The Washington herald., 1914-02-12
Can BUREAU HEAD
ACT As JUDGE?
Trouble Between Two Patent
Office Clerks Raises
Question.
PLAYFUL TAP STARTED IT
Girl Demands that Man. Already
Punished. Pay Her Bill for
Sanatc.:um Treatment.

Whether the head OF government de
partnent or bureau should assume th'
role Of arbitrator in the personal con
troversies of subordinate clerks. assess
| ing fines and damages with sentences Of
| dismissal. il a question some governmental
agency may have to tile before a cas<
In the Patent once IL disposed of.
] At the present writing. George A. Deg.
nan, a civil service clerk. Is in a fair way
| to lose his $1,000 Job unless he pays 9
sanitorium bill and several weeks salary
of -.aiss Susan Carey. another clerk in the
ONCE, as directed by Commissioner oi
Patents Thomas EwinG
This Is how it happened: >.
Some weeks ago, Degnan, in playful
mood. tapped Miss Carey on the back Of
the neck while passing the desk at which
she was working. Piayfully or other
wise. Miss Carey turned and boxed Deg
mans ears. The latter apoiogized for the
familiarity. Miss Carey smiled apparent
forgiveness, and all went well for the
rest Of the day. To the clerks In the
ONCE, II seemed as though the entire
scene had been enacted in perfect good
humor.
Said she Was Incapaeitated.
Next morning, sr a few mornings after.
Miss Carey telephoned that she was in
capacitated as result of the nervous
shock from Degnan's blow. Also, Miss
Carey demanded that Degnan be disci-
plined. Degnan was called upon the car
pet, reprimanded. and suspended without
pay for three weeks. He swallowed the
sentence lost his three weeks pay, and
about two weeks ago returned to his desk,
sadly meditating upon the high cost Of
frolics.
But his troubles were not over. Miss
hoA m 1ncal fnritIrn
claiming to be a nervous wreck. After
three weeks there she demanded that
Degpan not only be forced to pay her
san<torium bill but also compensate her
for loss of salary during her illness. Com
missioner Ewing decided that this was a
fair proposal. and SO informed Dsgnan
when the latter returned after his sus-
pension. The bill at that time amounted
to about $500. Degnan declared he had
been punished once: that Miss Carey
could sue him for civil damages IL she
cared to. and that the Patent Office had
nothing to do with the case. anyway. By
way of summing up his argument. he re-
fused point-blank to stand the bill"
Hearings Being HeO.
Mr. Ewing informed him that he would
be given q week to reconsider and ac-
cept the sentence before, the formal
charges looking to his dismissal were
filed. The week has expired. and the
now are being conducted by the
deputy commissioner in secret session.
In the meantime Degnan's father.
l. Degnan, managed TO have a
physician who had treated Miss Carey on
a previous occasion. examine the record
or her case at the sanatorium. This ply
sician reported that Miss Carey had not
been incapacitated through the tap"
from young Degnan, but was suffering
from chronic neurasthenia, for which he
had treated her before. Thus re-en-
forced, Mr.. Degnan instructed his son
under no circumstances to pay the bill,
but to force Miss Carey to sue in the
civil courts, where all testimony bearing
on the case could be brought out in open
court.
member of Congress has interested
himself In the case and may ask. In an
ofiicial way, what authority the head Of
a department or bureau has to settle
disputes among his subordinates, and
whether any such investigation as now Is
being conducted ought not to have been
turned over to the Civil Service Commits |
sion. Finally, he may ask how many |
times q man is to be punished for the |
Iome offense by the same agency.