OCR Text |
Show ijj 5IDELIGftT.S M Are Worry and Overwork Killing Our Congressmen? WASHINGTON. Wliy are members of congress dying off so fast? The mortality rute in both the senate and the house has recently increased so remarkably that the capitol statesmen are apprehensively searching for the answer. Within a year the senate ,.., ...,l,t;;.r. alone has lost seven of its members, or about 7 per cent. The house has lost almost ns many. What's the most disquieting about it, from a member's point of view, is that death has taken few of the oldest members, its heaviest toll being among those of middle age nnd supposedly the most vigorous. Is fast living responsible for fast dying among congressmen? It cannot be. With rare exceptions, the national lawmakers are sober, serious men. They do not dissipate. They are not devotees of the cabaret, and, though Washington is now dry, they seldom go to Baltimore. Congressman Arthur W. Overmyer of Ohio has come to the conclusion, from personal observation, that the real answer is worry and overwork. A member of congress is always a busy man, if he conscientiously looks after the business of his district, but when a war comes along his work is multiplied nnd magnified. The strain is intensified and the weight of cares often becomes perilously oppressive. Overmyer is an active and robust man. He is still less than forty years old and has nothing the appearance of a corpse, but he has felt the increasing , stress of work and, being up to date, has made an efficiency survey of his own time for one week. The result is set forth in the following letter to a friend : "For a number of months I have been wondering where all my time went, the days always being too short to accomplish what had to be done. I knew I wns busy, but wondered if I was not wasting time somewhere by lack; of system or something. So I determined to keep an account of my time and what I did from a certain Monday morning to the following Saturday night, nnd at the end of the week found I had put in 76 hours of work." Flag Made for Tuscania Burial Placed in Museum PRESIDENT WILSON has deposited in the United States National museum a flag which will excite in the hearts of the people feelings of the deepest gratitude toward our allies. It is the United States flag used at the burial of American soldiers who were lost with the sinking of the Tuscania.,, The flag was made by four Scotch women and a Scotchman of Islay House Jessie Mc-Lellan, Mc-Lellan, Mary Cunningham, Catherine McGregor, Mary Armour and John Mc-Dougall Mc-Dougall In order that over the United States soldiers when laid at rest there might wave the Stars and Stripes for which they had given their all. Frank M. America of the London staff of the Associated Press, who was the first American to arrive at Islay after the disaster of the Tuscania, was asked by Hugh Morrison, the Scotch landowner at whose residence, Islay House, the flag was made, to send this Interesting In-teresting relic to President Wilson with the request that It be placed in some museum or institution to be selected by him. Mr. Morrison took a prominent part in the Tuscania relief work and donated the land for two cemeteries in which American soldiers now lie. The flag, 37 by 67 inches in size, shows plainly by its workmanship that it is hand made. It was transmitted to the president by Melville E. Stone, general manager of the Associated Press, and has been placed on exhibition in the entrance hall of the older museum building, where are displayed many priceless relics of American heroes of former wars. It is accompanied by three photographs, one of the group of five makers of the flag, one of Hugh Morrison, and one of Colin Campbell of Port Ellen, who provided clothing and did everything possible to make comfortable the American survivors from the Tuscania who landed at Port Ellen on the Mull of Oa. District Is Doing Its Duty in Housing Workers THAT Washington is going to do more than was expected of it in housing the government's war workers is indicated by the fact that the room registration registra-tion office of the District council of defense has hundreds of more rooms listed wu. m Rwftf vx ; R)K J-0,000 sl j" than it had six weeks ago. Early in April fear was expressed by government govern-ment officials that the supply of rooms at the registration office would be exhausted ex-hausted by May 1, and that it would be t several months before housing accommodations accom-modations would be built by the government. gov-ernment. Despite these fears there have been new rooms listed at the registration registra-tion office at a rate that has more than kept pace with the influx of new workers work-ers seeking room. No Washingtonian who has a room available, however, should fail to list it because of the knowledge knowl-edge that the registration office is at present keeping pace with the demand. It is understood that Otto M. Eidlitz, who has charge of the government's building program, is expecting the homes of Washington to provide for a large proportion of the 20,000 or more workers who are expected to come here during dur-ing the remainder of this year. The first dormitories to be erected will have a total capacity of 5,000. Accommodations for several thousand more may be built later. The Maltby building near the capitol will be remodeled after the terms of the housing bill and several large residential properties In the northwest now used for government govern-ment offices are expected to be vacated for the use of the housing bureau as soon as new temporary office structures on the Mall are ready for occupancy. In spite of the new dormitories and the remodeling of the Maltby building and other large buildings now used as offices, officials of the housing bureau of the department of labor expect the room registration office to find accommodations accommoda-tions for possibly more than 5,000 war workers, in addition to the large number num-ber that already has been placed by that office. Mr. Burleson Promptly Restored Old John's Salary THERE is an old colored messenger in the post office department building on the southwest corner of Eleventh street and Pennsylvania avenue. He is one of many messengers, but his claim to distinction rests on the fact that he has len in the service for 35 or 45 years or some such term of years. Several months ago he suddenly found himself reduced in salary from ?900 to $720 and the only cause given was that the department had to cut expenses. The old man thought it pretty hard that he should have been among those hit and he wondered at such a reward for his long service but he said nothing. Nobody heard him complain. Then one dav he hnntiened lo be f'-X (ToOKS LIKETH7 LONCfR I WORK eTH'L , GET J sent up to the bouse office building with a message for one of llic members of the house post of'iee committee. Now, if. happened that. Post master Ceneral Burleson himself was visiting the member that morning and was present when the messenger came in.' It also happened that the messenger had never seen the post mast or general. gen-eral. ",Jobn,'"said the member of congress, "how do you like your Job at the post office department?" "I like it ail rigid," came the reply. " ain't got no kick. Onl.y' " "(inly v.batV" asked the representative. "Only I don't understand some things," replied tint messenger. "After I been working there fi,r all tin ;'" years, to git reduced, that seems a funny way to give a man reward." . Slid the postmaster general remained impassive and unknown. But the next day an order was issued at the post, office department. It was signed by Postmaster Cenorid Burleson and called for the reinstatement of the old riK'i.renger In the .p00 grade. |