Evening star., 1901-08-31
THE FEMALE WORKERS.
Statistics In Relation to the Many
Women i'm the departments.

Statistics In Relation to the Many
women In the departments.
Nearly every city is more or less famous
for one or more types of it's women" said
Washington globe trotter to a Star man
today, "and the capital must not be ex-
cluded from the list
I'm the stores it is rare to see women
employees with gray hair or past middle
age. They are mostly young girls. In the
departments probably 35 per cent of the
female employees are past middle life, and
% per cent are over fifty years Of age.
There are hundreds of women in the de-
partments over seventy years OF age.
earning from 5000 to 81 400 and $1,000 a
year In no other field of labor are posi-
tions paying such very high salaries opened
to be filled by women of seventy, grand
mothers, in fact.
According to some late figures compiled
by the United States civil service commits
sion some extremely interesting analyses,
comparisons and deductions may be drawn.
'Of these 5000 salaried queens nearly one
in every eight receives $1,000 year. and
over, or. to be exact, 903 drew salaries
ranging from 81 900 to $1,SOO year, three
ladies sailing around the top notch OF sal
aries paid by the government for clerk
hire, getting $1,SU year. In no other
employment for women on salary are
wages from 1921 to s34.61 a week paid to
this special class 300 receive 81 900 year,
40 receive $500, 100 receive $1,4OO, and
30 receive $1,000 per annum. The remain
ing 1000 draw from $500 to $500 per an
mum. In the bureau of engraving and
printing, where Uncle Sans money is
made, there are 1,260 female printers as
siStants, who receive 81 .25 a day, who are
not included in the above estimate. In the
census office there are over 1,500 women
most of whom draw $14.61 a week, or $I5
month. and the aggregate total of our
queens rises, therefore, to considerably
over 5000 who earn over 81 day, or more
than large proportion of men in salaried
and waSe-earning pursuits. Naturally,
they look cool and comfortable as they
ride to work every morning in the open
cars.
During the past seventeen years 2,O4
women have entered the service of the gov
ernment in Washington through the means
of the competitive examinations Of the civil
service alone. In the civil service there
are no less than fifty-seven different ex-
aminatiOns which are open to women. One
third of the entire force Of the government
in Washington Is composed of women, and
they are being appointed through the clas-
sified service channels at a proportion of
about one-sixth to the total number Of all
clerks appointed by this means. In the un
classified service this proportion 1 should
estimate at not less than 25 per cent, and
perhaps nearer 40 per cent. as in the rural
mail delivery service, for instance, the
percentage Is not; far from 50 per cent if
not above this figure.
THE percentage of woman appointments
through the classified service varies in the
different years, as it does in the unclassi-
fled positions. For instance. in the first
the highest percentage was in 1898. when
it was 13 per cent of the total. In the tenn
porary positions it was highest during the
Spanish war and Immediately thereafter"