Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-12-12
Merchants to Object to Extra
Half Hour for Clerks.
WILL CALL ON PRESIDENT
Say Business of the City Would Be
Interfered With.
BASE BALL FANS" INDIGNANT
Employees Who Attend Night
Schools Also Declare They Would
Be Greatly Inconvenienced.

To protest to President Taft against the
proposed closing Of the executive depart
| ments at o'clock. instead Of 80 O'Clock
daily, a special committee Of The Cham
Der of Commerce will call at the White
| House at noon Wednesday. The COM
| mittee will lay before the President the
objections which Washington business
men have to the proposed lengthening of
the hours of work Of the government
employees. They feel that such q change
would interfere greatly with the business
Of the entire city.
The committee consists of William r..
Guide, chairman; S, W. Woodward, James
F. Oyster. A. Lisner, Isaac Cans and
Thomas Grant The board of directors
Of the chamber. at its meeting last week,
voted unanimously for the appointment of
the committee to make the protest against
| the s o'clock closing.
The Saturday half holiday all the year
round, which may be put in force if the
hours Of work are extended to ) O'Clock,
does not appeal to the great majority of
the government clerks as an offset to
| the extra half hour on other days. The
proposition to work every day until 5
O'Clock, it may be said, does not appeal
to any Of the clerks favorably. They feel
that their hours of work have been in
creased gradually during the last few
years without their receiving any in
crease in pay.
If It were suggested that the hours be
increased and corresponding increase
In pay given there would be little oppo-
sition to the plan, 1t is said. But the
President and the cabinet have in mind
economy in the cost Of the government
service In proposing the increase in the
working hours, and it is not in their
minds to propose paying the clerks high
er salaries.
Bad for Students.
ment departments who would be hard
hit BY extending the hours to o'clock
arc the men and women attending law
schools, or other schools, after they
have completed their days work for
numerous. They attend lectures and
recitations scheduled for 4:5O O'Clock.
It would be impossible for them to got
to their lectures If the new plan we're
The base ball fans are up in arms
over the pFopOsitfcn. They declare that
under the present circumstances they
are able to get to base ball games in
tlme 70 see tne greater part OF the
contests. But If their hours were in
creased to o'clock there would be no
chance for them to see the games
Many Of the clerks are fond Of out
of-door exercises OF various kinds, and
the extra half hour would greatly in
convenience them.
The clerks who live In the suburbs of
Washington and in Maryland and Vir-
ginia and come to the city to work
every day would be sufferers by the
change, they say. They have barely
it is, they declare.
There seems to be a we'll defined SEN
timent in favor of opening the depart
ments at $50 o'clock in the morning
instead of at 8 o'clock, If there is to be
added an extra half hour to the work.
ing day. Many of the clerks feel that
this would solve the problem much bet
ter than staying at their desks until 5
o'clock.