Gateways

Not all gateways are doors. Some are glimpses of another time, where the concerns of government and commerce feel strangely familiar. These glimpses come in many forms: words, photographs, recordings, artifacts. Still, most of the past is beyond our reach. We can step through only so far.

What gateways come to mind for you? Let us know. And check back with us; we’ll be opening new ones over time.

Mark Twain: The Great Beef Contract

Illustration from Twain’s sketch The Great Beef Contract

In this Civil War-era satire, Twain recounts the fate of a doomed procurement: a contractor is tasked with delivering thirty barrels of beef to General Sherman, but he's never told where. He chases the general from Manassas to Atlanta to Jerusalem to the Plains. He is tomahawked within sight of his destination. The beef is never delivered, aside from one barrel captured by Sherman’s troops, presumably well past its prime.

The payment claim then begins its own endless journey, passed down through generations and routed through every imaginable office—from the Corned-Beef Division to the Department of Dead Reckoning—before finally surfacing in the Office of the Commissioner of Odds and Ends.

Read the full sketch at Project Gutenberg.

Takeaway: Clarity matters. To avoid chaos, contracts must specify what to deliver, where, and when. Claims procedures matter, too. When exhausting administrative remedies, start in the right place—ideally not the Department of Dead Reckoning.