The advocate. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1901-1913, 1910-07-21
|COlOred
Employee
IN GOVERNMENT SERVICE GETS
.. "A RAW DEAL FROM CON-
GIESSNIAN GAINES,
Change Employment
Or Quit Was Verdict of Doctor, But
She Was Compelled to Get Aid
From Anoth her Congressman,
Though From Third District.

Simply to show those who are in
doubt as to the attitude Of Congress-
man Gaines toward the Negro. ex-
tracts are given below from a few
letters Of a young colored woman
working in one Of the government
departments at Washington, who
asked Mr.. Gaines, being from his dis
trict, to secure for her transfer or
a promotion because the work she
was then doing was detrimental to
her health. She secured the trans
fer through the efforts Of another
Congressman from this State. All
names, with the exception of that OF
Mr.. Gaines are withheld for obvious
reasons
Says the young lady in question:
every day + see more and more
the prejudice existing in the govern
ment service here, White girls, who
have been doing the same work I do
have been prom oted, yet Mr.. S.
Was informed that tiirls are supposed
to work Gin this department) from
four to five years"
Il mean no offense to you when
I say that L firmly believe that your
friend Mr.. Gaines gave Mr.. S. to
understand that he was not person
ally interested in. my case and just
had the latter write you those letters
as a sham.'
1T certainly does not seem reason
able that Mr. S. should show
such a little interest in Representa-
tive Gaines personal desires. Then
again, the official at the Bu-
reau would have given Mr.. SIS
communications more consideration
had they not known he was not par
ticularly interested In the matter" ."
"It was all g. sham and Mr..
Gaines, I believe, planned it thus.
f; don't think ne liked your. pressing
him to act, but he did not like to
admit it,
Writing a year later, the same
young woman says:
Some months ago I decided to
give up the fight for a promotion
or a transfer, as things seemed-to to
work against me right along, but
now that the constant standing has
affected my health to such an ex-
tent DR.. C has advised me to
resign, | have decided to take up
the fight again. Many and varied
nave been the changes effected at
the Bureau since 1 last wrote you
changes which give the lie to the
declaration contained in the letter
from Mr.. S. to Congressman
Gaines during 1905, which you have
On file. During the past year there
nave been at least a dozen girls pres
maturely DrOmOted--many had not
been in the Bureau a year. Last
year white girl Of Grafton who
came In two months after | did, was
promoted. Of course, you know all
such promotions are brought about
py lhnuence pure and simple
II felt at first that Mr.. Gaines was
false from beginning to end. And
then 1 thought that he had done
what he could and my failure to get
What-Id desired was because -of-pav
color, but 1 was disabused Of this
idea ten days ago when a colored
girl from another district who en-
tered month before 1 did was pro-
noted"
What think you Of the Honorable
MIR. Gaines. He surely cred
tied you with having sense enough
to discover his duplicity. Would he
have people think that he has such
little influence as not to be able to
Greet change ir such an insignifl-
cant position as the one T ho1d7