Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-09-29
FEAR OF CONSEQUENCES
INDIVIDUALITY OFTEN CRUSH
ED IN GOVERNMENT SERVICE.
Frank Expression Of Views by Vet
eran Treasury Department Clerk
Of His Experience.

government
not generally understood by those on the
outside" said q veteran Treasury Depart
ment clerk to q Star reporter, and 1t ID
that element Of fear Of consequences which
in some instances ID almost overpowertnG
to the individual.
This element of fear In ONCE people
which plays such an important part in their
office careers and private life Is based pri-
marily upon the thought OF the danger and
the contingency of losing their positions. 1t
permeates their actions In once In nearly
everything, from their association with
their room-mates to their contact with the
chief Of their division or bureau. II Is also
largely due to the knowledge that there Is
always somebody above them officially who
Yields q power which may perchance be
used against them to their disadvantage.
And this element OF fear extends from COM
mon laborers to bureau chiefs. for there is
always some one you know, who Ia higher
up
Another prolific cause OF this mental
condition Is the resrettable fact that service
in Office IL years wasted as regards the ap-
plication Of what may be learned there in
outside pursuits In nearly all instances. It
may seem far-fetched that ONCE people do
you take the trouble to talk with them re-
garding the commercial and practical value
Of their Office experience and training, this
is the reply that you will receive nine
times out OF ten.
This is one reason why there are SO
many designations from the service, and
there are many more than are thought Of on
the outside, especially among the younger
men. The women clerks seldom II ever re-
sign except to enter matrimony, or when in
the receipt. Of an outside Independent in
come. or voluntarily resign to escape dis
missai. But the women experience this fear
just as much the men, perhaps even
more so. though they have less occasion to
do So as the officials will fire. male clerk
wi only a
clerk for the same cause.
Why the Fear Intensifes.
After being in office for some years this
fear is more often intensified than dimin-
| ished. though perhaps 1t is less manifest.
| The head Of a family is then immersed UP
| to his neck financially in the education of
| his children. or paying for his little home
| and dismissal would mean virtual ruin. Ed
ucational indulgences and payments would
cease, for the clerk knows that he could not
| go right out Into the world again and COM
| mand the salary which his long service and
promotions may have brought him. In the
| instance Of unma rried men they find that
| they lack the enthusiasm and vigOr OF
| youth, and. we'll. We all known how 1t is
| when we get out In the world again We find
conditions In life. as to US, changed, and
there are other men in the places which
| were once familiar to us. and IN channels
| in which we once could make comfortable
| living. And thus the fear takes hold OF
| some of US In Office and works overtime.
ut is for this reason that I have known
Of men high in public life themselves to
positively refuse to place their own sons
In the government ofaces-they have seen
it all. they personally know what its linn
| itations are. what the inevitable outcome
| Is sure to be. and they will have none OF 1t
| In their own families. And this Is the con-
| trolling reason for the designations Of the
belief that because the few have gone up
they too may likewise soar. They find that
five years, say, have slipped away. per-
at Vital Period in their lives iSs nd
| stance. which often occurs. where they
| have seen other clerks reduced from the
higher clerical grades after long periods Of
| service for some error in judgment or
| overZealousness where they have over
reached and stepped on another's Official
toes, has conveyed its lesson. They get
ter competition with other men In outside
! pursuits
Individual Effort Quenched.
"Of course, this more or less dread of the
falling of the official ak, either in shape OF
dismissal or reduced grade and salary. is
not as great as under the old regime. but
it exists just the same, in its modified
form. To- me 1t Is really pitiable to see
otherwise strong men take things In Office
from their official super!ors In some in
stances which they would not stand for a
private life.
This well-known condition Of affairs to
those in office, with its resultant effect upon
the mind, tends to and really does make
towards and weaklings Of men. destroys
the Initiative of individual effort, produces
truckers and sycophants quenches enthu-
sasm, banishes all thought Of the incep-
ton Of progressive ideas SO frequently a
mans success in business life, causes an
unnatural subserviency to those who are
Outlines unworthy Of it and receive 1t only
because OF their higher official station. and
tends to produce an unhealthy condition In
the individual which Is best summarized
under the title we give it in office-just plod-
| ding along from day to day, taking things
| as we find them and doing the work set
before U.S.
Men cannot progress in any calling with
out the accompanying incentive and stimu-
LUIS to action which brings with 1t success
| full realization Of individual effort. Were
| competitive examinations in practice in Of
fee In Washington this incentive would
not be crushed out as now, for an ambitious
clerk would then have an object In distanc-
ing and passing his roommates In securing
the resultant promotion. But promotion In
| Office doesn't go that way. and office life