The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-10-26
WOMEN IN THE DEPARTMENTS.
They Are Energetic, Competent, ant
No Longer Hold Place by Favor.

Correspondence Philadelphia Times.
The culture. the progressiveness and
the real -womanliness of the women OF
the treasury has been more OF a revela-
ton than anything else. / n j must
have been thinking of them more as ma
chimes than as women; hat showing
their work they did it mechanically
with no higher aspirations. How
ashamed / I'M of the thought since I
find them by the scores hurrying from
this the governments workshop TO a
music lesson or drawing lesson. many
working the entire evening at the Cor
coran Art Gallery; others are studying
medicine, not a few attending the How
ard University, this year the only col
lege here III enough to leave its doors
open to them. / find many householders
among these women. the property pur-
chased by their own earnings; indeed,
statistics show more women have so
invested or otherwise saved more money
than do the men employed in the de-
partmensS. Several bright young girls
have been pointed out to me. who look
too frail to be over a desk at all. and
yet they were supporting invalid fathers
or mothers, younger sisters or brothers,.
or a dead sisters children.
1t Is a very busy and picturesque life
here and peopled with attractive char
acters and full of events, the reverse OF
the monotonous and unsocial. OF course
there is the same amount of jealousy
n woman's inhumanity to woman TO
be found among women as elsewhere,
but no more. and a corresponding num-
Der Of good and generous souls that
have no room for narrow or mean
grudges. There are women still in
active service who are grandmothers
several times over. grown gray in the
service, but not grown ole. / have
found no old women here. though / sus-
pect some are touching close to the
threescore n ten limit. Ii perhaps
goes without telling these are the most
interesting of Uncle Sans daughters,
since so prolific OF delightful reminis-
cences of the people, customs and do
ings OF a former generation. Many a
sly bit of scandal / know they could
dish up about the former days of men
and women whose p~resent-day great
ness has won our reverence.
Talents OF the highest order and blood
as blue as the bluest nave the women
of the treasury brought to the work,
and SO changed are the conditions that
she no longer comes yelled, ashamed TO
be seen earning her bread in Uncle
Sans service Oh account OF strange and
shady fellow-workers, as 1 am told was
actually the case under the rule of III
Influence" IN those pioneer days a
treasury girl was a something sugges-
tive, a somebody that would bear
watching; she was an apology. Her
work a cloak intended to conceal what
everybody saw n knew, SO / have
been told by people of that day. APP
pointees valuing their regulations at
that price above rubies crept in through
the side doors. and yelled at that.
obliged to suffer what they then thought
the shame of II In order to get the
crumbs that want demanded for the
hild of a patriotic sire.
But now all these humiliating ondi-
tions have been changed, thanks TO civil
service, which shows no ravorltism ex-
cent brains hpf xvhfoh lor,opAaa that
the human barnacles of political infu-
ence should take the examinations for
promotions along with the rest and
hereafter stand upon their merits alone.
In consequence OF all this the women
we find in departmental service to-day
represent the survival of the ittest and
not the fayorites Of corrupt politicians,
as too many uppoS