The Washington bee., 1911-02-25

cOlOred man who accepts a Presiden-
tlal JOB, nine times out of ten, must
buy pair OF Overalls, and begin mix
ing his whltewash, and invest Is cents
in a Whltewash brush just as soon as
he signs his name for the last time
to the pay roll. The position of a col
ored man, the average COlOred man
who holds a high office, IS almost
tragedy. For three or four years, or
more, he rides the crest of the waves,
decorated and bespangled with dig
nifty" pomposity and assumed lead
ership, and then the squall comes, and
he Is tossed up on the sandbars. Now
there is John Dancy. After eight
years drawing $4,000 per, he found
when he was disconnected that moth
ing on the outside was offered to him,
not even a $1,000 job. OF course
Dancy had something when he took
office, and he had more when he gave
it up, because Dancy sets on every
dollar he gets until he matches out
ninety-fve cents. But if 1t had hap
pened that his bank account was over
drawn and he had about 'steen notes
in hands of, ten per centers when he
came out, ht would be today hunting
free soup at Jim Gray's.
Because of their inability to land
something approXimating the salary
they will draw as officehOlders, when
they have to take the count, | some
times seriously question if a COlored
man is justified in giving up respec-
table job at a moderate salary to take
a Presidential appointment. A big
job simply spells terrapin for them
for about four years, and then the
almshouse drives up on rubber tires.
We who have been IN Washington
since Hector was pup, have seen
them come in like soldiers OF fortune,
and retire like Haitian generals-all
in. The glamOr IS attractive, but |
wouldn't give my little old twelve hun
dred sure thing for Recorder OF Deeds,
Register, Auditor, or anything else
that carries a stOp-WatCh. Some day,
perhaps. we will have ColOred men
who can afford to take Presidential
Jobs. but there are mighty few OF them
today on speaking terms with the dol
lar of the dads. For my part, | don +
like these short summers and long
winters. It's awful to know that coal
sells for 81 in the winter, If that winter
runs almost through the year. OF
the many colored men who have held
big offices in Washington not to eX-
ceed three retired from Office with the
price of SIX months board in his jeans.
Go count them yourself, if you don't
believe me. $1,000 with mixed pickles
for me, instead Of $4,000 for minute
followed by binding snow storm.
/ met Charles Cottrill. the new col
lector to Honolulu, when he was here,
just for a minute, and he looks good
to me. He walks and talks like some
body. | have not yet heard how
Uncle Booker discovered this Ohioan
but he seems to have an emergency
list already whenever a job is seen
behind the horizon. COttriil Is about
the luckiest fellow I know of in that
he gets an office that takes him out Of
the country away from the hammer
brigade and anvil chorus. Now if |
was going TO take an Office, give me
something some place where the bri-
ney deep will be between me and the
knockers. COttrill, when he gets over
in Hawaii, will like it so well that he
will never want to come back TO this
country. And he will have a chance
to save, while If his office was in this
country he would have a glorious priv
ilege to spend. 1t would be a good
thing if President Taft, and the Presi-
dents who will follow, would appoint
more ColOred men to office out Of the
country instead of in the country. It
sure would be better for the fellow
who gets the Office.
* x
[ see Will Houston, the ex-grand-
master, is back in Washington, trying
to earn an honest dollar at law I
told Will last summer that just as
soon as Ed. Morris squeezed all the
juice out of him he would toss him
to the garbage man. OF course Will
thought | was talking through my
Dunlap when | said IT. Everything
has come to pass, though. as I pre-
dicted He washed Morris dirty linen
for him, ironed his rags, acted as his