Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-06-05
A PLUCKY WOMAN.
~ She AIaintair@h Her Position at
Arlington Despite the Entire GOV
,hu,aut

Arlington Desplte the Entire Gov
jlment.
From Washington Letter.
1he experience of woman who may
Hbeballed Miss Dearborn is a case in point
illustrative of the sycophaucy in Wash
n irgton departments, no matter what the
Il phItics of the reigning power.
III Five years ago she came here on visit
Arom Philadelphia, where she held o re-
UIsponsible post in the faculty of SEM
Ejinarv, and called to see man she knew in
III the Treasury She found him about leav-
"a ing his place and that no substitute had
been found. His salary was 81. 800.
IS Oyerhearing him say to his CHIEF, ''Well,
if resigned in favor of anybody it would
be my friend over yOnder; she's smarter
r. than chain lightning" the impulse seized
Il her to speak for the place. ''Perbaps
n Miss Dearborn will take the place if
s. You'll give it TO her." she said, stepping
81 nearer. The chief was so favorably i'm
PRESSED with her that he gave her sub
stitute's work. When vacancy came
she was given $1,000 place and set to
work on settling accounts This is the
most responsible and difficult labor COW
cred by the civil service law clerks. The
& man alongside her got 81 300 for doing
b the same work. But having experienced
81 the dispropoTtionate rewards of women's
labor as compared to mems, Miss Dear
born was not dissatisfied.
After six mouths of close work the new
g. clerk was producing a highly favorable
81 impression when the hdeous rumOr
ri spread about that she was a Democrat
81 70 be sure she was born in Georgia and
81 had reen reared in the South. But there
were many Southern born men in the de-
partment who were rabid Republicans.
The chief heard the awful news. He was
f mt ,alu 10 av1f
asked Miss Dearborn if it. was true that
she was a Democrat. She smiled pleas
antly, said she was as far as q woman
could he, and went on with her work.
The chief went back scOwling to his desk.
Everybody in the office trembled and
turned the cold shoulder on their most
popular associate with great unanimitY.
The idea of harboring a Democrat all this
time, and Democrat with the temerity
to confess it. From this time on all those
pititul towards dared not exchange a
word with the Democrat except in
sneaking, underhand way. And there
We're even some who, TO curry favor with
their chief, lost no chance to annoy Miss
Dearborn with waspish filings and neglect
OF work. In fact, she soon became aware
that conspiracy mad been formed to drive
her out Of the service.
A few OF the most despicable employees
insulted heropenly. She had few friends.
ana they quietly cOuuseled her to main
tain reserve. Many times when her blood
was up and hot words sprang to her
tongues end she restrained herself by
remembering that her triumphant silence
III was more eXasperahng to her tOrmentOrs
than any speech. But the explosion came
at last a Southern State election oc-
CURED and the Democrats carried it, of
course. The next morning when she took
her place she felt an unusually studied
purpose to annoy her. Every face was
black and the voices were blatant that
denounced the ballOt-bOX suffers. Moth
Il ing was too harsh or false TO charge to the
Il South and very little too vile to insinuate.
Miss Dearb0rn's face was red and her
81 lips scarlet where she had bit them. But
she kept her peace until at last hulk of
aiellow turned to her and said, taunt-
lnglY: t-
why don't you say word for those
niger murderers? They're your friends,
n'tthey? You'd stutfa ballot-boX if you
get the chance, wouldn't y0ur'
f"Xes. ] wOuldY' cried Miss Dearborn.
with a flash. III was a SOutherner I'd
& stun every ballot-boX IN my State to keep
pts government and property out of the
& hands OF the negroes"
There was a derisive triumphant shout
1t this. The conspiracy had succeeded.
A little reptile of a clerk writhed grin
ming with the news to his chief and that
important individual straightway took
it to Appointment Clerk Butler. That
ffunetiOnary Immediately wrote Miss
81 Dearborn that her services were no longer
needed.
But this was a woman not to be easily
put away. She had twenty days in which
to act. She first wrote to the appoint
ment clerk demanding a written sum-
mary Of the charges against her. Then
she wrote to number of her acquaint-
ances who were editors, stating her case
and asking their interference. Finally
she went to see Mr.. Window, then Secre-
tary Of the Treasury. He looked over her
record, laughed at her speech, and was
inclined to think the service couldn't
spare such spunky little woman. He
would probably have dismissed the case
mad not John Sherman intertered. Sher-
mans horror of ''0utrages" of any Demo-
cratic sort is historic, and the chief of
Miss DearbOrn's division was Sherman's
protege and factOtum. Sherman declared
mat the woman must go. Window was
Indifferent. She had no Congressman to
speak for her. and if Sherman made a
point OF it, why so be it. At this crisis
the editors came to the fore. They wrote
very sharply to the Secretary of the Trea-
sury not to do this injustice. A number
OF correspondents here took up the case
as personal matter. The end of it was
that Sherman found the press too much
Tor him and withdrew. Miss Dearborn
was not dismissed, but transferred to an
other department with as bad a,character
as the appointment clerk dared to give
her. She won her cause and has spoken
hermind ever since. But up tolast Novem.
Der she did $500 work for $1,000 pay.
In December the department chief sud
denly appreciated Der value and promoted
her-in pay; she did exactly the same
work. On March she appeared re-
splendent in Democratic badges, and is
now treated with as much Difference as be-
fore with disdain.