Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-03-18

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| Ay}ETNAN@ hours and cut down the
| ZEf1V1zH vacations Of employees
5N VNt in the departments was
| ~ 7IHt inspired by sentiment
| VfHli ! H. which is widespread in
NAEI the west. All over that
part of the country the
| farmers, while deriding
the army and navy most
especially do objurate the government clerks at
Washington. They imagine that these servants
of Uncle Sam many luxurious idlers fat
tening at the public trough. 1t was they who
struck this blow at them in Congress. Very
likely the attempt will be repeated. One
thing the Office holders might do is to
form union for defensive purposes. There
are %, 900 of them here, and their combined in
iuence would suffice to defeat any bill which
might affect their interests injurlously.
ONLY ONE FROM A FAMILY.
Any Secretary can by simple order
in his department to any extent which
he thinks desirable. He ia an au-
tocrat, even controlling matrimony among his
subordlnates. No two employees Of the treas
ury can become husband and wife, both retain
ing their places. As penalty for mating the
woman must resign or be discharged. because
it is held tina. one family ought not to draw two
1
| first made this rule. One day he summoned a
! pretty clerk and said to her:
/ 'lou are employed in the treasury while
/ your brother is in the War Department. 1t is
/ not right that two members of a family should
draw pay from Uncle Sam. Which of you will
/ resign
! The girl looked grave for q moment. Then
Slancing up with sparkling eye, she replied:
Mr.. Secretary, you employed in the
treasury. while your brother is in the War De-
/ nnr ms % oh 81
you is going to resign?"
Mr.. sherman did not answer the question,
but he seemed greatly amused. The pretty
clerk is still In the employ of The treasury; her
brother was not Interfered with
MARRIAGES BETWEEN GOVERNMENT CLERKS.
Propinquity is said to be natures chief
matrimonial agent Nevertheless. on account
of the regulation quoted. r-rriages between
government clerks rarely occur. In many
instances they have been kept secret. some
times for years. To be found ont means i'm
mediate discharge for the woman. who has COM
mitted the offense of signing another than her
lawful name to the pay vouchers However. the
Secretary ia no. restrained by the civil service
law from dismissing without cause any en-
ploye The rule mentioned is not applied in
all the departments. Secretary Tracy did not
approve of ii and several weddings took place
under his regime.
or the good old times in the departments
not Few odd stories are told. An ancedote is
related at the Navy Department of a bureau
now extinct. which conducted by gallant
naval officer. One day, about 2 p. M the latter
stepped into the room of his assistant and said:
Billy, here's draft of a very important
letter that | am extremely anxious to dispatch
by the afternoon mail. Please make me q clean
copy OF it as quickly as you can"
1t being so late in the afternoon. "Billy'' was
resting. He looked up sleepily and replied:
why, commodore, l have already written
two letters today"
"Well then. Billy" said the commodore,
never mind. Tomorrow will do as well.''
IN THE ''FoEEIaN OFFICE"
Clerkships in the department OF State are
consiG cred the most desirable. To begin with
the incumbents are never discharged without
being provided with a consuiship some other
place. Their employment carries a certain
amount of social position with it. The most
conspicuous of the young swels in Washington
are employees Of the foreign Office" as they
like to call it. Beaux being greatly in demand
here. they have more invitations than they can
accept. With small salaries and no prospects.
they would be regarded as 'dstrimenta!s' in
other cities. but here they a: the top of the
swim. Good manners and the fact OF wearing
pantalools constitute satisfactory claims to
recognition in local society.
The work OF clerk in the Department of
State, however. implies no little responsibility.
wrong word in his transcript of diplomatic
n
position. The business he transacts is mostly
OF a secret nature. He may know long in ad-
vance whom the President has chosen for
cabinet Office or what warships about to be
sent to threaten the cities OF foreign nation.
If he tells anybody and his information gets
out his indiscretion may have upset policy
and disarranged a complete series of moves
which Uncle Sam is trying to carry out.
Happily betrayals of secrets by government
clerks have been very rare.
The PROPORTION OF WOMEN.
Though one-half of the applicants for places
in the departments are women, only one person
of the gentler sex is appointed for every seven
men. There is q prejudice against female
clerks on several accounts. Nevertheless, some
officials have discovered that they often get
woman for $500 year who Is more capable
than 200 man. Before the war the employ
ment Of women clerks by the government
was almost unknown, though they sometimes
got copying to do at home. The first woman
regularly employed was put on the rolls Of the
Navy Department thirty-five years ago. She
was young widow. 1t was a grave question
what should be done with her, and it
thought best to isolate her, as If she were con-
taglous. An attic room was given her, and she
received and returned her copying by a mes
genger. Today there are 600 women in the
treasury alone. They and others in different
departments are efficient accountants, corre-
s.pondents, linguists, draughtsmen, typesetters,
&C.
THE PERMANENT EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN.
In 1861 the coined money belonging to the
government gave out and Congress authorized
the issue Of legal tender notes payable in gold.
These were the original ''greenbacks." They
came in sheets from the bank note companies.
with blank spaces for the signatures of the
treasurer and register. It necessary to cut
them apart with scissors and trim the edges. no
machine having as yet been invented for that
purpose. Gen. Spinner suggested that women
should be employed temporarily to cut and
count the notes. A number Of them were
hired, and after they had Gu. $50, 600. 600 worth
of paper Congress authorized another issue, at
the same time making the employment Of the
women permanent. Some of these very women
are still work in the treasury where their sex is
intrusted up to the present time with the
counting Of the money. From this starting
point women gradually made their way into
the other departments.
AS A HELP TO STUDY.
A great many young men secure places in the
departments merely for the purpose Of sup
porting themselves while they are studying in
4he great schools Of law and medicine here
Matters are SO arranged at these institutions
that clerk who stops work at 4 p. m. can get
dinner and be on hand for the evening lectures,
which begin at 6. After being graduated the
young physician may practice and yet stay in
office, becoming what is known As shutdown