Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1867-05-01
women I'm Omce-Thefr La
bOrs In the DeDarfnanfs.

- - 80 80 -@--~8e
A Washington correspondent of the
Springfield Republican, furnishes the
following interesting account of the
experiment Of employing women in the
public offices of the government:
''The Treasury employs TOO women,
a large portion of whom are under the
jurisdiction of the much discussed Mr..
5. N. Clarke. The money Is manufae-
tured under his supervision, and those
employed to work the machinery, and
count and arrange the money, are I'M
der his control alone. his laws are
very stringent. 1t seems he prints the
notes by contract, and pays his en-
ployees from his own funds. They re-
ceiVe so much per day, and deduction
Is made for any want of punctuality.-
They are expected to be at their pla-
ces at fifteen minutes before q. m,
and work until 4 p. N. If compelled
to be absent, an excuse must arrive be-
fore 10 8. m; otherwise the offender IS
liable TO dismissal. These regulations
do not apply to women clerks In other
parts Of the Treasury. Those receive
their pay by the month. ard no deduc-
tien is msde for absence on leave, or on
account of sickness. Nearly every
bureau has Its quota of women, whose
duty is usually to record letters, and
do similar work though in one Office
they calculate the interest on coupons.
In the Internal Revenue Office. all the
letters received are sent into the
women's rooms, and then by them
folded ruled on the backs, and en-
dorsed.
By far the largest number of women
are employed about the money. There
are upward of a hundred connected
with the Treasurer's office. Part Of
these count the notes and arrange them
in packages to be sent out of the
Treasury. Great accuracy Is required,
and if a mistake IS made, the counter
must make it good out of her salary.
There are straps of paper, on-Which Is
printed the denomination of the note,
around each bundle, and if clerk puts
one marked ten-cent around bundle
of fives, she is the loser. ~ 81 .ilef
The system of redeeming the soiled
and mutulated currency is one of great
interest. This old money Is sent first
to the redemption division of the Treas
urer's Office, where it is counted by the
women, who report any counterfeits
they may find, and the amount con-
tanned in the package. A mistake IN
this has the same penalty as IN the
new money. Those who hate to touch
these notes, while in circulation, even
with gloves, and are disguised with
their oder, can readily imagine what
must be the atmosphere Of room in
which they are counted by millions
There IS certainly no more disagreea-
BILE duty.
After the counting, holes are punch
ed in the notes to prevent their being
issued again, and they are cut in half
from top to bottom. These halges are
put up in packages, each package con-
tanning eight thousand notes, and are
sent TO the redemption division Of the
Secretary's and Registers Office. where
they are again punched and again
counted.
The accounts of the heads Of each
one of these bureaus must agree exact
ly with each other and with those of
the Treasurer. Should half Of three
cent note be missing, thorough search
is made, so necessary Is accuracy.
The interest bearing note goes through
q longer process. After being cut into
upper and lower halves they are sent in
ots to { he Office last named, and there ar
ranged by the women according TO the
letter. Then the numbers are made to
,un as consecuhvely as possible, no atten-
tion having been paid to this when re-
deemlng them, and the notes are counted
of into hundreds. This done, the num-
hazs- ara registered on sheets Of paper. and
he results from both ot6ces compared 70
see If they correspond exactly. This
work is called checking. In both bureaus
there are books containing the numbers
IF all the notes of each letter and denom-
nation with the date of issue. Thai Of
redemption is to be found on the register
d sheets. This date shows at what time
he notes therein represented BY their
numbers were destroyed, and it is trans
erred to the books, opposite the same
Iumbers. al l.rf a