Evening star., 1909-04-17
DIRECTOR RALPH PANIED
Pays High Tribute to the Character
of His Subordinates.
TO PROBE ORIGIN OF SCANDAL
Committee Will Investigate the
Genesis of the Publication and
Authorize Denial.


this morning over a report printed in one
Of the New York papers this morning.
and which was telegraphed back here
and reprinted In Washington. 1t was to
the effect that there were difty women in
the employ Of the bureau who were no
better than they should be. and that the
officers Of the girls union have picked
them out and sent their names to the
Civic Federation with the request that
they be dismissed. The story had a good
deal of generality. but lacked detail. 1t
said that the names of the blacklisted
fifty were in the hands Of the officials and
that the matter was being investigated.
Miss Anne Morgan, daughter of J. P.
Morgan, and Mrs. ]. Boardman Hartman
were mentioned as prime movers in the
moral uplift Of the girls at the bureau.
The dispatch concluded:
1.-THE publication of these investigations
Of the ladies of the Civic Federation will
produce widespread stir in Washing
ton"
It did all right The first news that
the girls of the bureau had Of the story
was two newsboys in front of the build
ing with morning papers. shouting Full
account of the great scandal In the bu-
reau of engraving and printing. Nat
urally the boys did land office business
in papers and after the girls had bought
them they did not know whether to be
glad or sorry they had been enlightened.
Meeting in Director Ralph's Office.
There was an earlytmorning mass meet
ing called in the Office of Director Ralph
of the bureau There were present about
100 women. representing all the depart
ments of the bureau. Mr. Ralph, who
takes fatherly interest in the personal
welfare of the 1900 employees under him.
expressed himself as being both pained
and shocked at such q story being circu-
lated. After talking to the girls. he. said
that he would leave the mattetstN. thsf1
hands. but suggested appoIntfng z eOtff'
mittee to include representatives of the
several divisions as well as some Of the
male members Of the Plate Printers
Union and to let them get a statement
from the National Civic Federation as to
how such a story got started and then tC
see the offending papers about getting a
retraction. In speaking OF the matter
afterward he said:
Director Ralph's Theory.
Il have an idea as to how the story got
started, and it is this: The ladies of the
National Civic Federation have had sew
eral meetings with the girls and women
of the bureau, and seem interested in
their personal entertainment and well be-
ing One of the ladies of the federation
wanted to give a reception to some of the
girls. 1t was Mrs. Tuckerman. She
could on.y comfortably entertain fifty at
a time of the 100 girls, and she asked the
names of fifty who probably would like
to attend. This Miss McNally did. and
the names were sent to the Civic Fedora
ton. l think it very likely that some
body got hold of the fact that the names
of fifty of the female employees here had
been sent to the Civic Federation, and
from that, as a basis. jumped to a con-
cluson for the rest of the story. 1t is
merely the list of fifty names and the
fact that they had been sent TO tie fed
GRAFTON that give me my inference as to
the start of the story.
1T is almost unbe .ievable that any one
should have been reckless enough to have
started such a story, but that is the way
it looks to ME at first sight"
Employees of High Glass.
II am more panied than / can say to
think that there has been such a report
started. l really feel more like a father
than anything else to the employees here.
have been in the bureau eighteen years.
since I was little more than boy. | have
known nearly all of the employees, both
men and women, intimately, and | want
to say that for intelligence, devotion to
work and everything else that goes to
make up a high grade lot of men and
women they would be hard to match.
I'VE get out hundreds of millions of
dollars worth of money and millions of
postage and revenue stamps here every
month We check up every day-and tie
accounts come out to cent. ] think
can say without egOtism that ii Is one of
the best running and hardest working de-
partments of the government. and 1t
would not be SO if \ were not for the
conscientious and hard-working lot of en-
ployes that l have here.
.'As to the moral scandal end of the
story, | can only say that 1t is the rule
rather than the exception for the plate
printers to mary their assistants. | think
we average two designations OF girls
month for that reason. Now man who
works with a girl every day gets 10 know
pretty well what sort of a girl she is. and
if he elects to marry her, l think II Is
pretty good recommendation for the girl.
81 think possibly l am worse hurt than
the girls are at the clrculatlOn OF THIS
story about them"
Committee Will Investigate.
After the mass meeting in the directors
office there was a second meeting of
representatives of the leading divisions.
The list included Miss Belle Trouland
Miss Estelle Hardy. Miss Frances Griffin,
Miss Gertrude McNally. Miss Kathrine
Drew, Mrs. Eta Parsons, Miss NJ. NJ.
Grenmann. Miss Margaret Washee, Miss
Helen Ballinger and Miss Margaret Nc
Atee; Gorge F. Foster. chairman OF the
executive committee of the Plate Printers
Cn'on, and w. d. Leisler, president Of the
same union.
The committee after talking over the
matter decided that it would be we'll to
call on the local members of the Ma
tional Civic Federation and see If they
could throw any light on the way the
story got started. Alter that ii plan
ned a call on the several local newspapers
TO get them to print straight account
OF the affair.
Director Ralph spread his hands over
the members of the committee with
parting "Bless you, my children" and
they faded away on their errand of pub
licity.