Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1902-08-19

plOyment as is necessary to do the |
work. No department employees will |
be engaged except those who will SUI
pervise. The final feature is the nice
little job that falls to the secretary of |
each congressman and senator to adj
dress and mail out the $4,000 pack
ages. No doubt many legislators are
procuring lists of persons to whom
these seeds will be sent now. Iowans
who want them better drop line to
their congressman at once.
Washington, D. c., Aug. Is.
Not long ago heard a congressman,
an Iowa congressman too, strange to
say remark that ut was shame how
the civil service was grabbing every
thing" why he said, they have left
practically nothing for us. Positions
are the hardest kind of things to get
ahold Of
OF course he did not mean it exact
ly that way, since | know it to be a
fact that he is personally in favor of
the civil service rule. That there are
very few political plums left however,
is very evident fact, and there are
many times when the congressman
and senators would give whole lot
for few good positions to pass
around. The civil service department
has just made public, practically for
the first time, some figures in this
connection. Out of the immense num-
Der of government positions there are
today practically only about $4,000
that are not filled under the civil SER
vice rules.
The total number of positions at
present in the executive civil service
is about 236,326. OF this number ILL.,
14O are classified competitive, 11,766
classified excepted, and 113,420 I'M
classified. In the departments prop
er and the independent Offices in
Washington there are about BOOST
positions, of which 16,423 are classified
competitive positions, 2S6 classified eX-
cepted, 391 unclassified presidential
and 2,97S below classification. About
216,24S positions are in branches of the
service outside of Washington, of
which 94,717 are classified competitive,
11,4S0 classified excepted, ILL I'M
classified presidential and 10S,940 be-
low classification.
Some of the figures that are to be
picked up in the treasury department
are exceedingly interesting. One of
i the greatest and most general mis-
takes that is going on today is said to
be the habit of the American people
of calling cent pieces pennies" Such
a thing as a penny has not been made
by the United States minis for many
years. The coppers and cents" and
| if you talk with an official about it he
will correct you every time that you
slip up and say penny" During the
| fiscal year just ended there have been
manufactured 1861 ,143 cents and 26,-
4SO,213 nickels. New York state took
more cents than any other, nearly 49,
100000, though Illinois was close with
! 100000. Iowa was far down the
| line no doubt due to the fact that
Iowans are too prosperous to waste
time with such small money. Zen
years ago cents were little used in
the south and west. Up to date Uncle
Sam has turned out 1,100,000,000
cents, 340,000000 nickels, 100,000,000
dimes, 2O0,O00,000 quarters, and 1907
100000 half dollars. Somewhere in
the world there are 119,000,000 of the
old fashioned big copper pennies.
What has become of them is mys-
terry for, barring few in the hand of
collectors, they have disappeared no
one knows where.
Many years ago the government is
sued 4,500000 bronze two-cent pieces,
and of these over 100000 are still
outstanding. The same is true of the
three-cent pieces of which near
/ ly 100000 are unaccounted for. Slot
machines have greatly increased the
demand for cents and so also have the
cheap newspapers and the odd prices
in dry goods stores. Cents and nick
els wear out pretty rapidly because
they are constantly passing from hand
to hand, and the immense numbers of
them that pour into the treasury are
carefully sorted over for the purpose
of sorting out those which are too
much damaged to be fit for further
use. The life Of cent is only -four
!, or five years. Cents are subject to
more accidents than other coins. Be
ing of such small value little care is
taken of them and the treasury is
, compelled to keep on turning them
out at the rate of 60,000,000 to 100000
, 900 a year. At the treasury they say
that the cent is the barometer of bust
ness conditions. A heavy storm OF
sudden coming of cold weather-any
thing that keeps the cent spending
part of the population at home--is ac
, curately reflected in the falling off o
the cents coming to the sub-treasuries
, for exchange. During periods of dull
, ness cents accumulate at the treasu
: ries but when business revives they
Z begin to circulate again rapidly.
S Charles B. Dickey, prominent con
/ tractor of Dubuque, was in the city
| the other day and told good story
: about his townsman, Speaker Hander
+ son. when the late Buck Kilgort
1 of Texas, was a member of the house
n a private pension bill had to possess
D much merit to get recognition" HI
e said, otherwise he would object to tn,
e request for unanimous consent. On,
S time, however, when Speaker Hender
son was especially interested in tn,
: passage Of bill, he won Kilgore over
J, Mr.. Henderson started by going owe
p 10 thu n ctdn of tho bo,,,,