The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1909-02-12
RUBBER BANDS AND PENCILS.
Wasteful Use of Them by Government
Clerks at Washington.


"There's only one infallible way to
tell a Government clerk" remarked
philosophising department official
in Washington the other day. And
how's that?" we asked. why, it's
this way" he went on: If man
has his vest pockets full OF rubber
bands you may know he works for
Uncle Sam. Rubber bands are as free
as the air you breathe In the Govern
ment departments land much freer
than some of the air). Requisitions
for them by the ton are sent in to
headquarters and the clerk never
stops to think (even If he knows the
fact) that they cost dollar pound
or more, for Uncle Sam and not he
has to foot the bills.
why, have you any idea how
many rubber bands are used, or
rather wasted, by the Government
every year? 1t runs into big money.
! can assure you, for l am in posi-
tion where l have inside information
about 1t. The Pension Office simply
eats up rubber bands faster than a
Western threshing machine gets away
with grain. Great big bands are need
ed to hold the papers In the thou
sands of cases together, and they cost
a cent apiece. A cents nothing to
worry over, you'll say, but when the
thing goes on at the rate 1t does. 1t
makes an item in the course OF the
year that would wreck any private
business.
You've no idea how careless and
extravagant people get when they
know that it's going to come out OF
the Government. Every fellow seems
to be bent on seeing who can run
through with the most, and the rub
ber band graft is the most striking
illustration of this I know Of. I've
called attention to this leak over and
over. but the powers that be always
reply that such things as rubber
bands are too small potatoes to sit up
nights over. / don't dare say how
much Uncle Sans total annual bill
for rubber bands is, but it's up In the
millions, Judging from my data.
Then there's the lead pencil graft
too. Why, President Roosevelt's COM
mission that he appointed to look into
the departmental leaks actually found
that the Government buys enough
lead pencils to give every clerk a new
pencil every single working day OF
the year. Now any sensible man
knows that those clerks can't use up
that many pencils. When man pays
his own hard earned money for pen
ell he can keep it for weeks, but when
the Government supplies him it's diff
ferent.
The Postoffice Department, which
comes the closest Of any Of the de-
partments to being run on a business
basis, years ago discovered that 1t
couldn't stand for the promiscuous
use of rubber bands. So the postal
clerks have to use common string to
tie up their bundles Of letters. Ex-
haustive efforts have been made to
discover some method of punching
them that would be still cheaper, for
even the string item accounts for
considerable part Of the postal deficit.
You can't expect great statesmen to
get down to figuring on these little
items, for that would be a cheese
pairing and so the waste goes merrily
on. BY the way, here's dandy pen
cil-take 1t along-new kind they're
furnishing our office-much better
than the old cheap kind-and here's
a bunch Of rubber bands-they'll
come in handy-anyway the children
can make some rubber balls out OF
them-you're welcome-Uncle Sam
foots the bill, you know. Come back
when you've used those up. Good
by."-From the Pathfinder.