Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-09-06
PRINTING OFFICE SOLICITOR
AN OFFICE RECENTLY CREATED
AT SALARY OF $2,25O.
His Duties Require a Carriage and It's
Equipment-The Other
Side

One Of the gilt-edged jobs at the govern
of solicitor. This official draws down an
annual salary of $3.50 and is said to be
provided with handsome equipage "bef1t-
ting his rank" Previous public printers
did not find it necessary to have ''solic-
itor. nor do the heads of the big depart
ments of the government. but under the
new elaborate and expensive system that Is
being installed In the establishment a solic-
itor has become very necessary adjunct.
In referring to the solicitor an official
said the motto of his office Is Lest we for
get" 1t is said to mean that his principal
duty is to ride around in his carriage
among the executive departments and bu-
'reaus and cause the officials in charge to
remember that there is such an institution
in existence as the government printing
office
He also carries the glad hand with him
and is expected to talk print shop to the
aforesaid officials. and tell them what nice
work the government printing office Is pre-
pared to print at the lowest spot cash price.
In other words. the solicitor is expected to
solicit and while doing SO to exploit the new
features of the office he represents and in
cidentaly estimate on any jobs the officials
may want executed in the finest style of
the art" as the country print-shop proprie-
tor would put it.
The Contrast.
While the officials on the gilt-edged list
are drawing big salaries for the part they
are playing in the svstem.'' there is
another class of employees upstairs in the
establishment who are made to toll like
sweatshop workers for the pittances they
receive The folder women. whose stipend
has been cut down to almost one-half OF
the former figure in order that the expenses
of the establishment. including the high
priced audit system and the salaries of the
front office officials and the stan, may
be kept within the bounds of the appro-
pr:ation for expenses. are laboriouSly at
work in their efforts to earn under the re-
duced scale enough money to Keep body
and soul together
In addition to their hard work in folding,
FASTING. gathering. etc, recent general
order requires them to keep record or
their efforts and make an entry every
twelve minutes during the working day on
blank printed on watermelon red paper.
The heading on this blank is: 'Plecework-
Folding Div SION. Below this in smaller
type appears this legend:
Designed for the exclusive use of the
government printing Office.
Long Columns Follow.
Then follow long columns for the entry
of jacket number. time, this column being
minutes from o'clock am. to O'Clock
pm. for it may be remarked according to
an official. that many of the folders toll
until the latter hour in their struggle to
make the limit. Then there are columns
on the watermelon red blank for time -
"sigs.. quantity" number folds" ''op-
eratons' AT" amount and expense
the last column being crowded full of the
word Wait"
So it appears that besides having their
stipend cut down to ''sweat-shOo" figures
the women of the folding department are
also required to maintain a system of rec
ord keeping under 'the system without
receiving compensation therefor
1t was also reported today that two OF
the fined proofreaders William A PEI
fer and William F. Dorsey, paid the last
installments of their fines yesterday,
amounting to more than 50 each. The of
tense charged against them. it is said, was
they passed the word cemetery for
seminary"