The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-09-13
IT CAUSED I TEARS
The Cutting Down Of the Census Bu-
reau Force Was Something
Awful.
Many Employees Faint-The Perma-
nent Bureau and What It
Has on Hand.

Special to The"Journal.
Washington, Sept. 13.-From $500
clerks from every state in the union to
720 Is the cut down In the census
bureau. The process Of reduction caused
Director Merriam and his assistants to
perspire. y :
When Mr.. Mckinley called Governor.
Merriam to wrest1e with the twelfth CEN.
sus he was asked If he intended to put
clerks under whip. and spur, and an
swered: mot at ALL that is, am going
to offer an inducement for them to fur
nish the spur. I am told that the average
department clerk Is not so much: over
paid as underworked. I shall investigate
that report -
I>ventured to remark that the employees
of the government in Washington were
paid on an average about twice as much
as was paid for the same service any
where else in the world. s''"
In 1890 the census bureau was scat
tered through more than thirty different
buildings. That was a most extravaganza
arrangement. I am going to tear down
thai old building under the shadow of the
capitol, that was the Baltimore & Ohio
depot in war times, and I shall put up
a, single story structure on the lot that
Will shelter all of my $500 busy clerks.
Every one of the clerks will be in sight
of his division chief. This will be a dis
tinct advantage, for it will enable every
and doesn't waste the governments time
reading newspapers or novels or smok-
ing or lounging in the windows
You propose that the clerks shall
watch their superior. officer and keep
him UP to the nark?"
THAT'S it. Nobody can get out of sight
IN my widespread caranvansary. My pre-
decessors seemed to have ignored the
great principle Of optics''
When this purpose was announced
good many officials in the city shook their
heads, but he put UP the low, fiat build
cess, for the result is that no clerk in
washington ever did SO much work in as
short a time. The director paid good
salaries and made promotions depend
strictly on efficiency.
| The work of appointing the clerks was
simple. In the first place, politics were
ignored-party disregarded. AS a basis
for the. corps, some hundreds of experts
were called in, who had had valuable
| experience in previous censuses. The re-
| manning appointments were distributed to
the different states approximately accord
| ing to the population. When the bill
passed congress it was agreed that the
| democrats should have about third
and the republicans about thirds Of
| the census clerks. This nearly agreed
| with the party division in congress and
gave general satisfaction.
| But last July the work was nearly fin
ished, and the process Of cutting down
| the force began vigorously. Then came
the vociferous trouble.
| On Sunday dropped in on the appoint
ment clerk, John w. Langley, a Ken
tuckian of strenuous business habits.
| found him at home, stretched out on g
lounge, painting and perspiring with the
thermometer at IS degrees. He slightly
turned his head and extended a languid
greeting.
MATTER" he echoed, in response to my
question. Matter enough. I am trying
to renovate, rejuvenate, rehabilitate, OF
whatever you call it. Sleep all day. In
| dry dock for repairs. So w"sT a. 80. !tzf
zfgFhis is different from any thing /, ever
tackled--this divorcing pretty nearly 5000
men and women from their daily bread
and butter. I guess it would have used
the governor entirely up if he had stayed
| on deck But he fled when the worst was
| over. IL
ut surprised us to find out how difficult
it was to make the necessary reductions
while sticking close to Justice. The first
thing the governor did was to select fifty
Of the most skilled and efficient men and
women among the clerks and appoint them
as basis Of his permanent bureau, with.
out regard to backing, party, or sex
Next, he resolved to reduce the clerks by
congressional districts, as he had appoint.
ed them. He thereupon requested ancf
congressman to select the clerk or clerks
to be dropped out Of a list of efficients
which we furnished. Some of them CO.
operated with us cordially. In other cases
| the senator Of congressman would cal
on us and a conversation would ensue like
this: g..
e" See, here; you have slated Joe Bev.
erly to go. But Joe is brother Of thu
governor Of my state and my right bower
| He can't be let out :.
''But Joe is below the mark Of ou1
minimum of efficiency :,
"How's that? On the trial examina
ton before appointment you passed hin
in as all right >..-
""'Certainly, he passed the non-compet
but on the competitive he falls down.
Falls down? You must stand him up
Fix him, somehow. You must keep him
I can't spare him. Rather you'd dismis!
all my other clerks
another lawmaker would come in ant
say: Look .a-here! You have marked Ara
bella Johnson for discharge as inefn
/ Gent But YOU promoted her for efficiency
only twelve months ago..
Yes we make answer, we promoted
her for superior dexterity on the punching
and tabulating machines. She did me-
chanical work admirably-in fact, she wa:
the champion-but she proves to be ava,
below the minimum in clerical work :
| IAIlOI10I CpllSIcSSludA Cd1u0 III WIFI
peculiar grievance: You can dismiss Johl
@. Hopkinson. He was in my district al
right a year ago, but they have gerry.
wandered the state, and now he is IL
Vose's district. He's none of mine Thel
we turned to the record and found tina
Hopkinson stood high up on the roll O
efficiency. Here was a dilemma for u.s.
! Another would say: That Quigley 70,
may drop. He's nothing to me. How
came to appoint him don't know H
don't belong in my state, but was of
, fered several vacancies by you, my con
, stituents were a good ways off, and thi
fellow was loafing round here, eating tur
. nips and bareback and sleeping in TIL
park, and I put him on through pity TIL
+ governor summoned the mans chief, VIII
: said: Qufgley? I can't spare Quigle,
q He's the best clerk I've got-invaluablt
q He's in charge Of his section and makes
:; great record Been promoted four times
: You must keep him What should we dc
In some of these extreme cases, Of cours
we have had to compromise, doing absc
h lutte justice as nearly as practicable, viii
- obligfng the official hacker whenever pos
: sible.
: "Of course, there was heartbreakin
: scene every time few hundred clerk
: were mountaineering, fainting, argl
Ing, historical pleading, and the presents
ton of vivid and all too accurate picture
of poverty, hunger and extreme wretchei
ness. It would have moved heart
,s stone, and the director hasn't any sue
: heart. If he has in any rare case veere