Ladysmith news. [volume] (Ladysmith, Wis.) 1906-1907, 1906-09-29
UNCLE SAM easy. y
OLD GENTLEMAN NEVER A HARD
TASkMASTER.
According TO industrious "knock ers'
of the Sunrise Club, His En-
ployes Have a Hard Time
Keeping Amused.

Say, this government gets lot for
its money. sometimes said one of
the charter members of the Sunrise
club, when the organization was hand
/ ing around few of it's customary
knocks in the dairy lunch room the
other night. Now, ] don't like get
ting up in the morning little bit"
said the qualified hammer thrower,
''but I work for my living, so l have
to- But the other morning / was com
ing in with bunch of feRow-com.
muters on an early car, and the fell
/ low that was sitting next me had
day before-yesterday accumulation OF
stubble under his chin.
Scored on you this time, Willie,
said I, with an air Of virtue, for | was
pretty nearly clean myself. | took
! my shave the night before and could
sleep late next morning on the
strength of it, but he gave me the SUI
perior smile and said: oh, that's all
take these off after l get down to the
Office
HE works for the government, of
course.
| Then he went on to throw it into
me. You see, he said, there are very
few Of the fellows in my Office who
shave at home. keep my razors and
shaving tackle down at the Office, and
the government always has plenty OF
hot water and porcelain wash stands
on hand. [ shave down there. It's
a great scheme and helps to pass the
time.'"
The Sunrise club went into execu-
tive session behind several sections
P. Of iced cantaloupe and then one OF
the members took up the sledge.
81 don't know how it is now" said
| he, "but I used to work for the gov
eminent myself, and I know we had
then a regular sewing circle in the
Office. All the bachelor members and
d good many who we're not kept but
| ton boxes and spools of thread down
at the Office and in the course of the
afternoon we used to get quite lot
Of domestic work done. Our wives,
those of US who were so furnished,
said it was a good thing and it took
lot of work off their hands and saved
lot of clerks from working them
selves out of a job"
ooh, well, there are different ways
of doing it, but the man who can put
| in all OF his eight hours working for
! the government is wonder" said the
amiable member of the club who is
always trying to make excuses for
human nature. Take my case. l
dropped in to see one of the cabinet
officers this week, and there was his
secretary framed up with large,
choice collection of summer literature
on his desk and in the midst Of it an
Advanced Treatise on Bridge Now
bridge is a mighty intricate game.
There are more ways Of losing money
on it than in tackling bacarat or a
crooked faro bank. Some philanthropy
ic author had gone to work and print
ed his experience, which must have
cost him a lot Of money, and put it
all up in neat, attractive form where
the hard working clerk could accumu-
late it all for rs cents, no headaches
and no remorse.
1T would be a hard-hearted man
who would grudge an industrious gov
eminent employe a few minutes to
fortify himself by studying such an
important volume. 1t might mean
more saving to him than all the gov
eminent time he puts in reading dur
ing office hours. This eight-hour day
which really looks like eight and a
half by the clock and which seems
like nine and quarters when you
are putting it in polishing the seat
of a government arm chair, requires
some ingenuity to kill. | think the
man who evolved the idea Of studying
bridge rules in the office is a bene
factor to his kind.
"Of course they cannot lay out golf
courses in the Office, though some of
the departments down in the Mall
might do it, and the employees have
to do something. But if you want to
really earn a competency, you ought
to invent a variation of the Pigs in
Clover puzzle and sell it around
among the clerks this weather, or per-
haps a better scheme still would be to
write out course of ten easy lessons
on how to build a perpetual motion
machine and then supply the direc-
tons and materials on the insta llment
plan SO the clerks could experiment at
their desks 1t would be a great |
scheme as a money-maker and an in
estimable boon TO the wearied govern |
ment emnloyes at the same time