Omaha daily bee., 1889-05-31
ONLY WANT TO Be CLERKS.
The Modesty of Women Who Seek
Oflces at Washington.
MRs.J. ELLEN FOSTERS HUSBAND
His Wife Wants Him Appointed on
the Interstate Commerce Conn
mission-F. A. y. q. Clarkson
and the Lady Applicants.
The Dimdence of the Sex.

BEE. There probably never were so many
women seeking office in Washington as now.
They never aim high. So far as Is generally
known no woman has asked for position
above a clerkship. Most OF them apply for
places through the civil service commission,
and their ambition is about the size OF q first
class clerkship, which pays $1,000 year.
Most OF them ere school girls, and want
places below the classified list-the position
Of copyist being the popular one.
Before the civil service law was
on tho statute books, and governed the en-
ployment OF men and women in the various
branches of the government, 1t was not an
unusual thing for woman of great political
power to demand managerial position.
They frequently ask to be appointed chiefs
OF division in the departments, and there are
cases on record where women made long
and forceful fights for the positions of dis
bursing and pay offices, places requiring
heavy bonds and entailing heavy response
blities There are none of those contests
now.
The Cleveland administration set the ex-
smplc of giving preference IN the employ
ment of clerks and copyists to males. Dur
ing the last two years of the Cleveland ad-
ministration scarcely a woman was employed
in any of the departments to do clerical
work. THOSE who did get places now are al.
ex-union soldiers. The government printing
Office and the bureau of engraving and print
ing furnish places for the greatest NUMBER OF
women now employed. When Superintend-
ept Porter opened the census bureau, Few
weeks ago, he was beseiged with members OF
the gentler sex who wanted places, and at
times in the day his office looked like re-
ception for woman's christian temperance
union, or some organization of that character.
Mr.. Porter showed the women all due con-
sideration and when he had places to give
rendered them to women who were capable
and deserving, and who could fill them as
Mrs j. Ellen Foster, of Iowa, the noted
orator who took such an active part IN the
last campaign for General Harrison, has cut
more prominent figure in the circle of Of
fice-seekers than and other woman
March last. She does not seek
place for herself, but wants her hus-
band given the vacancy on the Interstate
shrewd, and for awhile conducted a "stlll-
hunt" with as great u degree of success as
any man. She is not confident that her hus-
band will by given preference, however.
President Harrison is called upon daily by
women of all classes, in the single number
and by delegations, but they almost luvaria-
bly, ask for moderate places. The women
who have official ambition have come to the
conclusion that success lies only in modera-
ton. AT the civil service headquarters 1t is
said that in some of the states majority of
the applicants for offices who are certified
and are eligible for appointment are women.
In a few instances women registered and
certified for appointment have been selected
under the belief that they were men, and
the officers in the department calling for
clerks have been surprised TO find woman
walk in and present her appointment when a
man was expected to appear. 1t is safe to
predict that the number Of women now en-
ployed in the department will steadily de-
, crease, as men are always preferred The
women want more leaves of absence with
pay and require more attention than the
men, and that is why the superior officers
prefer the male sex as clerks
There has been steady dimnution of the
number of females employed in the pension
Office during the past three or four years and
1t is rare that one is now given Il position. In
this branch Of the government Judgment is
the primary qualification, and few women
can be trusted to look into u case involving
judicial knowledge.
Every day one sees goodly number of
women in the crowd which fiocks about the
room of First Assistant Postmaster General
Clarkson. Most of these women come from
dstance-in some instances thousand
miles-and they seek appointments as post
nistresses. Mr.. Carkson has appointed a
large number Of them, but he always re-
Quires the regular political endorsements as
10 qualification and merit, and the widows or
orphans of eX-unon soldies are selected in
almost every instance. number OF stories
have gone the rounds detailing how women
have presented themselves before MIR.
Carkson, and by their winsome ways and
glib tongues have secured appointments, but
the very capable and business-like assistant
general says they are romances founded
upon fiction and that wherever he has made
the appointment OF a woman it can be shown
that she was endorsed as strongly as q man
would have been had the appointment gone
TO the opposite sex.
The last prominent off1ce-aeeking incident
on the part of woman was conducted dur
ing the last administration by Mrs. v. c..
Thompson who wanted to be postmistress at
r Louisville, Ky. She swept everything and
everybody before her. She came here, stop
ped at the Ebbitt house, and by her strikingly
handsome appearance and winsome manners
made the senators and representatives not
only from her state but Others do her bid
ding, g,and won victory which split the demo-
cratic party IN Kentucky, and threatened To
turn the state over to the republicans. She
Is expected to come here again soon, and set
an example for representatives Of her sex to
follow. She is the most successful Office
seeker that has been in Washington for many
years
calls from women who want places than all
OF the other officials combined. He says
they cause him more trouble than all the
men, as they are persistent, and in most in
stances deserving.
BRAVE MANS SON.
This morning the people who were passing
about the department OF Justice saw tall
well formed, and strikingly handsome young
man in the building take the elevator and
ask to be shown TO Attorney-G General Miller's
room. His heavy brown hair hung in ring
lets upon a broad expanse of forehead. He
was tastefully dressed, and ON the lapel OF
his coat wore the emblem of the Beta Theta
ri society. His dark blue eyes were sci
with heavy lashes and they flashed intelli-
gence at every TURN. This young man is an
applicant for the position of United States
marshal of Mississippi. and connected with
him and his family Is story which, If writ
ten in detail. would rival the raciest tragedy
ever put between yellow covers.
Readers of political annals will remember
that when the returns We're flashed over the
wires from the election in Mississippi in the
fall of 1855, a startling tragedy was related
from Hazelhurst, Among the most intelli
gent and courageous Of the republican lead
ers IN the Hazelhurst section of Mississippi
was Print Matthews. He was a man Of
education, culture, and had the courage OF
his convictions. He was progressive, and
believed In all of the essential elements OF
the republican party as against the
methods of the democratic party which
had made the south solid, and which
terrorized white men as well as
black men at the polls. Matthews, a short
time before the election, was given warning
by the democratic bulldozers-'the leading
.,,au ~ tha countv,,-fhat ~ he attamnfad N