Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-02-28

has been resorted to in other nations
capitals
Employees in the government service
outside of Washington have been some
what more fortunate in the treatment
| accorded them by Uncle Sam. The rail-
way mail clerks have had two salary
increases-one straight advance OF 800 in
! 1907 and one material advance since.
I The post Office clerks, custom house en-
ployes and rural mail agents have like
wise been granted increased returns for
\ their work. The condition OF practically
all toilers in private life throughout the
while the welfare of Uncle Sans dis
| franchised subjects of the District Of CO.
lumbia has been made worse.
| The department clerks are required to
pass frst-grade examinations. the high
est provided for by the civil service COM
mission. save those examinations of a
] technical nature, while candidates for
| various other positions are given the
second or third grade examinations.
How Places Are Distributed.
1t can be proved that these clerical
positions in the executive branches of
| the government are filled bv the best
men who will serve for the money. The
examination is competitive. The man
passing highest is rendered the posi-
ton. He is man with a college edu-
| cation, or. at least. his learning repre-
sents years of preparation in the best
| institutions of his native town or state,
and no small amount of money en-
pended in his schooling Sometimes
| he accepts the job for the salary Of
fered and sometimes he turns it down,
in which event the next best qualified
on the list takes the position.
The lucky 60 appointee packs his
belongings, bids goodbye to his par
ents and friends and comes to Wash
ington to make his fortune. But his
optimism does not endure. His jubi-
concern when he finds he must pay
about half of his salary for board. He
becomes more crestfallen when his
eyes behold the place of his doom. He
table or desk in some dingy office room
! where he is cut off from good air and
deprived of the benefits that are de-
rived from physical activity. Ere
quently he is called to do extra work
at night.
Years of such combining labor and
our young man finds himself stoop-
| shouldered, hollow -chested and predis-
posed to consumption. which disease
has already made victims of some of
| his fellows who once sat alongside of
| him.
| Finally. after he has become unfit for
any other career. through close adap-
certain bush-league statesmen repre-
senting some unrepresentative dis
tricts where the existence of a gov
eminent clerk is almost unknown
come forward with resolutions to
harass our classified employee and dis
turb that tranquility and peace OF
mind SO essential in the relation of en-
ploye to employer.
If the motives for such resolutions
do not arise out of a feeling of an
t1pathy toward the department clerks
as class, then the reasons therefor
can we'll be attributed to a lack of ac-
quaintance with prevailing conditions
D. c. Needs Champion in Congress.
There should be a champion of the
people of the District of Columbia in
| Congress. with no other status than
that of representative of his district to
protect the interests of his constituents
against menacing legislation by out
siders, the same as good congress
! man protects the interests of his own
people. This would put an end to any
| favorable action on such bills and
amendments at least that heap extra
burdens on the civil servant citizen
coup de main engineered by the con-
f, gresham from Missouri, would be
F.. equivalent to a straight reduction OF
| l22 per cent in wages. in other words
| a decrease OF the clerks average pay
per hour from 40 cents to IS cents II
will be seen that this rate of pay does
not compare very favorably with the
| bricklayer's Is cents or the plumbers
| IS cents per hour.
There is need of legislation. but leg
| islation in the direction of amelioratior
| of the state Of affairs.
! The duties of the clerk are most ex-
acting. 1t requires painstaking care to
keep up the records or a great gov
| eminent, to account of its voluminous
| expenditures and revenues, and to car
/ ry on its current business in it's varied
| transactions with it's 100. 00O, 900 people
| The rules and regulations governing
| the clerk in his work and behavior are
rigorous. and discipline IS more strictly
enforced than it is in private business
| Privileges which the clerk once en-
| joyed have been cut down from time
| to time until they are practically non
/, existent. His noon hour has beer
| skimped down to half an hour. In the
| summer months he enjoys three hours
leave mark only three hours) every
Saturday afternoon. Counting -four
Saturdays to a month, this gives him
twelve hours a month. or a total OF
only thirty-six hours of half holidays
in the entire year.
Every change or reform wrought b,
a new administration or by Congress.
has served to tighten down the screws
on the clerk. Every order or new rul.