The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1868-12-14
EnPLoYMEsT OF FEMALES b
TEE GOVERNMENT.
Tho Experiment a Success.


Correspondence Of he Cincinnati Commercial
WASHINGTON, December s. 1865.
From the little porch overlooking the
street, In which l am driven to smoke
the pipe of peace, after breakfast, l see
sidewalk, in the direction of the Treas
ury buildings, that attracts attention
1t Is mnde up of people rather thread
bare in apparel and care worn in coun.
tenaEce. Some are old and others
| young, Some are veterans with one
arm, and others stump along with that
| peculiar little kick and limp that indi.
cate that complicated piece OF machine
ry called the "artificial limb" Through
this stream runs thread OF femininity.
| Women old at thirty, with thin, pale
| faces; girls having some claim to beau
~. with water-proOfs pulled close about
their slender forms, and their little
faces peering out from beneath hoods ;
and in the hands OF each Is diminu-
tive tin bucket or basket, which says
"cold snap for dinner" plain as an in
animate article can talk
| These are the minor wheels and
cranks of orr great Government, and
are as necessary to its dearly beloved,
constitutional existence, rs the huge
boilers that impress the eye by their
size. and Cypress the ear by their con-
tinues blowing. Poor, unhappy, I'M
derpnid, and, in IA majority of instances,
OVer-wOrked creatures, 1t makes ones
heart ache TO see them. Better the
%ash-tuO, or needle, or STRENGTHENING
and rail.splittng than this dependent,
half.starYed state of official existence.
"This is all very well, my stout-lImb-
ed, fnll.stomached friend" says the
thin consumptive, or crippled soldier,
"but, under the circumstances, little
cruel. 10 say the least of it,"
And SO it Is. Out of these hundreds
OF clerks minority might be selected
we'll able and fitted for manual labor.
But the majority is made cup of people
who work their fingers or starve. AT
the close OF the war the greatest in
ducements were held forth to wounded
soldiers to come forward and accept
these places. a resolution passed Con
gress 10 that effect, and the inebriated
Andrew, at all hours and under all cir
CumstanCes, reiterated the patriotic cry.
In response to this the cripples crawled
up and took the places, and Il is little
hard now-"Well. if you don't like the
pay, sail out; there are plenty DESTROYS
to take your places"
There IS no doubt that the civil SER
vice is badly organized and wretchedly
worked. But these are no faults of the
clerks, and until Jenckes' bill becomes
IL law we had better hold our peace and
pay the clerks enough 20 keep their
families from the poor house.
But IL Is OF the female clerk l wish TO
write. The Hon. Salmon Z. Chase has
the honor of Introducing this element
into the departments. Under Demo-
cratic rule such an innovation would
have filled the Democratic mind with
horror. In the good old days OF hard
shell Presidents, certain fOrlOrn ladies
in reduced circumstances, and OF good
families, were permitted to take certain
L. 20 Hn SNnN
and copy or record the same, and for
this they were paid enough to purchase
hair pins, while the departments were
filled with thick-necked, broad.should-
cred, double listed fellows, gathered up
from corner groceries by their Con.
gressmen, for that they could drink to
excess without injury, as they had no
heads for the liquor 10 affect.
When Salmon p. Chase took the
Treasury Department, it struck his
large brain that women could do that
sort of thing better than the broad bot
tom Democrats-anda as It would widen
the narrow, miserable wages of
women's work for bread, he boldly
threw open his department to female
labor. or course the experiment had
its obstacles and troubles. The prin
cipal obstacles were, first, the honor
able representatives OF the people, who
were careless in their recommendation
Chief of the Printing Bureau. 1t Is
drawing it very mild 10 say that Hon
Orable Senators and members of the |
House were careless. There are no
end Of good people within the corpo
rated stupidity OF Washington, who in
sist that the Solons sought to make the
department a-well, never mind, But
the scandal sept from mouth to mouth |
until the poor creatures seeking TO !
support themselves by honest labor, |
shrunk in disInay before the breath |
of poisoned SANDER. AS for Clark, il
we applied to him the iron rule forced |
on the female world-that makes chas. |
tity test for honesty, ClHrk's integri- |
~ would be at a heavy discount. All |
that saved the man from the lower |
of general contempt and |
wrath, was the manner in which the |
facts came to light. Il was in this |
wise:
Mr.. Chase applied to the War Depart
ment for detectives TO track out and |
bring to conviction certain rogues IN |
and about the Treasury Department. |
The Secretary of War sent the bad, |
brutal Baker 10 do the work. And this |
man, not content with the task assign |
cd him, volunteered to drive through |
and uncover all parts of the Depart |
ment. Clnrk's region offered rich |
and Baker found out n |
mass OF stuff that. had 1t come from any |
other source, would at once termimi- |
nate the ex pertinent of female employ |
nent III the departments. can not |
soil your pages by even dipping into |
this report. The Printing Bureau was
II brOIhel. and puritHnical Senators aud |
Representatives from New IGngland-l
we'll, as l said before, ! have no wish 10 |
20 into this filth, as BROOKS aud Wood |
and other people OF like sort, dis |
themselves by so doing. |
But Bakers bad character damned his |
Bakers hackers, for the |
time, made il still worse And 30 the |
experiment survived the attack.
Chief Justice Chase made one grave |
mistake in fixing the salaries and pay |
Of the female clerks. He put it down |
to one half given men for the like work. |
This was "a shame. Now old Spinner,
God bless him, with heart as big as
his head, takes up the matter, and,
while reporting in favor OF female en-
ployment in the Department, insists
upon the wages being increased to meet
The labor.
l called on the grim, old, grizzly keep
er of the Treasury, and getter- up of the
most extraordinary signature eXtaut,
10 learn something not only touching
The female clerks, but some other mat
tiers connected with his department.
How do you find, Mr.. Spinner, that
this employment of women to do wo-
mems work succeeds ?" 1 asked.
"Adm mira bly,, sir; admirably. 1t Is a
complete success. In some sorts OF
office work, such as handling fractional
currency, counting money and detect
ing counter feits, they are superior, as
class, to men. OF course there Is the
III hot IT, fH,gr "a,