Milford chronicle., 1922-06-16
By EDWARD G.LOWRY
Copyright. Western Newspaper Union
XVI.
OFTHESE OLD MEN2

Il
Congress enacted a law in 1890 re
quiring all heads Of departments an,
independent establishments in tn
federal service to report each year t,
the secretary Of the treasury the mum
Der Of employees under them who wert
below a fair standard of efficiency
Every year this is done and the letters
to the secretary Of the treasury from
the various departments and bureaus
are printed in the book of estimates OF
appropriations compiled for use by
congress in making up the annual
supply bills. Congress never pays the
slightest heed to these reports. They
are made up year after year, but the
inefficient are never fred.
For example, last year the chief
clerk of the treasury reported 40 en-
plOyees of the Treasury department as
below a fair standard of efficiency. But
nothing will be done about it. The
Interior department reported 139 in
eficients, and will probably 60 on re-
porting them till they die of old age.
There are employees of the govern
ment in Washington who are totally
blind and who are led from their
homes to their offices each day and
back home again in the afternoon.
I knew in 1920 one gentleman of
ninety-twO years who had been in the
government service for seventy-two
years. He was being paid at that time
$500 a year. His maximum pay dur
ing his long service was $500 a year.
James X. Polk was President when
this old gentleman came into the serv-
Ice. He was born on January 10,
1928. His father was a captain of
the regular army in the war of 1912.
After that service he led an active life
In other occupations until 1S48, when
he died, leaving a dependent family of
nine persons, three of them boys. 1t
fell to the lot OF, one of them to be the
chief support of the family.
1t came to pass, then, that at the age
Of twenty he received through the
influence of navy friends of his father
a small clerkship at the naval Observ-
atory, then under the superintendent |
Of that accomplished officer, Matthew
FOntaine Maury, whom he served as |
amanuensis for ten years, accounting
it a great privilege and pleasure to |
have heard Maury's voice debating the
words Of sense and wisdom which |
make up the sailing directions, the
wind and current charts and other
publications issued from the observ-
atory for the benefit of the world.
From a copyist at first, November g.
1S4S, at So day, the young man was
advanced as follows:
July 1, 1853, clerk at $1,000 a
year; July 1, 1854, clerk at $1,5OO a
year; July L, 1870, principal clerk at
S1,SOO year; December 6, 1911, clerk
at $1,4OO a year; May 1, 1918, stenog-
rapher and typewriter at 5000 a year.
1t will be seen that he was denoted
in December, 1911, and again in May,
1918, to lower positions, involving less
work and responsibility. These demo-
lions were at his own request. In
October, 1917, he received. from the
assistant secretary of the navy, Mr..
the following letter:
Il have to inform you that you have
)een granted leave without pay for
Iix months beginning October 13, 1917.
"As you have been in the employ
Il the government now nearly sixty
line years, and during all that time
7our record has been excellent, I re-
ret that there is no way in which the I
department. could continue you on the {
oils with compensation. I
Il desire at this time to express
he appreciation of the department for =
our long and satisfactory service. and :
he hope that you will be so benefited T
y this leave that you can return and I"
esume your duties at it's expiration
talked with one of the cabinet F
ficers about the old and feeble en-
lOyees. r
He said: "I don't know what con- T,
ress intends to do about them, but I y
now what I intend to do with those =
| my department. 1 intend to leave
Iem alone. They can stay here as n
ng as they like, until some provision Il
made for them. When 1 was new II
the department dismissed two Of II
ese old people and denoted another, Ii
the ground that they were super r,
lnuated and inefficient and were a =;
ndrance to the work. M
"All three Of them wrote me sad M
tiers and promptly committed sui M
de. That was enough and more
an enough for me. Never again M
III disturb one Of them. I do not M
oose to have it on my conscience N
at / pronounced sentence Of death M
an old man or an old woman in A1'
e service Of the government. They Ar,
q all stay on here as long as they NJ
e. found them here and some Of Na
em win be here when leave. II Ne
ngress chooses to provide for them No
it is its obligation. But will never
ltence another one Of them to self Ne
structiOn, no matter what the cost NO NO
the taxpayer and the government" Ne Oe
Pr
Uncle Eben.
De troublemaker," said Uncle Eben. PEI