St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1883-03-23
Clara Barton in the Patent Of
flee.


| Miss BartOn's early life, like that OF
so many New England girls, was spent
in teaching school. To her belongs the
credit of having assisted in organizing
the public-schOOl system in New Jer-
sey. When she went there the state
had a number of good private schools,
but only two ''free schools" which
We're making a rather doubtful trial OF
the new state law in regard to public
schools, which up to this time had been
regarded as, and styled, "paupeI
schools" Miss Barton organized a
public school in BOrdentOwn. She be-
gan with six scholars in a dilapidated
old house with capacity for twenty, and
left it at the years end with 600 in a
fine brick building, newly erected for
her at Il cost of S4000,-the present
public school building of BOrdentown.
Severe exertion told upon her health,
and she lost her voice. She went to
Washington to recuperate.
At that time Judge Mason of Iowa
was commissioner of patents. He was
i'll good deal of distress because of the
difficulty of finding a clerk who could
keep secret. After man had applied
for patent, and before it could be
granted, the confidential clerks in the
patent office would reveal his inven-
tion to some other person, who would
thereupOn come forward and claim to
have invented the thing before him.
People were willing to pay almost any
price for such information. The secrets
of the Office had several times been be
trayed, and Judge Mason was at his
wits end. In this dilemma, it was sug-
gested to him that Miss Barton would
be competent to do his work, and could
be trusted not to tell his secrets. He
sent for and engaged her
AT this time there were no regularly
appointed female clerks in any of the
departments at Washington. There
were three young ladies in that office,
who were temporarily occupying the
desks of their sick or deceased fathers.
They came with wells over their faces,
scudded away home as fast as they
| could when their work was done, and
drew their pay in their fathers names.
1t was distinctly understood that they
were merely substitutes, and the male
| clerks did not object to them. But
when Miss Barton was engaged a. IA
| regular clerk, and her own name went
| on to the payroll, there was great
cOmmOtiOn among the government en-
| plOyes. For, if one woman could be
employed, why not more The craft
was in danger. They determined that
| they must get rid of Miss Barton; and
| they took noble and manly way to do
| it. First they tried to stare her out.
She had to come in to her work through
long hall and corridor. They used to
form two long rows along the walls on
each side, so that she had to pass be-
tween them. They stared hard at her,
and uttered occasional little soft whis-
ties as she went by. 81 had never en-
countered anything like this before,
said Miss Barton, "and nv Yankee
blood did not like it. passed through
with my eyes on the t1OoT-I never saw
anything of them above their knees
but every morning there were all those
rows of legs. Still there was princi-
pie involved, and | determined not to
yield it."
Then they tried slander. They found
a spokesman in a personal acquain
tance of Judge Mason, and preferred a
charge against her moral character.
The judge asked for the proof, and
gave until five o'clock Saturday night
to collect the evidence. "But under
stand" he said, "things will not re-
main just as they are in this office. Ii
you prove this charge, Miss Barton
goes; If you fail to prove it, you go.'
The chosen vanguard presented him
self at the appointed hour to beg an
extension of time; the mails had failed
to bring him promptly what he relied
upon. The commissioner replied that
the time had not failed to come
around, neither would his word fail
and the dismissal was immediately
made.
Miss Barton remained in the Office
three years, doing her work so well
that her books are still shown as mod
els. At the end of that time she fel
under suspicion of political heresy
Buchanan was in power. 1t was known
that she came from Massachusetts,. Sc
did Sumner and Wilson. 1t was a dan
gerous state, and she was suspected OF
being "a black republican, She plead
ed guilty and gave up her position
Judge Mason had previously resigned
and returned to the west.
After LincOln's election, while the
war was brewing, and after publ,
opinion had turned, the patent -offic,
began to quake in its shoes, and desir
ing to have a friend at court, earnestl,
invited Miss Barton to come back. By
her fathers advice she returned. Sh,
was welcomed with open arms, an,
, nothing was considered too good fo
her. They would not allow her to d.
anything so menial as to sit at an offic,
desk, but sent her the choicest part O
the work to her own room, and sup
plied her with a MESSENGER tn carry