Claiborne guardian. [volume] (Homer, La.) 1877-188?, 1878-09-04
The Women Clerks at Washington.

Among tue CIeTkSiilps NJ w ASH
ington, the poorly paid bridging
places are filed by women, the
lighter, better paid Offices by men.
This is because the women cannot
vote. Copying and figuring is the
work mostly done by the women.
In the Department of the Interior
500 girls are employed. Their
wages range from $50 a month to
81 400 a year. Few get the latter
price. One young lady, Miss Cook,
stenographer in the Indian office,
gets $1,000 year, the highest
price paid to u woman official i'll
Washington. But lest all the
bright young lady short hand wri'
tiers who read this should at once
start of in body to get 81 900 II
year at the Capital, it may be as
we'll to state that there arc only
places for about six stcnographers
in the whole Interior Department.
These six places are filled, and their
occupants are healthy. They do
not intend to marry. They are
afraid every man wouldn't he worth
81, 600 a wear to them. Women
clerks are more troublesome to
manage than men. This is the YER
dict in most of the departments.
They are more regular and faithful
in their duties than the men; at the
same time they are more quarrel
some among one another. a stand
ing cause of war among them. ri.
diculous enough, is the opening and
/ shutting of windows. This one
wants ventilation, while the one
next to her is dead sure to be afraid
of "a draft. This one slaps the win.
dow up. and that one runs after her
and slams it down. and so the game
goes on slap, slam, while the ladies'
eyes dart fire, and their little
Threats choke up too full for speech.
This catfish quarreling went 80 far
in the Postotficc Department that
Mt last the United States authori'
ties had to interfere, and make the
rule that windows should not he
raised till certain time of day, sc
that now the windows Of the Uni
ted States General Postoffice ar,
omen and shut according to Gov
crument orders. \ more contempt
ible thing about wOmankind has
never been my painful duty to re
cord. Many unjust stories have
been circulated in the newspapers
about the women clerks mt Wash
ington By correspondents who were
not half or quarter as good as they
The simple fact is that the grea
: majority of them are modest, faith
full, hard working wnnen. The,
are quite as good and intelligent a
the same number of women any
where else in the world. Most o
them have families or relatives +
support. The stories that hav'
been told about them are not onl,
wicked lies, but under the circum
stances they arc extremely cruc
At the same time the conduct OF
p few incompetent women, who &c
their places through political favor
itism, really has been such as t
give color to the newspaper stories
They do their work indifferently o
not at all, come together and gossi
by the hour in the dressing. rooms
sGuabble and raise petty rows /
the departments, until it is eve
wished that they were dead. Sue
women are kept in their places b.
. cause they have masculine rel'
= tions at home who can vote, an
the men who keep them there al
honorable Senators and Kepresen
r atives who declare that civil-servit
reform is u hnmbug.-Cor. CiHct
natl Commercial.