The Washington herald., 1914-10-30
HARD TO SPORT
WITHOUT funds
Pitfalls Threatening Federal
Employees Told of in The
Government Clerk. "
ALWAYS READY TO BITE
Schemes Are Many in Departments to
Take Money from Workers.
1t Says.
ALWAYS READY TO BITE

It's hard to be a sport on nothing q
week, when you are in the service OF
Uncle Sam.
The pitfalls which threaten the un-
wary-whether married or single-in an
attempt to keep up Appearances, are
many and hard to dodge.
NThe Government Clerk" an attractive
and entertaining publication which ap-
peared for the first time yesterday, but
which expects to appear sporadically
from now on, knows all about II, as wit
ness this editorial, indicated with marked
feeling and apparent knowledge OF the
facts:
Going back to the financial status of
government clerks, IL appears that they
are a species OF mammal that makes for
easy picking II you have anything to
sell on the 'dollar-down-and-dol -dollar-when-
I-get-you' plan, you may be sure that the
salaried clerk will bite. 1t isn't always
the outsiders that get the clerks on their
schemes. but there are fellows in the de-
partments who are always getting up q
subscription list of some kind or other.
The head Of the department is to be
married. They are getting up a benefit
against it may be to purchase flowers
for the sick wife OF some one whom you
never met.
Hints Chief VIII See Paper.
The man who passes around the paper
generally some self-seeking Individual
hints that the chief will see the paper,
and no one wants the reputation of being
tightwad. so the fellow who really
could not spare more than a quarter puts
his name down for a dollar, and is i'm
mediately stamped as an easy mark.
Then the single fellows in the DEPART
ments are usually up against the girl
problem. There is a girl working in your
bureau who rides to work with you on
the car and who makes 1t seem almost
discourteous not to pay her fare. Or
she leaves her lunch check where you
can't very well ignore II, or she lets you
buy the evening paper for her along with
yours as you are leaving the office. You
really don't care anything for her, and
she doesn't care anything about you, but
you hate to let her spread the tale around
the office that you are stingy. and so
she gets more of your salary than you
really can spare. That's one reason why
the young fellows are soon broke.
The Poor Married Fellow.
Then We have the married fellows.
Take the young couple settling in their
brand-new home (S1Oo cash and so a
tertain the good friends who helped to
fit out the home with wedding gifts. They
have trouble in saying No His sal
sry isn't very large now, but it is going
to be larger next year; so why worry
IL the grocery bills is a little higher than
the sum set aside in the household bud
get7 They will Just entertain a few
more friends and economic later, It
Is hard to say No during the honey
moon to the little woman who has given !
herself to you SO unquestionadly, but II
Is still harder to make her face debt. |
bankruptcy or disgrace with you later
on.
There is no use talking, in the city |
Of Washington there is too much trying |
10 keep up with the Joneses.' and !
that is one reason for the claim that was !
made by a business man the other day |
that about 70 per cent of the govern
ment employees were head-over-hels in
1ebt- Can you beat that? II we're get
in such a reputation, 1t is high time that
We put on the brakes. What do you
.hiAk about it?''