The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1919-05-29
HONE ARMY IN WASHINGTON
GROWING LARGER DAILY
Administration is Adding Employees
to Payroll Despite War is Over

what do they do? This quest for in
formation concerns the government
clerks, who are still pouring into
Washington as if the war had not
ended some six months ago.
In view of the cold, hard facts
which show the steady increase in
the government clearical forces, one
can only wonder what would have
happened if the war had continued
another year. Some one has sug-
gested we would have had 100000
doughboys in France and 100000
stenographers in Washington. Praised
be the armisticel
Secretaries Baker. Daniels and
Glass may be able to offer the best
possible explanations for the condi-
ton, but to the casual observer it
seems q terrible waste of public
moneys the way the~War, Navy and
Treasury Departments are fairly
cluttered up with clearks, who ap-
parently have little to do but stand
around in groups most of the day
and discuss the fashions and various
other lighter topics of the hour.
There are some stenographers in
Washington who frankly admit that
if they write three or four lettrs a
day thy feel as if they had exceeded
the speed limit.
Virtually every officer of the ''home
army"-and there are thousands of
them still in Washington-has his
own personal stenographer, and in
asmuch as most of the officers are
merely sitting around waiting for
their discharge it is easy to see how
much the stenographers have to do.
When the armistice was signed
last November it was estimated there
were $4,000 employees of the War
Department in Washington. We
were told at that time there would
be rapid rehabilitation of the civ
ilian employees and that by the 1st of
July the department would be back
as nearly as possible to normal
working basis. 1t was realized the
department staff could not be re-
duced to pre-war figures by any
means, but there were abundant as
surance that the great wartime in
flation would be speedily fattened
out.
This sounded like good news for
the taxpayers. There was lust one
tiny little fault with it. 1t wasn't
true. A recent census of civilian
employees in Washington. taken by
a Joint committee of the House and
Senate on the Redistribution of gov
eminent employees, showed the War
Department in April had 26,692
clerks, as against $4,000 when the
armistice went into effect. Not only
that, but the figures are still going
up. During the week ended April
10 there was a net increase of BOP
employees in the War Department.
The Treasury Department showed
the next largest net increase, total
of 2S8 employees. The Treasury had
about 10000 clerks on its payrolls
the day of the armistice, including
the large force in the Bureau of War
Risk Insurance. TIE recent census
showes 81 ,442 employees in the Treas
ury. One hears a great deal about
government employees leaving Wash
ington for their homes but it would
seem now that every clerk who passes
out of the Union Station meets two
new clerks coming in. The total
added to Uncle Sans payroll during
the week ending April 10 was 557
The civil service agencies all over
the country appear to be working
overtime certifying clerks to Wash
ington. There is just one rift in the
cloud of incoming employees. The
government announced last week il
would receive no more applications
for places as char women, as a long
waiting list already existed in this
class. This may mean that some Of
the sorely tried housewives of Wash
ington may get servant at some
time in the near future.
The Navy Department showed a
decrease during the week of April
10. 1t was not much of a decrease
but still it was a step in the right
direction-a falling off of twenty
eight. The Navy Department has
something on the other departments
on the civilian census returns, for
most of it's big forces of temporary
employees are yeomanettes and mar
inettes, who rank as members of the
enlisted personnel. 1t is one of the
sights of Washington to see the yeo-
manettes pouring out of the new
Navy Department buildings on Poto-
mac Park precisely at the hour of
4:30 in the afternoon. l have often
wondered what time tha government