Omaha daily bee., 1903-04-15
BITS OF WASHINGTON LIFE.
Minor scenes snd Incidents sketched
on the Spot.

Minor scenes and Incidents sketched
on the SPOT.
An unusually large number Of desirable
positions In the government service are
about to be offered to bright young men
who prove themselves qualified to hll them.
On the 2Sth Of this month the United
States Civil Service commission will
hold examinations ali over the country
for the purpose Of establishing eligible
registers for a great many appointments
that are soon to be made. Secretary Cor
telyou has notified the Civil Service com
mission that he will want some good men
In the course Of a month or two, and 1t Ia
expected that II the right kind Of men can
be secured one hundred or more vacancies
will be filled.
The entrance salaries will range from
$40 to S1,40O per annum, and will be deter
mined by the requirements of the positions
to be filled and the character and apparent
extent of the qualifications Of eligibles. The
examinations will be on a combination
basis. All will be required to take what
might be called a general clerks xamina-
tion, and with It each candidate may pick
out other subjects in which he wishes to
be examined. A list OF ~twenty-four OPP
tional subjects is given from which Sc
%lections may be made, These include the
following: Arithmetic (rapid computation,
involving addition, subtraction. multiple
cation, division, decimals and simple per-
centage). copying for test of speed and
accuracy, editing and proofreading, prac-
teal bookkeeping or practical accounting,
stenography, typewriting, higher arithmetic,
higher mathematics, English grammar,
rhetoric and literature, general history and
uooura NAV CpanEsb Er,noh o,d n,r,,,,
physics, geology, agriculture, photography,
knowledge of railway systems Of the United
States, mechanical or Topographic draft
ing, law, medicine, civil engineering,
mechanical engineering, electrical engineer
ing and educational methods.
ut will not be possible" said an en-
ploye Of the government printing office,
quoted by the Washington Star, "for any
one to place errors on this office, for every
line Of proof and every page Of copy is
carefully preserved. This is done In order
to protect the office. 1t is not an uDoom-
mon thing for errors to be charged to
stenographers, proofreaders and Pfnters,
and every precaution is taken ~ guard
against such.
1.-THE universal use OF the typewriter
has robbed the labor OF the printer and
proofreader of much of it's humor and
nearly all Of It's misery. Time was, and
that not many years ago, when all the
copy for the Congressional Record came
to the printing Office in the chirography
Of the author. Those were days Of pro-
family and drink, and no end of printers
yarns are yet extant among the old ones
of the place in regard to the awful fist
written by some Of the men whose names
are immortal in history, and that without
the assistance Of the Record. The list of
these poor penme is legion, but 1t is
pretty generally conceded that the name
Of Reverdy Johnson should be at the head
of the roster, though Pratt OF Indiana is
said by some to be deserving of that
honor. One excellent compositor Of that old
regime, somewhat addicted to rum, was
said to be the only printer who could read
Pratt, and he could do so only when he
was drunk. Now 1t is the corrections
alone that bother the printer, end
all of these. are obscure enough
to show what the work would be II in the
written hand of the speaker. Even with
the utmost care grave errors will at times
intrude, but copy and proofs are kept to
be on the safe side in case of trouble
coming up"
Inc u6W bldIupSu ShNSlOpS NhoN hoS SN~
under preparation in the Postofice depart
ment for several months past has been
made ready for issue, and is now being dis
tributed to the postofices throughout the
country. The envelope is in four demon
inations-1 cent, 2 cent, 4 cent and 8 cent.
The change made is very great and, 1t If
believed by the officials who have had the
matter in charge, is a great Improvement
The stamps on all the envelopes are diff
ferent shapes. The 1-cent envelope has 9
green stamp in the form of a perfect circle
about an inch in diameter. The bust OF
Franklin in white is the central figure,
The 2-cent stamp is oval In shape. 1t Is 6
brick red and bears the bust OF Washing
ton in white. This stamp is about XIV
inches in size. The stamp on the Accent
envelope is about IA inches square and is
brown. 1t bears the portrait Of General Grant
In white. The scent stamp is shaped like an
ellipse. It is blue, and bears the portrait
of Lincoln in white. The portraits on al
the stamps are busts, and are embossed or
the envelope. The stamps are all larger
than those used at present, except the
and s cent varieties, and have less decora-
ton.
DR.. Wiley continues to guard the food e4-
periments which he is conducting with q
dozen or more clerks in his department
with the greatest secrecy, under orders
from Secretary OF Agriculture Wilson
Nevertheless, as the young men are not
kept indoors all the time, 1t is impossible
to conceal any effects which the poisoned
food may have upon the subjects of the
experiments.
Although there have bean no marked
changes in any Of the young men so far as
"