Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-03-19


the matter little further.
He was asked what he thought about TIL
women clerks in his department, and an
| swered:
81 don't see how the departments could &c,
along without them. They are a positive ne
cessity in most instances, and SO far as my ex-
perience goes there are very few Of them who
do not deserve larger salaries then they get.
| was not in the service before Gen. Spinner
introduced them into it. but 1 often wonder
now the departments got along in those days.
Not only do the women do good work, but they
| exercise an influence in . government Office
| which is beneficial in every sense. Now, about
| their ef1clency, am going to give you hint
| Just look at the figures OF their EXAMINATIONS
before the civil service commission and see
now tney compare with the men,"
| THE WOMEN APPLICANTS.
! These figures are certainly worth noticing.
First OF all take the copyist examination. Those
who apply for this want to enter the depart
ments in the lowest grades. They are willing
to do simple work that does not require much
thought or responsibility. and they are willing
| to accept salary of $500 or less per annum,
for any salary above this requires the clerk ex-
animation, which is far more difficult than the
examination for copyists. The latter are tested
in penmanship, spelling, copying and arith-
metic as far as percentage-that is all Nstur-
ally there are great many female applicants.
Young men who might have the necessary
qualifications think themselves in many in
stances above such simple occupation
and such modest pay as the copyst
gets and they strike for higher places. and in
| this way not infrequently miss the subordinate
positions, which they are best fitted for. But
women who are welding the typewriter or who,
perhaps, are teaching the village school, or yet
again young women who are just about to take
up the serious business Of supporting them
| selves, look upon a copyists pay az not to be
despised and upon a copyist's occupation as
something that it is worth while doing well.
There is another point, too, in the acceptance
| by women OF SO much less pay than men are
| willing to take, which must not be forgotten.
| 1t is simply that the young woman usually has
herself alone to take care of. with possibly a
contribution to the old people of her home,
while the young man has to look ahead to the
probability of having a young wife to take care
OF and family besides.
| SUCCESSFUL EXAMINATIONS PASSED.
The young lady who becomes q copyist
has at the time she accepts her appointment
the full measure Of her expenses in the world
filled, but the young mans expenses have only
just started and will probably increase year
after year. All this explains the fact that last
year the civil service commission examined
l.204 women for copyists' positions and only
oSO men, but OF these men $50, nearly half,
failed to pass, while only 100 women failed.
The examination is not difficult one and the
method Of marking is not severe. In order to
| pass and become eligible for appointment it is
only necessary to get 20 per cent on a scale of
| l00 The writer endeavored to find some good
| manly excuse for this apparent superiority of
the women applicants over the men, and one
/ man who was asked about it suggested that a
| better class Of women were ready to apply for
these smaller places than men, the latter being
| ignorant fellows who we're not able to make a
| living and wanted the government to support
| n Qa
PLANTATION Of fact which cannot be said to be
| very pleasing in the eyes Of the 'lords of
creation"
| CANDIDATES Examined LAST YEAR.
Incidentally it may be remarked that it is
quite extraordinary what widespread and in
creasing desire there seems to be to enter the
service of Uncle Sam Last year the civil serv-
ice commission examined 5,25l persons who
wanted TO be government clerks here in WASH
| ington. In addition to this 3. 706 we're exam
ined for the railway mail service, for the GUS
| toms service ! ,579 were examined, and for the
postal service no less than {. 53S, making in all
grand total of 9,O4 people examined for the
| government service in one year. just think a
moment how many people that means. If all
| of them were appointed and came from Nevada
| 1t would take away a third of the population of
| that state; il they all lived in Alexandria, our
| neighbor across the river. and came over TO
| Washington Alexandria would be left without a
| single lnhabitant-nOt even a hack driver to
| suggest hotel to you at the depot. If all the
applicants went to live in Portsmouth, n. H.,
its population would be trebled, and yet
Portsmouth, as it stands is a very respectable
little town in point Of population.
| 1t is said that in the Chinese civil service,
| whenever an examination is held, several mil
| lions OF subjects present themselves. few
pass and. after years of waiting, several APP
pointments given out But the examina-
tions are tremendously difficult and involve a
| searching inquiry into applicants knowI-
| edge of Confucius and higher mathematics.
The usefulness of this knowledge to a custom
house clerk, for example, may we'll be a ques-
ton Of doubt. With US there can be no rea-
sonable complaint against the examinations,
for they are practical in character and are ap-
plicable, SO far possible, to the duties that a
successful applicant will have to perform. But
| 1t cannot be denied that the number of people
| who wish to enter the government service is
| increasing at quite an alarming rate. What
will be the end it is hard to predict, but if the
| thirst for office holding increases a considera-
BILE proportion of the inhabitants Of the coun-
try will be applicants for examination before
| the civil service commission, leaving out, of
| course, those who hold state offices or are run
ming for state offices or for Congress.
woMAN's GENERAL SUPERIORITY.
But to return to the female clerks, 1t will be
found that their superiority is shown not alone
in the copyists' examination, but in the clerks
examination, where out Of !, s07 men examined
1921 passed, but only 80 women failed out of
1873 examined. The proportion is still with the
| fair sex.
The next highest examinations are those that
are called special They involve some amount
| of technical or professional knowledge and are
sometimes quite difficult. Thus in the exam-
| nation for clerkships in the State Department
questions are asked about international law.
| treaties and government, and usually, too the
applicant il examined in foreign languages.
| French, German and Spanish being the most
usual ones, but the applicant being privileged.
| If he chooses, to stand an examination in
Swedish, Portuguese, and even Russian, il auv.
body can be found who is able to conduct an
examination in that language. In the patent
Office examination it is hard0or any one TO pass
who is not practical scientist, and for the pen
| sion office knowledge of the law Of evidence
and the pension laws is required. Now, last
year 76S men underwent these special exami-
nations and 800 passed, while Of the 1876 women
who we're examined 290 passed-in other words,
| more men failed than passed, while two vomen
passed to every one that failed. Even for such
q thoroughly technical, scientific place as
meteorological clerk in the signal service three
women were examined and two Of them passed
| successfully.
1t is perhaps fortunate for the male sex that
this remarkable showing OF proficiency in the
modern American female has never been called
| attention to before, for the ladies are not
accustomed to allowing any triumph achieved