Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-08-29
HEARD AND SEEN.


for a long time it is always a pleasure
to find him sitting at better desk than
that at which you saw him last.
Such was my felicity last week in the
| case of Ethelbert Stewart. recently ap-
pointed to succeed DR.. Royal Meeker az
chief Of the bureau of labor statistics of
the Department Of Labor.
Now DR.. Meeker was an official who.
in addition to thorough knowledge of his
work. had dry fund Of humor which
never deserted him. In this respect,
as in others. he has q worthy successor
in Mr.. Stewart
Born in the Sucker state"-Illinois-
the new chief of the bureau of labor
statistics has been showing people ever
since that being learned and successful
| need not make man ultra dignified
and bore
But Mr.. Stewart combines with his
genialty as fine grasp on labor sta
tlstical matters as perhaps is pos
sessed by any man who ever held the
once His private library on the sub
1ect Is believed unique. All that is
valuable in his books. and a great deal
more. he carries in his head, SO that
MS friends rightly call him walk
ing library"
over at the Washington city post
| once they are mighty proud Of their
| nifty new electrically lit signs which
tell patrons where to go for stamps,
| money orders, etc.
Some of the less progressive cities
OF the country have had such signs in
their post offices for years. but they
re-
Capital
But they are there now, and there
70 stay. according to officials, who
haven't got over admiring the new
signs yet. If you are over in the big
post office corridor some day. and no
tee some man standing looking up
! into the air, you can safely hazard
a guess that it is an official mentally
patting himself on the back over
those signs.
friend of the postmaster, coming
| through the corridor recently, hap
1t gave him an idea. He burst into
the private Office of the postmaster.
"Say!" he said. What do you mean
by having slang on your brand-new
Postmaster Chance appeared nom
plused. something which he isn't very
asked
why. right over the place where
you mail letters there is a bright sign
| advising patrons to let 'er DROP"
said the friend. pulling the postmaster
out into the hall.
Letter Drop" said the sign.
|
| The fence around the courthouse in
| ~ l.
several parallels in the National Cap
| ital.
1t is an interesting and harmless
amusement for many who have come
| to Washington recently to seek out
these places that remind them Of
the home town." Some may think
such places do not exist here. But
they do.
| If you want to see the thing to
the life go over by Union station, and
walk over to the east end OF the city
post Office building.
The architects who built that beau
tiful building planned and executed
a wide stone parapet, coping, rail or
whatever it is called. The greater
portion Of it is not conveniently ac-
| cessibile to the public
But at the east end Of the build
| ing it fronts on the sidewalk. It is
| just exactly the right height for sit
| ting purposes. and on 1t every day
many persons, usually men and boys,
may be found sitting.
| The morning is their favorite time
! for this outdoor amusement. They sit
| and whittle, or idly watch the busy
| taxicabs whirl in and out OF the ter
minal with their loads of passengers
| coming home or going away.
Life moves laZily on the stone
| fence" at the east of the city post
| Office. a.
| Did you ever hear who really got
| the gold pen" with which the Presi-
dent signed the recent civil service
retirement act. making it law?
| A great many people think the Ma
tional Federation of Federal Employees
got the pen, and some believe that
| the Joint conference of retirement
came into possession of the historic
quill.
wasn't any gold PEN"
President Wilson signed the Dill
with Just an ordinary pen. used by
| him every day, and did not part with
| il after he had fixed his signature to
| the retirement law.
| CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.
17oA,r ri AIN nlI0lIln