The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1911-03-24

- NE Of the most interesting
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boy Is to be found In the
customs service. It Is true that ad-
vancement is a little slow at the be-
ginning, but 1t Is certain to come with
time and increased capability. One
of the best things connected with 1t
is that it affords those engaged in it
an excellent chance to prepare them
selves for any lucrative outside en-
ployment 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-
who Is without this valuable expert
ence. AS stepping-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 Fl 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 little over. is In
good health, and knows how to read
and write and do a little figuring. He
will have to take a civil service ex-
animation before the commission; but
its 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
to the list;of eligibles, and after 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
ined, and his pay $500 year, or $50
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 max
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. 1t is not an advanced ex-
animation on these topics, only the
simpler problems and as to pro-
f1ciency. AS soon as he passes It and
is promoted to the formal position Of
messenger his pay will be increased
in one jump to $40 year, or SO a
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 81 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
he Is chief clerk of the division in
which he is working and is drawing
from $500 to $4,000 annually.
1t is comparatively long step be-
fore he finally becomes chief clerk,
generally requiring from Is to 80
Yeas from the time he began; so that
he comes into this important position
about the time he is IS. 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 and pays, in New York,
$4,000 annually.
The last promotion In regular order
that is within the regulations is to the
deputyship Of one of the divisions, un.
der either the appraisers, the survey.
or's, or any one of the other divisions
carrying salary up to as high as
$500 year. or, in the case Of spe
cial deputies, up to $4,000. Special
deputies are not governed by the pro.
motion regulations of the civil service
but are appointed by the head of the
division, and are generally chosen
from among those who have made the
greatest advancement. Thus It is
possible for one to become the chief
special deputy chosen by the collector
of customs, the man at the head OF
the customs work of any port, a posi-
ton which, in New York, carries a
salary of $4,000, or $500 a month.
Advancement from this on is Deepen.
dent upon the proficiency attained by
IT.