Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1869-04-21
Women as Clerks in Washington
serisus Charges by a Woman.

4
The Independent says: ave pub
lish the following letter bearing the
| signature of a woman-a clerk in the
| Treasury Experimentation we
| have no personal acquaintance with
| her. If her statements are true they
| should ARE the attention of the
public if false, let them be expos
ed ~
| TREASURY DPT., WASHINGTON, !
March 10Th, 1869.
In the last number of the Inde-
| pendent [ noticed paragraph stat
ing that the compensation of the wo-
men employed in the department at
Washington was about to be made
| the same as that paid to men and
as a woman and an employee of the
| government, l trust there can be no
| objection against my expressing my
views regarding the subject.
| The masses of the women at the
present time employed in the depart
| ments are not possessed of very
| brilliant clerical abilities. On the
| contrary, very many of them have
scarcely education enough to tell the
| day of the week by a counting-house
| calendar and they owe their ap-
| pointments and continuance in office
| to their personal advantages. When
| man receives an appointment to a
clerkship, he is obliged to appear be
| fore board of departmental officers,
and undergo an examination; and al
| though the examination is not SO
strict as that imposed on the gradu-
! ating class of a New England col
lege, it is SO difficult that not one
| woman in a hundred could pass it
satisfactorily.
| |, for one, claim that women-ed-
| ucated women of course-are as COM
| petent to perform brain labor as
| men ; but do most phatically OBJ
| ject to having girls in their teens,
with no other recommendation than
a pretty face or pretty foot, place
| themselves on an intellectual par
| with men and women of education.
L am sorry TO make the confession,
! but the truth forces it, that the de-
partments are filled with females
| crowded, L may say, with those who
| serve the government in no other
| way except to embarrass the public
| officials in the discharge of their du-
| ties. | could furnish the names of
| scores and scores of women, whom
| the heads of departments have tried
| to get rid of for months and years, as
| utterly worthless, yet have been un-
able to do so owing TO outside influ-
| ences. i could furnish the names of
scores of women who do not perform
an hours work per diem for the gov
! ernment; not in every instance be-
| cause they are unwilling, but because
| they do not have the work-there
| being too many engaged in the same
| labor. In the office OF the comptrol-
Ter OF the Currency, for instance,
| one-third of the forces employed
would be quite sufficient to perform
| the labor. This is no speculation on
my part. l know whereof / affirm.
In the Post-Office Department the
law provides for fifty female
clerks, and desks are arranged for
| that number; yet exPostmaster-
General Randall appointed one hun
| dred and five During the two
weeks immediately prior to his exit
he appointed thirty female clerks ;
aud for what reason Heaven only
knows, since nearly one fifth of those
already employed had nothing to
| do-nay, not even a seat iii the office.
| / can conceive of no earthly object
Randall had in appointing these wo-
| men, ualess it was to embarrasS his
| successor.
| In conclusion, hold that women
| who are competent 10 perform the
| same labor as men should receive the
same compensation, and be subject
| to the same conditions, for violating
| which they should be dismissed.
Every woman employed should be
subject to the same examination as
| men, and personal beauty or laAity
of morals ought not to be recon-
mendation, as is too often the case.
The examining board should be wo-
men. In order to prevent corruption
in all bureaus where women are en-
ployed, there should be female audi
tors. / have an instance in my
mind where one malicious woman
clerk caused the removal of soms
| five or six faithful men, simply be-
cause they refused 10 lend money TO
her husband (?), a worthless black
guard, who never paid his debts. l
an happy to state that the auditor
who made these removals las just
resigned and gone to the West.
Congress or the President ought to
afford us some protection, If they al
| low us te occupy offices, We ought
not TO be iusulted by having the par
amours and mistresses of mem bers
| of Congress forced upon us, and be
| iobliged To tolerate their society day
by day. Let Mr.. Boutwell, clean out
the riff-rsff and pollution of his de-
and competent women then let US
be paid according to our merits.
Such is the earnest prayer of every
| honest woman-clerk.
| HANNAH TYLER.