Waterbury evening Democrat., 1905-08-10
THE GAME OF CRAFT
How It is Carried On Washington and the Men That
 Profit the Most By It.

Iploh6u hio tlhL udJ IS nhc"o the department is about to make de- cision which will not be made public for some days. The friend is a stock broker and knows the effect of the decision will be to make a cer- tain stock go up. He according ly makes a quick turn, realizes a handsome profit and the clerk gets good dinner. Another case, more inn portant, is pending. If you can find out how that case is to be decided and let me know I will take 300 shares and carry fifteen for you" says friend. The clerk does so and by fortunate speculation" adds several hundred dol lars to his slim bank account. Later he reappears as a bureau chief about to make a decision; one way stock will go up, another down. By this time he has accumulated some money of his own: an investment with his old friend or through other brokers, if he wishes to be extra cautious. the de- cision is made and he pockets large gain. Can this be done? Witness the case of Holmes, who first sold informa- tion and then manipulated statistics to suit.
 The man who gives the messenger cigar hands box to the chief and sends thousand to the home of some one "higher up.' ''Jim," he says to the clerk there's a fountain pen friend gave me yesterday. You can have it if you want it." To the chief he says, Permit me. as a slight token of my esteem to send you one of our latest designs in desks. 1 have a half dozen samples on hand and it won't pay to return them to the factory The next day the chief is delighted to receive the latest thing in metal work desks and conveniently forgets that the giver's company has just received or is bidding for contract to supply the department with similar desks.
 MT Jones is the Washington agent of a corporation furnishing supplies to the government: he invites Mir Smith. a clerk in that bureau. to lunch. Mir Moneybags is the president of the cor poration. He invites Mir and Mrs As sistant Secretary to spend a week at his little place" at Bar Harbor. One man seeks a contract for typesetting machines and entertains certain em- ployes at his house with lice cream and cake:" another building war vessel charters special train or a boat and entertains hundred officials and 'their sisters. their cousins and their aunts" at the launching A clerk in the agricultural department recently took unto himself wife. He arranged it so he had business for the department at the same time which lo1 nf tbo oit tv hic httdo | accompanied him. It is said that two can live as cheaply as one" and it Is charged that MT Clerk undertook to prove this at the expense of the gov | ernment. If the charge is proven he is likely to lose his job. Meanwhile | the heads of various departments are cruising hither and yon on everything | belonging to the government from a revenue cutter 10 warship. Not so long ago but Mir Cleveland remem- berede it, there was great to do be- cause he used tender on a shooting trip: President Roosevelt has one of the finest private yachts in the world which is used indiscriminately by him. | self and family, while the Dolphin is at the disposal of the cabinet. True. they pay for the food consumed on these trips, but probably the clerk bridegroom brought his own cigars. and Secretary Taft is piloting large party, including Miss Roosevelt. 10 Manila and back, all expenses of which except food" are being paid by the Philippine treasury. Other off cials are junketing about this country and Europe singly. in pairs and in groups. How far does their case diff fer from that of the clerk who is credited with taking a bridal trip at government expense?
 How does all this differ from the methods of private business, if at all? If a buyer visits New York he is en- tertained by those seeking his custom; If drummer visits town he enter tains the merchants. The entertain ment varies only according to the business to be transacted. the possible sale of q few hats being worth only a cigar or drink. while the chance of securing an order for hundred thou sand tons of steel rails would justify a much heavier investment. So it is when trying to sell typewriters or bat tleships to the government. The direc- tors of a company intend to increase the dividends and buy stock in ad- vance: knowledge of their intentions is bought by stock brokers. The gov. ernment is about to issue crop re- port which will send cotton UT or down: information of the same is used for speculative purposes by govern ment employees. X corporation is about to extend its plant and officials quietly buy up the desired ground which they later turn over to the cor poration at handsome profit: gov ernment employe has similar informa- ton as to the governments purposes and does likewise. In private life an employe makes an invention and sells it 10 a corporation for much money: in the government an agriculturist dis. covers a new fertilizer and attempts to hold stock in a company manufacturing 1t and loses his head. Yet if the story
 Is true an army officer made an i'm prOvement fo a gun which netted him enough tn erect a large building which
 he promptly rented to inc war depart. ment which had purchased the guns
 final instance Some officials in the geological survey became interested in a mining paper. owning stock in it and
 writing for it. When this fact borame public property there was q skurry to
 get out of their investment. yet no,
 long ago the editor of one great news
 uaper sat in the cabinet a proprieto- is now ambassador fo England and