The sun., 1903-07-05
PENMANSHIP In WASHINGTON.
QUICK WRITERS AND bad WRIT
ERS AT THE CAPITAL.
One Man Who Signed Has Name 5000
Times I'm q Single Day-Other Men,
whose signatures Can't BE Rcad-The
Typewriter Fast Driving Ont the Pen.

Ridered by the Government in selecting
its employees With the exception of a
few engrossng and enrolling clerks at the
Capitol employed by Congress-, clerk or
two at the State Department, where 1T is
necessary to draw up manuscript copies
of treaties and formal diplomatic notes,
and the clerk at the Office of the Presi-
dent who addresses the social invitations
or fills In names in commissions, there IL
no demand for skilled copyists or expert
users of the pen. Typewriters have made
penmanship one of the last things inquired
into when an appointment is sought.
Every one here remembers the incident
OF lastAwinter when Joseph G. Cannon,
probably the next Speaker of the House
OF representatives, sought promotion
for bnstituent, who was employed in All
officeXthe Navy Department where conf
missidEs were made out.
HeZhad tried for promotion without
success and Mr.. Cannon himself called at
the Department to find out what the mat
ter was. There the head of the division
~ told him that there was no place for his
constituent because his chirography was
so poor.
Uncle Joe snorted and said he would
hhc W hct u Sfilpic VI tNc CiSih
writing. Word was sent and sheet of
paper with the clerks signature was
brought up.
Mr.. Cannon looked at it out Of one cor
ner Vt his eye. as is his wont when he seeks
to be critical. Then seizng a pen he
scrawled his own name just beneath that
OF the clerk, exclainipg:
There, now; he can write better hand
than l can. l want to knew if you think
/ am only worth 81 900 a year to the Gov
ernment.'
The clerk got his promotion.
There were two other Incidents of much
the same sort in the Office of the Super
vising Architect. A letter came from a
contractor in Southern State which
opened with the statement: Il am this day
in receipt of letter from an acting super
vising architect, whose name | have been
unable to make out and neither has the
postmaster nor the principal grocer nor the
editor of this town, and then he went on
to state his business.
In the same Office few days ago a letter
came from an architect who had been told
in handling drawings to note the initials
checked on them in offering any sugges-
tions in correspondence. He wrote: Re-
ferring to the drawing which Is initiated
with waving line 1 wish to say" and then
proceeded with the business he had in hand.
These incidents are the more striking in
view Of the fact that in the office of the
architect there are technical men, hum
dred or more draughtsmen and men
skilful with brush and pen and, 1t would
be Fatural to conclude, legible writers.
sI,. rst lii, No
coypist, who used to pride himself on the
beautifully written page or splendidly
engrossed document. Not even book
keeping Is done with pen any more. Book
typewriters have: been introduced into
the Government departments and accounts
are cast up on the machines. Page after
page Is prepared this way and carefully fled
away 10 be bound together when desired.
The card system, which has entered into
the keeping of every sort of record has IN
creased the uses to which the typewriter
is put. Even the ink -bespattered Office
boy who manipulates the letter press is
seen no more. Instead of making press
copies q carbon sheet is usad in the type
writer. and the carbon copies are retained
for future reference.
Penmanship in the Government service
has largely resolved itself into the signing
of the name by heads of divisions or
bureaus. This fact has led recently to
stories of the speed acquired in signing
names and to the tasks performed in this
line by Government officials.
OF all the. departments at the Govern
ment, officials Of the Treasury are Obliged
TO do the most signing Surprising stories
are told about the tasks performed recently
by Robert Armstrong, Assistant Secretary
Of the Treasury while the Secretary. Of
the Treasury Was absent and he was acting
Secretary.
One Of the other assistant secretaries
had resigned and the third was ill at his :
home. This threw all the official sign
ing for the Secretary and his three assist
ants on the one assistant.
For five days he signed his name con-
until 5 clock in the evening, with only half
an hour for luncheon. Again in the even
ing al his home he would spend two hours
appending hs name to routine papers
and audited warrants.
During the five days the signing OF his
name got to be serious business. In one
day of ten hours il is asserted he succeeded
In signing his name 5000 times.
After the first two days his arm began to
bother him at the shoulder, and the trouble
extended 10 the fingers Of the right hand.
On the second finger, where he pressed the
penholder firmly in place, a callouS spot
developed as large as ten-cent piece and
@ quarter Of an inch thick.
He tried all sorts OF time-saving devices
and followed many suggestions Tor the
economy, Of both time and exertion. It
became necessary after the third day for
him to have a masseur work with his sign
ing arm at the lunch hour to keep it In use
He had two fountain pens an inch in
diameter and Of special design made for
his use He was told that the ordinary
small .penholder kept the fingers In a
cramped and unusual position which made
them tire quickly. Then the fountain
pen obgiated the necessity of dipping in
an ink well
He stopped crossing his -t's" or using
punctuation. Instead OF looping the
final "g' of his name he ended it i'll down
ward stroke which experiments showed
rested the hand.
Outin Ohio one of the favored expressions
of the elder Allies when addressing his son.
Milten, Z. Allies, until recently Assistant
SecretaTy of the Treasury, was for him to
-mind his p's and q's," and Allies always
triedrto do so. His astonshment can be
imagined when, shortly after he became
Assistant Secretary OF the Treasury. he re-
ceived a note from the chief Of the warrant
division of the Department requesting him
not to dot his is.
Allies was inclined to resent this az in
subordination and inquired tartly, when
he had summoned the chief to his office,
what was meant by 1t. The explanation
was a simple one well, Mr.. Secretary,
you have been signing the warrants for fve
days In this department: To-day we nad