Evening star., 1937-01-03
Steeplejacks on the
Government Pay Roll
BY FREDERIC J. H4SKIN.

Uncle Sam has long list of Jobs which
he has given to long list of workers.
Under the New Deal people were given
such strange employment as archeologi-
cal research. Men on work-relief were
given employment digging in mounds
and barrows to unearth relics of the
past. But not even such work ran
compare in interest with the holders of
jobs in one Of the narroWest trades In
the world, the trade of steeplejack.
There is no regular position of the
sort at the National Capital. There is
no civil service position which keeps a
man on salary year in and year out. It
is doubtful whether Uncle Sam could
get steeplejack to take such berth.
When the Federal Government wants
steeplejack job done it awards a con-
tract. 1t is seldom there is much, If any.
bidding. The competition in the trade
Is practically nil. Ordinarily there is
only about one around He puts In his
bid in pro forma manner and is
awarded the contract because no one
else can perform it.
Sometimes, however, he bids against
persons other than steeplejacks. There
is, for example, the remarkable story
OF Sam KlllIan. and this is pretty much
the story of Sam Killian all the way
through.
One Summer afternoon there came
roaring down the Valley of the Potomac
one OF those fierce thunderstorms pc
culiar to the region The lightnines
played and the thunder rolled and, in
the midst of the uproar, a bolt struck
the campanile of the old Post ONCE
Department. This is lofty tower, per-
haps 200 feet in height, which scars
above the main mass of the edihce. 1t
is. architecturally, somewhat reminiscent
OF the campanile of St. Johns In Venice.
The structure is built of granite in
huge blocks. each of which weighs hun
dreds of pounds.
The bolt of lightning had struck in
such way as to dislodge one of these
close to the very summit of the great
tower. 1t was pushed out of its place
just far enough to overhang and threaten
TO fall. Had 1t fallen 1t would have
crashed penderously down to the roof
of the main court of the building. the
floor of which is thronged with working
post office clerks. That there would have
been destruction is beyond doubt.
So it was necessary for the Post Office
Department TO take instant steps to re-
pair the damage. But, under the law,
1t Is necessary 10 ask for bids. The con-
tract goes TO the lowest responsible
bidder.
In this case there were but three bids.
1t was mean Job that nobody wanted
very much-nobody but our man. One
bid came from a contracting company
and stood at S3.100. A second one called
for $1,000. Then came a third. It
asked only $3.50 That man was the
lowest responsible bidder. He got the
job
The trick is that the other two bidders
realized that they would have to erect
scaftolding from the street to the top
of the campanile. This would be their
chief cost The replacing of the granite
block itself would not be so expensive
job, but the scaffolding would take
lot of timber. Our low bidder vas
Sam Killian, the steeplejack. He erected
no scaffolding from the street. He got
to the highest accessible place and then,
like cowboy swung line around the
epi of the campanile, as one would lasso
=
boatswain's chair. hauled himself .up to
the seat of trouble and, with tools which
he knew well how to use, pried the
granite block back into place He did
the job in two hours and collected his
$3.50 for it.
But the Government has jobs which
are not so easy for the steepleiacks 1t
employs. The tallest smokestack in
Wa ShinCtnp ic fhot H1-l1irI7 tl,o
old Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Building. 1t is a high steel cylinder
which furnishes the draft and DISCHARGES
the smoke from the furnaces where the
worn-out paper currency of the United
States is destroyed. About every two
years it must be painted, outside and in.
side to protect it from rust.
Well, Sam had painted the outside
successfully and then began the paint
ing of the inside To do that a steeple-
jack let's himself down TO the bottom
in boatswain's chair and begins paint
ing by torchlight The light of day is
so far above that it looks only like a
small circle of luminance Only faint
beam glimmers below. He had begun
the job, hauling himself up foot by
foot when somebody blundered The
stack was supposed to be cold for the
work, but a mistake occurred fire
was built in the furnace which the shaft
served.
One remembers Edgar Allen Poe's tale
of the "Cask of Amontillado" and other
weird tales, but it would be hard to
duplicate this experience Here was
Sam, $50 feet or so down this smoke
stack. when the hot smoke and fumes
began to pour upon him. There was no
way Of signaling. These steeplejacks
work alone There was but one thing
to do, to begin hauling on his lines as
hard as he could. Surrounded by smoke
getting ever hotter and hotter, choked
well nigh to suffocation, up he went.
Half unconscious from the experience,
he found himself at the top. But where
was he then! On a perch from which
he looked down an unconscionable dis
tance to the ground Next he must
manage somehow to lower himself on
the outside Of the stack. growing hot
and hotter until, at length, he reached
the ground. The miracle is that he did
reach it.
Things like that are but incidents in
Uncle Sans steeplejack service. On an
other occasion, he was painting upward
on the outside of stack when he got
near the top There he discovered that
the whole thing was rotten with rust
and the whole structure began to topple.
With amazing dexterity. he kicked and
Su,1pu loic chair ond o0inU fbrollUI1