The Opelousas courier., 1902-08-09
LEE cE A DEPARTMENT CLERK.
Not tho Easiest In the World as Many
Seem to Imagine.

Seem to Imagine.
There is one in~congruity about cler-
ical life in the departments in WASH
ington which is not generally under
stood, and it is SO contrary to the
usual rules obtaining in business lie
that it's illustration may be disputed,
but the fact remains a fact, nevertne-
less" said an old government clerk
of varied experience.
Among w%orkingmen n of the
most familiar of sayings is, don't work
SO fast, or you will work yourself out
of a job The truth of this axiom IS
generally admitted, and the artisan
works along steadily. The truth OF
the saying may also be illustrated IN
the departments. A quick, active, ener-
getic clerk has the work piled upon
his desk, while the plodder, the steady
going gray horse of a clerk ploWs
slowly along, does a fifth OF the work
of the race horse, and in a majority
of instances secures the promotions.
"Now, I will tell you why it is SO,
because in business life the active
! clerk would be advanced to the posi-
ton of buyer for the house, put "SI
| the road, have his salary increased,
! and pffhaps taken into the firm. The
| willing, energetic government clerk is
PUSHED with worl2, and, if he Stacks
| upyYas he cannot maintain his high
| pr|ssure at all times or forever, he IS
| re1uked, while, if additional work is
placed upon his deskStpd he protests,
fR is reminded that he had thereto
fore done much MORE, and he would
| be expected to maintain his standard
"Tnis imposition is forced upon him
because he is quick and if he should
err, ne is slapped on the other SIDE
Of the face by assertions OF his mac
curacy, when, in his foolish ~endeavors
to wade through his duties neatly and
rapidly, he may have committed an
oversight. Thus, the rapid clerks get
it from 10th sides, while the plodders,
being Jealous, industriously stab the
others in the back at every n OF the
many favorable opportunities ofiereo
and familiar to those in official lie.
at is the plodder in Office who us
ually wins out in the end. The ener
egtic clerk racks his nervous system
for, though government work is mo-
necessarily laborious, it is decidedly
wearing upon the nerves, and many
clerks annually break down from ner
vous exhaustion, worse very often
than a strictly speaking physical breal
down.
"The plodder, however, get fat. Hi
work does not worry him. He is 81
slow and does so little that he mus
necessarily be accurate. The rapit
clerk, who may be able to do tire
times the amount of work as the plod
der. and do it as well, and who i
therefore equal in clerical capacity t
two additional clerks, is refused a pre-
motion, because he may have mad
a protest when the official lash fel
too heavily upon his shoulders.
Government work is sui generls
Business rules are conspicuous o,
:, their non-observance. In many div
: sions a clerks actual work counts TO
little. If his chief does not like MI
he may rely upon never receiving
promotion unless it be to save the sa
airy from going out of the division.
I clerk of inferior qualifications, in tn
y favor of the chief, can develop sue
t surprisingly superior aptitude for VOL
= in the chiefs estimation, that he is a.
q vanced rapidly in line, and the bette
clerk remains anchored.
o Government clerks in Washingto
4 are. as a class, a conscientious body
n wage earners. The positions are M
the so-called snaps as the public b
lieye. In fact, in some of the bureau
the clerks are actually driven undt
!, the lash of official authority, and bou1
down by obnoxious rules. In otheI
less severity is manifested. Man
j, chiefs appear to think they may cur
= favor with those over them by bell
harsh and o%verbearing to those und'
= them. in most instances their peer
= and often their superiors except i n OF
ciaI life, and they transform their a
u tnority into practical tyranny."-Was
IL - Gill;