The Washington times., 1908-08-15


Of the past week in departmental cir
cies is the large draft that Is being
made on the young men Of the de-
partments for political work in con-
/ nection with the national headquarters
of one Of the political parties.
Fully a DOZEN young men have been
called FOR this work. and win fill posi-
tiOns OF responsibility at either New
I York or Chicago. one who resigned
viii so as chief clerk Of the Chicago
headquarters, and others will have po-
sitIons ranging from telegraphers to
stenOgraphers and confidential clerks,
The lesson to lie drawn from this de-
mand for the SCI vices Of the depart
ment employees is that their training
| has been such as to tit them for the
| peculiar duties at a political headquar-
ters where tact, intelligence, and a ca
pacity for arduous clerical work is re-
| quired, but above all these. the ability
to know everything and yet know moth
| ing.
Mr.. Hitchcock, whose guiding hand is
shown in all the selections 50 far made
| for this work, is a good judge OF hu-
man nature, and IS thoroughly COM
! petent TO select a large working force
/ of this character. That he Will have
| one OF the most loyal and best trained
headquarters organization yet known in
A political campaign is predicted by
those who have followed tne develop
ments Of the week, and Ln17y the value
of the young men he has called to his
| assistance.
w. II. Allen, private secretary to Pc
! ter V. DeGraw. Fourth Assistant Post
master General. tells Of a pet parrot
at his boarding house that possesses
ne says, more than the customary
amount of intelligence, even for par
rot. Ever since a committee represent
ing the Republican national COnven-
ton slipped up on William H Taft at
Cincinnati a few days age and told
/ him that he was expected TO do the
running for President this year. the
parrot grcets everyone passing with
''Tafe. Tafe.'
some OF the Democratic boarders con-
cluded that the Republicans in the
house had been giving the parrot some
: lessons in English and had taught him
/ to say ''Tdfe. So they endeayored 20
/ Induce his paTrotshlp 10 add just one
more magical name to his vocabulary,
/ that of Bryan" With all the stubborn
ness that q parrot can command, ne
| ignores the instructions OF the adVO-
IcateS of The COmmOuer, and consistent
I = e.
Cept that he has, altogether on his own
yOlitlOn, II is claimed, extended MS
/ Vocabulary To '.Tafe-ROse,' which he
prOClaims to all who get within hall
/ ing distance.
! There is talk of securing a Democratic
parrot TO set up IN opposition TO the
/ present one, and falling In this 10 Sc
cure p. boarding house where they don
4 harbOr offensive parrots. A cOmpT0m-
/ Use has been suggested, however, that
probably will serve 70 preserve the in
/ tegrlty of the good landlady's table.
/ The Republicans are to be permitted 20
keep ahe "Tafe-Rose' parrot and the
/ Democrats are 10 lay in q supply OF
| Bryan canned speeches and loud
voiced phonOgraph. In any event. the
IneighboTs declare, there is 10 be period
! OF unrest in the vicinity
| Herbert Ainsworth stevens. confiden-
l tial clerk 10 Secretary SJraus, Of ths
/ Department of Commerce and Labor,
I tells a story anent a bathing beach
and some bathing suits that he has met
that almost demands attention from the
/ Carnegie hero committee Mr. Stevens
/ Is willing that the story be told that
posterity may profit thereby.
/ On O certain day in the recent past
/ he jOUrneyed to a nearby bathing beach
/ for a quiet and peaceful dip in the bay.
/ Repairing to the bath house he called
/ for a suit The lord high keeper of the
/ checks and plaids passed him out suit
/ and he prepared 10 get into IL.
/ He found that by the hardest sort
/ Of a struggle he could get on the shirt,
/ but the trunks were an impOssibiity.
/ They would have been small for
/ JWelVe-yeaT-Oid boy. He GndTesSed and
! dressed and took the suit back to the
man ia charge with polite explanation
/ Of the difficulty.
/ He was given another outfit. but this
time the shirt was too small. Another
/ trip was necessary, and by this time
/ the atmosphere began to get lurid
! "Ah, yes" said his lOTdship after
uHHaHH
/ want" and he passed him out another
| suit. This time the shirt proved to be
/ a vOluminOus affair, large enough for
/ three persons the size of Mr.. Stevens,
and It also had a sheath-gOwn effect
/ up one side. With this effort he gave
/ IL up as a bad job and stepped out into
/ the SURF Tor few minutes, but soon
/ found that sea nettles were as thick
| as flies around popular price restau-
/ rant, and he Wended his way out and
! homeward, disappointed and dishearten-
/ ed, but with determination 10 get even
/ with that bathing suit man II he ever
had the opportunity.
a new vacuum carpet cleaner. one
that eats the dust right up without the
/ formally OF removing the carpet, was
! being tested at the POstofiice Depart
/ ment a few days ago, and one of the
/ first rooms in which IL vas given &
trial by the assistant superintendent Of
the building, George I. laW, was in
! the private Office Of former First AS
slstauL Postmaster General Hitchcock.
This suggested a novel proposition,
which Mr.. Shaw is having carried out
the testing and analyzing of the dirt
and dust taken from the room.
| Some of the employees are speculating
as 10 what the germs will show. Some
think Presidential germs will be found,
or maybe a steam-roller germ or two
win be discovered. The possibilities Of
| the analyzation are so numerous that
| the bottle in which the dust is being
| preserved is kept Theoretically sealed
/ except when opened for the purpose Of
/ the test.
/ Visitors to the Postoffice Department
/ Annex at North Capitol and K streets
northeast. are struck with the rich vol
I ume of melody that floats through the
windows of the large building In which