The Green Forest tribune., 1911-03-24

hf.f N $k<lA offered by Uncle Sam to Wssm.feM the persevering American
 boy is to be found in the customs service It is true that ad- yancement is a little slow at the be- ginning, but it is certain to come with time and increased capability. One of the best things connected with it is that it affords those engaged in it an excellent chance to prepare them selves for any lucrative outside em- Dloyment which may offer One who has served an apprenticeship in some division of the customs service is far better prepared to conduct many kinds of business requiring an expert knowl- edge of such matters than is the man who is without this valuable expert ence. AS a stepping g-stone to some thing really worth while an early training in the customs service has often been of the greatest value
 When your boy is making his start, however. he will of course have to be- gin at the very bottom, unless he should have had special training in some one line and is ready to start in a higher position. In this event he would have to be at least 21 years old; for only beginners can be under that age This article, however is written for the boy and not the man.
 We shall therefore assume that your boy is 16 or a little over, is in good health, and knows how to read and write and do little figuring He will have 10 take a civil service eX- animation before the commission: but it's scope will not be more than ordi- nary and after he has gone through all the formal requirements specified by Uncle Sam his name will be added 10 the list of eligibles, and after a few weeks or months he will be notified to report for duty. He may learn all he has to do by writing to the Civil Service Commission at Washington, which has ready a lot of printed docu- ments containing information and in structions.
 His first work will be that of mes senger boy. for which he was exam tned, and his pay S3G0 year, or $30 a month-rather more than messenger boys are paid in civil life. He cannot advance above this grade till he is 20, when he will be eligible to take the examination for regular messenger. But during this time he will be mak- ing himself capable in his own line and that immediately ahead of him, so that he can pass the comparatively simple examination with flying colors and be rated one of the best in the division with which he is connected
 This examination, known as the third grade, is on the following sub jects. Spelling, arithmetic letter writing, penmanship and copying from plain copy. It is not an advanced eX- animation on these topics, only the simpler problems and as to pro iiciency As soon as he passes it and is promoted to the formal position of messenger his pay will be increased in one jump to sS4O year, or S7O month. and he will be set to doing more important duties in the same line he has been following This work he must pursue for a year; for he must be 21 before he can take the further promotion to the position of sub-clerk.
 Now he will be started on a regular line of advancement, rising from clerk ship to clerkship, each of more i'm portance than the one before, and each promotion, which is made every six months, carrying an increase of $200 year in pay, This goes on till he is chief clerk of the division in which he is working and is drawing from s2,500 to $3,00O annually
 It is a comparatively long step be- fore he finally becomes chief clerk generally requiring from 15 to 30 years from the time he began so that he comes into this important position about the time he is 8. If he should have chosen what is known as the entry. the drawback, the bond and warehouse. or the passenger baggage division. as chief clerk he will be an acting deputy collector, which means that in the absence of the real deputy collector he will be head of the divi- sion and will have the direction of from 100 to 200 employees, and will be next to the collector in authority. The collectorship itself is a political position ald pays. in New York, $12,000 annually.
 The last promotion in regular ord CT that is within the regulations is to the deputyship of one of the divisions. un- der either the appraisers. the survey prs, or any one of the other divisions, carrying a salary up to as high IS s3,500 year, or in the case of s0e- eial deputies, up to $6,0O0. Spec.-l