The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1919-08-25
Trials of File Searchers in Finding
Address-A Typical Case

Address-A Typical Case
Washington, Aug. 25.-The follow
ing account Of some of the problems
in nomenclature with which the Blu.
reau of War Risk Insurance is coping
illuminates the difficulties in answer
ing letters and maintaining the cor
rect addresses of demobilized men:
Get me this mans name so that
can report definitely on the status of
his insurance"
That, together with slip bearing
the memo, James Hall, (3,721,5O5
Mccall, South Carolina; Beneficial
ries: Mrs. Ella Stalks (wife), Mrs.
Fannie Stalks (Mother)," was hand
ed to a file searcher in the Bureau of
War RISK Insurance.
The mans name was given as Hall,
while those of his wife and his moth
er were given as Stalks. Patiently,
something was wrong somewhere.
Just what was wrong, however, was
not so evident.To find out what and
where the error was, was the job.
Finding the error somebody else
made is always the job of the War
Risk index file searchers, and it's a
tough job if they fail to get at the
bottom of it.
Going into the index files section
where are listed the names of nearly
five million men who were inducted
into military service, the young wom-
an made complete inventory of all
the thousands of men surnamed Hall.
Among them all there was not one
who came from Mccall, South Caro-
lima, nor yet one who had wife or
mother whose name even remotely
resembled the Stalks" given as the
name of the two beneficaries.
NimbIe Work Necessary
This, clearly, was a case for the
use of that specially nimble wit and
fine deductive faculty which has char
acterized much of the work of the
searchers Of the index files, and given
them a process of procedure which
might be used to add a leaf to the
book of the Burns, the Pinkertons
and the Flynns.
WELL" remarked the girl charged
with producing the needed informa'
ton, this man may be Stalk, since
that is the name given for his wife
and mother.
But search through the Stalks
brought nothing to identify the case
STILL" she persisted-and they al
ways do persist, these girls-"His
name must be some kind of a Stalk,
but what kind? Corn stalks, bear
stalks, and cabbage stalks are the
only kind of stalks ] know anything
about so I'll just look them up"
!, And sure enough, 1t turned out thai
his name was some kind of Stalk
-Cabbagestalks, in fact, and his In
dex card was duly changed to read
James Cabbagstalks, (3,721 ,5O5)
Mccall, South Carolina; Beneficial
ries, Mrs. Ella Cabbagestalks( wife,
Mrs. Fannie Cabbagestalks, (moth
err"
Anoter opportunity for the use o
Z keen education grew out Of the ecort
of an army company clerk to displa,
8 what he believed to be rare sense o
) humor in the matter Of applying
!, nickname on a record OF discharg
I sent to the insurance division Of tn
e bureau. but which unexpectedl
. proved Of service to researc
$ worker.
: Notice of the discharge Of Privat
o Chas. F. Fliver of Pushmataha, Alt
d bama, was received by the bureau
= and a complete search was mad
: through the files. The cards of al
: the Flivers, Fluvers and Pfuever'
! as well as men of somewhat simila
! names were looked over in hope {