The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-10-13


 I reasons, but most of them Have ac- .cepted places with private business | concernR
 In the same period six Tennesseeans have quit the government service. One | of the number. Thomas A. Witherspoon, 1 who voluntarily relinquished . $2.soo l position in the Patent once to engage hard time to retain the scientific men | connected with the Patent Oface. the Navy. Agricultural and other depart | ment.s Mississippi had seven resignations. and one who declined an appointment after passing a most creditable exami- nation. Alabama had ono man who 1 failed to accept though he did not | actually decline. He simply did not put ] in an appearance, strange to. relate. Tennessee also had one man who failed to report after his appointment | was announced.
 Arkansas has been given twenty ap- ! Fpointments this year. Four passed the bookkeeping examinations. Three re-
 ceived appointments at si,ooo a year.
 and one at $500.
 Tennessee has also received twenty Appointments within the same period, tnmong the number being one stenog- srapher. two boolxkeepers and one as- | sistant chemist. The latter stepped into q place that pays si.soo sr the | start.
 When they first are assigned to work | with the government the clerks are paid from $500 to $s0o a year. The boolk eepers receive $500. The men | stenographers are given from s700 to | S1,000. Women are not paid so much. Vacancies often Occur. The more capable men. and women have no difficulty in obtaining satisfac- f1xaxr sfss Nxx fI.n I service. On account of deaths. mar riages and resignations vacancies are | constantly occurring. and this Is an era when many of the older clerks are | labor.
 Quite a number have vacated within | the past two months to go back to ! their, Old homes to pass the last years | of their lives. These are people who have been with the government from i twenty-five to forty years. The more thrifty ones have saved money through l economical habits and the investment | of their savings in Washington real
 estate. bank stock and other things.
 Not long ago a man quit the Post | ofiice Department to settle down In | Kansas. He had been forty-two years 1 in the department. For the past fif- | teen years his salary had been s1.S0o | a year. It was not under s1.60o fu | twenty-five years. He had no children I and he and his wife saved scrupulously | so that with investments and savings they managed to get together over l t4D,0o0. Each is in good health and | though past the allotted time of life | they calculate to live many years. The Washington departments have q | large percentage of old soldiers at l work. Of course the great majority | served in the Union armies during the l war between the States. But there are
 also many who fought in the Confed- crate army. These veterans are either passing away or are becoming inca 1 pacitated for the amount of labor re- Quired. Their dropping out causes va The government in all it's branches
 is growing amazingly. The Depart l ment of Agriculture is approximately making the most rapid strides Under | Secretary Wilson the appropriations l are being sweiIed enormously each year | by Congress, and the consensus of | opinion among those who are posted on | the subject is that during the eleven years that he has been in the cabinet the cause of agriculture has been vast ly benefited. Then there is the Pan- anna Canal work which. makes places | for hundreds of men, to say nothing of those who obtain government employ ment in Porto Rico, the Philippines and | Hawaii. The army and navy is being | Increased also, and the cry from all | the big chiefs is for more clerks. Con- | gress, whether 1t is pleasing to the men who rule the Slaw-naling branch
 or not, is compeled to meet the re- | quirements.
 Advantages in washington. | Washington is becoming such e | great educational centre that young
 men and women fortunate enough to secure government positions have ex- l cepttonal advantages to acquire train
 ing necessary to enter the professions. They can earn enough to live comfort
 ably here, and owing to the shortness
 of the hours required in office they can
 attend lectures at the law, medical aad vther colleges.
 The classes do not meet as a rule un-
 til after the departments close. Lots
 of doctors and dentists who still retain their clerkships make 1t a rule to prac- tice after they leave the departments for the day. These people are called
 ''sun- -downers" by their brethren who
 do not draw pay from Uncle Sam. Un,
 til they become easy financially and es.
 tablish themseives they hold on te-
 naeiously to the government jobs Others who graduate in law and medi.
 cine return to the States. but not un- | til they have something ahead while
 they are getting foot hold. It is a
 fine opportunity for poor but ambitious l young men and women.
 | In the examinations last held in the South the records indicate that the men
 and women who were put to the test
 made exceptionally high averages. And 1t is stated at the Commission that they will. when certified. not have any dif- ficulty in securing employment at sal-
 aries that will enable them to live conn
 fortably nt least.
 | For three or four years while white
 men and women in the South did not appear anxious to compete for the po-
 sitions an unusually large number or l neasoes stood the examinations and
 were placed on the eligible list Tho 1 United States maintains negro uni-
 versity here. Hundreds of negroes
 come from the States and take places
 as walters and porters They study
 pretty hard and attend the night and | other courses at the university. Then
 they return home and stand the civil
 service examination, and it is surpris-
 ing how many finally land into govern
 ment clerkships. Later some of the
 more intellectual and progressive ones
 while in the department graduate as lawyers, doctors or dentists, and then | they either set up practice here or go
 back to their old homes. or else lind
 new fields.
 When a clerk is certified by the
 Commission the chiefsk in the depart
 ments have no way of finding out whe- ther he or she is white or a negro. Even though they be rank Republicans these ohfaFs do mt relish draUinn A black