Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1906-10-11


man who accepts a clerkship in any
of the departments at the capital can
! hope TO become rich. but if he behaves
| himself and gives reasonable attention
| to the work he is assured of employ
ment for about as long as he cares to
work. The man who has been longest
| in Uncle Sans employ is James f.
| Hobbs. one of the disburstng clerks.
For more than fifty-three years he has
, come and gone in the regular routine
Of his work for the government. During
his half-century Of service for the gov
eminent he has paid out over $780,
100000, and there is not one scratch
against him showing an error of a
single penny. There are several other
| clerks who have worked half a century
and large number who have been in
the service for more than forty years.
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Backed by the Navy Department,
Fred J. Buenzle, Il chief yoeman in the
| United States Navy, has begun suit
for $500 damages against the New
port Amusement Association, which
conducts the Seaview Dancing pavilion,
because he was excluded from the
place of amusement on account of his
sailors uniform. Recovery of the sum
paid for the ticket and $500 for the
annoyance, modification. indignity and
humiliation are demanded This is the
first civil action ever taken to estab-
lish the rights OF United States sailors
to appear at social entertainments in
uniform. 1t is understood that the
Navy Department is paying the legal
fees in order to establish Il precedent.
-:
Filming Of employees as a means of
enforcing discipline in the postal SER
vice, a system that has been in opera
ton for many years, is to be abolished.
First Assistant Postmaster General
Hitchcock, who has jurisdiction of all
pOstOtfice employees, has reached the
conclusion that it is detrimental rather
than helpful. He proposes to estab-
fish a uniform system of efficiency rec
ords. To that end he has started AS
sistant Superintendent John \. Holmes
of his bureau on tour of inspection
Of the largest postohiceS of the United
States. DR.. Holmes will confer with
postma sters and their assistants re-
garding the change.
From a dray in the service of the
United States Subtreasury in New York
City a bag containing fifty dollars in
nickelS fell to the street, and the coins
scattered in every direction. The crowd
scrambled for the coins. An officer of
the Treasury Department and a police
man explained that the money belonged
to the government, and requested that
it be given back. The response was
immediate. Every one of the thousand
coins was returned. There is no reason |
to suppose that this crowd had been
specially chosen by fate to represent the
American people.
Preparation for war is an expensive |
process. The United States gunboat |
Bancroft has just been consigned to
the scrap-heap after but thirteen years
of service; and the battleship Texas |
and the cruiser Philadelphia-bOth |
comparatively recent vessels = have
been withdrawn from active duty. |
Within a short time thirty British war
vessels have been sold for sum the |
aggregate of which was less than the |
cost of the smallest Of the vessels sold. |
A naval vessel wears out quickly, even |
in peace; for vessel that is obsolete is |
worn out for naval use
-
Who owns the champion egg layer of |
all hens? This question is raised by |
the Agricultural Department, through |
the temporary awarding of the prize to |
a fowl possessed by worthy citizen of |
Alexandria, Va. The award is sub |
ject to revision and later returns may
deprive the proud AleXandrian of his |
laureIs. The Virginia champion has |
since Oct 3, 1905, 291 eggs to her
credit and before the close of the year
will cross the 800 mark. Exclusive of |
the moulting season the hen has laid |
an egg every twenty five hours.
trict of Columbia are not to be buried |
in the potters field, but are to be Gre
mated, for Congress has appropriated |
$4,000 for building a suitable crema-
tory Objection to cremation is heard |
less frequently than it was a genera
ton ago, possibly because the people |
have begun to understand that inciner- |
alton is only Il quickening of the nat |
uraI process that goes Oh in the
ground.
The Department of Commerce ard |
Labor finds that the value of raw cot |
ton exported in the last fiscal year, for |
the first time, passed the 100000. 600 |
mark, exceeding by far the value of any |
other article of merchandise sent out of |
the country. Exports of breadstuffs |
reached $1S60O0,O00, provisions SPILL
000,000 and those of iron and steel |
$161 100000. Europe is the principal |
customer for our raw cotton and China
for the manufactured product.
-
Genera lorders issued by the War
Department fix the enlisted strength Of
the army at 62,515 men. There are 49,
165 in the artillery corps. 24,4S0 men
in the thirty regiments of infantry,
1882 in the three battalions of engi-
Heers and 4,4TS in staff departments
Bluejackets from the ships of the
Australian squadrons are permitted to
travel free on the New Zealand rail-