The Washington times., 1904-03-07
DISTRICT OFFICES
SHORT OF CLERKS
Business Routine Slow and
Much COngested.
GROWTH OF CITY THE CAUSE
Building Inspector, Street Cleaning,
Auditor, and Health Departments
Are All Vastly overwOrled.

The machinery of the District govern
ment is becoming more and more IN
effective the discharge of the public
routine business grows slower and less
prompt, and the office forces at the Dis
trict Building are overworked to an in
credible extent. This IS the opinion e1l-
pressed today by a large majority Of
the officials who do the important work
Of the District government
The argument Is advanced that the
city Of Washington is rapidly growing
every year, entaIling more work as It
grows for the various departments of
the local government Not enough al
iowance is made for this Development
and as result of this the functions
OF the government are often distorted.
while the work Of the employees is Of
necessity deprived Of some measure Of
that thorOUghness which is essential to
a prompt and perfect discharge of pub
lie duties.
Forces Too Small.
Four instances of Offices in which the
working forces are too small are found
In the departments Of the Building In
spector, the Auditor. the Superintendent
OF Street Cleaning. and the Health
Oihcer- In each of these there is be-
heved TO be need for more men.
In this city many lives are endanger-
ed on account Of tho Building Inspec-
tor having no detailed man to guard
against fires by regularly inspecting the
heating apparatus in apartment houses
and other large buildings. and no IN
spectOr to look after the proper con
StrucuOn of scamOlding around houses
that are being erected. In this same
clnce there is also q need of two addI-
uonai clerks TO see to the proper issll-
IhlS morning Inspector Ashford for
Warded 10 the District Commissioners
petition from large number of the
builders of Washington, asking that
Congress be asked 10 appoint two addl-
Uonal clerks in the Building Depart
ment to assist in the issuance of per
NETS, ana thus relieve the office of some
OF tne heaFy work, as we'll as to help
permits"
At present there is only one cierl.
ment's duties.
The Auditors Office.
In the Auditors Office three additional
clerks and an additional MESSENGER are
needed On this department OF which
Alonzo Tweedale IS now the acting head
and on the disbursins Office. Charles q.
Rogers. fan the RESPONSIBILITIES Of hand
Ling all the District funds. This last
amount that was expended By the Dis
trict last year. al Of this VIII have
10 be handled by the Auditor and the
dlsbursing officer. and yet no additional
clerks have been added to either Of their
Ofncc-
80 hard is the work at this time Oh
the AUDITOR and his assistants that thev
work every evening until or Z o'clock.
ana are frequently kept at their desks
until late at night. In addition TO this
ln1usuce. each clerk has to do several
Lnes OF work. and il often happens that
the bookkeeping of the Office has to be
entirely suspended while emergency ac-
counts are audited and adjusted
II has been known ali along that the
4orce OF Inspectors and clerks in tb-a
Health Department was barely enough
70 discharge the duties falling on mis-
branch OF the Government. The recent
action Of the House IN reducing this
Icrce by cutting of eleven of It's men
VIII seriously cripple the efficiency of
the whole department
The Street Cleaning Department Is
also in dire straits. and recently on ac-
count OF lack Of funds, mad 10 dischareo
sixteen men from the regular white
wings force.