating during
December. They all look for a boom,
though, after January 1, and are waiting
for the drop of the hat to start in another
race with Fortune.
Don't know but what l would take
crack at it myself" he added disconsolate-
ly. IF they'd left me anything from my
last experience
= x :; X x
"A man hears terrible lot on the street
cars about the weather." growed a 14th
street conductor Thursday evening. I've
been mighty puzzled at the dissatisfaction
some people can get out Of it. They're
never pleased with anything. In the past
month We have had nothing but the best
| kind of Christmas weather-brisk and
| snappy days, with a little snow now and
| then. The last two days, though, 1t has
| been wet, and you would have thought the
| sky had come down. One woman gets in
! the car and says to the one sitting next to
| her, When once 1t begins to rain here it
| rains for month And the next one an
! swers back. Yes. indeed. l never seen any-
! out the rain once. I've worked on a car line
| in California, where they never have any.
| and I've heard EN- grumble by the hour
| because they couldn't see just one old-fash-
| iOned thunder shower