Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-12-09
No Decision Today as to In
creasing Hours of Clerks.
PRESIDENT IS UNDECIDED
Action Postponed Until Next Week
Pending an Inquiry.
BUREAU CHIEFS OPPOSE IT
Those in War Department Report
Unanimously Against Change.
Merchants to Protest.

President Taft and his cabinet today
discussed the question of keeping the
government departments in Washington
open until o'clock in the afternoon.
There was considerable difference of opin-
ion among the cabinet officers as to the
advisability OF increasing the working
hours Of the government clerks. Some
are in favor of keeping the departments
open until 3 O'Clock every day except Sat-
4 urday, when the closing hour should be
1 o'clock all the year round. Others
| favor 3 O'Clock closing every day except
Saturday during the summer -2onths and
still others are opposed to any change.
President Taft has so far not commit
ted himself to either Of the propositions
| for a change.
Cabinet Postpones Action.
Action on the matter was postponed
| until the cabinet meeting a week from
today, and in the meantime further in
| quiry will be conducted.
| How seriously President Taft and his
| cabinet have been considering the change
| In the hours Of the government employees
| Is shown by the fact that in some of the
I ted to Investigate the need for longer
| hours of work and to report to the heads
| Of the departments.
The bureau chiefs of the War Depart
ment reported unanimously against any
change in the working hours. and their
report was submitted at the cabinet meet
| ing today. The War Department chiefs,
| it is said, consider that the work of the
department can be accomplished well by
the clerks working until 4:3O o'clock in
! the afternoon. The recent heavy work of
the departments has been due in part to
the necessity for answering the large
by the Cleveland committee for reform
and economy in the work of the execu-
tive departments.
Earlier Start Suggested.
In order to obviate keeping the clerks
any later in the afternoon, the sugges-
ton has been made that the departments
open at $50 in the morning instead Of Q,
thus giving the extra half hour Of work.
The opinion OF the bureau chiefs is also
being sought as to whether more work
can be accomplished by keeping the de-
partments open an extra half hour five
days In the week and closing earlier on
Saturday. The department employees now
report for wOrk~at D. o'clock in the MORN
ing and are" Kept at work until 4:3O
o'clock, having half an hour off for
lunch. =.
II the proposed. change is put into effect
by executive order, the clerks will, in
reality work less hours during the entire
week than they are required to work now,
except during the summer months. They
will work three and a half hours less on
Saturday and the increased working hours
on the other days will amount to two and
q half hours q week.
Opinions Of Clerks Divided.
While the opinion among the clerks is
divided as to the proposition to close
early Saturday and work longer on other
days. the majority Of the clerks seem to
be opposed to the plan. Some of them
go SO far as to say that they would
rather work until 4:3O o'clock every after
noon the year round than work until
with the Saturday half holiday. Others
suggest that they would prefer to have
the hours changed so that the clerks
should work until o'clock every day
the year round.
President w. F. GUIDE of the Chamber
Of Commerce appointed committee to-
day to protest on the part of Washing
ton business men against the proposed
increase in the hours of works of the
clerks. The committee consists Of W. F.
GUIDE. 8. w. Woodward, A. Lisner, Isaac
Cans and Thomas Grant. This commit
tee will lay its protest before President
Taft, II It IS decided to have the clerks
work until 8 O'clock