Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-07-07
VIRGINIA GENTLEM AN
EDWARD S. FLEMING AND HIS
DUTIES
In Charge Of Clocks at Treasury %
Distinguished Appearance and
Courteous Manner.

| "a gentleman of Virginia. Edward S
| Fleming, who died recently, once proclaimed
| himself when the circumstances seemed &c
| render it necessary, and gentleman he
! was of the type that not only Virginia, bu'
| any of her sister states might have been
| proud to claim said an employe OF the
| treasury today. Everybody in the treas
| ury and it's numerous anneXes knew him,
| and few days ago when the tidings came
| that the nations great strong box would
| know him more, the regrets were gen
eral and freely expressed.
ITO the appearance of a statesman and
| the manners of a cavalier Edward 8. Elem
| ing added mechanical ability of the highest
| order. Early in life he mastered the tech
nicalities of clock making, and in the pur-
| suit of his calling-a period of fifty years
| he never met a timepiece, whether plain,
| everyday Yankee ultra-foreign, the &C.
centricitieS of which he could not conquer.
| To his skill he added the conscientious at
| tention to duty which makes even small
| things great. For these, well for nu-
meroGs other reasons, 1t is certain that in
a guild of horologsts Mr.. Fleming would
have been chosen dean without dissenting
voice.
In June, 1893, Mr. Fleming received the
contract for the care of more than 500
clocks belonging to the Treasury Depart
ment. At that period nearly all the treas
ury CLOCKS were OF the STANDARD makes or
a generation ago, and required at least a
weekly winding and setting. Since then
quite a number of them have been super
seeded by automatic clocks, which, with a
yearly renewal of the batteries practically
care for themselves, but the ever-increas-
| Ing strngency of the treasury rules in the
recording of the absence of the clerks rem
dered necessary renewed vigilance in the
matter of keeping the clocks on bali time,
| and Mr. Fleming always had plenty to do.
| He devoted between three and four days
each week to the winding and regulating of
| the clocks in the treasury building proper.
and the remainder of the week to those in
the anneXes and to necessary repairs.
He had his headquarters in the sub
basement of the treasury, and his fellow
artisans were the engineers, electricians
and cabinetmakers Of the department His
workshop, while very small, had the south
ern exposure. and generous flood OF light
always poured over the table on which he
diSmembered, renovated, corrected and re-
adjusted the small and numerous parts that
make up the anatomy of these unconscious
| but not speeches. friends of man.
Mr.. Jennings Wand of Office.
I'm this tiny room Mr.. Fleming kept his
wand of office-the stepladder-which for a
year subsequent to the date of his contract
was a source of bewilderment to the treas
ury employees. His splendid appearance and
the stepladder were an incongruity Of no
small dimensions. With 1t he was a puz-
zle; without 1t he frequently found himself
in an embarrassing position, by being mis-
taken for jurist. a diplomat or a states
man. His slight deafness made such situa-
tions more puzzling, for when addressed
posed to be proper in addressing the great
Mr. Fleming was unable to hear what was
said to him, and did not always know for
whom he had been taken.
HE was much over six feet In height,
with the stately proportions usually dis
played by members of the Supreme Court
and sometimes-the diplomatic corps His
flowing, white side whiskers, strong but
clear-cut features and gray eyes-thought-
| full, but always kindly in their expression,
! and protected by gold-rimmed glasses