Pueblo chieftain., 1921-03-24
BY FREDERIC ]. HAsKIN

ID ii-h.9ANAsN
Washington. b. c., March 2l.-'I
plum" said the young man who had
tried the newspaper business, the
real estate business and two or three
other businesses, and found them all
somehow unsuited 10 his peculiar
talents.
His most obvious talent was for
cultivatirg stand-ins with the great
and :he about-to-b e-grcat. He knew
the time had come 20 cash in on all
the small favors he had done for ris-
ing politicians. all the smiles he had
smiled and the hands he had shaken
And he is by no means lonely IN
that intention. 4 crowd Is gathered
about the plum tree OF political pre-
Torment, waiting eagerly for the ripe
fruit which is about TO .aa. The old
timers say that never has the crowd
OF office seekers. both those who
come to Washington or are already
there. and those who stay In their
home towns and work by mail and
by proxy. been so great as 1t Is this
year.
You have TO go back to 1919 In
order 20 find n comparable condition.
fo- in 1915 the war In Europe made
conditions somewhat abnormal. In
1912 It Is said that as soon as Wilson
was elected ,he Democratic National
Committee hnd no less than 10000
letters from applicants for jobs Az
, that time there were in the gift OF
,hc President only lo.0s4 positions.
the other 262.s0s Government jobs
being IN the classified service.
There are no similar figures avail
able :or ;his year. but IL may safe
~ be said that the general condition
Is about the same. There are Is or
20 tines as many applicants for Jobs
as here arc Jobs. Each OF these is
valiant!y determined 10 sacrifice his
private llfe and career for the good
OF the country. No wonder there Is
a scramble. No wonder no admins
trnt;on ever gets down % business
the howls OF the disappointed have
subsidcd.
Varieties of Job Seekers
! Tho varieties OF these Job hunters
would be hard 20 catalogue. They
vary all :he way from rich raen
seeking 20 crown their careers with
diplomatic appointments. to staunch
Republicans ot Ions standing who
want 20 be rewarded for their loyalty
by places Us watchmcn or elevator
operators IN the Capita. buildings.
Every sort OF claim and obligation
is brought forward. lnnumerablc
letters of endorsement and tntroduc-
! ton Bre passed around. Years Of
time are wasted. And after II is all
over. only a few per cent OF the ap-
plicants can he accommodated, and
then an enormous crop OF bad feel
ing. with 4 baleful influence upon
many i political career. IS the mos,
obvious result OF this process OF
selecting the deserving.
The proper method OF getting a
political Job has become almost
standardized. You should mako IT
clear early in the game that you
rank high among the faithful and
the deserving. You must be highly
and conspicuously active in "A poltti-
cal way. Then you must be promi..
nently mentioned. Get any good
friend. or several OF them TO do this
work. Here you can afford to ain,
high. For example, IL Will do no
harm to let little report be cir
culatcd that you have been mention
cd for a Cabinet place or high dip
llomatic post. This fact may be
mentioned in a speech at the local
citizens association meeting. 1t may
even get into the local paper. In
this and other like ways yo- viii
gradually get yourself recognized as
lone Of those who are to be taken care
formally for "A clcrkship worth about
-four thousand year. and in due course
lwtll be appointed to a responsible po-
lsition in the folding room at two
Thousand.
Personal and political loyalty arc the
great considerations. Efficiency can
not be too closely considered. One abb
solute essential for any man who
would rise in American politics is that
he show great loyalty to his friends
and "A fine sense of personal obliCa
tion. This may not make for cf-
ifiicnncy In the Government service, but