Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-01-16
Against the Time Clocks.
Of The Evening Star:

To the Editor of The Evening Star:
As Mr. Castle, auditor for the Post Office
Department has had his say about the
time clocks, will it not be in order to hear
from the other side? He says that it has
regulated the clerks better than any other
system tried. Whose fault is it that other
systems failed? Formerly it was the Gus
tom for a messenger in each division to
visit each desk at . o'clock and take the
names of the absentees. and the list was
laid before the auditor. He had it in his
power to send for every delinquent and to
discipline him, but It has been a matter of
comment that no auditor has had backbone
enough to punish the ones who shirI: on
the contrary, an order will be issued which
Furnishes alike the good and bad. Where
does the time clock remedy il?
He says the majority of the conscien-
tious clerks are in favor of the clocks
Either he is ignorant of the feelings OF the
clerks on this point, or else he considers
that he has but very. very few 'cOnScien-
tious' clerks in his office. In the division
where the writer is employed there is not
one, male or female, who faVors the time
clocks, and il embraces some of the best
and most faithful clerks in the office. If he
had seen the jigs danced before the clocks
on the morning after the report dispensing
with them was published he might have
thought is as funny as an Army Mule
He says that by the clocks clerks get
credit for the time they overwork This is
news to us. We know from experience that
every minute we are absent between . and
4 is carefully charged up against our an
nual leave, and that not a thought is given
the many hours overWorked, SO where does
the credit come in? Nay, We even know
that the one who comes at and stays I'M
til 3 is looked upon with disfavor as being
too slow for his task, or else trying to get
credit for a high average. In this matter
the conscientious clerk is the one who
suffers
But it is not the fact that time is kept by
clock that is objected to. We have al
ways been required to keep our time in
some way. 1t is the injustice of the admin
istration of the rules under the time sys-
TEN that makes the clocks an object of de-
rision. And here again the faithful clerk
is the one who suffers. One alleged Incl
dent will show it UP: 4 clerk who had
been absent several days on account of
sickness in his family came to work before
o'clock. He did not register then as he
so much overtime, for reasons above stated.
As his work had piled up, he went at 1t
earnestly. and at o'clock forgot to regis
ter. As he had been absent. the fact that
his key was on the "out board" was not no.
ticed until nearly noon, when he registered
and at once laid the matter before his
chief. Now, did the auditor consider the
overtime he had worked. his faithfulness
that he had never been late nor had mark
against him in many years? Well, this is
what is said to have been done: Notwith-
standing that he had been at work since
o'clock, he was charged one hour against
his leave, as punishment for not register
ing. So it is that the faithful, earnest
conscientious clerk hasa mark of disgrace
time clock system. H
January Is, 1899