Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1888-12-22


his paper, lays II On the press, and takes Il Of
after the impression has been made from the
plate. The work Of these girls Il very wearing
and only those OF vigorous constitutions are
able 70 continue long IN the prsss-foom. They
are obliged TO st.ad I'll The time q their work,
and I'll the rest they have while in the ofics 4
the half hour for lunch. Because Of the
fatiguing character Of the labor rule was long
ago established In the bureau that applicants
for service must present the certificate Of Q
Praeticins physician that they ere strong end
in good health. 6till there ere those in the
presc-room-not many 10 be sure, but few
who have been there ever since the bureau vss
first started in 1862.
In the wetting division girls count the psper
first when dry and then when damp, and Il re-
quires no little skin to handle the sheets placed
between vet cloths. This il not . good place
for any woman OF weak lungs, for the constant
moisture induces colds and pulmonary dis
eases.
In the counting and examining division the
work is done entirely by females, and . woman
is the chief or superintendent. The greatest
ssin ana speed IN counting the printed sheets
Of this division. The sheets are given what Is
known % wet count when they are hrst
received moist from the printers, and are sub
sequently counted over and over again after
they come from the dry box. Az each note or
security receives at least two printings, and
of the number Of the counts which each sheet
receives in this division alone. In the num-
bering division nearly all the employees
are women. They work both the num-
bering and separating machines, and they
fore they are transmitted to the Treasury de-
partment for sealing and issue. The superin-
tendent Of this division IL also q woman. who
has been long in the government service, and
she, as we'll as the superintendent of the ex-
amining division, possesses extraordinary ex-
ecutive ability.
In the binding division women operate the
perforating machines, and in the surface divi-
sion women feed the presses, and in both these
divisions there are female counters and ex-
aminers. The classes Of work above referred
to are those to which women are especially
work SO well. With practice and experience
these female employees become experts, and
some Of their places could not well be Allied,
certainly not by those who had not previously
had similar training. A majority Of the cler-
zeal work IN the bureau is also performed by
accounts, while in the Office Of the accountant
there is one lady who is q skilled bookkeeper,
and whose accuracy could not be surpassed BY
the most expert male accountant. Many Of the
women in the bureau could make more money
in some private bank-note establishment, and
been offered, but they prefer to remain in the
service OF the government and there is no one
who has attained to any prominent position
but is proud Of the steps which led to her ad-
vancement. Many Of the women in the bureau
have known better days; some have once been
been," but all are earnest, diigent, and faith
full in their work.
IN THE GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.
Woman is no small factor in the work Of the
government printing Office. In that huge
workshop there are 800, and but few of them
can boast Of soft situations. At or before 8
O'Clock on each working day the approaches
to the Office are crowded with the female work.
ers. Old, middle-aged, and young mingls in
one grand procession Of industrious woman
hood. The light-hearted maiden trips jauntily
along, fancifully-decorated lunch-basket
swinging in one hand. Her gait is more rapid
than that Of the sad-faced woman who d
bravely bearing life's burden alone, and on
whose scanned and ever-tired fingers depend,
the livelihood Of half dozen fatherless chill
dren Still more slow in her movements is
the. old woman whose careworn features are
crowned with hair of shining white. She has
seen the grave close over ali that is dear, and
Is staggering patiently along to her last resting
place, keeping body and soul together until
that time shall come by earning few dollars q
month from the government.
Five minutes after the steam whistle has
blown every one of the 800 women is at work.
Their occupations are in no one exclusive por-
ton Of the building-they are scattered all
over it. In the press-room, which 10 on the
ground floor, women feed the presses with the
tons Of paper daily, for only a comparatively
malportIoh 6f the >sT Ga. output l. printed
nom the web. On the second floor q dozen
females struggle for mechanical supremacy
with $50 or 800 men, and they hold their own
with a praiseworthv fonacitv
AT THE CASE.
They set type with an easy grace that would
discount the nonchalant skill Of Q veteran
tramp printer, and they smile at the results Of
their labor when payday comes around. Un.
were employed in the .'time-room" as compos-
itors; that is, they worked for and received the
regular wages OF forty cents per hour. At
present the force Of ''compositresses' works by
the piece, and each individuals remuneration
depends entirely upon the skill possessed and
upon the amount Of '.phat' that the copy-box
centric. Instead Of celebrating payday by in
diligence in strong and deep rotations, she
continues in the even tenor Of her way and on
the following morning is at her case looking as
bright, cheerful and pretty as ever, and thor
oughly prepared to go on with whatever work
may fall to her share. She never firts dur
ing working hours, and but seldom INDUCES
in that pleasantly anywhere. Take her for all
and all the female compositOr is decided sue
cess. In the bindery, which is on the third
floor, woman has large place, and on the
fourth floor, where is situated the folding
room, she reigns almost supreme. She folds
the printed sheets by hand and she attends to
a few machines that do little folding now and
then. She gathers up the signatures and
collates them; she stitches the volumes or
watches machine as it does the work for her;
her deft fingers are busy in q hundred ways
The numbering and paging machines are run
by her, and the clean sheets of calendered
paper are run into the ruling machines by her
hands. And then. when the great crowd Of
toilers have ceased for the day and have gone
home to rest, woman once more takes posses
sion Of the building, and for four or five hours
she is numerOus-scrubs and sweeps
until the floors are cleaner than the floors Of
any other printing office ever were.
THE PAY OF WOMEN
In the government printing Office is not excess
i've. The millionaires among the female sex in
that institution are to be found among the
for none Of them make less
than the regular mems wages-$320 per diem
and some Of them make good deal more.
These, however, are the noteworthy excep-
tons. Most Of those employed in the press
room and bindery are paid at about the rate Of
81 cents per hour while those who have charge
Of tables and sections draw % per day. In the
nearly all the labor performed is
done by piece-work, and it is here that womanly
ambition shows itself. Nine-tenths of the
women are continually racing with each other;
not like amateurs, for . record. but after the