Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-01-16
GOVERNMENT CLERKS

There is no point upon which the gem
crafty of Americans who swallow hearsay
statements are more egregiously in error
than as to the personnel Of the government
departments in Washington said a Dis
trlct lawyer of standing who has practiced
before the departments for many years.
In many sections of this country the mere
allusion to the government clerk at Wash
ington Is sufficient to evoke sheer. 1t is
a fixed idea with millions of otherwise we'll
informed voters of this country that gov
eminent clerks in the departmental employ
at the capital are a set Of loutish, incom-
petent drones. fellows who fizzled out at
everything they had previously tried. and
who sneaked under the sheltering wing of
Uncle Samuel with the twofold purpose of
screening their Unborn incapacity and of
preying upon the taxpayers for their lveli-
hoods. This idea has been nurtured and
sustained by legislative politicians in Wash
ington. eager to make hits with their con-
sutootents, for so many decades that 1t has
at length become part of the settled belief
OF men OF all parties. The departmental
clerks are loafers, who do nothing whatever
put frame up ingenious schemes whereby
a esey may accomplish their solitary purpose
OF soldering on the government Their
one ann In life Is to avoid delivering the
draw.
- As' Aioi SUI tnat this estimate OF
Inc government clerk In Washington should
nave SUCH wide prevalence and credeuce
"hen II Is remembered how many unwar-
ranted attacks, based upon hopeless misin-
soIbation or raise information or no In
formation at all. and made with the sole
purpose OF personal ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. have
oeen oirected during past years by bucolic
OF hahky-pank representatives in Congress
. MnU hao IN mind the stirring effect upon
their constituents of their anti-goyernment
clerk TRADES. have in memory the in
stance OF the Farmers Alliance Representa-
i've IN congress who, just three days after
NE ne at 8. IN washington to take his seat
ana II was the first time he had ever been
IN washington in his life-introduced q
resolution demanding thorough and
searching investigation by Congress OF the
scandalous non-efticiency' of all of the
government employees In Washington and
VINO, In commenting upon his Resolution.
characterized, On the floor of the House ali
OF Wasnington's government clerks as dead
oea.s ana no-accounts.' His speech of
course, was printed In the Record aJonr
with the extraordinary resolution. and the
RECORD containing resolution and sneech
was Droadcasted throughout his state The
s svate rang with acclaim of him for months
This is sample instance. There have hean
many others Whom such things as that
happen, the wonder is not great that so
many minions OF Americans, living at
u,stanSe from the capital. and having no
selves, absorb Injurious and unjust not to
say ldiotic, notions as to the clerical force
OF the government in Washington.
1air percentage of new correspondents
representing papers published in minor
league cities proceed to take fall o,,+ ~
the washington government clerks before
tney learn much more about Wasbinoton
IMAM the location Of Pennsylvania avenue
and every novel of Washington life In ire
Wllo endeavor to INTRODUCES satmoerharn !,
POI rays the departmental clerk as sort
OF cross betv cen a chimpanzee ana an
out,and-out criminal. So that the popular
eevern Win respect to the Washington
NOW, l have been practicinp before the
W warrington departments for more than
Inirty years. and it's a queer thing that 1
u;a,., 50 " awning to sustain the common
sieM OF the departmental clerks as a class.
GOOD many years ago before the intro.
ouction of the civil service system and
"nen me sinecure scheme prevailed in the
SS,s,, ha service there were. as every
S KNOWS incornpetents, no-goods. bene-
nclaFies or political graft, struttine throuoh
the corridors of the Washington danas.
m nsm doing little or nothing to earn their
c chs. ra nr;ase'ng OF their nooence,' and
sneapenins by their retention the whole
governmental system. But some of our ma.
tionai legislators used to get billing, t1r,,nL
on on the streets of Washington in those DAYS.
M I.,.. ereht times. different ways 1t Is
no no longer au fait for the legislator to swIg
nimseH stupid or disorderiy at a marty
customs have changed in Washington
ana the personnel of the government serv-
si,s.a 70 as aIHerent under the civil service
sys.em as the personal habits Of the law
makers OF today differ from those of their
predecessors Of two or-three decades Or a
generation ago. VI q
i don't believe that there Is in the world
To-Day more faithful and effieient hoTy ~
men ana women than those who are doing
the clerical work Of the United States oo,e'
e eant en-! IN Washington. I come into con-
tact with them In most of the denartmenta
all the time. and I don't know mar rs
woman OF them who is not doing the hest
ne or she knows how to render vaIua rs.
ce.gea 10 Uncle Sam. They're all trying to
make records for themselves THEY'VE ar,,
oltious, and looking for promotions rhara
are such things efficiency records and
mighty rtgfdly kept efficiency recorGs a.
.na.. IN all OF the Washington departments
nowadays-a fact which the peonIe who ~
tack the clerks seem utterly to forget Nv "a
hno" nothing about-and the CLERKS ora
not only required to live I'm TO the avarene
o al, ines. ts records. but they are trying with
averages don't understand why It r. that
1 never happen to run across any OF thesa
maze clerks with their feet cooked mon
, hraeir ~ oGsks. reading the newspapers snor-
around the departments enough to see snch
sisntS II they really are to be seen. and I've
man. 09 Inc next
LAS to the efficiency of the CLERKS INV
man who has any doings whatever with the
government departments must be cantin.
uaiiy surprised at the quickness and erasn
ana mastery of detail possessed by most OF
tnern; These things often amaze me- I am
by the nature OF occupation, continuaiIv
opnged to ask various departmental heads
and bureau chiefs to look up matters of
dinerent sorts for me. and the promptness
with which these requests are attended to
ana the completeness of the Information
that is invariably dished out to me in a.
tonishingly short periods Of time. Ia SOME.
ilO ho -Szpr
ton. "0'i a.
For example, had a great deal Of bus,-
ness before the War Department during
and after the Spanish war 1 used to often
pop Into the War Department while The
war was on at all hours of the night. and
even on Sundays and holidays And I
never did this that didn't find a lot of
the old-tfme clerks the skilled and shrawd
old chaps who handle the army papers
bowed over their desks. struggling to keen
down the heaps and stacks of work in
viewed In the enormous amplifica ton of the
army and in the feeding, clothing. trans
porting and general care OF the troops in
the field. And I happen to know, Of INV
own personal knowledge. that large num-
Der OF those faithful old chaps were killed
by this overwork. I know OF several of