Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-03-30
WOMEN CLERKS.
The Influence of Pretty women In
WashiBgtOn-HOw ClerkshIps are
Given Out i Had Women In the
Treasury Department.

- viz ~ " -
= as follows;
: But just so long as women a
: weak and men are powerful, SON
y of the evils of the department
never will be remedied 1t is S
much more comfortable to 4 Jade
/ man, worn out in the arduous du
3 ties as head of bureau, to see
s fresh, young, pretty-faced woma
, at an adjoining desk, rather tina
one with all the sweet juice of lif
squeezed out of her, whether b.
age or misfortune, it matters no
which. The first one is the oil o
machinery of every day life; tn,
latter is the adhesive gum which
needs cleansing away. Women
who look with longing eyes to al
active life in the department a
Washington, had better consult
their mirrors first, unless Secretary
Boutwell, makes new laws to meet
individual cases. 1t is true, a few
"crones may be found in the
basement of the building, but as
| you ascend to the upper realms OF
the castle, new visions of beauty
greet the eye, until the spectator
is lost in q dazzling dream
of enchantment as glorious in
It's bewilderment as a Turkish
harem. In many cases these hand
some young women belongto Wash.
ington families. They have good
homes, with the comforts of life,
without paying for them. This en-
ables them to spend their wages in
the adornment of their persons.
These are the girls whose lives Mrs.
Swisshelm so bitterly deplored.
These are the women who practice
the GreCian bend, and who dot our
avenues of a brilliant afternoon as
the butterflies do the clover heath.
Petted darlings at home, petted dar-
lings at the Treasury, no wonder
they are spared their duties if they
have headache, or q new dress to
make. No soldiers widow or starry
ing daughter of the Republic can
drive them from their warm nests,
for the reason "that a thing of
beauty is a joy forever" Gen.
Schenck says he has tried in vain to
get place for a young girl who
had two brothers killed in the army,
and who lost her father also in the
army. There are other beautiful
women there, the mention of whose
names is enough to bring the blush
to every honest woman's cheek,
some public mans pretty plaything,
and yet for such as those the wild
Ows and daughters Of our noble sol
diers must stand aside and sing the |
song of the shirt or another
quite as sad. Has the sun Of an
other day arisen? With trembling
form and bowed head we shall wait |
and see.
The New York Independent pub
fishes an extraordinary letter from
one of the female clerks employed
in the Treasury Department at |
Washington, which carries with it |
its own comment. The following |
is an extract;
TREASURY DEPARTMENT, WASH
INGToN, March 10, IS69.-In the last
of the hdependeRt | noticed
a paragraph stating that the com
pensation of the women employed
in the departments at Washington
was about to be made the same as
that paid to men and, as a woman
and an employee OF the government,
trust there can be no objection
against my expressing my views re-
garding the subject.
am sorry to make the comics
sion, but the truth forces it, that the
departments 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 duties. | could furnish the
names of scores and scores of
women whom the heads of depart
ments have tried TO get rid Of for
months and years, as being utterly |
worthless, yet have been unable to |
do so owing to outside influences. |
| could furnish the names of scores
Of women who do not perform an
hours work per diem for the gov
eminent; not in every instance
because they are unwilling, but be
cause they do not have the work
there being too many engaged IN
the same labor In the office of the |
Comptroller of the Currency, for
instance, One-third of the force en-
ployed would be quite sufficient to
perform the labor.
In the PostOffice Department the
law provides for fifty female clerks,
and desks are arranged for that
number; yet Ex-Postmaster Gen
eral Randall appointed one hundred
and five. During the two weeks
Immediately prior to his exit he ap-
pointed thirty female clerks; and
for what reason Heaven only knows,
since nearly One-fiith of those al
ready employed had nothing to do,
nay, not even a seat in the office.
In conclusion, L hold that women
who are competent to perform the
same labor as men should receive
the same compensation, and be sub
iect to the same conditions, for vio-
lating which they should be dis
missed.
Every woman employed should
be subjected to the same examina-
ton as men, and personal beauty or
laxity of morals ought not to be
recommendation, as is too often the
case. The examining board should
be women. In order to prevent
corruption in all bureaus where
young women are employed, there
should be female auditors. l have
an instance in my mind where one
malicious wOman-clerk caused the
removal of some five or six faithful
men, simply because they refused to
lend money to her husband, @ a
worthless BLACKBOARD, who never
paid has debts. am happy to state
that the auditor who made these re-
movals has just resigned and gone
fo tho Wpst