The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1911-03-23

M9ESk offered by Uncle Sam TO
~ the persevering American
boy Is to be found in the
customs service II ia true that adj
vancement is n little slow Mt the be.
ginning, but II Is certain to come with
time and increased capability. one
of the best things connected with It
ia that It affords those engaged In II
an excellent chance to prepare them.
selves for any lucrative outside en-
pluymout 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.
cnce As a stepping.stonc 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
n higher position. In this event he
would have TO be at least 81 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 1G or little over, is IN
kood health, and knows how 10 read
and write and do a little figuring. He
will have 10 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
nl the formal requirements specified
by Uncle Sam his name will be added
" the list OF eligibles, and after n few
fceks or months he will be notified
90 report for duty. He may learn all
he has to do by writing to the Civil
Service Commission at Washington,
which has ready lot Of printed docu.
ments containing information and In.
structions.
His frst 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 90
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, &c
that ne can pass the comparatively
simple examination with flying color'
and be rated ono 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, lette1
writing. penmanshlp and copying from
plain copy II Is not an advanced eN
animation on these topics. only thu
simpler problems and as TO pro
ficiency. As soon as he passes It ant
is promoted to the formal position o
messenger his pay will be increased
in one jump to $50 year, or $40
month. and he will be set TO doinl
more important duties in the SAM
line he has been following This worl
he must pursue for n year; for h
must be 81 before he can take tn
further promotion to the position o
subclerk.
Now he will be started on n regula
line OF advancement rising from clerR
ship TO clerkship, each OF more In
portancc than the one before, an
each promotion, which is made ever
six months, carrying an increase o
5000 n year in pay. This goes on Gil
he is chief clerk OF the division Il
which he Is working and is drawin
from $4,000 to $4,000 annually.
It is a comparatively long step bc
fore he finally becomes chief clerl
generally requiring from IS 10
years from the time he began: so tina
he comes into this important posltio
about the time he is 35. II he Shout
have chosen what Is known as tn
entry. the drawback. the bond an
warehouse, or the passenger baEEag
division as chief clerk he will be a
acting deputy collector. which mean
that in the absence Of the real dcput
collector he will be head of the div
sion and will have the direction &
from 100 to 200 employees, and wi
be next to the collector in authorit!
The collectorship Itself is politics
position and pays. in New Yorl
$4,000 annually.