The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-05-18
Workers At NationaI Capital
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 WASHINGTON, Il. C., May IT, This ia guesswork, like so much of our best literature. But it is a good guess. If Luther c. Steward had eyer cared one horripilating boot about his job the Federal Employees Union might not be in existence today. Or it might be. That's another guess. Any how the F. B. U., has 45,000 members out of an eligible 10000 and is per- haps the only union in the world that is pledged in it's own constitution not to strike, and seems to be working with one eye on the betterment of the i'm diyidual pocketbook and the other eye on the betterment of the government service. which is about all one can ask. But if it had not been that the present president of the union always had an independent streak
 Jobs r says he. Jobs Shucks. There are plenty of jobs. I never worried about holding mt job--y
 Scandal at Ellis Island
 Anyhow here's the story. The usual spring scandal had materialized at little of anything at Ellis Island in those days except immigrants and too many of them. T. R. had fired the current commissioner and named Will liam Williams in his place. W. w., as those who knew him will recall, was millionaire lawyer who didn't give a soda cracker for anybody but had a passion for work.
 If he had nothing else to do he would have revised the telephone books says Steward.
 Young Steward came along as an immigrant inspector and Williams put him in charge. of his executive office. from. which position previous incum- bents had been pinwheeIing out. His only instructions were that no one was to see Williams who had no good req son for seeing him, and no one should be kept out who had good reason.
 No Respscter Of Persons
 satisfactory orders.'f says Stewart, but vague The long-legged kid kept out congressman, senators, judges, bosses, mothers. sisters, saloonkeepers, everybody. Politicians vent as cheap as nine a penny during the Williams regime.
 Then Williams tried to bluff T. R." said Steward, and sometimes that could be done and sometimes it couldn't, and so Williams got out"
 His successor was a horse of another shade of wortesd. He liked to bawl out his clerks in the presence of wis itors It gave the visitors grand impression of his authority. He out bawled Steward one day, having a much louder voice, but when he got through Steward hissed few misses into his ear.
 ''Bah!' said he, land a pish and q half. When you want to hear the facts in this matter send for me and I'll tell lem. Until then do not waste my time.v
 Sent to Texas Border
 We'll, of course, virile, double Maybe Williams stood StewarGs s friend, as he remained T. R.'s friend, despite differences. Maybe Steward's record talked for him. Anyhow, the usual spfing scandal in the immigra- tion service -this was twenty years ago -having burgeoned on the Texas bor- der, he was sent down to clean up. He found a murderer President Me- Kinley had pardoned out to take . job with the Immigration service. And one-eyed inspector, whose other eye had been pFied out by a fellow con vict he had betrayed to the dicks. And immigrant inspectors could not find boarding houses on the border, due to the perfectly proper objections of other boarders.
 So Steward went on cleaning up