Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-08-30
G,PO, WOMEN SUFFER
StiIIings' Latest Order Makes
Big Cut in Wages.
LOSS OF FIFTY PER CENT
Binders and Folders Working Under
Nervous Strain.
"OFFICIALS' BIG SALARIES
No Effort to Reduce Expenses of
Printery by Trimming Higher
Up the Line.

In the multiplicity of general orders,
printed. secret and verbal, which have
| flooded the government printing Office 1t
| is declared that the most cruel OF all is
| the verbal order aimed at the women of
| the bindery and folding department.
| Some of the workers at the printery have
| designated this command of the public
| printer or one of his assistants as the
| pound of flesh ORDER" because of certain
of it's unwritten provisions
| This order reduces fully so per cent, it
| Is said, the price to be paid the women
| for piecework folding and then it is init
! mated that there will be no objection to
| the toilers making the average of $3.50
| per day as of yore. If they can. This
| means an increase of so per cent in the
| effort of the folders if they desire to
| earn the maximum wage as given.
| Under Great Nervous Strain.
In their efforts to make a sufficient
| amount of wages to pay the living ex-
| penses of themselves and ofttimes large
| families of dependents the folding women
| are said to be oerexerting themselves, and
! the result is apparent in their wan faces
and haggard appearance, not to mention
the nervous strain they are under.
TT is an attempt on the part of some
| official who wants to make financial show
| ing of money saved for the government, to
take the savings out of the bodies and
souls of the poor women said an emp!oye
of the printery today. Some of the women
are already physical wrecks because of
their efforts under the reduction of the piece
scale to make sufficient money to pay
their actual expenses"
The speaker intimated that the public
printer was compelled to make a reduction
somewhere in order to pay the increased
salaries of his high-priced Supervisors"
inspectors and those filling other offices
of his creation, and in order to make the
saving he in the first instance wiped out
many of the charwomen and now seeks to
reduce the earnings of one of the hardest
worked and most lily paid classes in the Of
| fee. the folding women.
Discrimination Charged.
| A government official remarked when he
| heard of the reduction of pay of the folders
| that the general tendency of this age is to
| equalize the pay Of men and women when
| both do work of equal volume and quality,
but that 1t remained for the public printer
| to make such an unfair discrimination
| against worthy class Of women In the en-
| ploy of the government while at the same
| time he has created freak offices and filed
| them with men who paid princely sal
| aries. Some Of the offices in question were
| referred to as innovations of most
| necessary character and an upsetting Of
| rules and systems in the government
| service which were created by men OF wis
| dom and have stood the test of time
The secret order for the physical exami-
nation of certain women employees of the
| printery Is another source of criticism
| among the workers. While there is no COM
! plant that the medical officer who is con-
| Quoting the examinations acts otherwise
| than in a delicate and gentlemanly manner
| while carrying out his instructions from his
| chief yet it is obvious to the old ladies
| who are under inspection that the purpose
| of the order Is to rid the service of them
| sooner or later. Many of these women are
| the widows of soldiers of the civil war and
| others are those who have worn themselves
| out In the work of the printery and now
| feel as one of the number expressed it to-
| day:
| I'VE are like old horses, to be turned out
| to die after We have spent our best years
| here toiling for the public"
Reward of Merit" Jobs.
The claim was made this afternoon that
the government printing Office since the
| reduction of the rate for piece work Is
paying less for folding than the private
binderies downtown pay their workers for
| the same class of work. Also that the
| tendency of the public printer and his high
| priced advisers has been to reduce the
wages of those who are paid the least and
add the amount thus gained to the salaries
OF those who hold what are known as
| the reward of merit gilt-edged jobs
! The employees of the government printing
! Office were today in state of suppressed
| excitment anent the flying reports and the
| news from oyster Bay to the effect that
| the President had under advisement the
appointment of Mr.. Stillings successor.
| One employe, more bold than his fellow
| workmen made the assertion on the side
| walk at the noon hour today that if Presi-
dent Roosevelt knew as much of the =
terror doings of the printery as he did there
would be quick change of public printers
| Another added that it was no wonder the
| public printery was conducted on sort
| of penitentiary plan, with uniformed
| watchmen stationed at every hole and cor
ner, and every exit presumably to prevent
intrusion. Also that placards were thickly
posted inside the building warning visitors
that there is admission to certain de-
| partments, while the employees were warned
that silence is golden"
1t was said that a wide-awake newspaper
man with a snapshot camera and wad of
copy paper. If admitted freely into the build
ing and its recesses, might get data for an
expose of methods that would open the
eyes of the public. The secrecy at the
printery. by unwritten order. is said to be
OF the strictest nature while the airy vol
ume of secret rules and orders that have
! not been committed to paper and ink would,
If published, make mighty interestin
readin'.'
Working for Ricketts,.
A report was current in the downtown
| business district this afternoon to the eff
feet that delegation of friends of Mr..
Oscar j. Ricketts,, including several promi-
nent republican senator's and representa-
tives. are arranging to present his claims