Evening star., 1902-01-04

Representative Loud walked through the
division of rural free delivery in the POST
Office Department last Tuesday with a
brisk step He knew almost every clerk
in the division and was glad to extend his
best wishes for the new year. L wish
you all a merry and prosperous new year,
he said with a bright smile. The clerks
were all very busy. however, and they dld
not recognize his voice. so none of them re-
sponded Mr. Loud looked about at them
blGnkly and then repeated his good Wisnes.
Il wish you all the best kind of new
year. he said slowly, ''and the same TO
myself"
The census Office authorities have some
peculiar ideas of what half holiday is,
said a clerk in that bureau on New Year
day. For instance, we were required to
work until 1 o'clock in the day on the
day before New Year and eat our lunch
afterward wherever we wanted to- There
was no serious objection to this, but in
ali the other departments the clerks were
allowed their freedom at noon. Besides
this most of the clerks who took lunch
with them ate their lunches before il
O'Clock. so that the half hour usually al
lowed them for that purpose they would
have for themselves, the government stand
ing the loss of the half hour for lunch.
There is no uniformity about these mat
ters in the departments, or at least the
census office has a rule of its own ABOUT
half holidays. If a half holiday is per-
mitted before Christmas and New Year
then there ought to be just what the name
mplies-a half holiday. The clerks IN
Washington give to the government six
and r half working hours each day. So on
a half holiday they should give three and
quarter working hours. and then eat their
lunch after the department closes. Those
who eat lunch before the hour has been
reached should be called down and the Of
fcials who work clerks until / O'Clock
should also be called down. This would
be fair to all concerned"
The Juvenile son of an army officer made
a strange mixture of the history of George
Washington the other day. A visitor called
during the absence of his parents and to
entertain the children and instill a lesson of
manly honor and patriotism told them the
famous stories of the liberty bell and the
cherry tree. The scion of the soldier was
much Interested but the details got badly
twisted in his head. When his father re
turned home he was told of the fine story
the visitor had told about the father of his
country. Washington must have been
wonderful man." said the boy He
smashed the liberty bell with his little
hatchet and his father whipped him with
IL cherry tree for telling a lie 1t took
DaterfamiliaS some time to StraiShten
things out.
Mr.. Michael B. German, who has per-
formed clerical duty at police headquarters
for more than quarter of century, sur
prised several detectives who We're in the
office Tuesday shortly before noon by leav-
ing the office before the clock showed the
hour of twelve
The clock must be wrong remarked one
OF the seuths, "for Mr.. Gorman's leaving
always indicates that the noon hour has
arrived
But he always sees that the hands of
the clock indicate observatory time" VOL
unteered another detective
I'm going where l have gone the last day
of the year for twenty-six years" ex-
the telegraph office with the money that
has been contributed for the messenger
boys who have done faithful service during
the year.
You see" he explained, "the superin-
tendent knows just what boys have been
faithful and they are the ones who deserve
the New Year Offering
= !: !:
THE funniest incident of Christmas and
the festive turkey that 1 saw" said a con-
ductOr on the City and Suburban line, .oc-
CURED on my car going out to Lakeland. A
big, fat, good-natured colored woman got
on at 9TH street, and inquired minutely
bout dis cyar.' and when / informed her
that 1t passed Lakeland on its way to Ber-
wyn she seemed greatly pleased. She had
an enormous and curious bundle with her
that appeared to be exceedingly heavy, but
1 didn't have the least idea what it was
We always allow suburban patrons to carry
most anything on the cars that can be
placed on the rear platform. About five
minutes later, when the car was spinning
eastward on New York avenue a man
started out on the platform to get off at
the next corner. AS the car began to slow
up and he stepped forward to get off one
OF his feet became entangled in something
in that bundle of the old woman's: there
was an overturning of a heavy article the
platform became covered with grease and
the next thing We saw was something solid
and heavy fall out. 1t rolled on the ground
just as the car stopped. and we saw that
IL was a big turkey. OF course there was
some tittering. but likewise some sympathy
Tor the old woman, who appeared about