The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-03-02
TIE TREASURY GIRLS.


THE TREASURY GIRLS.
Fully one-third of this army of amazons
are under the command of the secretary of
the treasury. One thousand OF them march
their little feet every day up the great
stone steps of that mighty sarcophagus
known as the United States treasury and
IN its prison-like walls they remain upon
duty from this hour until four The high
cstpriced OF them get 81 500 d gear and
there are three ladies who receive this sal
airy. One is Miss j. NJ. Seavey. OF Tennes-
see, and another is Miss NJ. NanN ranken,
OF New York, ancient maidens who came
here in the sixties and who are so efficient
IN the management of internal revenue
matters that their salaries have been in
creased over those of most OF the men of
the bureau. The third 81, S00-clerk is Miss
Ada Tanner, the daughter of the corporal
who acts as confidential clerk OF the treas
ury. She came into Office when her father
went out and her appointment dates from
last November. Only five women in the
treasury get 81 600 "a year, thirty-one re
celye 81 400, rs get $500 month, ninety
one receive 81, 600 a year and 366 receive
$500. Among the thousand odd who receive
less than this are those who get the pay of
laoorerS and messengers and Others run
nlng down to the charWomen who receive
so a month for sweeping and scruboing.
One Of the most interesting sights of the
treasury department is the paying out of
these moneys, winch always occurs at the
last OF the month. From all parts OF the
building the men and the women troop to
the disbursing Offices and they receive their
cash IN crisp new bills Which rustic like q
four dollar black silk when they pass
through the counters hands. | stood the
otAer day and watched them get their
money, Through a grated window showed
the bright blue eyes and the heavy blonde
mustache of MIR. Hub Smith, the noted au-
thor of the song known as Listen to my
Taie of Woe, - and it was he who, acting al
this time for Secretary Window, was pay
ing out the cash to the girls. He smiled as
he did so and they smiled as they took the
bills and the signs were just the opposite
Of those of the sad tale Of Johnny Jones anC
his sister Sue.
Do these girls earn their salaries9
They do For most positions they make
better clerks than the men. They waste
less time chewing tobacco and they do moi
spend at hour or so over the morning
paper. They are splendid copyists AID they
: can count money faster than a man car
think The money counters of the treas
I ury are numbered by the hundreds anC
these pretty girls go through thousands
D upon thousands every day and count mil
} lions month While working on salaries OF
SO. l asked one Of them yesterday if she
did not covet the money she counted. She
4 replied she did and that her feelings while
) she worked were much like those of the
) ragged boy who presses his nose against
the candy window and gloats upon tbs
sweets within and thinks what he wouiC
: do if be had them. These girls are adept.
as counterfeit detectors. Their fingers re
so sensitive that they can tell counterfeit
if it touches them and if they pass coun
8 terfeit the amount of the bill is taken out O.
5 their salaries. IL is the same thing if they
: make mistake and their position is a very
: critical one. The bills from the nationa
banks from all over the country are sen
z here for redemption. These bills come il
: packages of one hundred and they ar
= counted by the banks which send them. |
there IS any mistake in the package TIN
: girl who counts it reports it TO the chic
and the bank from which the bills com
must stand the loss. There is a pane
: strap around each set of bills and upon thi
is the amount of the package aud the nam
of the bank from which it comes. A fey
weeks ago one of these young lady count
ers, a bright blonde girl Of nineteen, wa
I engaged upon "A lot of one hundred dollai
e notes. She had laid the straps on the desl
r beside her as she counted each package an
, after verifying the account had swept then
: all into waste basket; as she was raj
: idly counting one package she found that
: contained but ninety-nine notes. Sh
I looked for the strap containing the memo
: randum giving the name Of the bank fror
: which il came and was Mortified to fin
that it had dropped from the taDle and int
the basket. She remembered tine name O
the bank but there was no way in whic
Y she could prove that she was right Th
I bank was notified bat its cashier refused /
e acknowledge the mistake and the girl ha
: to pay 500.
: pnrsON N frr,rr.S-r ,r1rS