The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1902-04-22
LIFE OF A DEPARTMENT CLERK.
Not the Easiest in the World as
MANY Seem to Imagine.
From tho Washington Star.

From the Washington Star.
"There is one incongruty about
clerical life in the departments in
Washington which is not generally un-
lerstood. and it is so contrary to the
usual rules obtaining in business life
that it's illustration may be disputed.
but the fact remains a fact. neverthe-
less" said an old government clerk of
varied experience.
"Among workingnen one of the most
familiar of sayings is, don't work so
fast. or you will work yourself out of Il
job The truth of this axiom is gen.
orally admitted, and the artisan works
along steadily. The truth of the saying
may also be illustrated in the depart
ments. A quick. active, energetic clerk
has the work piled upon his desk, while
the plodder, the steady-going gray
horse of a clerk plows slowly along.
does fifth of the work of the race
horse, and in a majority of .ances
secures the promotions.
Nov. I will tell you why it is SO.
because in business life the active clerk
would be advanced to the position Of
buyer for the house, put on the road,
have his salary increased, and perhaps
taken into the firm. The willing. ener-
gctic government clerk is pushed with
work, and, If he slacks up, as he cannot
maintain his high pressure at all times
or forever, lie is rebuked, while, if adj
ditional work is placed upon his desk
and he protests, he is reminded that he
had heretofore done much more, and
he would be expected to maintain his
standard.
This imposition is forced upon him
because he is quick and If he should
err, he is slapped on the other side of
the face by assertions of his inacCur-
acy, 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 both sides. while the plodders,
being jealous. industrously stab the
others in the back at every one of the
many favorable opportunities offered
and familiar to those in official life.
'It is the plodder in Office who usual
ly wins out in the end. The energetic
clerk racks his nervous system. for,
though government work is not neces-
sarily laborious it is decidedly wearing
upon the nerves, and many clerks an
nually break down from nervous eX-
haustiOn, worse, very often, than
strictly speaking physical break down.
"The plodder, however, gets fat. His
work does not worry him. He is so
slow and does so little that he must
necessarily be accurate. The rapid
clerk. who may be able to do three
times the amount of work as the plod-
der, and do 1t as we'll, and who is there
fore equal in clerical capacity to two
additional clerks. is refused promo
tion because he may have made pro-
test when the official lash fell too heav-
lily upon his shoulders.
Government work Is sui generis.
business rules are conspicuous by their
non observance. In many divisions n
clerks actual work counts for little. If
his chief does not like him, he may
rely upon never receiving promotion
unless it be to save the salary from
going out of the division. A clerk of
inferior qualifications, in the favor of
the chief, can develop such surprisingly
superior aptitude for work in the
chiefs estimation, that he is advanced
rapidly i'm line, and the better clerk
remains anchored.
Government clerks in Washington
are, as a class, a conscientious body Of
Wage-earners. The positions are not
the so-called snaps as the public be-
lieve. In fact, in some of the bureaus,
the clerks are actually driven under
the lash of official authority, and
bound down by obnoxious rules. In
| others, less severity Is manifested.
Many chiefs appear to think they may
curry favor with those over them by
being harsh and Overbearing to those
under them, In most Instances their
peers, and OTTER their superiors except
In official life, and they transform
their authority into practical tyranny"
| -
n A n/,rrre, ca,