Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1874-05-28

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course was too pa lful to contemplate
and she WAS too l|lbnd to accept sl,cco
from tho parents shc had disoboycl
Possibly there ard errors in this story
1t is only gntheredtfrom rumor. d.,
after day, pale, drelsed in deep mourn
ing, sho comes to haf monotonous work
no one is more read with gentle an,
kind words to those around her-but o
herself she never speaks. Memory il
rcbellious, doubtless, butsshe has se
ON her sweet, sad lips the seal of proud
sensitive silence. There arc grand
daughters and daughters of three Sec
retaries of the Treasury in that depart
ment; and in another the brotlcr-ill
law of Mrs. Eaton, whose history I
wrote not long aGo, and tho son OF
Rembrandt Peale. Men who have
served their countr:y with fidelity and
honor i'll almost every capacity are re.
presented by their widows and orphans.
L Wish that 7 could tell you faithfully
the stories of all these womcn--not
stories of ancestry nor records of excep-
tional heroism, nor pretty pagcs OF
happy romances-but stories of disap-
pointment silently borne, self-sacrifice
repeated daily-of courage, and noble.
ness, and resignation all tho more true
and beautiful, because they are ,ln.
known or forgotten by all save God
Himself. l wish could show you the
mothers who are struggling to feed
their children; the daughters who are
working for feeble or invalid parents
the sisters who arc educating brothers,
and, the cruelest of all, wives who are
toiling for idle and dissipated husbands!
The intellectual average of the wom-
en- in the department is more than that
OF tile men, for the reason that while
departmental work is best for women,
it is poorest for men. The Secretary of
the Treasury. who has been wrongfully
accused of disparaging the ability Of
his lady clerks, is on the contrary very
proud Of them. "They earn all they
get and more too," have beside me in
his own handwriting, and he has pub
ilcly declared them to be, in his opin-
ion, equal in Christian principle, and
superior in intelligence and education,
to the same number of women selected
from any class of society.
LIE CAiACIiY OF WOMEN TO PERFORM
CLERICAL WORK
is tested beyond contradiction by their
general employment. They were first
introduced to the service in the Treas
ury about twelve years ago, at the in
stance of Treasurer Spinner, who has
been their firm friend ever since. To-
day the aggregate force Of the Treasury,
Postottice, Interior, and War depart
ments is about 1000. The majority of
these are counters and eopyists at sala-
ries of 5000 II year. A minority occupy
positions Of high responsibility ut the
same salaries, which is but half what
men would be paid for doing the same
work: That is where the grievance lies,
and, though much his been said about
it, the remedy is not yet found. To
the women who claim higher wages
Gail Hamilton has spoken wholesome
truth in Sc Woman's Worth and Worth
1essness." To men who urge that wom-
en- are paid enough for what they do, it
should be suggested that the salaries
be equalized by reduction of the great
er. Civil service has promised to cor
rect tho evil by opening doors equally
to either sex, but that reform itself
stands on such tottering basis that
its protection has not been worth q
great deal. Many of the women who
applied for examination passed success
fully, but no vacancies occur for their
or promotion. Among
40 ladies in tho Interior Department,
only three resigned in four years, so the
chances of a place are not many. The
best examinations were passed by the
ladies' of the Internal Revenue
Bureau of the Treasury. One Of these,
the sole instance in the whole service,
is chief of the division ut a salary of
800. The experiment of placing
many women under the control of one
is not very successful.
To those who, sitting with dainty,
idle hands, think this life to be so easy,
[ would tell them they dare to Judge
that of which they know nothing. Let
them listen to the doctors of this city;
they can tell of weak backs and
strained eyes and aching heads and del
icate lungs, terminated by exposure
and aggravated 10y foul air. And let
them imagine, for this no doctor can
tell them, tho drudgery of constant
work, and all that must be given up to
it. It is very easy to tell of, but how
often it is very hard to do. And yet,
thank God, there is discipline in it
that no idler ever learns. 1t teaches so
many to be patient, it softens SO many
hearts, and beyond the feeling of indie
pendcnce, the i,oElcst lesson taught by
it is, that no matter how small the
work, be the self-respect of the worker
need never fail while the duty is faith
fully done. S. NJ. B.