Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1905-10-04
Money for Soldiers.


working, just working. Before them
ale piles Of sheets covered with
names, letters, other data and figures.
Figures fcI breakfast, figures for
lunch, figures for dinner, figures ana
more figures. Papers cover their
desks and are piled on chairs and
tables. ard they tell Of millions OF
dollars received and expended Once
in a while one OF these workers. in
sheer desperation, gets up and walks
about the room to steady his nerves,
clear his Aead and give expression to
feelings SO long pent up that when
they aIe expressed it seems as if the
roof might wcil lift Then he goes
back 10 the desk and begins to run up
long flows Of figures again There is
balance this time and a glad shout
rends the air: the other three look
up. panied at the outburst of levity.
They haven't yet struck a balance.
One Las been trying for hours to
find out where that internal cents
went to- Another has found dis
crepancy Of s106 in the payment Of
nearly a quarter of q million of dol
lars He must work and struggle,
So over. mayhap again and again the
great mass Of figures, names, letters
and places, for that balance must be
struck For week, two weeks, yes,
frequently three weeks this same
hard, perplexing, nerve destroying,
patience testing, constitution breaking
struggle goes OH, and yet the days
arc not long enough for these men OF
figures and hard work. When it is
all completed, the desks cleared and
they have had az opportunity 70 take
a few long. free breaths, an order
comes down from department head
quarters directing another payment.
These men Of labor-and there are
none in all of the lists Of laboring
men VINO work a greater number or
hours per month or do harder work,
than these obliging, well-informed,
patient, persistent, tireless strugglers
arc paymasters and their clerks.
am going to write something about
army paymasters clerks. There are, IN
the Philippine islands, at present,
about twenty of these workers, men
whose capacity is tested and Ietested
to the very quick, every month Of the
year. fer when they are not applying
their eyes, minds, hearts and their
very souls TO the performance Of
duties as intricate and difficult TO
solve as any connected with the most
complex banking Institutions, they
are out on The high seas or wandering
oye1 rough roads on islands, visiting
posts, as the yeritable strong right
arms of their chiefs, the paymasters.
And have yet TO see a word de,
Scriptive of the duties, trials and trib-
ulations Of this class of successful,
painstaking, loval public servants.
Each paymaster is entitled TO a
clerk He is given the Fay of sec
ond lieutenant OF the army, $11G67
per month, and draws travel pay at
the rate of cents mile in addition
to transportation. The position in
the states, though very trying Ole,
is ny no means as difficult to fulfill as
in the Philippine ISLANDS.
Go with me on a pay tour ana
watch the clerk In nine cases out of
ten he sleeps on the deck of a small
transport; in the rainy season he
seldom fails TO get a drencIing.
Reaching a station the clerk must
figure out one of the company rolls
and then compare 1t with the enc fig
U~ed out by the paymaster That be-
ing over, he must name the amount
opposite each soldier as his name is
called by the company commander.
He must apply his mind absolutely TO
this work, fci a failure to name the
exact sum means less TO the soldier or
loss to the paymastcr. When the pay
ment is cone he must go over the roll
an1 note opposite each man who
makes a deposit, enter the amount,
count the money and pass it 10 the
paylnaster, who gives it second
counting Then comes the call FOR
checks Some companies call for
as high as fifty. The clerk writes the
checks and the paymaster receives the
money therefor. This, alone, at the
average station, is IN item of caI,.-
full work, we'll calculated, after al Of
the rest of his efforts, to bring nerv-
Gus prosuation several PAGES nearer,
for he must usually write on wob5ly
table. surrounded by ofncers and men,
a good share of whom, most of the
time, ale talking or asking questions
which the paymaster and clerk are
expected to answer. When all of
hese duties are done it is the clerks
part TO see that all of the vouchers
pai6 have been properly witnessed,
gathered up and put away. A failure
IN either of these respects means loss
70 the paymaster and great inconven-
fence to both paymaster and clerk.
Zach voucher means just the amount
of money paid on it. The loss, for in
stance. of company roll means a
loss of s.. 900 or $4,000, hence that
oil must be looked after and guarded
IS carefully as If it were three or four
thousand dollar bills.
III hundreds of instances in making
landings, both the paymasteT and
clerk are obliged TO sit in cramped.
uncomfortable positions, in small
boats, on guard over public fumes,
seldom failing 10 be dTenched by high
waves. Like experiences are gone
through in the trips from shore 20 the
steamer. for there arc only few