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Show SHUN HOODOO DESK, CLERKS AT WASHINGTON ARE SUPERSTITIOUS. No One Cares to Work at Places That Seem Marked Out for Misfortune Mis-fortune Doorkeeper's Post an Example. A series of misfortunes Involving dismissals, reslgnntlcs and deaths In tho executive departments In Washington often develops what Is known as the "hoodoo desk," says the Washington Post. A desk conies undor suspicion aftor a dismissal of two from the service or nftor several transfors or resignations, resigna-tions, and If there should occur several sev-eral deaths among tho occupants of tho desk In tho courso of a year or two It Is designated as tho hoodooed desk, and no one In that room cares to do clerical work at It. In a room filled with clerks tho hoodoo desk Is easily recognized, for It Is most generally gen-erally occupied with the surplus hooks and gonornl litter of tho dally routtno work. Tho desk may remain unoccupied somotlmes for months, until some now clerk conies Into the room nnd Is assigned to It, provided thero Is no other vacant desk In tho room. Bureau officials genernlly avoid assigning as-signing a now clerk to the hoodoo desk If It can be dono. In fact, the desk Is apt to romaln without an occupant oc-cupant until radical changes In tho personnel of tho ofllco cause Its reputation repu-tation to ho forgotten. In ono department thero'ls a hoodoo desk from which four clerks havo died In tho last two years, two have resigned, ono ha3 been dismissed and threo havo been transferred. Therefore, There-fore, no one cares lo occupy It now. A $1,200 clerk said soveral days ago, In n half-hearted way. that ho would move from his present room and try It for awhllo If they would promote hint to J1.S00. He said afterward, V -over, that ho was merely joking, "tit thero aro other hoodoos In Washington. Some years ago a doorkeeper's door-keeper's post In the war department building camo under tho ban and it was a source of considerable annoy-anco annoy-anco to the .clals. At this particular door tho first mis-fortune mis-fortune was death, tho second dismissal, dis-missal, tho thlid holder of tho post lost his wife by death nnd finally fell nnd broke a limb, and tho fourth ap-polntco ap-polntco In succession lost a child and then resigned. This resignation kept tho place vacant for a time, ns no ono could bo Induced to take It. Tho placo had to bo filled by calling on the civil-service commission for some ono from tho outside. Perhaps the most conspicuous case of a hoodoo desk In any one of the Washington cxecutlvo departments was that In which a succession of misfortunes camo to private secretaries secre-taries of ono of tho assistant secretaries. secre-taries. Soveral deaths and other misfortunes mis-fortunes mado tho place dreaded. |
