Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-12-27
FEATURES OF OFFICIAL LIFE
OBSERVATIONS OF A NEwsPA-
PER CORRESPONDENT.
Comments on the Scramble for Posi-
ton and the Pride Of Exhibit.
ing Brief Authority.

mere are many wrinkles N omclal lie
IN Washington which afford those who are
acquainted with them certain amount of
amusement" said a local newspaper cor
respondent. "and one of the funniest, from
the standpoint OF those not interested d.
rectly. has been the contest for the selec-
ton of the reading clerk to the Senate.
That the official whose duty 1t is to de-
eide the question as to the fortunate man
who would pull down the plum, after lis
tening TO the varying voices of the eighty
contestants. was obliged to take a rest
for a few days to recover his normal con-
dition can be readily understood by all
who are familiar with such things at the
Capitol.
But that he should have found three
members of the nations highest law
making body who were requested to act
as committee to determine the merits of
the respective contestants. who had not
made recommendation for the vacancy
in question. Is as astonishing as 1t Is un-
usual in that not a single senator could
he found who had not made a recon-
mendation. AS a rule, when a vacancy
occurs at either end of the Capitol. the
difficulty senator's and representatives
have is in deciding which one OF the
dozens of applicants shall be shown the
preference Of a recommendation. This
selecting committee of three will go down
in Capitol history as unique.
Official authority in the departments Is
thrust upon one at every angle of the
corridors and rooms OF these big buildings
and forms barriers over which both the
initiated and the unwary stumble. but 1t
is seldom that it penetrates into the ele-
vators.
Il happened in one Of the elevators of
one of the larger department buildings
the other day. 1t was at an hour when
the car was crowded with clerks going to
work. After the door had been shut and
the car had assembled almost to the first
floor there came violent ring at the bell
and the conductor, reversing the lever
dropped back like a shot to the ground
floor. took in another passenger and
jumped the car to the fifth floor, where
the late conner alighted. Then the car
slowly descended. floor by floor. to per-
init the wrathful clerks to get out.
The hurry-up passenger happened to
GERS. whose official authority gives them
the right to make runaway trip with
any elevator they happened to strike, ir-
respective of the corridor destinations Of
the rest of the passengers, but the scene
and sensation of being whisked past your
floor, despite your calls to the elevator
man, were more aggravating than anus
ing. Some bureau officers, however, show
the other passengers in a car the cour-
tesy of allowing it to stop from floor to
floor: Others don't.
when I first hit the trail leading to
Pennsylvania avenue some years ago
when the civil service had not tied up all
of the good positions in the departments,
] used to wonder why it was that my
fellov-members of the craft did not take
the positions on the governments rolls
which they had offered to them, but pre-
ferred to stick to the last or. more
properly speaking, to the wad of copy
paper and pencil.
froD
how the grind in the departments, ex-
cept In the higher positions above the
clerical. dwarfs a mans ambitions and
energies and lessons his earning capacity
for outside employment in corresponding
ratio to his service. I understand why my
confreres preferred the other kind of
grind
Official authority in the departments
in Washington. however. and the priv
neges and peruuisites which 60 with ii
act as sort of compensating balance to
some men while they are in office. AS
in the instance of many representatives
who declare. when their terms are ended.
that the years they spent in Congress
were substantially wasted, and they are
obliged to start life all over again, so ii
Is with many bureau and other oficials-
they wish they had never been tempted
by the flame of official power. but had
stuck to more renqnerative private pur-
suits.
Yet this is a wrinkle OF Washington
life little understood outside of the CAPT.
tai. The principal component of this ul-
-snra*S Ldissatisfactiqn is that most of
these eh1not all TO be sure. but most
contribhX in the least toward making
them useful elsewhere Though there
are exceptions to the rule. they prove i,
in ityentif&ty, and largely for the reason
that oficiai experience is worthless in
private life and business.
Z THE desire. however. for government
hositions. as iDstsnced by the eighty ac-
the contestants for the privilege of exer-
ciGng their<Focal powers as senate read
fnS.clerk-and there would have been SUJ
had the contest been an open one-will
always continue because the earning of
a salary Is the limitation of the prowess
of tha average man. The clerk enjoys
his stthdy and practically secure salary
ase1ong as he behaves himself and does
his work. despite the fact that he knows
that he cannot get. as a rule, beyond
certain earning capacity the official en-
toys pushing the elevator bell button and
making all OF the other passengers stand
aside. or rather stand still. until he takes
himself and his official authority out OF
the eleyHIoF."