The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-09-19
Our Washington
 News Letter

(By Congressman Clyde H. Tavenner)
 Washington. Sept. 1s-school starts this fall not only for the millions of 21,537 postmasters of the United States. Congress this week will probably authorize an appropriation of 39,00O, which is to pay the salar- tes and expenses of examiners, print ing of examination questions, etc., and just as soon as this sum is in the hands of the Civil Service Commis- sion the examinations will begin.
 The states of the Union have been divided into groups Of four each, and 1t is proposed to hold the exam nations in each group each month, so that 1t will take exactly a year to that time all fourth class postmasters who draw a compensation above $1SO per year, will be in a bona hde civil service, having won their places by competitive examination.
 This is big news to thousands of adjunct of the post office in their stores not only a profitable depart ment in itself but one which brings much trade for the general mer- chandise end of the emporiums. Thus there will be keen competition for the JONSS lh0 O1N11 oSTN1C0 SO"In1SS1On 6S- tinating that there will be three ap- plicants for every place, or about 65,- 900 candidates who will take the ex- aminations. As a rule a single ex- animation will be held in each coun- ty for all the fourth class offices in that county.
 Consequently there is sure to be a mighty brushing up on the three R's in thousands of rural communities during the next year. Dog cared arithmettcs which have not seen use for 40 years will be recovered from the depths of closets and storerooms. Spoilers will be dusted off again, and steel-bowed specs will be polished and focused not on the usual weekly newspaper but on the pursuit of eIe- mentary erudition. And If SBiu and Mart and Steve and the others who are wont to gather around the stove on winter evenings and settle the problems of the nation become too hoisterous in their disputations they may expect to receive rebuke from the white whiskered store keeper dis turbed by their clamor in his schoI- astic labors
 The examination is not hard, In fact, it is one that could be easily passed by almost any grammar school boy, yet the Civil Service Commission expects many of the present incunn- bents of fourth class postoffices to stumble over it, It will comprise four questions, having the following weight: Arithmetic, 50 points; pen manship, s points; letter writing, 20 points; copying addresses. 15 points.
 The arithmetic test will have four questions. In question 1 the contes- tant will be required to add eight whole numbers and from their sum subtract another whole number. Question is bookkeeping. The ex- animation paper will give the value of stamps cancelled at certain post office, the amount of money received from newspaper postage, from the sale of waste paper and from box rents. The candidate will be given a blank form on which he must set down these figures in their proper places, and then he must compute the salary of the postmaster for the quar- ter in accordance with directions giV- en on the form. Question 3 deals with multiplication and division ~ of decimal fractions and also the reduc- ton of simple fractions to decimals. Question is practical arithmetic, the number of post office boxes that can be put into a certain space, or the number of yards of Hno- leu mrequired to cover a given floor order report to be properly filled out from figures given in the examina- tion paper.