Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1920-01-06

or offending his good taste? Ii is question.
One cannot help wondering whether The writ
er of this government article has not taken al
least partly a wrong point of view. Surely an
American citizen who wants some legitimate
service or information from his government
ought to be able t. get it without cultivating
social connections in official circles, making him
self useful and rendering services. Not that
he should not do all of these things if he can
and wants to- And not that they won't help,
human nature being what it is. But he GER
tanly shouldn't have to do these things in
order to get any consideration. And the man
who is not in a position to cultivate friendships
with cabinet officers and do useful things for
bureau chiefs ought no. to be at a disadvar-
tage as compared with the man who has the
time or the ability to do So
The article in the government newspaper
does not say what it means by doing bust
ness" Perhaps if you ar after some dis
tincty personal preferllent some luscious
slice of political pie in the way of a soft job
or profitable contract, tie only way t. get
lit is by the soft-Soap- and-SweetncSS method
which the official organ outlines. But if what
you want is information or job that you
are really qualified to swing, there are more
direct and less intricate methods of getting
it.
"Find out who does things" is the one sound
line in the piece There arc thousands of men
in the government departments III Washington
who do thingS--all sorts of things. Most of
them do not have their names in the con-
greSSonal directory, or in any other public
place except possibly the phone book They
Part of their time is spent in the field" which
means most anywhere But if YOU can only
find them, they are not at all hard to approach.
They do not require to be cultivated socially
or rendered personal services. If you know
what you want, in tn way OF information al
least you can generally ge: it.
Suppose, for example, that you are inter
eSted in tobacco, either as raiser or manufac-
turer. There is man If the Bureau of Plant
Industry who knows all about tobacco. He is
a walking encyclopedia of tobacco. And he is
more than willing to talk about tobacco to any
one who is really interested. Secretary of
Agriculture Houston may know Of the exist
ence of this man, or ne may not. If he does,
appointment with the cabinet member first
would be about as irect a ray of reaching
this man. as a sea TIP via Honolulu would be
a direct way of reaching New York from San
Francisco,
In the same wa, if you want information
about fur bearing animals, there is man in
the Biological Survey no can give you per-
haps more help than any other man in the
United States. If it is diamonds you are in
tereSted in, the Geological Survey has an ex-
Stitution has another. Suppose it is the short
age of white paper that you seek light upon.
The Bureau of Standard. the Forest Service,
and the Department of Agriculture all have
them will be glad to help you--if you can find
them. There is hardly subject connected with
industry, science or art upon which the gov
eminent does not possess an expert and a
library
Admittedly, all of this applies chiefly to the
obtaining of information. But when it comes
to getting job, there is also much merit in
going to the man who is doing the work
and proving to him that he needs your help.
And if you want to sell a process or a ma
chine the same will apply.
The trouble is that all of these men who
do the work are hidden away where you, I'M
less you know Washington thoroughly, would
never find them, except by long nd indirect
routes. 1t is the political fgurehead who is
played up in the directories and the newspa-
perS-the man who was appointed or elected.
The man who got his job by passing exanina.
tons and proving his, fitness is played down."
1t is this state. of affairs which gives its
great usefulness to The Atlanta Journal
Information Bureau, which actc as an interme-
diary between you and the men who dc