Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1902-10-24
GAMBLERS MUST GO.
Secretary Shaw Makes War on
Sporty" Treasury Clerks.
iowa Man, for the Good of the Serv-
ice, Has Instituted Some Nota-
BILE Moral Reforms i'm His
Department.
Especial Washington letter.

flock. There is an Arnold or
an Iscariot for every age and
nation. There is a dead fly for every
ointment.
All along the shores of the great
ocean of life, driven far upon the
beaches of the coasts, are the wrecks
and remnants of those whose en-
barka ton seemed to be under the be-
nignant rays of the very star of
hope. They seemed to take the tide
at the flood, being led on to fortune.
But, alas, they knew not the shall
lows, shoals and quicksands of life.
Each life needs a separate and &C
curate chart, because each is set in a
different current.
Just as a little leaven leaveneth
the whole lump, so one pervert or
miSdirected entity malOdOrS a whole
class CT caste. The embezzling, alb
sconding Sunday school superintend-
ent taints an honorable hundred
thousand jealous workers for mo-
rality and religion. In like manner
the thousands who serve the govern
ment in the executive departments
of the national capital sometimes
have their reputation injured by per-
verts i'll their midst; albeit the num-
Der of those who walk not in the
straight and narrow way is small
1t is so in all ages, and climes.
Even the brilliant Cassius was an
Office holder reputed 'to have an
itching palm" During President
JacksOn's incumbency some govern
ment clerks failed to pay their board
bills, and gave their class a bad
name. In those days it was easy for
any citizen to see the president, SO
one landJady called and informed the
president that an employee of the
patent office owed her for two
months board. The president told
the lady to go and get the young
mans note for 80 days. That was
easy. When she brought it back to
the white house, the president took
it and wrote his name on the back
of it. Handing it back to his caller,
he said: ''Put that note in bank, and
if the young man don't pay it 1 will"
1t was paid by the young man, of
course; and the news of it went all
over the city, SO that thereafter gov
eminent clerks became accustomed
to paying all of their debts.
During recent years government
clerks have been given a bad name
locally, because a sufficient number
of them have been indulging in gam
bling to give cause for general sus-
picion. This condition of affairs was
recently when the dis
bursting officer of the census Office
was found short in his accounts, in
the sum of upwards of $4,000; and
when this criminal lapse was fol-
lowed by the discovery of short
age of a similar amount in the &C
counts of the disbursing officer of an
executive department. Inasmuch as
the paying officials of all of the de-
partments have to get their cash
from the treasury department, that
naturally made inquiry
into preceding conditions which led
up to these defalcations. It was dis
covered that in both cases the fidu-
ciary officials had been betting on
the races, and that their gambling
propensities had ultimately caused
them 10 reach into the government
Golfers and take the moneys intrust-
ed to their honor.
Although the laws against gam
bling are rigidly enforced in the