Smyrna times., 1869-04-07
Women Clerks at washington.

Only three Of the seven executive depart.
ments of the United States government at
w aShngtCn employ women clerks. Six thOus,
and clerks, paid about 50 9,000,0O0 per annumf
are attached to the seven departments and o.
this large number only six hundred are wOmens
In the Treasury Department over 5000 clerk
are employed, 500 of whom are females. The
clerkships of the men are divided into four
classes. The lowest class, styled the first, re-
celve $1,000 per annum; the second, 81 400
per annum the third, 81 800; the fourth,
$1,000, while the salary of chief clerk is
$1,000 and upwards The women, however,
only receive 5000 per annum, the salary being
fixed at one-half the average compensation
paid to male clerks, and complaints having
been made that the pay is not sufficient,
short time ago a resolution was passed by the
House of Representatives declaring that the
women in the departments who perform the
same work as men should receive the same pay
Soon after the passage Of this resolution, it is
reported that about 80 of the 100 women clerk ;
who were discharged some months ago for
want of work were reinstatcd and detailed for
| duty in the quartermastcr division, where
they were employed on quartermrsters ac-
counts.
The patent office, of the Interior Department,
at irregular intervals employs about 80 women,
sending the work to their homes by mcSScn-
gers. These women are employed, principally,
in copying drafts Of patents, for which they are
paid at the rate of ten cents per hundred
words. This work is required to be performed
with the greatest accuracy, and many of these
cOpyists are reported to be very skilltul with
the pen, and to execute the work in superior
style
The Postofice Department employs fifty wo-
men in the dead letter office in redlrecting the
letters, which are first opened by men, who fol
| this merely mechanical work receive salaries oil
| the first, and some even of the second grade
The letters it is alleged, must be opened by
men, because the contents are frequently i'm
proper to be read by females. The War De
partment employs only about thirty women
widows OF soldiers, IN copying accounts, the
same grade of work which is performed by /;
majority of the men clerks in all the depart
ments. In addition to the female clerks there
are about three hundred women engaged il
the government printing office in work of va
riOus kinds Forty-tive are employed in manag
ing the small presses, which print blanks anC
other forms. The others are engaged in fold
ing, trimming, stitching, and similar processes
They are, most of them, paid according to th
work they perform, being allowed forty pc
cent more than is paid to women in similar es
adjustments. A great pressure is exercised
upon the government printing office to turnsl
employment to meritOriOus but poor females
No women, however, are employed in tn
: type-setting department, but the supcrintend
ent has expressed his readiness to employ then
in this work as fast as any good women type
settlers shall apply, and has, it is said, annOur
ced that he would pay them the same for
{ thousand ems that he pays the men who no,
do the work. An opportunity, it is stated
!, will thereby be afforded good workwomen t
make $24 per week The superintendent it
; reported declares that he will employ wome
. in preference to men as fast as they apply
: Phdadelphia Ledger.