The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1902-01-11
HIS CURE FOR RED TAPE.

erQmeul departments dl w WdSHlUS(Ou
are common, but they are not the
only places where delays in the trans
action of business are found. There
are concerns in every large city so
hemmed in by red tape that it may
take week or so to untangle it, and
a Chicago man ran into one of them
not long ago.
The concern owed him a little
money, and after waiting awhile for
a check he went to collect it. He
didn't go far, however, for he was
stopped by boy at the outer door of
the first of the many offices.
"What do you want?" asked the
boy.
Money" said the man.
"What for?" demanded the boy.
The man explained, and thereupon
the boy told him that all such ac-
counts were paid Saturdays at the
cashiers Office. So the man came
back Saturday.
"Don't know anything about it,"
said the cashier. you'll have to
get an order from some one."
Then the man started out after the
order and promptly ran up against
the boy again.
"Write out your name and the
nature of your business" said the
boy, and I'll take it in to Mr..
Smith
The man did as he was told, and
word came back that Mr.. Smith did
not know anything at all about it.
eff 1 can see Mr.. Smith half a
minute" suggested the man, 81 think
I can straighten the matter out.
"Mr. Smith has no time to see
you," answered the boy, maybe Mr..
Jones knows something about it"
Mr.. Jones was equally inaccessi-
BILE. Another boy guarded the outer
door for him, and another statement
had to be written out and sent in to
him, which resulted in the announce
ment that Mr.. Jones didn't know any,
thing about it.
Cant I see anybody in this Of
6ce?" demanded the man in desper-
alton. "It's a small matter, and if 1
could get hold of some one in author
ity I could straighten it out in less
than two minutes"
Nix" answered the boy. Cant
see anybody here unless he knows
about your business first"
The man next tried writing a let.
ter, but it remained unanswered, so
he went back in person. BY this
time he had become interested as we'll
as indignant. He wanted to see how
much time and labor it would take to
get the money.
On the second trip luck favored
him. Workmen were changing some
Office partitions, and he managed to
slip through when no one was look
ing and get hold of man at one of
the desks.
"How about it" he asked when
he had stated his business.
Everything here" replied the
man at the desk, is done according
to a system. Now, if anything is
due you you should make out bill
in regular form and"
'Make out a bill |" cried the anna
teur collector. Hang it all I
can't get chance to present a bill to
any one"
However, that seemed to be the
only thing left for him to do, so he de-
parted to make out bill, and while
he was doing it he kept getting warm
er and warmer until he reached a
point where he made the bill for
services rendered, $I57." Then he
returned to the Office and gave it to
the first boy he met.
'I'll bet that will wake them up"
he said to himself.
1t did. The boy was back inside
of two minutes with the message that
"Mr. Smith says it is exorbitant.
He called UP the right department
through the Office phone and was
told the amount was only ST."
"Of course" said the man with
the bill, "but 1 wanted to get action
on it some way. You tell Mr.. Smith
that there is a discount of $3.50 for
cash."
Word came back that a check
would be mailed that afternoon, and
it was. All of which show that there
is way to wake up red tape Office.
-CAicago Mte, Ocean.