The Magnolia gazette. [volume] (Magnolia, Miss.) 1872-current, 1886-04-23
WOMEN OFFICE-HOLDERS
|The Kind Of Work They Do For
the Government.

EGoyernment service at w aShtngt0n pre-
SCENTS many interesting features OF the
kmportant question of woman's right
Hull status and worth as worker. 1t |
bias long been popular but erroneous
idea that women in the Government de-
bartments owe their positions entirely |
Ito favor and influence, and that they |
Eare, as rule, incapable and unfit to
Eperform the duties incumbent upon
them. 1t is true that political influence
land power have in some cases obtained
fplaces for women which neither their
Enatural capacity nor attachments fitted
them to worthily fill, but are these the
Eenly incapable office-holders who owe
Ether positions to political influence?
EThere are about four thousand women
Eemployed by the Government, and al
Though the work is chiefly clerical they
Eare also valuable assistants IN variety
Eof other occupations, many of which
. Eare comparatively new to women. The
Egreatest number are employed in the
ETreasury, which was the first depart
q I Ement to make use of their services.
J, The occasion arose during the late civil
war, and was entirely question of ex
Epediency and even necessity, in order to
q fill the large number of vacancies made
y by the enlistment of the employees.
Women were first employed as coun-
v ters of currency and soon afterward
as clerks, copyists, etc. AS counters of
money-work requiring chiefly quick
- ness of sight and deftness of hand
women have always excelled and have
= been uniformly preferred to men. Their
N hl,, has 15f nf,.i1,, tod
much to their value in this work. 1t
is said by the officials in charge of the
currency division that case of dis
honesty on the part of woman has
cd never occurred since their employ
nd ment in the Treasury. There are
,h. 1,349 woman employees in the Treasury
TO- Department, including the 450 in the
'rs Bureau of Engraving and Printing.
They are employed as corresponding
clerks, accountants, stenographers,
copvists, counters, librarians, and in
some few instances as chiefs in charge
of sections, their duties being super.
!, visory. Some of the books kept by
women are models of beauty and
accuracy. In the issue division &
lady has for several years had entire
charge of the books containing thu
exact, amount of currency issued re
! deemed, destroyed, and outstanding
B also the amounts of daily currency re
q deemed and destroyed in the severa
u States and Territories. This involve
y vast amount of detail and an accurac.
\ of accounts which it is difficult for tn
81 uninitiated to conceive of. The Ma
n tional bank notes are brought her
n from the Bureau of Engraving an
NJ Printing, where they are engraved an
printed, to be re-examined and agai
counted. The examination is for tn
purpose of noting the slightest defect 0
omission in the mechanical part of th
bank note, that the bank and charte
,atI number, the seal and coat {
giv and the State are not wan
5 tl ing or imperfect. The money
nds usually examined and counted at IL
same time, and when the accuracy wit
which this mu It be done is taken int
consideration, and the concentration
kan mind necessary in the exercise of tw
land mental operations, it can readily be sec
TO b that it requires special mental trainir
tteuI and expertness. The annual report
the Comptroller of the Currency, wi
toeuN its bewildering columns of statistics,
|, I'D almost exclusively the work of wom'
clerks. In some of the auditors offic
ro, the women are obliged to have know
MI edge of banking as well as of math
. d mates.
eled The difficult and responsible work
the Redemption Agency is done el tire
by women This division is devoted {
d. clus.vely to identifying burned and m
etti tilated money, which is brought he
] fro under all sorts of strange and remal
able circumstances, from every part
,lty the country, to be redeemed. Son
w;iIij times it is so badly defaced as to Sc,
10 almost to defy Identification. The M
',deu successful expert in this work has be
nst here for twenty years, and has in Il
pts time saved many millions of dollars.
quick, bright, intelligent woman is
who, upon being asked what applian
were used in the difficult processes
:, her work, replied: "Only thin kr
"' and patience" The difficulty of idel
ne flying National bank notes is much gre
er than those of legal tender, as not o
Of the denomination but the title of
bank must be deciphered. A few ye
one ago package of $1l0,000 was brou
~ here by the Adams Express Compi
s''S which, by the burning of q railway trs
had been reduced to charred, c.
:, o+it black mass Three days afterward s.
a ,ilb III POO was identified and redeemed by