Evening star., 1922-09-03


Frances Strong And she was in the
civil service, too, and in the bureau Of
which he was chief. 1t appeared un-
patriotic to allow love in the bureau;
Furthermore. at first his mother was
still living in the musty little house
|they had bought across the Potomac
in little Virginia town, when the
rapid transit line ran through the
|cobblestones and chickweed. After
ward Miss Strong had become so IA
miliar an object in the office that he
felt reluctant to say anything more
ardent than one would say to an add
ling machine. He might have sug-
gested meeting outside the depart
ment building. but he was not that
kind of man. He was too important.
Jenkins Pulver was in government
service. He often thought how noble
and patriotic he was to do this i'm
portant work for eighteen hundred
dollars year.
On the wall of the office of the chief
of bureau there were steel engravings
of Washington and of Stanton, who
was in the cabinet during the civil
war. They were austere contrasts to
the view out of the window. There
one could see the light and dark
green's of trees whose tops hid the
river, but could not hide the Monu-
ment, pointing it's great marble finger
toward the sky, On the chiefs desk
was a picture of Gladstone. 1t may
have been because he had read life
of Gladstone that Pulver believed there
was some similarity of appearance be-
tween Gladstone and himself.
DULVER was handsome in just that
strong way. Even when, during
the long. hot summers. he hung UP a
battered straw hat and put on a seer
sucker coat with faint blue stripes. his
face had an important. statesmanlike
appearance. There was power there.
He could see it when he Strengthened
up in the dressing room and looked in
the mirror while drying his long-fin-
gered hands on handkerchief.
To indicate how Robert McAll and
Florence Strong figure here, it is nee
essary to say something Of the service
Pulver rendered his government. and
that it weighted down the life of Pull
yer and made nothing appear of much
importance except the routine of the
bureau.
1t Is fair to say that for more than
fifteen years the bureau across the
river worried Pulver. He could see.
when he closed his eyes at home In
the evening. the unfinished work. un-
fled papers. unreferred letters. un-
typed documents, all of vast impor-
tance, now lying where only the moon
light gave them immediate attention.
He worried. And then he would con-
sole himself by the thought that when
he had first suggested the bureau to
his Secretary-a great cabinet officer
he was. too; so full of Willingness to
take suggestions-the Secretary had
instantly seen the need of it. Pulver
in later years had seen even more
clearly how the work of this bureau
this child of his-reached out indi-
rectly and touched the lives of every
man. woman and child in the United
States.
Once a diplomatic officer at foreign
capital had forwarded a request from
the foreign government asking how GER
tain matters were handled in America.
The Secretary then in office had not
known how to answer the letter and
had referred it to Pulver's bureau.
Pulyer had been able to show that the
work in question had been handled by
his bureau. He sent abroad back num-
bers of the Sccretarys report to Con-
gress, with marked passages describing
the duties which came under him. One
wear his bureau had a printing appro-
prtatioa, and produced fo,.r pamphlets
instead of one. He sent those. and even
had a little hope that they would reach
the eyes of the king. 1t gave his
bureau an international standing. He
said SO to Miss Frances Strong.
He looked away Immediately. 1t
seemed unwise to create any personal
flavor, One cannot marry well on
eighteen hundred a year.
Once he had made this mistake OF
being personal" 1t was not so long
ago that ne made it. Wilson was
President A spring dusk had settled
down on his debating to Miss Strong
The typewriters in the next room were
all still. A soft breeze came in. whis-
pering of life. memories and promises
War was over. The open door shovel
long lines of filing cabinets, and he
gIowed in the presence of system and
efficiency.
81 remember" he began. half clos
ing his fervent. honest blue eyes; Il
lemember when this bureau consisted
of one desk and one typist. and we had
a miserable little room in the cellar next
the storcroom. ] don't believe we spent
over three thousand dollars that first
wear Last year we spent seventy-nine
thousand. and you know how msny
clerks we have now. That is service,
Miss Frances.
CHE looked up to see whether the
break in his voice might mean some-
thing personal and good to hear. At
times he appeared so much like young
Gladstone. and so vital and importa MT.
so true, so good. so patriotic. that
curious sense of disgust crept into her.
She could not understand it. Why
should one feel disgust at pure gold?
Miss Strong had moments when she
was confident that sne would have died
with joy IL he had taken her hand. But,
curiousiy enough, these were moments
when he appeared as a great important
man. who nevertheless was weak and
lonely and would yield to temptation
and folly. She wondered why human
nature was so perverse-or was it
really clairvoyant? In any case, they
were a long way apart. Not in culture.
She had had one year Of college before